Pennco Windows

[Stauby]

My future spouse and I are looking at a 2001 home in Louisville, KY.

Upon touring the house, we noticed that one of the windows was not completely shut and latched. Since it is still cold, we attempted to shut and lock the window only to find out that it would not shut all the way, nor lock! And upon looking at other windows throughout the house, found that most of them were in the same condition.

This is a 2001 brick home, and these Pennco windows were installed by the builder. The windows move up and down in the guides easily and freely without any apparent bind. The top window is of rigid construction, so there is no sagging there. We were able to finally get the aluminum window to close by hanging most of our weight on the window and virtually forcing the latches into the locking grooves.

The home owner thinks this is an easy problem to fix.....but I have my doubts.

Is anyone from this website familar with Pennco windows, and if so have you seen this particular problem and know the solution??!?!?!?

Stauby

[tru_blue]

I'm not very familiar with Pennco Windows (sorry), but I do know that they're a small aluminum window company (fewer than 50 employees) with little information at their website. You may wish to contact them if you can't get any answers at
Pennco, Inc.
5601 Roberts Dr.
Ashland, KY 41101
Phone: 606-928-6476
Fax: 606-928-2137

From what you described, it does not sound like an easy fix. It's not like you have wood windows that can be planed down to align at the lock. It could be that the windows are out of square, either from the house settling or bad installation.

Since you have a brick home, there is another possibility that I encounter several times a year, which is installation related to brick. It could be that when the home was originally built, the masons did not leave a 3/8" gap on the bottom between the aluminum windows and the brick/stone sill. This is CRUCIAL when a new home is built. The wood in the home shrinks as it dries out for the first few years, and the shrinking framing in the house actually causes the house to become a 1/4" shorter or so within the first 2 or 3 years. However, the brick does not shrink, so if proper space is not allowed between the window and the brick, the sill of the window, under tremendous pressure, begins to tip up or crown, which makes it hard for the windows to close.

I just recently replaced every window in a home in which the new windows were custom ordered 1/2" shorter than the originals for this very reason. All of the windows still worked in this case (they were aluminum clad wood), but none of the screens would fit because all of the sills were tipped up from being too tight against the brick. The new homeowners had their lawyers sue the original homeowner, the builder, the mason, and probably anyone they could think of to recover the cost of the new windows in this particular home. It was a $30,000 problem.

[JR]

In reply to the post by "Stauby" I have found that the PENNCO Co. is very hard if not impossible to deal with. They may be a very small company but they make or produce so very poor quality product in my opinion. I have approx. 30 of their windows in my home and over 70% of them are leaking gas and fogging. Should you try and speak with a company rep...goodluck! Rude and not helpful at all. I am presently involved in contacting the Better Business Bureau in that area for some help.
JR

[penncoman]

..

[artworksmetal]

My house is ten years old. About 90 % of my windows are leaking at the seals, and they look terrible.

[kyrealtor]

I'm a Realtor and work for a builder that installs Pennco windows. The trick to closing, latching and locking the window is this. You have to place your weight in the middle of the window. Do not pull toward yourself. You must push straight down. The window will then latch together where the top and bottom window comes together. Many people want to pull inward when they're pushing down and that prevents the windows from latching. Once the window latches you have the window in place and can lock the window. Something to think about regarding how easy or hard the window is to move up and down, is the change in temperature. Because the windows are cased in wood and wood is a natural product, you may experience some expansion and contraction like with any product. This could be some of the reason you may have trouble. P.S. a quick trick to opening and closing windows easily in general---spray some pledge or endust in the track of the window. This product shouldn't collect buildup like something like WD-40. You should see some improvement.

[bakerhaub]

I've got Pennco double hung vinyl windows in my new house. They are horrible. One has cracked from the cold weather and they all leak.

On most windows you can see daylight between the sash and the frame. Mine have a very cheap weatherstrip of plastic and felt. I am currently researching how I can replace all of those weatherstrips with something that will be effective.

Others in the neighborhood have the same problem. All I can say is if you install Pennco windows and it's cold in your area...have a pair of slippers ready and crank up the heat.

[evansbuilthomes]

I also have Pennco vinyl double hung windows in my personal home that I built. Pennco was a price point window that many builders were using to be competitive. They were "supposedly" a step up from Capitol windows. To me the windows are junk, but as always in life you get what you pay for. You want a cheap car, get a YUGO. You want a car that is quality and will last, you will need to spend the money.

[Diydad]

I Have a quarter round window that the seal broke, and it has moisture in between the panes.
I called Pennco Windows and talked to Doug he was very helpful.
Give them a call and check it out yourself.