Renewal by Andersen review: Have nothing to do with The Real Anderson Windows company 77

Ralph, what's up. Some of us are fine with the windows, it's the contractor that is the problem. Claiming they know what they are doing, collecting their money for a "schlock" job and then they're gone. You are probably one of those people, or else just a [censor]!

I had Renewal by Anderson windows put in my home and the house is colder than the old windows I had replaced.
The windows do not fit in the frame and appear to be "floating" above the window sill.
I am VERY unhappy with these windows. For the price, I expected my rooms to at least be warmer and no drafts.

renewal has been in my home 7 times installing windows. It was suppose to be a 3 day install. They have come numerous times with the wrong size product. The installers were wonderfully polite, but dealing with the problem with the roseville mn management has been awfull. They treat you like dirt

The salespeople are trained to do hard sales tactics. In one incident the homeowner had to actually call the police to get the salesman to leave their homee..Do your homework, you can save $500 a window installed if your purchase high quality Andersen Woodwright replacement windows in your home. And you can have your own reputable contractor install them..

I wish I would have researched RBA before making the purchase. The windows are just OK (for $20K they should be better) and the installation was a circus, that we are still paying for. I'm having a certified Andersen repair shop (Home Doctors, Marin, CA) to try and adjust the door to get it to open ($5, 000 French Doors) out on Monday, but the way it needs to be adjusted, there is no more room. It's been leaking since it's been installed. If we can, we'll have to have it reinstalled ($1200), if not, we may have to have the whole side of our house repaired. So, basically, RBA and their installers may have destroyed my house. Buyer Beware, in a BIG way.

I have not yet decided, we had an RBA rep at our house recently. To be honest it felt like a timeshare presentation and I so wanted it to be over halfway through . UGH. RBA look like good product, but I need about 35 windows and his ballpark quote after being in our house an hour was "oh this will cost you over a hundred grand". I almost choked. A hundred grand for windows? I want to keep out rain and wind, not build the Taj Majal. And can anyone tell me why a good wood window won't do the trick? The RBA product looks good, and I am sure it performs well. I just can't get past the price quote. :/ Suggestions?

All I can say is read the posts and if you decide to go through with it, keep on them for every little thing--and be prepared, there will be "little things". From my experience, less than 50% of contractors know what they are really doing, and of those, 50% are so "full of themselves" that they will overcharge you to the max. I just had somone out to look at my windows. $150 for the first hour and then another $45 for an extra 1/2 hour, mostly listening to him brag. $54 for travel time, another $17.70 for mileage. So, a $235 quote for the visit turned into $266.70. He did adust the doors and pointed some things out to me. But if I'd have known I was going to get charged by the hour, I would have told him to get to work, but I needed to dialogue with him to see what he said and to update him on what I had done. He and the company seem knowledgeable and high quality (Home Doctors), but just so much boasting and then to charge me extra. I don't know what to think anymore about the construction trades. I only wish I'd have learned how to do more things myself when I was younger. Good Luck.

Windowman, my warranty only lists a 2-year warranty on repairs and since the last attempt was in February of 2008, I think I am out of luck. The company who put them in, Homeworks of San Rafael, CA is out of business. A company in San Leandro (also nearby) now does the installation for RBA. I called Andersen and they referred me to Home Doctors (see above post) who are the certified Anderser Repair service in the Bay Area. They came out and said the window is out of square and may or may not be the cause of the that is ruining our HW flooring. Where do you get the "3-years" figure? I agree the price was high, but if not for the installation (the installer was fired after our job), we would be fine with everything. Thanks

We signed up for a door extension with Replacement by Anderson in Parris, CA.
After doing nothing for 10 weeks they told us they're uncomfortable doing the project. In the meantime they deposited our check for over $ 6000 (a half of the total price) although they haven't done any work yet. When I told them to return the money if they are not comfortable they became unresponsive. Hope I can get the money back ...! I

March 1, 2011

Yesterday we spent two and half hours with a sales rep from Replacements by Andersen. It was painful. We have 21 windows that are original and have started looking for replacement options. This company was the first that we contacted. We had no idea that it would be such a long sales pitch. Finally, we were given a quote of over 29, 000 dollars. Wow, way too much in my opinion. After a few minutes of "discussion", the price was reduced to 22, 00 dollars and still too much. Sales rep indicated the price could be reduced yet again to 20, 000 dollars, IF and only If we signed a contract on the spot. We were not at all comfortable with this, so we asked if he could call us the next day so we could discuss the matter. I asked for a business card. He did not have one! That is strange, anyway, we contacted another replacement company and that person came the same day in the evening with very very good window replacements at half the "discounted" price. We decided to go with this person's product. The next day we found a note stuffed in our front door from the Renewal by Andersen rep. It was very nasty...to quote part of the note..."I'm smart enough not to even try to get you a discount"...the price is "28, 817". "have a nice vacation". Is this honorable or sleazy? Never ever have these people in your house!

I have read the above text/comments and would like to throw my two cents in! I have sold windows for well over 30 years now and have had experiences with just every type of window product out there. I have also sold these products both in extreme weather conditions as well as in very mild climates. When selling Renewal by Andersen windows we were instructed to sell as an alternative to wood/vinyl windows with the look of a wood window. Upon close examination this window looks a little better than a vinyl window. If looking at a quality wood product, it does not look nearly as good. If looking at a high quality vinyl window they look very similar. All RBA dealers will tell you that vinyl windows will not hold up and will produce documentation stating this. This documentation is produced by the Andersen Window Corporation and is using data from thir local area (Minnesota). In extreme weather vinyl will not hold up, but works very well in many areas of the U.S. where the weather conditions are not extreme. Oddly enough Andersen owns vinyl window companies! The RBA window has an excellent warranty (as do many other local as well as major manufacturers), but I have found (after many meetings with RBA window reps from around the country) that 75% of these people seem to have an elitist attitude about the product that they sell (which I found to be very disagreeable). Andersen is a well known brand name that has been around for over 100 years, but they own vinyl window companies (which RBA people tell you are no good) they also own other major clad wood window companies. The tactics used by many of the RBA dealers are less than professional (available discounts on the spot, etc.) Many will explain that they can offer these discounts only one time, because of the added cost of coming back. These are comissioned sales people, there is absolutely no additional cost to the company for their return visit to your home, yet they are able to offer thousands in discounts if signed right then and there. Maybe... it is an overpriced product, not a great value for the money, and they just don't want you to do your homework! After the many years that I have been in the business, I do believe it to be an overpriced product and do indeed think that there are many alternatives that can look far better as well as being a better value. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

I had 6 Renewal by Andersen windows installed several years ago. The windows are beautiful but the installation was terrible. The Clark Adams Co. of Southern California claimed that all their installers were factory trained, what a lie. And now that I have seen some window installation instructions I can say that the installation itself was terrible. They didn't use any foam in the gaps a fact that became very evident with a really big strom we had 3 years later (I could feel the cold air coming in around the windows, one corner was wet and the ants were coming in). The caulking on the outside looks like it was put on by spatula. Then when I couldn't get one to close the 1st winter Clark Adams sent out a technician that said, "Just force it. That will compress the seals and it will be fine next year". ! It wasn't. I am so disappointed that I can't even compose a letter to Andersen Window Co and I think they and Clark Adams aren't going to do anything about rectifying the problem since it's over 3 years since they were done. What should I do?

Nice! How does one find a "qualified installer" if the contractor I hired claims to be one but isn't? Other than the obvious checking with the Better Business Bureau and making sure the contractor has a current license and is properly insured (all of which I did with Clark Adams), what else can I do?

I just had renewal by anderson put all new windows in my house. They are a little expensive but the overall product is amazing. All done in about 3 days. 1 day for the salesman to come in and measure and give me a price. 1 Day for the installer to come over and measure and order all the supplies. And 1 day to install the windows and it looks amazing. Im not sure about other offices but for Long Island I would use John Kennedy at renewal. He gave me his card and was excellent his email is JKRBA@yahoo.com Top notch quality

Many sales people are honest and want to do the very best they can for each of their clients whether it results in a sale or not - yes . . even the "used car salesperson". As for the topic at hand, if a company has been in business for over 100 years they must be doing something right. I'm sure Andersen has problems like most companies do but 100 years is still 100 years. You can do a fair amount of research on your own by going to http://www.nfrc.org. All the specs are there.

My husband and I are looking to replace two entry doors and a gliding door, so my mother (a satisfied Renewal customer - she had all her doors and windows done by them) referred us to RbA. I just had the Renewal salesman in my home yesterday. He brought his catalogs, measured my door frames, went over all the options with me and walked me through building my designs. I was very concerned about keeping my project within a strict budget, and he did not once push me toward the more expensive options. Although he asked if we needed anything else, he did not even try to sell me windows when all I needed were doors. He did not try to get me to make a snap decision either - he took my email so he could send me the designs we had discussed, gave me the pricing information, and went on his merry way. I actually remarked to my husband how impressed I was - the salesman was friendly, personable, and not pushy at all. We have not decided whether or not we will use RbA, but I can say that my experience so far has been positive.

I am so glad I don't have to deal with dumb people like the guy who wrote this article on a daily basis. 1st off, there is no window company by the name of Anderson windows. There is a very old window company that has been around since the 1890's named Andersen though. Renewal By Andersen is made by Andersen windows and is a sister branch. 2nd I am so glad this guy is not a representative for Andersen. If he tried to sell one of the best windows on the market for the price of a 200 or 400 series Andersen window, Renewal would go bankrupt. If he did any kind of research or even paid attention during the presentation he might have noticed the differences. Mainly how much better performing an RBA window is that a normal Andersen window. It is dumb people like this guy that have ruined our society with their statements that they think matter, when in fact the are just a poor man who can't afford RBA windows and is trying to buy windows from a company called Anderson which doesn't exist. Use your head and do some reasearch next time buddy.

We just add French Doors with sidelights installed by "Renewal by Andersen" in Southern California

Everything went wrong with the company and the installers. The hardware was wrong, the window was installed and did not even lock, the quality of glues, panels, frame, paint was miserable, the bottom of the sidelights was grey instead of white ... And more !

It took the company over three months to fix it and they did not even offer a discount after all this ! Throughout the whole ordeal, communication with the company was also horrible.

Most miserable company and customer service around SoCal.

Did not like the must buy today or else sales pitch. The windows look good but can not buy with such intimidation.

This complaint is 100% false. Renewal by Andersen is a division of the Andersen window family which specializes in replacement windows. Much like Andersen window are the #1 new construction windows available, Renewal by Andersen windows are the #1 replacement window available on the market. Many companies have multiple product lines and Andersen windows in no different.

Do not be fooled by this bunch..

All you have to do to determine the involvemebnt of Andersen Corp with Renewal By Andersen is look at the
emails of the folks from Renewal By Andersen and you will notice that their email is

someone@AndersenCorp.com

Buying these crappy windows in 2007 is the most regrettable and expensive mistake I ever made. Five years later My blood still boils everytime I look at them. As I am typing this My curtains are swaying to the breeze of the cold wind blowing through them. Not even close to air tight like they promised. Installers were unprofessional and left cigarette butts, nails and splintered wood all over the place. They installed a bay window and put the center picture window in upside down. Then they attempted to trim the window with 2x8 oak planks that were too short so they mitered the ends of shorter pieces and pieced them together to get the length. Looked ridiculous. After voicing My complaints two other installers showed up weeks later for damage control and righted the picture window and had trim the correct length. But after multiple other visits to stop the air leakage through the double hungs which involved more insulation and alot of weather stripping, they were out of ideas of how to resolve the noticeable air leakage. Eventually they replaced three double hungs with factory fresh new ones in 2008. And guess what? They are just as bad as the first round. I now have resorted to shrink wrapping the windows with plastic every fall till spring. I recently replaced all of My other windows with vinyl Simontons and love em. If I could turn back time I would rather brick in, or cover the window openings with ply wood rather than pay one penny for Renewal. DO NOT BUY THEM! RIP OFF!

This complaint is not accurate, Renewal and Anderson are affiliated. I have Renewal by Anderson windows and I can give an objective opinion. They are not very good windows. Cost: $11, 000.00. for 14 double hungs. The install was bad. The installers were not Renewal employees as the sales guy said. The installers even bragged how they broke their single day window install record. After 3 visits from the repair/service rep and a bad review I sent directly the Anderson Corporate, they sent someone out to remove and reinstall every window. (thank you Corporate) I'm not going to detail the warping issue because they eventually fixed it. I still have 14 poorly built, air leaking windows. I have to add, Renewal has been responsive and came out several times when windows were leaking air and when a frame began cracking. - They fixed it. Overall, the windows are poorly engineered. You have to carefully follow the 5 step procedure after tilting in the window or the top sash will crash all the way down-full speed. I hold on tight every time I unlock a window. Don't let your mother-in-law wash your Renewal windows. I could go on and on. I'll finish by saying, they look nice.

