Replacement windows and rotten sills

Hi everyone, I hope this doesn't sound too dumb but I'm not used to using contractors and I don't know if this is normal or not, and I'm not sure if I should be complaining. I'm pretty sure I should be but tbh I'm just not a very confrontational kind of person so I'd love some input from others. I'm having all 15 of my double-hung windows replaced with vinyl. I have a couple of (wood) sills that are pretty rotten, and the sales guy had said it wouldn't be a problem to replace them, that the guys would look at all of them as they go through. At least I'm 90% sure it was him who said it, I had a few people come through and I could be confusing them. And I figure it is best to do it while the old window is out anyway right?

Well, the guy doing the work is going a lot slower than expected - I think he ran into issues that he isn't telling me about, and I think there was supposed to be more than one of him. I was walking around after he left for the day and noticed one of the windows he replaced still had a rotten sill. He never mentioned anything about it, and on my end I never mentioned it to him either when he showed up, so we're both to blame I suppose. He did a real quick walk through the house when he got here, but was more concerned about making sure the number of windows was right than any other details. What is really bugging me is that I saw him looking around outside on that part of the house when he was working in that area - there is no way he could have missed seeing it. It is very obvious.

He'll be back tomorrow, and probably next week at this rate. Should I try to get him to pull the new window out and replace the sill? Or do I just call someone else to come in after they're gone? There is significant rot, it's definitely not something that can just be patched up.

This all just seems weird, and I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this whole project. I didn't choose the cheapest quote for a reason, and this company has been around for a while and had great reviews everywhere I checked online. What would you do?

Have him pull the window and replace the sill now. Typically, they are held in with 4 screws, do it should not be a problem. Are you planning on capping any exposed wood after the windows are in? If you are having sills rot, that means water is getting to them. Capping would eliminate that issue.

Post a picture so we can see what your seeing, inside and out.
No way should you have someone else come in after there done!
All this should have been discussed and put in writing before any work even started!
There should have been a set price per window to replace each sill.
It needs to be repaired before the window goes in.
No one should be capping rotten wood!
If the windows are going to be wrapped the right way is to wrap the window first, then install the window.
It will leak 100% of the time if it's wrapped after the windows installed.
Would be interesting to see the pictures to see why it's taking so long, I could see having to replace the sills slowing them down, but it sounds like he did not even do that.
If these are just old single pane wooden framed windows myself and one helper can easily replace 15 in less then a day.
(that's just installing, does not include time to wrap or replace the sills)
I've seen some horrible replacement window installs before.
One of the worst ones I got stuck dealing with done by a so call "Window Company", that's all they did was install replacement windows and they had installed all new windows for a 80 year old lady with little money.
They never caulked the outside stops, stripped every screw when installing, never used spray foam to fill the gaps or under the bottom of the frame on the outside, left off the strip on the outside to cover up the gap between the window frame and the old sill, one window was 1/2" out of square and would not even open, the worst one was ordered 2" to short but installed it anyway and left the huge gap and just pulled the blinds closed so she would not see it.
They never cut the paint lines before removing the inside stops so it tore up the paint.

I think this guy must be new, or he's just bad at this.. Only 5 windows done in one day. The old ones are just the single pane wood framed windows. The outside still has exposed wood on the sills/frame, but there isn't wood showing any more on the inside sills where I used to have the drain holes in the old windows/storm windows, we never even talked about capping the outsides. Most of the wood is still in great condition other than a couple of them, I think the ones that have rot just weren't draining well when the screens were in, the house also had some old termite damage which could very well be part of it. I also noticed a couple of the new ones screens don't sit flush with the sill, there's a small gap where they sit against the sill in the middle. I'm going to point these out to him tomorrow and if he doesn't respond well I'll be calling the company. Hopefully he's not just playing on my ignorance to this whole process. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated!

Feel your pain, been through this a few times with newer employees.
One time I stood there and removed one of the old windows and told him to watch me do it so he could do the rest of them while I ran out to get materials.
I come back and he has removed all the stops (the outside stop molding needs to be left in to keep the new window from falling out), and instead of just setting the old windows down gently outside leaning against the house like I had done, he had tossed them out in the yard busting all the glass.
Still another one after being shown how to do it from the inside decided to do it from the outside (which can be done, but you have to know what your doing and to me is much harder to do when working off a ladder) 4 hours later and he still had not finished even one window!
PS Any reason why your not having the outside trim wrapped with coil stock?
That would eliminate all future scraping and painting.

Dave, if you are having any feeling of doubt, call the salesman back out and discuss the project with them. Do not pay in full till you are satisfied you got your money's worth of value.

Remember the Golden Rule...he who has the gold, rules.

Nothing said here about a written contract, proof of insurance or workman's comp insurance. Any work included should be clearly stated in the contract as should any work not specifically included. Rotted sills must be replaced and then capped along with any jamb and head capping "prior to" installation of new window. Capping should run "under" the new window and sealed properly with a high quality exterior window sealant, not installed after "to" the new window, (future problem). You mention termites, expect to find framing damage under sill that also should be addressed and would not be part of the window quote or contract. Do not give him any more money until you are satisfied with what you are getting and it has been reduced to writing. Don't wait to long to possibly get a real estate attorney involved if it looks like this is going south, once the guy is done and has his money your chances of any recovery are slim and none.

Replacement full sills are available in PVC. No capping required and will never rot.

mabloodhound said:

Replacement full sills are available in PVC. No capping required and will never rot.

Click to expand...

I'm aware of that, with the price point this fellow is at did not seem this was a viable option. New PVC brickmold, etc. are also available, considerably more expensive than capping.