Windows & Door fitting

Trickle vent being sealed up on new double glazed windows.

Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.15 PM

Hi. I live on a private (flats) estate. A window company was contracted to install new UPVC double glazing by our flat management company.When they fitted the windows to my flat they made numerous mistakes , the main one being that they didn't calculate that the internal plaster line would be lower than the trickle vent. Hence there is a trickle vent evident on the outside but it was blocked on the inside. As winter set in a lot of moisture appeared round the internal side of the frame which the window company kept maintaining was simply due to condensation and kept insisting that it was within 'tolerance' After a lot of persistent questioning by me they eventually filled the outside trickle vent up with silicon (I think). Since then there hasn't really been any particularly cold nights so I can't really gauge whether their remedial work has had the desired effect .What I'd really like to know is this....IS FILLING THE TRICKLE VENT UP SO THAT IT IS SEALED ACCEPTABLE TRADE PRACTICE? I'm not convinced that this will solve the problem as before they sealed the vent, moisture was evident all round the frame and was even causing damp in the adjoining plaster in all 4 corners.I'm having a lot of trouble trying to sort out various 'issues' with my 2 new bedroom windows and French Doors ( the French Doors have a 15mm to 20mm foam filled gap which they've covered up with 'boxing') but apparently I have to show that I've done everything I can to allow the window company to fix things. Our flat management company has proved to be extremely unhelpful in resolving matters even though they initially asked us to report issues to them. I must add that it seems our flat management company didn't initially employ their own surveyor to survey the flats ( indeed no surveyor ever surveyed my flat) and they didn't inform us that we would be getting frames that might or might not 'fit' exactly. Neither have they employed anyone to check the work has been carried out correctly. At the moment I'm in a state of limbo wondering whether to contact the freeholder of the flats to let them know of my suspicions that some of the windows have been badly installed ( I have seen the same problem with the trickle vents in another flat on the estate) and/or contact a solicitor (which would prove very expensive for me...£250 an hour!). I've asked our flat management company to send a surveyor to check our windows but so far they've been very reluctant to do so. Any comments or suggestions would be very welcome. Cheers!