The windows are not the problem; it is the pricing and the sales tactics and a salesman who over-rode my request to do what he thought "best" (reconfirmed by Logan, the "manager" who could "see" why the rep did what he did! (if that makes any sense...what about what I "wanted" for $5600!.)

I (over)paid $5600 for windows (5) that came in different from what I had communicated to the sales rep Mitchell in Dallas. I wanted the largest picture window possible, with a bottom slider. What I got was a picture window with a 30" slider (...hint: not the smallest slider.) The frame between the two windows is some 5-6". The problem: The 6" sashTOTALLY blocks the view of the water behind our home because it is at eye level. I did not communicate that measurement to Mitchell. In fact, to get the most in terms of view...I had asked about a sliding glass door (and was apprised that it was not $ feasible...and I took his word..but I still wanted the best view possible! That didn't change!)

When I called Mitchell to complain, I got: "...Well, you signed the contract. " So, yes, I did sign the contract, and so did Mitchell. Unfortunately, I did not correlate visually the 30" number to the actual installation. Apparently, Mitchell didn't either, ..as I also signed for a 44" casement window that we never discussed at all (...and in no way match/correlates to the 30" high sash with the picture window (RBA doesn't even make 30" casement windows!).

...So on this signed contract, when I called to complain, RBA acknowledged error and replaced the (cheaper) 44" window. However, in the same breath, Mitchell reinforced that I had "signed" for the totally wrong and horrid 30" slider with picture window. It was not his fault, right? How can it be that I signed for one error and not the other? I had several Dallas RBA reps come to my house. Each of them sat on the sofa and acknowledged that the 30" view block was horrible and should NEVER have been sold to me (even if I had requested it...which I did NOT.)

On the zero chance that I had indeed requested such a view blocker, ANY rep worth his salt WOULD, OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN about the 6" frame and apprised me of the frame size and suggested a lower placement of the connecting windows. Common sense...ya think?

My opinion (aka complaint) unanimously confirmed by production manager Kevin, sales manager Logan (except for the part that "he understood why Mitchell did it (aka: disregarded my request for "conformity" which didn't exist on install...); collections manager Yadi and the area manager Ryan ~ all to no avail. In fact, I was admonished by Logan that "I think I know where you are going with this...and you don't want to go there" when I insisted I wanted the window replaced to get rid of the 6" view block at 30". Bottom line: For $5600I don't want to go anywhere...except to my sofa, to sit and enjoy the requested view of the beautiful water behind our modest home; particularly when I may give RBA ANOTHER $8000! Gee whiz, who wouldn't just rush up and sign up for that more abuse from RBA?

Here's the Kicker: my HOA requires site conformity...therefore, I need another $8K (seriously?) in windows on the other side of the house. And the best RBA can do is offer me a whopping $400 credit for THEIR error as compensation for me ... to give them another $8 THOUSAND dollars for additional windows!

As I think about it, I have gotten angrier and more dissatisfied w/my $5600 windows...I call; I get transferred; I talk to somebodty who talks to me and never calls back; I call back, get somebody else who comes out, agrees, and doesn't call back (last: escalated tp area manager Ryan, who hasn't called back either after assurances he would "look into it immediately") However, I did get a call back from Logan the "sales manager" who warned me I "don't want to go there" whatever that means. All I want is the largest picture window with the smallest slider...period.

So, here I am $5600 in the hole w/ NO view as I had requested, getting a whopping $400 credit for THEIR ERROR on another potential $8500 (that's a LOT) expenditure... no calls back, no resolution to my problem...and it is ALL MY FAULT (in spite of the fact that on the cheapest window: it was THEIR fault...how does that work, anyway?

We BOTH signed the flawed contract!) ...Gee, do you wonder why I DO NOT RECOMMEND DALLAS RBA?

So, In summary, if you are in Dallas and you get screwed, as I did...DON'T BOTHER (FOR SURE) CALLING MITCHELL AT [protected];... DON'T BOTHER CALLING KEVIN (production mgr) AT 214.545.0612.; ...DON'T BOTHER CALLING YADI (collections) AT 214.545.0612; AND WHEN THAT ALL FAILS, (...AS IT WILL, )...DON'T BOTHER CALLING LOGAN (Sales Manger) AT 765.717.1212;. In desperation, when you get no service from these folks, then ...DON'T BOTHER CALLING AREA MANAGER RYAN AT 215.681.0007. Nobody will call you back.

