Meridian Windows & Doors (Alberta) Inc. No Longer In Business

Just few words about Meridian Windows Alberta. These guys know what they do and how to do. Andrey, sales representative came to my place in mid July 2011 and I ordered 3 windows and a door. Since August 10, 2011 I have my windows and a door installed. One year has gone and I have no remorses or complains, just to say thanks and to recommend you to my friends. Stephan D. my friend had ordered 2 doors in October 2012 with Andrey and now he has his doors done to his satisfaction.

I have used Meridian Windows and Doors for three separate jobs and have found there prices to be very competitive and their product of very good quality.
The installers did a good job. On one occasion they returned at my request to make adjustments to a door installation as some of the weatherstripping was allowing a small amount of cold air to enter the house. But they did repair it right away.
The installers explained the functioning of the window components to me, although their english was not perfect and a bit hard to understand.

I had a frustrating time in dealing with Meridian windows. I received windows that I cancelled, was mislead to believe that Meridian manufactures it own windows, and the installation was sloppy. If you order white laminate windows with white vinyl casing, Meridian probably can do a decent job. There are not a lot of complaints about this company however they all probably ordered white windows. Here is my story.
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Gena, the sales agent came to my house to recommend some new windows. He offered me at no charge compared to white windows, oak laminate and real oak casing to match the oak inside my house. The exterior would be colored to match the trim of my house. After viewing the show home we agreed. A few days later he called and said he could not get real oak in a circular trim and had to use a vinyl laminate. The next business day I e-mailed him to cancel the order as we did not want a vinyl looking finish on the inside. He called back and I still did not want it even though he said "everything would be perfect."
A month later the installation team calls to book an installation date. I called Gena and told him that this order was suppose to be cancelled. He convinced me that the windows "would be perfect" and I agreed to proceed. I e-mailed him to have the casing delivered 2 weeks before the installation day so that I could stain the casing. The day before the installation day the casing does not arrive so I e-mail Gena why the casing has not arrived and if the installation day was still on.
The window installation would take 3 days. The windows arrive and I notice that they were manufactured by someone else. I called Gena and questioned him that his pamphlets and web-site imply that Meridian manufacture their own windows. His reply was that Meridian used to manufacture its own windows but now they buy them. I told him that I did not want that brand of windows and my parents got got that brand of windows at a 30% lower price even showing him the invoice. His reply was that the oak laminate and exterior color was extra. My reply to him was that he offered it to me at no extra charge.
The installation team took out all the windows all at once. That would have been fine however they installed a window that opened where a closed window should have been. If they had taken out 1 window at a time and replaced it, that could have been avoided. As well that day it was windy and the wind was whipping thru the house.
On the third day they rushed to finish the job. The exterior caulking was installed sloppy. The casing was not centered, anywhere from 0.5cm from the ledge to 2 cm. The pins used to install the casing punctured thru the window jam at 22 different spots. This either left a hole in the jam or the installer hammered the pin out scratching the jam. A 2X2 square rossette was nailed in 8 times leaving some pins sticking out or damaging the rossette. The laminate was peeling is some places, there are scratches on the laminate that were painted over, there were chips on the laminate. When the windows were open you could see the poor spray painting job that was done on the exterior.
When I arrived home I was upset and e-mailed Gena pictures of the damages. He came on Monday to assess it and was to send back the installation team to fix it. That Tuesday the installation came unannounced and stayed for an hour to hammer out the pins. It was late and they said they would be back.
I got 2 other companies to review the work that was done to find out how much it would cost to fix the work. They both said it was sloppy work. So it was not me that we being too picky.
After 4 months and 4 visits they came and fixed a little bit and left as they didn't have time or had to order something