Update - May 12
After posting this review, Greenfox contacted me to arrange for some repairs. They applied more liquid vinyl to the cracked plastic joints and added some weatherstripping where air was leaking. Unfortunately, the liquid vinyl has cracked again after I put slight pressure on the window to squish a bug. The weatherstripping has improved the air leakage however a reading with a temperature gun still shows a big difference between the leaky area and the rest of the window. Most of the rest of the issues could not be fixed because they are problems with how the window is manufactured. Please see the rest of my review for an explanation of the other issues.
----Summary----
---This review has a lot of info so this first section is the summary. For more details you can read the rest of the review.
---Greenfox has a lot of positive reviews. I don't know if we were just unlucky or if other people just don't notice the issues like I have. But please don't disregard this negative review when deciding which company to use for your window replacement. I read a ton of good reviews for Greenfox when researching and decided that the negative ones must be one offs....an unfortunate $3,500 mistake that I do not have the means to fix.
----Our new windows let an incredible amount of heat in during the summers making our house as hot as 40 degrees Celsius on hot days....hotter than our original windows....and it does not cool down at night. Our large south facing window lets in so much heat that I keep heavy heat blocking curtains closed all summer in an attempt to keep at least some of the heat out. When we ordered our windows, I was NOT informed that there are different kinds of coatings. Some block heat and some let it in. Our windows have LoE180; the coating that allows the suns heat to stream in but blocks heat loss to the outside. This might be good in theory if it were winter and cold all year round but when summer hits, the effect makes our house unbearably hot. I wish I had done more research before buying but also think that Greenfox should inform their customers of how their windows will perform in different weather scenarios. Had I known about the different coatings I would have requested something else or gone with another company that could give me what I needed.
----Also, the opening mechanism on one has already needed repair. There are dozens of cosmetic flaws inside and out. The locks on the sliding windows only engage if the window is closed in a specific way. I can feel cool air leaking at the bottom of the sliding windows. The installers left an incredible amount of dust all over my main floor. The caulking around the exterior had gaps. The screens on the sliding windows are loose and don't fit properly so we constantly have insects in our home if we open the windows. In the winter, ice forms at the bottom of the south facing window and at the spot where I can feel cool air entering on the sliding windows even though the humidity in our home is below 20%. The interior trim does not fit very well. And to top it off, whenever the person from Greenfox comes to inspect and see what is wrong, they seem annoyed to be there and assure me that the problems we are experiencing are normal or they don't believe me at all. I have given up trying on many of the issues and now only call if something breaks. They do come when called but their product is terrible and many concerns are either dismissed as unimportant or they try to tell me that they don't exist...I would not recommend their windows to anyone.
----Background----
The windows we had were original to our home which was built in 1968. They let in a lot of heat in the summer making our home hot and uncomfortable. They were also very leaky and cold in the winter and would accumulate ice and condensation. The locks on them were all broken and we wanted more security because we live near a large public park and lots of outsiders come into the neighborhood. We also hoped new windows would help keep our house cooler in the summer like it did for my parents when they replaced theirs.
----Why we chose Greenfox----
After getting quotes from 3 companies, we chose Greenfox because their pricing was mid-range and many people in our neighborhood had used them. Also, we read many positive reviews online. The salesperson assured me they would have a coating on them and argon gas between the panes. They also have a good warranty.
----What We Had Installed----
We had 3 new windows installed on our main floor in February 2019.
1) 1 living room window divided into 3 equal sections and opening on both sides. It is a roll out window. South facing.
2) 1 window above the kitchen sink that slides to open. North facing.
3) 1 slide to open window in the dining room area the same size as the kitchen. North facing.
----Installation----
2 people installed the windows. I moved all furniture out of the way and covered what I could while they were working when I realized how much dust was being created. Our walls are plaster and have metal mesh embedded so the installers had to use a grinder to remove the plaster around the window opening. This resulted in a lot of dust. The installers cleaned the floors when they were finished but the rest of the main floor was covered in dust including all the dishes inside my kitchen cabinets (cabinets were closed but somehow the dust got in and settled there anyways) and every other surface on the main floor. It took me weeks to get everything clean and dust free. The installation was mostly completed in 1 day but the installers had to come back to finish the interior trim because they were missing the right lengths.
----Quality----
It took me a long time to decide to leave this review because I wanted to give the windows a fair chance but I was disappointed with the quality of the windows when they were installed and over the last 2 years, I have continued to be disappointed with their performance. Here is a list of the issues we have experienced so far.
