I installed 30 pella windows about 1985 in a house rework and expansion. The are of the the unsealed type. My house was built in the 1949 by a person with a hammer in one hand and a brown bear bottle in the other. We discovered the empty bottle stash during the foundation expansion. The pella list was 20ea. 42x16 swing out casement with rolls screens, 4ea. 42x16 fixed, 3ea. double hung, and 3ea. swing out awning. I bought pella because at the time friends were having having seal problem with Anderson. Every seal on the pella windows leaked. Moist inside air was getting between the panes. So much cold air was coming in the top weep hole going out the bottom holes the the lower inside glass temperature almost matched outside air temperature. Called pella the first North East winter after instillation with moisture problems between and on the bottom inside. The first words out of their mouth was " THEY WERE NOT INSTALLED CORRECTLY." And by the way they would not come out to inspect them. Years later I was going through the paper on the house and found papers from the windows. The papers stated that there was a long term warranty on the seal. The warranty period was not expired. I called pella " we do not make that product any more. Your window do not have a seal that we warranty. " MY REAL REASON FOR THIS RANT IS. I want to get rid of the roll screens. The seal at the top of the window is poor and we never use them anyway. DOES PATTERN FOR ENDS OF THE TOP INNER STOP EXIST.
Meant to add a thank you for your video-it will save me a ton of aggravation as I begin figuring out how to remove these windows as my calls to Pella have so far not yielded any call backs at all.--again-thank you for the time you spent video, describing and posting.
Your workmanship is really nice! A concern is the fact that by using treated lumber, a corrosive reaction will take place between the chemical salts used as a wood preservative and the aluminum cladding. It will take several years but is a near certainty. Larson Storm Doors had this problem when they first started using treated plywood cores on their aluminum clad products and replaced many doors. They began using composite cores to mitigate the problem. If you read the warnings and recommendations on aluminum trim coil and the treated wood, they are very clear that aluminum coil and non-galvanized fasteners are not to be used on treated lumber products.
You are right. I know its usual practice to use galvanized or stainless in contact with pressure treated. Of course the trim is aluminum. I debated the use of treated wood. It seems to me that for corrosion to happen an electrolyte needs to be present, such as soggy soil in a ground contact application. In our climate my windows should have a chance to be dried out the vast majority of the time. The wood should only get wet if there is a seal failure. The next time, I might use composite if I could get the interior finish to look right.
Same thing has happened to me ... 5 windows... ROTTED Sash ON BOTTOM. Pella says over $1000 per windows to change a Sash only!! Sister has same age home with ANdersen. No Rotting. Pella says the old class action law suit is now closed and it's time to screw a new set of existing Pella customers.
Thank you so much for this detailed description. I was ready to pay someone to do mine. But I think with this I can do it. If I make the parts ahead of time, I can see having the pane out for a very short period. Is it possible to get a PDF document with the drawing, rather than having to take it from the video clip?
geezeguy: Thank you for this video. I have a Pella Double Hung window. the bootm rail of the upper sash is rotted. I'll follow what you have done here. But can you provide any helpful hits for the Double Hung ? It would be very much appreciated. Pella says they no longer manufacture repalcemnt Sash for this year window (1994). The only option they offered was to remove the entire window and replace it with a new unit. The costs is $2,000. But the skill and labor to do that will require more expenses , as the outside Cedar House trim must be completly removed to get to the Nailing Flange. Thank you much in advance.
@@laredokarl Karl, First I told Pella to 'F' Off. Then We went with Renewal by Anderson. Expensive, but it did not disturb the inside Trim, nor the Outside Cedar Cladding. We did 4 Windows . Good luck.
How can Pella be so hideously cause so many people, who pay top dollar so much trouble and expense and stress. No soul! Evil greed! What are they still doing in business!?
hmmm I am mechanically incline person or I like to think I am until I saw your dwgs can I send you one you can make one for me actually I need four lol
Geezer, Since yours was fixed, it appears you had to destroy the old sash to remove it. My sashes are movable. Guessing you would have suggested using a hand saw or a vibrating saw to disassemble the mortise joints? Even still they're hard to get apart, esp if trying to save the glass! I'm slo but 2 hours for removing clading, diesel fuel, razor knifing edges, and sawing apart the joints. Only a job for the careful and the most determined among us.
