The Ecotech installers came to our home in January 2017 to replace all windows and a door.
The installers showed up and removed all of our windows and the door all at once in the dead of winter.
There was a strong, freezing cold draft throughout the house which was carrying dust and insulation all over our home. Doors were slamming open and closed because of the strong wind ripping through our home.
The crew then decided they were going to break for lunch at our kitchen table while our home still had half of the windows pulled out while we sat there in our winter coats and covered in blankets shivering.
The crew finished their lunch without bothering to clean up pieces of food,crumbs and peanut butter smeared on the table.
They left the first day once the new windows were installed but said they would come back the next day to caulk and do the exterior work.
They left our home in shambles.
There was chunks of insulation and dust on every surface of our home. They left screws all over our property. They left pieces of trim with nails sticking out, screws, exacto blades, drywall, and insulation chunks scattered across our deck which is where our dog uses to go to the washroom.
They also left all of our old windows leaned up on our neighbours house and fence and windows scattered across our property.
I had to spend hours cleaning the interior of our home just to make it livable and so I could put my dog down on the ground and not have to worry about him eating insulation. Every surface of my home needed to be cleaned and wiped, vacuumed and swept. Even now, weeks after I am still finding dust settling around the house daily as it obviously made it into my vents as well.
They treated our home like a dump.
When they came back the second day to do the exterior work they left several things half done and even said they could not complete all of the exterior caulking because they couldn't reach their gun to finish it. The installers then loaded up the old windows and larger pieces of garage from my property but still leaving behind screws, insulation and bits of wood all over the front and backyard.
The installers wanted to me pay the remainder of what we owed on the spot but I told them my husband would need to see the windows before I handed over a cheque and they reluctantly agreed.
When my husband got home from work he was appalled to see the "finished job".
The flashing that they installed was done incorrectly. There were golf ball sized holes along where the flashing and siding meet up to one another allowing for water and snow to accumulate.
They chose not to install new drip edges for many of the windows and left the old ones up which they had all bent up and that did not span the width of our windows allowing weather and moisture to get beyond the siding and flashing. We paid for stud to stud new installation which means we should have received all new drip edges.
As stated before they also did not finish the caulking because they said they couldn't.
We could feel a draft from almost every window inside our home and an extreme draft coming from under the sliding door.
We contacted the Ecotech sales representative and told him all of our issues. We said that we would pay the remainder we owed when the job was finished and the issues were addressed. The sales rep asked us to write an email addressing all of our concerns and to send it to him and he would forward it to the owner Mark.
We wrote an email and included photos as well and gave a summary of all of the issues and complaints we had about the crew as well.
The secretary for Ecotech spoke with my husband over the phone and told him our email was sent to the owner Mark and everyone, including the crew.
We told the sales rep we were not comfortable having the same installation crew back in our home after what we went through the first time and especially since they know we complained. We wanted someone competent to fix the mistakes and shotty workmanship they left us with.
The sales rep said he spoke with the owner Mark and he refused to send a different crew.
We asked to have the owner Mark call us. Mark first called my husband and was unapologetic and stated that if we had issues he would send the same crew and that he didn't have anyone else. My husband said we both did not want the same crew back and that I, his wife was uncomfortable having them back to our home. Mark then got off the phone with my husband and immediately called me and began pestering me to agree to have them back in our home. I briefly reminded Mark of all the reasons I did not want the same installers back in our home and he continued to pester me and raise his voice saying we had no other options and we could just pay him the remainder.
I told him according to the contract we were to pay the remainder when the work was all completed to our satisfaction and it was not. Mark began to raise his voice more and mentioned taking each other to court.
I was extremely uneasy with how angry he was becoming over the phone and told him I had to go and was firm on my decision that he find another crew to complete the work.
A day or so later I received a text from Mark saying he would send another person not from the original crew to fix our issues to our satisfaction and we could negotiate the remaining balance due to the hours of cleanup and if there were any issues that could not be resolved.
2 weeks after the original installation, this person arrived to our home and did a satisfactory job in completing most of the errors of the original crew. He installed new flashing where it was needed.
He still could not finish the caulking on one window.
With our cheque book in hand we were passed the phone by the installer with the owner Mark on the other line to discuss the remaining balance.
My husband and I thought that a $500 discount was appropriate due to all of the cleaning (at least 24 hours worth in total and we had just had our ducts cleaned prior to installation which were now flooded with dust and debris) and the fact that we now had to hire someone else to complete the exterior caulking that was left.
Mark became extremely belligerent with my husband and began cursing and yelling. My husband asked Mark what he thought my time was worth considering how many hours I spent cleaning the mess they left and Mark replied "she's at home all day anyway what else does she have to do". Mark then threatened he would have all of the windows in our home ripped out. My husband told him calmly several times that he did not need to swear and treat us like garbage until he began to get frustrated and yell back.
Mark then agreed to the $500 discount after the threat to rip out our windows and my husband passed the phone back over to the installer. My husband and I were fearful of the phone conversation and threats and decided to write out the cheque only deducting $200 off instead of the $500 and be done with it.
Once the installer left my cell phone rang and I picked up not recognizing the number. It was Mark. I immediately told him his installer had left and had the cheque in his hand and not to contact us ever again. Mark began to yell and that's when I told him not to speak to me or contact me again and that I would be writing reviews letting people know what service and treatment we received from his company followed by me hanging up as he was still yelling.
We are now very fearful that Mark or someone will return and vandalize our property or belongings. We are fearful in our own home now. This is the service and treatment we received when we paid almost $8000 to have a professional company work on our home.
This was our honest experience with Ecotech windows and doors company.
