Summary: The installation of the windows is best done not by a sub-contractor but by the employees of the company that sold you the windows in the first instance. You should also make sure that all the assurance that the company would like to offer should be in writing and also check for insurance coverage.
Ensuring Quality Installation
Who will install your windows? Not you, I suppose. If you have not installed windows before, you will find it difficult to install replacement windows. Experience matter for it is this expertise that determines how the final finish and fit of the windows as well as their performance is going to be.
Often the inexperienced could forget vital steps in insulation or air infiltration. Another step that is important is caulking. Sometimes insulation could be beyond what is required if installed by an inexperienced installer. Using a caulk gun or the wrong spray-foam could also mean making a terrible mess.
So should you be installing your windows? I would say it is safer and better that the company does the installing. I will then go ahead one step further to insist that the installation is not done by a sub-contractor but directly by a bonafide employee of the company itself.
It is often found that for the window manufacturer, sub-contracting the job of installation could be attractive for a number of reasons. For instance, money can be saved with a sub-contractor due to cost control. The sub-contractor is paid a fixed sum for the installation work. This arrangement makes sense to the company but not for you. Why is this so? Imagine if the work of installation of windows in your house is difficult. The sub-contractor will always look out for cutting corners so that they do not lose money and makes more money.
Most often the issues related to insurance is rather vague. What happens if there is some sort of mishap during installation where the sub gets hurt? In one instance that I know of, the sub-contractor while removing an old window injured his hand severely. Fortunately for him, he was covered under the Worker's Compensation scheme. If the sub who is doing the job for you does not have this coverage or is inadequately covered then who pays then for both medical bills as well as lost work wages? Won’t you have to pay them?
If it is the employees of the window companies who are installing the windows, then they not only know their products well but also know which is the best insulation, tools to use, caulking and techniques to use.
They also do not have to hurry to complete the job to save time and therefore money, as they are paid by the hour. Ensure that they have insurance coverage arranged by the company hiring them. Ensure that they give you copies of certificates. Ensure also that all assurances given are in writing.
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