So, here I am w/screwed up windows...I get a WHOPPING $400 credit to "entice" me to spend another $8K. I submit a coupon for 40% off every 2nd window, and Logan says: oh that is wrong...takes my coupon...refigures my quote (at today's pricing of course, not from last October) and voila, just like a car salesman...the price is still higher than what he just showed me. Go figure...Honest? I think not. Maybe that is what he meant by: "I think I know where you are going...and you don't want to go there..." What do you think?
BOTTOM LINE: DON'T BUY FROM DALLAS RBA.

help me people help!
i brought the renewal by andersen in october 2013, the rep stated i got a great deal buy 1 window get 2nd half price. i left the rep with my husband because i had to go out .He liked what the rep stated about the window product, so i signed the papers and left. i paid 14, 727.00 for 11 windows. i noticed when i came home and looked at the papers, it did not give a break down per window, just a flat out price of 14727.00 to pay interest free for i year. Every time i look at my windows i feel sick. was i ripped off ! what do you think?

Jesus. I can't believe I am even commenting on these ridiculous post. This business is like any other. Plane tickets, if I buy it 1 month before I am traveling I get a better price yet sit next to you who is eating the same peanuts and drinking a coke just like me. But my price is 50 percent cheaper because of the date of booking. I am sure a company like Andersen has 1000 of reps driving all over the place. If they can save money in expenses, wages and so on why are you offended if they offer you a better deal? And if they want to charge you more in the future because you didn't buy tonight so what! I needed gas yesterday and didn't buy but today I did and paid .10 more a gallon. Everyone does it you just weren't comfortable doing it today. Do you clip coupons to save 1-3$? If so your familiar with this concept. No? So let's see. They spent $50, 000, 000 on advertising, millions on salaries and gave away millions more to people who decided to do business today. Ok so you lose. Then go buy another window and move on.

it sounds like a lot of people need to so straight to the manager the DISCOUNT is a joke the hole replacement window scan is that a scan think about it if the window is bad the hole unit is .replace everything and get a better job .most old window aren't insulated around the frame anyway and isn't that the reason your doing it is to save money?use the Andersen 400 tilt wash unit its the best there is!

I have had Anderson windows in several homes over a 35 year period. Renewal by Anderson is a division of Anderson. My experience with sales and service have been outstanding. Yes, the windows are expensive, but repairs to the damage from my leaking builder grade windows was included in the price.
You can get cheaper windows, but you will not get the total job done. Caution: Anderson covered the entire job not like a cheaper replacement window company that does not repair damage done by the previous window installation.

Just make sure you give the whole picture before you criticize the name of the company. Anderson is a top-notch company that is 100% ethical and does the complete job, nothing left to do after installation.

"You gotta love the internet. Anyone can say anything and some will believe them."

Your post proves it: obviously you have not called Andersen Corp. to get the true facts.

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
-Mark Twain

Well, it's 2017 now guys and RBA just quoted me a little over $2500.00 per window installed! I have 65 x 39 (horizontal) slider windows and was quoted almost $23, 000 dollars to replace 9 (nine!) identical ones in my ranch-style home! Granted, these were full-frame, wood-veneer inside and using their best quality glass but c'mon - the most expensive aluminum-clad window I found from other manufacturers is about $800/each and if I went with fiberglass-clad I could get that down to about $300.00 each. To add a french-style patio door was another $5, 000 so for about $28000 I could have had the entire job done. Sorry, I get that these are good windows, but no way in h-e-double toothpick am I going to drop nearly thirty grand on 9 windows and a door.

Oh...and those quotes were AFTER they had taken 20% off and another 8% and another 3% if I ordered the same day as the presentation. The full (non-discounted) quote for these 9 windows and a patio door was $40, 000!

I have never signed up with this company to receive emails from them, however, I receive countless emails from them on a daily basis. I have requested to be removed from future communication numerous times via the link at the bottom of the page in the Email to no avail.

Signed up for yesnewdress a few months ago and since then I've copped relentless spam, Renewal by Anderson is one of the many spammers. Im getting over 100 every 2 days. I know it was yesnewdress as i changed my name deliberately.

Are you the Jimmy2 Andersen who used to work for Pella?

I had a bay window installed over 2 years ago, nothing but problems. They have replaced it 3 times, still not right. I can't seem to be able to get anyone on the phone to explain this situation, so I am going to see an attorney.

[protected], 6:30 a.m. Alden rd. Fairhaven. One of your drivers kept tailgating my vehicle. I was very nervous and scared.