Thanks for the comment. Yes, there was minor decay under the sash, but a filler strip did the trick. So far the repair is holding up well and appearance wise, can't tell the repaired windows from originals.
Can't help but laugh at the Pella posting asking you to contact them. There are a number of videos regarding the Pella window rot problems as well as extensive comments about how unresponsive Pella is. I can attest to that. I am working with a customer who has Pella windows that are a few years out of warranty and I have been trying for two months to get replacement panels--and I am willing to pay for them, but the endless unreturned phone calls and ignored e-mails are making me think that their customer service is the worst ever. I was talking to another Pella customer last night who remembered just how hard it was to get anything that looked like service from Pella when they were building their house. Pella-I am not impressed and figure that I am going to end up going the route of rebuilding the window frame myself-much as you did-rather than waste any more time on these idiots.
Hello there, excellent work. I'm dealing with the same problem on a few windows and would like to try this. I have a question, where did you get measurements sheet you used to make the cuts?
I used a piece of existing stock that was not rotted and measured it, then drew it up in a CAD program. You should verify the dimensions. There could be small errors, though mine worked well. Its now 2-1/2 years later and all is well. I used a thin kerf blade in a table saw to get the narrow slots.
I have the same issue as you did. About 6 Pella casement windows plus 2 Sliders with wood rot on bottom rail. Were you able to repair or did you replace them?
Pella Architect classic series windows. Same exact issue. Pella's response: There is no warranty on the wood sash. 1,000 per sash to change out with new. Other window companies consulted want 30,000 for just four window sash replacements. We have 11 rotting sashes and two doors. I wish I could find a craftsman who could do this for me. I wish I could find a lawyer to take on these thieving, window shysters'.
Its been 8 years since I did my repair and windows I fixed are doing fine. The repair is a pain, but then so is replacement. My home is brick so access to nailing flange is difficult.
Nearly $500 to buy a new top sash for one of my Pella double-hung windows after a bird flew into it and shattered the glass. Re-glazing not an option. They'll provide the labor for ~$160 more, not including the staining and varnishing to match existing. Pella *SUCKS!*
Last year I put new glass in an Eagle casement window myself. Local glass shop custom made 55x25 thermopane glass for $130. I was able to install w/o removing cladding though is was a bit of a pain. Pella is a little less DIY friendly. Couldn't comment on double-hung aspect. My Pellas would require cladding removal I think.
Mine can apparently be re-glazed by removing the stops on the inside. I've now asked Pella 3 times for information on removing the sashes from the window and have gotten nothing back. ~2 years ago I had to replace the active leaf on a ~20 year-old Pella sliding door because the "seal" between the glass and cladding leaked and the bottom rail rotted out. >$1100 for the new leaf plus (my) labor to stain to match, varnish, and remove & reinstall, and no discount despite the fact that it was clearly product failure. Pella sees nothing wrong with soaking their customers once they've stuck them with no other option but to buy from them. *NEVER AGAIN!*
The learning curve on the first one was a couple days. Next three only a faction as long. Can't buy parts from Pella. They are happy to sell new windows though. So maybe there was a revenge element in the project. Besides, I'm retired, so I can do things like that.
Just repaired 8 of my 16 windows. I caught a few early enough that I could just use wood putty. Some I needed to add wood. The lower sil rot called my attention to the issue. My 1-2 day job started last week. Turned out nice. Gmail DrColg8 if near Reading, PA & need help ;)
I installed 30 pella windows about 1985 in a house rework and expansion. The are of the the unsealed type. My house was built in the 1949 by a person with a hammer in one hand and a brown bear bottle in the other. We discovered the empty bottle stash during the foundation expansion. The pella list was 20ea. 42x16 swing out casement with rolls screens, 4ea. 42x16 fixed, 3ea. double hung, and 3ea. swing out awning. I bought pella because at the time friends were having having seal problem with Anderson. Every seal on the pella windows leaked. Moist inside air was getting between the panes. So much cold air was coming in the top weep hole going out the bottom holes the the lower inside glass temperature almost matched outside air temperature.
Called pella the first North East winter after instillation with moisture problems between and on the bottom inside. The first words out of their mouth was " THEY WERE NOT INSTALLED CORRECTLY." And by the way they would not come out to inspect them.
