We just finished building our new house and we feel like the Simonton windows might have some issues. I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is normal or not so I thought I'd post my issues here and see what you guys think.

1. The screens on some of our have a gap on the side larger then others. In some cases I can move the screen side to side and there's about a 3/8" gap that I've actually seen bugs crawling through into the house. On some days we have to keep the window closed because bugs keep coming in.

2. Some windows are extremely hard to lock. I have to pull the window down with my body weight to get it down far enough to lock. Otherwise the lock just pushes agains the top pane and doesn't actually go into the lock slot.

3. In the winter we would see circles of frost form on the picture windows in the center of the window.

 

Welcome to the forums! It sounds as if you have an installation problem, more than a product problem. Would it be possible for you to post a few pictures showing the out-of-squareness and other problem areas (no close ups, please, we know what they look like ). It sure would help us analyze the problem and offer good suggestions. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

 

When you experienced the frost, did you have drapes closed in front of it? Pictures, yes.

Bud

 

Thanks for the quick responses. I've attached some photos of the gap in the side of the screen. Not sure how well you can see it. We have dozens of dead bugs in the bottom of this particular window because they keep crawling in and maybe not finding their way out??

I don't have a photo of the frost/condensation on the windows. It was only an issue a few times in the winter. The 2 windows are 5x5 picture windows. It was a well defined circle. A bit of an oval vertically, but the edges were well defined. We have no draps, curtains or anything on those windows.

I'm not sure how to capture the locking issue. If you close the window with 1 arm pretty hard you still have 1/8" to 1/4" left to push down until you can actually lock it. So I put my body weight on top of it and then lock them. And even then I have to look in to make sure it's locked.

In the wintertime I didn't lock them at first (or thought they were locked and didn't realize I had to push down more to get it to actually lock) and I could feel a cold breeze blowing in through the top of the pane that slides up and down. In some cases it took 2 of us to push the window down enough to lock. Once locked the cold breeze stopped.

(sorry the pics are rotated 90 deg counter clockwise)

 

Got a 4' level and a framing square?
Check the jambs to see it there plumb and square.
I only install Simonton or Wincor and never had an issue with them.
Installed wrong any window is going to give you trouble.

 

My first thought is that you might have the screen installed upside down.

Other possibility is that's normal for that style of window. Some screens have to have about that much play on one side in order for the springs to have room to compress and tighten.

Another idea... some windows have vinyl spacer blocks that the side of the screens set against, which along with the springs mentioned earlier, helps to space the screen correctly. If the screens weren't installed and someone didn't know what they were and threw those spacer blocks away that would be bad.

As far as difficulty locking, if the window is out of square, that will make locking hard. But most commonly the top sash comes down just a little when you shut the front sash. Make sure the top sash is all the way up, the bottom sash is all the way down. The top of the sash should line up nicely with the bottom edge of the top sash. If it appears crooked (higher on one end than the other) then something is likely out of square. People who leave their windows unlocked for months on end usually will experience more difficulty locking their windows than those who lock them regularly.

 

Simonton uses spring loaded screens.

 

Yeah, that's why I mentioned the springs.

 

I used a square and level and from what I can tell I think the windows are square and level. When I close the window, the top of the bottom pane (the one that moves) is equal height above the bottom of the top pane. Hopefully that made sense. Basically, there isn't 1 side of the window that sticks up more than another side.

The top pane doesn't move up or down so it's not that it's not pushed all the way up.

If I push the pane all the way down I can get it level with the top pane, but when I let go they all "spring" up 1/8" to 1/4" above the bottom of the top pane so I can't lock them without holding down the pane with force. It is level though. So this is an issue I should bring up to the builder?

I'm thinking I'll contact the builder with these 3 issues and have them come out to look at it. I just want to make sure these are legit issues and not just a typical thing. I appreciate all the help!

 

Tech Note: That's the lower sash and the upper sash you're referring to. The pane is the piece of glass.

 

Bring the lower sash to a position where it is almost closed and observe the gap of light between the sash and the bottom frame of the window. You should have an even gap... not 1/8" of light on one side and 1/4" of light on the other. Also the frame should not be bowed up in the middle. This is another way of checking the window for square.

What you are experiencing is probably just a stiff bulb weatherstrip on the bottom of the window. It usually gets smashed down over time, provided the windows get kept locked. This would fall under the category of normal window operation and there is nothing that can be done about it.

 

Looking at the bottom sash in an almost closed position, it seems it bows up very slightly in the middle. At most 1/8" higher in the center. Is that enough to worry about?

 

1/8" would be enough bow to give you difficulty shutting the window, and would be a valid installation complaint. When you shut the window, you are basically fighting that 1/8" of bow when trying to get the sashes locked. The sill should be perfectly flat... if it was, you would likely have no trouble locking them.