----Cosmetic----
Soon after installation I noticed cosmetic flaws with the windows. There were gouges and scratches on the Interior trim. The plastic glue that is applied by the manufacturer where edges meet was cracked in multiple places inside and out. One of the windows appeared to have been dragged on the ground a bit so the bottom was scratched up. One of the spots on the exterior of the one window was missing a chunk of 'glue' altogether. When the person from Greenfox came to inspect, he assured me that it was supposed to be that way...until I showed him the other side where the glue was not missing yet and he admitted that maybe it was not supposed to be that way. The gouges on the trim were sanded and rubbed so they would not be noticeable. The gouge on the exterior could not be fixed and the only way to 'fix' it would be to replace the window. I gave up and told them to just leave it. The cracked glue inside was coated over with more glue, a few days later it all cracked again and I did not bother to have it fixed again. The trim also does not fit together very well. It is a vinyl material that clicks onto the windows. Straight lengths pop onto the edges and then corner pieces are popped on to cover the ends of the straight pieces. They do not lay flush against the straight pieces so if you look closely, you can see gaps. This has not been fixed because I have been informed that it is like that because my walls are uneven. The person that came to fix the other cosmetic issues seemed annoyed to be there and seemed to think they were just cosmetic and should not matter. I was asked to sign a paper saying I was satisfied with the repair; I was not satisfied but signed anyways because I felt like my complaints about the cosmetic issues were being treated as trivial and unimportant. I did not want to bother the guy anymore and was frustrated with the whole experience so I gave up and signed.
----Original Flashing Above Windows----
Our original windows had white painted aluminum flashing above them. The flashing extended over the edge of the top of the windows to prevent water coming into the house. When the new windows were installed, this original flashing was bent up to get the old windows out and left there after the new windows were installed. The old flashing is not long enough to extend over the top edge of the new windows, is now missing white paint and is patchy and ugly. I mentioned this to the person who came to inspect the cosmetic issues after the windows were first installed and was informed that they do not do anything with the old flashing and it would just have to stay the way it was. It is still there and is still ugly.
----Screens don't fit----
The screens on the sliding windows are loose and do not fit properly. When we have the windows open, we get lots of insects coming in. I was told this is just how they are manufactured and Greenfox is working with the manufacturer to correct this issue. They did not fix the issue on my windows and did not say anything about them being fixed in the future. The screens are still loose.
----Caulking Gaps----
The caulking around the exterior of the windows had gaps. I could fix this myself but informed Greenfox and they came to remedy this when they were fixing the cosmetic issues. The repair person applied more caulking but assured me that if there were some gaps it was not a big deal. I know this is not true because the caulking failed on our previous windows and left a gap for insects. We ended up with ants in our kitchen which went away as soon as I found where the caulking had worn away and repaired it. After Greenfox left, I ended up applying more caulking to fill in the gaps myself rather than have them come out and fix it again.
----Air Leaks----
I can feel air leaking in at the bottom of both of the sliding windows. This is not an installation issue because the air is not coming in around the frame, it is an issue with the window itself. The air is entering where the window that slides meets the tracks at the bottom. I wet my finger and hold it up to the spot and the air makes the side of my finger cold. I cannot feel this air leakage anywhere else on the window. When the Greenfox person came to inspect the problems, he said he could not feel the air and that was that. This winter, ice formed at the spot where I can feel air coming in. I informed Greenfox of the issue and they sent someone to inspect. Unfortunately, I could not be there and my husband was the one who dealt with the Greenfox person. This person held a heat sensing camera up to prove that the temperature was normal. I did not get to see or ask them to hold the camera up to the leaky spot. I do not understand why ice would form at that one spot on the window unless air was leaking.
----Roll Window Repair----
After a while the roll-out window would not close all the way. Greenfox came to fix the issue. This is the only issue that has actually been fixed satisfactorily....even though it should not have broken so soon after installation with minimal use.
----Sliding Window Locks----
I thought the locks were broken on the sliding windows because when I closed them, only one or none at all would engage. I was informed that the window has to be closed by pushing exactly in the middle. If you close by pushing on the bottom of the window the locks will not engage.
----Dirty Windows----
There is one section of glass on each side of the window. The left is fixed in place and the right slides to open. As a result, the tracks on the side with the fixed glass has window tracks that are always exposed. They accumulate dust quickly and always look dirty. This does not affect the performance of the windows but I thought it was worth mentioning because I think it looks bad. Our original windows have 4 sections of glass and do not have exposed window tracks so less dust is accumulated.