Years later I was going through the paper on the house and found papers from the windows. The papers stated that there was a long term warranty on the seal. The warranty period was not expired. I called pella " we do not make that product any more. Your window do not have a seal that we warranty. "
MY REAL REASON FOR THIS RANT IS.
I want to get rid of the roll screens. The seal at the top of the window is poor and we never use them anyway. DOES PATTERN FOR ENDS OF THE TOP INNER STOP EXIST.
Meant to add a thank you for your video-it will save me a ton of aggravation as I begin figuring out how to remove these windows as my calls to Pella have so far not yielded any call backs at all.--again-thank you for the time you spent video, describing and posting.
Nice job sir. I'm fixing my rotted aluminum clad Pella Proline windows myself.
Your workmanship is really nice! A concern is the fact that by using treated lumber, a corrosive reaction will take place between the chemical salts used as a wood preservative and the aluminum cladding. It will take several years but is a near certainty. Larson Storm Doors had this problem when they first started using treated plywood cores on their aluminum clad products and replaced many doors. They began using composite cores to mitigate the problem. If you read the warnings and recommendations on aluminum trim coil and the treated wood, they are very clear that aluminum coil and non-galvanized fasteners are not to be used on treated lumber products.
You are right. I know its usual practice to use galvanized or stainless in contact with pressure treated. Of course the trim is aluminum. I debated the use of treated wood. It seems to me that for corrosion to happen an electrolyte needs to be present, such as soggy soil in a ground contact application. In our climate my windows should have a chance to be dried out the vast majority of the time. The wood should only get wet if there is a seal failure. The next time, I might use composite if I could get the interior finish to look right.
Priming before assembly should fix this.
Same thing has happened to me ... 5 windows... ROTTED Sash ON BOTTOM. Pella says over $1000 per windows to change a Sash only!! Sister has same age home with ANdersen. No Rotting. Pella says the old class action law suit is now closed and it's time to screw a new set of existing Pella customers.
Saved for later reference, hope I don't need it. Thanks
Thank you so much for this detailed description. I was ready to pay someone to do mine. But I think with this I can do it. If I make the parts ahead of time, I can see having the pane out for a very short period. Is it possible to get a PDF document with the drawing, rather than having to take it from the video clip?
geezeguy: Thank you for this video. I have a Pella Double Hung window. the bootm rail of the upper sash is rotted. I'll follow what you have done here. But can you provide any helpful hits for the Double Hung ? It would be very much appreciated. Pella says they no longer manufacture repalcemnt Sash for this year window (1994). The only option they offered was to remove the entire window and replace it with a new unit. The costs is $2,000. But the skill and labor to do that will require more expenses , as the outside Cedar House trim must be completly removed to get to the Nailing Flange. Thank you much in advance.
I’ve got the exact same problem. What did you end up doing?
@@laredokarl Karl, First I told Pella to 'F' Off. Then We went with Renewal by Anderson. Expensive, but it did not disturb the inside Trim, nor the Outside Cedar Cladding. We did 4 Windows . Good luck.
How can Pella be so hideously cause so many people, who pay top dollar so much trouble and expense and stress. No soul! Evil greed! What are they still doing in business!?
Do you think your wood CAD specs are the same for Pella Designer series?
Geezer, is it possible to get the precise sizes of the router or shaper tools you used?
Its been so long I don't remember the tooling. I do recall needing an extra narrow kerf table saw blade.
Excellent job but how the heck can a regular joe cut thoses cut from the dwgs or is there a short cut ?
Wasn't too hard. I found a defect free 2x4 and used a table saw with a narrow kerf blade. Need to plan out the sequence of cuts naturally.
hmmm I am mechanically incline person or I like to think I am until I saw your dwgs can I send you one you can make one for me actually I need four lol
Geezer,
Since yours was fixed, it appears you had to destroy the old sash to remove it. My sashes are movable. Guessing you would have suggested using a hand saw or a vibrating saw to disassemble the mortise joints?
Even still they're hard to get apart, esp if trying to save the glass!
I'm slo but 2 hours for removing clading, diesel fuel, razor knifing edges, and sawing apart the joints. Only a job for the careful and the most determined among us.
Excellent video. Did you have any rot in the framing below the sash?
Thanks for the comment. Yes, there was minor decay under the sash, but a filler strip did the trick. So far the repair is holding up well and appearance wise, can't tell the repaired windows from originals.
Anyway to seal it before it get this bad?
Can't help but laugh at the Pella posting asking you to contact them. There are a number of videos regarding the Pella window rot problems as well as extensive comments about how unresponsive Pella is. I can attest to that. I am working with a customer who has Pella windows that are a few years out of warranty and I have been trying for two months to get replacement panels--and I am willing to pay for them, but the endless unreturned phone calls and ignored e-mails are making me think that their customer service is the worst ever. I was talking to another Pella customer last night who remembered just how hard it was to get anything that looked like service from Pella when they were building their house. Pella-I am not impressed and figure that I am going to end up going the route of rebuilding the window frame myself-much as you did-rather than waste any more time on these idiots.
Hello there, excellent work. I'm dealing with the same problem on a few windows and would like to try this. I have a question, where did you get measurements sheet you used to make the cuts?
I used a piece of existing stock that was not rotted and measured it, then drew it up in a CAD program. You should verify the dimensions. There could be small errors, though mine worked well. Its now 2-1/2 years later and all is well. I used a thin kerf blade in a table saw to get the narrow slots.
I have a casement windows which rotted out the bottom rail what I need to do is replace it can I do this and do you know of any videos
I have the same issue as you did. About 6 Pella casement windows plus 2 Sliders with wood rot on bottom rail. Were you able to repair or did you replace them?
Pella Architect classic series windows. Same exact issue. Pella's response: There is no warranty on the wood sash. 1,000 per sash to change out with new. Other window companies consulted want 30,000 for just four window sash replacements. We have 11 rotting sashes and two doors. I wish I could find a craftsman who could do this for me. I wish I could find a lawyer to take on these thieving, window shysters'.
Its been 8 years since I did my repair and windows I fixed are doing fine. The repair is a pain, but then so is replacement. My home is brick so access to nailing flange is difficult.
I have original Pella single pane casement windows with a removable inside storm panel. Do you sell replacement sash stock so I can repair my windows?
No! Its a DIY project. I included a drawing made off the old Pella parts so folks could make their own if desired.
Dam you did good work come do mine ill pay you
junk windows... and andersen's too
Nearly $500 to buy a new top sash for one of my Pella double-hung windows after a bird flew into it and shattered the glass. Re-glazing not an option. They'll provide the labor for ~$160 more, not including the staining and varnishing to match existing. Pella *SUCKS!*
Last year I put new glass in an Eagle casement window myself. Local glass shop custom made 55x25 thermopane glass for $130. I was able to install w/o removing cladding though is was a bit of a pain. Pella is a little less DIY friendly. Couldn't comment on double-hung aspect. My Pellas would require cladding removal I think.
Mine can apparently be re-glazed by removing the stops on the inside. I've now asked Pella 3 times for information on removing the sashes from the window and have gotten nothing back.
~2 years ago I had to replace the active leaf on a ~20 year-old Pella sliding door because the "seal" between the glass and cladding leaked and the bottom rail rotted out. >$1100 for the new leaf plus (my) labor to stain to match, varnish, and remove & reinstall, and no discount despite the fact that it was clearly product failure. Pella sees nothing wrong with soaking their customers once they've stuck them with no other option but to buy from them. *NEVER AGAIN!*
Where are you located , I have work for you if interested.....smile
Mine did the same they should get sued
This is exactly what happened to my window. I needed to hire a carpenter to repair. What a headache!
Pella sucks and add a casement window to the equation is pure maddening. I will never own a casement window again. A hard no
15 dollars a window and 2 weeks! There are easier ways sir. But if you have the time and a shop your good to go! Have fun!
The learning curve on the first one was a couple days. Next three only a faction as long. Can't buy parts from Pella. They are happy to sell new windows though. So maybe there was a revenge element in the project. Besides, I'm retired, so I can do things like that.
I have pella proline casement windows and they are total junk!! Do not buy you will regret. Lots of excuses from pella. Viewed to be the worst!!
Just repaired 8 of my 16 windows. I caught a few early enough that I could just use wood putty. Some I needed to add wood. The lower sil rot called my attention to the issue. My 1-2 day job started last week. Turned out nice. Gmail DrColg8 if near Reading, PA & need help ;)