Windows & Door fitting

What amount of silicon is expected around edge of new uPVC windows & doors on outside?

Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.03 PM

Just had new uPVC windows & doors fitted. Brown uPVC on outside and reddy/brown bricks. Around windows & doors a 15 by 20mm brown trim has been glued to cover the foam-filled gap. They have used a cloudy whitish silicon (not exactly white, sort of smoky white) to glue the trim. The silicon is clearly visible & to my eye looks excessive. I am worried that this silicon may cause problems when the uPVC windows are replaced. May also affect value of house. The company (well known) has taken pictures and a manager wrote to me saying "windows are fitted and sealed within (company name) Quality standards and no remedial works to be carried out". Am I being too fussy? Also annoyed by the installation engineers who said that brown silicon could not have been used because it attracts dirt & dust that sticks to it. Also that smoky white silicon will dry clear(er) and be less noticeable (it hasn't). Feedback gratefully accepted. They have my money (unfortunately) and so I don't know what rights I have if I have to take them on. As I said 'one of the big boys' but poor customer service once there is an issue. Additional Info: The company is Anglian. Not impressed by them at all. The trims I am referring to are 10 by 15mm rectangular strips of brown plastic that are glued (using silicon) around the frame to cover the gap between the frame and the brickwork. I had a manager just visit me to explain that the silicon has to fill the gap between the plastic strips & the mortar pointing to prevent water ingress. This makes sense. But sometimes the silicon extends beyond the trim and I hope they will rectify that. He wouldn't comment on the colour of the silicon. More information: They came back - after I threatened them with my dad, court, nuclear war - to replace the 'clear' (smoky white) silicon with brown. For some reason nobody likes using brown silicon. It was then that I found out what the original installers had done. They did not 'back fill' around the windows. They should have put silicon or silicon backed with dowel (polystyrene) around the outer edge of the windows & doors, then glued the brown 15 x 20mm brown trim on top of that using silicon. There was no 'back fill'. They had stuck the trim to the wall using silicon and glued the trim to the window face using bostik (something akin to superglue). Unless the trim is ripped off, you never know what they do. Most Anglian customers would never have known. It was only because I didn't like the look and wouldn't give up that I found out. You cannot trust Anglian installers - any of them. I was told by the field manager that they were his best team. They have lied over other things too. If you want windows & doors that look OK but may have been installed incorrectly then go for Anglian. But I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy.