Kolbe Windows Looking Pretty Good From Here

I've had Koble wood casement windows for almost 10 years and have been battling with Koble since day 1 on the "film" mark left below the windows that attract dirt. They say it's only dirt although my husband SCRUBS the siding twice a year to only have it ruining our siding over the decade and the windows still look like crap. We figure it must be a UV coating or something? I would NEVER buy Kolbe AGAIN!!!!!!!!
PS 2 vinyl Koble windows on our garage dont have the same problem and they can't explain it, yet wont do anything about the rest of the house? Thanks for nothing!
PSS Our neighbors have asked what happened to our house and we gladly explain we have Koble windows.

Posted by: guest at November 7, 2007 1:16 PM

I designed a beatiful home and wanted to put in quality widows. I had heard good things about Kolbe so I went with them....oops! The windows look beautiful but that's it! The distributor delivered smashed window frames both on the interior side and exterior, but didn't document it properly so therefor "wasn't responsible" because it must have happened at installation. It tooks months to get Kolbe's rep out here and when she finally came, there was no evidence of a problem because we fixed it and wanted to move in. I', not delaying a move in on their ineptness. Their sound insulation quality sucks and the company rep. was an arrogant pain in the ass who only tried to placate me and then called me a liar. Customer service MY ASS. I can NEVER RECOMMEND a company with such poor representation.

Posted by: guest at December 31, 2007 2:45 PM

Look into the Pella Architect series. They are beefed up and historically correct. The new york Historical Preservation society actually ranks and prefers Pella at the top of the list. Pella is also less than a handful of windows that is registered with the national parks service as being historically accurate and allowed to be used on those projects.

Posted by: guest at May 2, 2008 10:17 AM

Look into the Pella Architect series. They are beefed up and historically correct. The new york Historical Preservation society actually ranks and prefers Pella at the top of the list. Pella is also less than a handful of windows that is registered with the national parks service as being historically accurate and allowed to be used on those projects.

Posted by: guest at May 2, 2008 10:18 AM

We use Pella all the time in the city especially on Historic projects. they have an awesome team and support it just depends on who you use. Look them in their manhattan office and ask for Brian. He is who we deal with and things go smoothly. They really know their stuff there. They will also tell you if they can't do a job and not just sell you something to get a dollar and then leave you hanging after the issues reveal themselves.

Posted by: guest at May 2, 2008 10:20 AM

I work for Kolbe and although I have not been with them long I have to say from my 20 years in the construction industry they are solid. I toured their factory and what I saw was hard working PEOPLE. Not robots with assembly lines. One of the points in taking the job was their family environment. They have the size and volume to lead a typical corperate red tape and "guru Im better than you" attitude that I have seen all to well with large companies.. but it doesnt exist with Kolbe. They are a flexible unit with a laid back atmosphere that obviously has stuck to some moral grounding. They market the higher end for a reason and that reason is simply quality is better than quantity.

Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 5:51 PM

I have been in the luxury wood clad window industry for over 22 years and have seen all the competition. In my opinion Kolbe has one of the best products on the market in their "Ultra" series extruded aluminum clad window, period. They are clean looking and have tons of options and with a 30 year warranty on their exterior paint finish and stainless steel hardware as standard. Compare that to your overpriced competitors. As far as backing the product, every major brand will just about bend over backward to take care of a customer. Sounds like some comments above should be directed at the dealer they worked with and not the manufacturer. Don't believe everything you read from a pissed off person! Shop the products and decide for yourself, if Kolbe built nothing but crap they wouldn't be in business for over 60 years. I also would highly recommend Loewen windows for top of the line quality.

Posted by: guest at May 28, 2008 2:18 PM

My wife and I built a new house 11 years ago. We thought Kolbe & Kolbe windows would be good windows. Wrong! Three rotted out while still in the 10 year warranty period. Three more were rotted this year when we opened them up. I've yet to see a Kolbe & Kolbe rep. My builder and his distributor took care of them in the first 10 years. Neither one of them use Kolbe & Kolbe any more.

Posted by: guest at May 30, 2008 2:07 PM

I assume you have Kolbe Kkron painted wood exterior windows not aluminum clad windows. All wood exterior windows, even Kolbe prefinished windows with Kkron paint need to be maintained regularly. Wood expands and contracts, so joints must be checked regularly and resealed, the install must not allow any moisture to get into the window frames. Did you even read the warranty? Sounds like your builder and distributer took care of the issues for the first 10 becuase they didn't tell you about the maintenance you are resposible for, and knew that the manufacturer could not help them due to failure to adhere to the warranty either that or they did a poor install. In fairness, you should call Kolbe directly and give them a chance, don't rely on your builder or distributer. In short, it doesn't sound like a product problem to me. Sounds like an install or maintenance issue.

Posted by: guest at May 30, 2008 4:13 PM

Well, you should know better than to assume.
They were top of the line kolbe windows, metal clad. Everyone of the windows that rotted, rotted out on the bottom of the window frame. Also, I said we haven't talked to kolbe rep, I didn't say that we haven't tried.

Posted by: guest at May 30, 2008 8:58 PM

You are right, I found they have been making roll form clad exterior since the 80's. Anyway, in my experience, I have never seen the bottom window frame rot out on a clad product unless from water intrusion due to poor installation/ flashing of unit or water intrusion from the roofline or soffit (and I am from Washington State where it rains and snows ALOT). If a frame corner leaks, it should be evident on the interior quite soon (not 11 years down the road) as the wood window frame will absorb the moisture causing staining of wood and/or lifting paint. All I am saying is there may be other reasons that the frame got wet and rotted and you shouldn't be so quick to blame the window manufacturer for your aggravations.Your windows can be water tested by Kolbe to find any leaks in the frame which would determine if the window was the culpret.Call Kolbe direct 800-955-8666 if you have problems, do not rely on your local rep if he has not taken care of you.
Hope your problem gets resolved.

Posted by: guest at June 3, 2008 4:47 PM

We are looking to purchase Kolbe vinyl windows for a new construction? Any comments/advice would be appreciated.

Posted by: guest at June 29, 2008 9:22 PM