Caldwells windows

[peterboat]

I have double glazing as well frame still get wet but windows stay clear and they are a bit warmer. Last boat caravan double glazing aluminium covered with plastic no condensation at all and very warm, far better than crap narrowboat window suppliers

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, peterboat said:

I have double glazing as well frame still get wet but windows stay clear and they are a bit warmer. Last boat caravan double glazing aluminium covered with plastic no condensation at all and very warm, far better than crap narrowboat window suppliers

Yeah and very expensive, I have all the bills for the build and the windows cost nearly 4k bloomin ridiculous ten years ago.

[Johny London]

Just an update. It is now quite clear to me that Reg Caldwell has no intention of helping me with this problem. So I am stuck with some pretty useless windows that are causing water problems everywhere.

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, Johny London said:

Just an update. It is now quite clear to me that Reg Caldwell has no intention of helping me with this problem. So I am stuck with some pretty useless windows that are causing water problems everywhere.

Sorry to hear you're still suffering this problem at the worst  time of year to have issues with condensation. Have you tried to clearthe rubber from the holes yet?  The soldering iron idea sounds the best solution to me, but a bit of rubber in a drainage hole shouldn't be insurmountable. 

[TheBiscuits]

On 12/20/2017 at 17:42, Johny London said:

Just an update - Reg (the chairman of Caldwells windows) has very kindly said he will come and take a look. They are almost new and were professionally fitted, but I'm not sure if it will be the fitting or manufacture causing the problem. As adrainh said, could be the wrong rubber seals. I just don't know, but I do expect them to work - after all it is a very basic design (actually I quite like that about them), the top glass bits in the hoppers are just free, and not encumbered by overly complicated mechanisms - you just take them right out when it's hot!

I'll post an update in due course.

 

17 minutes ago, Johny London said:

Just an update. It is now quite clear to me that Reg Caldwell has no intention of helping me with this problem. So I am stuck with some pretty useless windows that are causing water problems everywhere.

So did Reg not come and look, or did he look and say they were fitted wrong?

Have you spoken to whoever fitted the windows? What did they say?

[Tumshie]

3 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

So did Reg not come and look, or did he look and say they were fitted wrong?

Have you spoken to whoever fitted the windows? What did they say?

I would want to exhaust all those avenues before I went burning holes in anything.

But I'm sure you have/will. 

[Johny London]

Well, I've heard nothing. I'm sure if I call him he'll say he's going to come but then wont. That's the feeling I get from my mails. He did not hint at any possible causes such as poor installation, which would have seemed a possibility.

I cannot move the glass up far enough to fully open the drain holes - at best about half way, and the surface tension of the water does not allow the drain holes to work at that reduced size. I would have thought if it was a fitting issue it would have occurred before. So, I am left with the usual option - sort it out myself. If I get time in the summer I could try completely taking one out to see if there is anything that can be done. But I have a lot of other stuff to do on the boat still and fixing new windows shouldn't have to be on the list.

For now I bail out the channels every morning with a cloth, that annoyingly snags on the rough burr edges of the holes

Not recommended.

[TheBiscuits]

Without having seen your boat, it sounds like the holes in the cabin are the wrong size (too small?) for the windows.

A friend of ours just bought some new Caldwells windows and found that they were a different corner radius to the previous (not Caldwells) windows.  He had to get extra metal welded on and cut to take the new windows - it's not enough to say they are Xmm by Ymm and assume they will fit.

I know a lot of people with Caldwells windows near us, and I have never heard of the problem you are having.

Do you know who fitted them?  Did they cut the holes or were they precut on a new hull?

[Johny London]

Thanks biscuits - that's just the sort of reply I might have expected from Reg rather than him saying he was at a complete loss. I would have thought Caldwells would have heard of this happening before, and at the very least been able to say with some confidence that it was not their fault but that of the installer. They came newly fitted, in the new hull, and I believe the hull builder cut the holes and the fitters fitted them later while they were doing the interior, so there is certainly a chance the holes were never the right size and the fitter just wanted to get on. Some bits of the hull are pretty slip shod, though the interior was very well done.

I think I really will have to wait till the better weather then take one out for investigation. The worst one is a porthole - it can only hold a small amount of water and by morning has aways overflowed - ruining the decor etc.

[canals are us?]

Is it condensation that isn't draining to the outside through the mismatched drain hole or leaking in general through the window to steel cabin or window/glass seals?

I presume they are still under warranty?

It may be worth removing a window and seeing if the steel opening size is correct or if the glass has dropped in the frame etc. See if the condensation drainage route is clear to the outside and at a lower level.

You shouldn't have to do anything with new windows though!

James

Edited February 15, 2018 by canals are us?

[TheBiscuits]

37 minutes ago, Johny London said:

Thanks biscuits - that's just the sort of reply I might have expected from Reg rather than him saying he was at a complete loss. I would have thought Caldwells would have heard of this happening before, and at the very least been able to say with some confidence that it was not their fault but that of the installer. They came newly fitted, in the new hull, and I believe the hull builder cut the holes and the fitters fitted them later while they were doing the interior, so there is certainly a chance the holes were never the right size and the fitter just wanted to get on. Some bits of the hull are pretty slip shod, though the interior was very well done.

I think I really will have to wait till the better weather then take one out for investigation. The worst one is a porthole - it can only hold a small amount of water and by morning has aways overflowed - ruining the decor etc.

If the holes are too small, then cutting out is quick and easy with a decent grinder and a box of discs.  It is a much better problem to have than the holes too big.

Very annoying on a newly built boat though!

Post us some photos if you can - maybe drop an internal trim so we can see the frame and hole from the inside if you can be bothered.

Can you make a condensation cover for the worst porthole?  I have seen them made with those foam rubber camping mats that just slot snugly into the porthole to act as a curtain and insulation in one.  That won't fix the problem, but might stop it dripping until you can fix it.

[Johny London]

I wouldn't mind threatening someone with legal action, but not sure if it is the design or install, which is two different people. Below some pics but it is hard to really capture the detail - or the water. From outside you can see the holes are totally blocked by the rubber and/or glass. I sent the same to Caldwells. And a video.

 

[Richard10002]

I may have missed something, but doesn't responsibility lie with those who supplied and fitted the windows? If there is a problem with the windows themselves, then its for the supplier to take it up with Caldwells, not you.

perhaps you supplied the windows, and gave them to the fitters to fit, in which case both could pass the buck

[Johny London]

No, windows were supplied by the fitter so yes totally see what you are saying - I have the contract with them so everything is down to them. Unfortunately, I have contacted them before about a couple of other issues and they just ignore me, so I wont get any joy there.

[Richard10002]

1 hour ago, Johny London said:

No, windows were supplied by the fitter so yes totally see what you are saying - I have the contract with them so everything is down to them. Unfortunately, I have contacted them before about a couple of other issues and they just ignore me, so I wont get any joy there.

My comment was really in response to the bit where you suggest you might take some legal action... the suppliers/fitters are the ones to pursue, but sometimes life is too short, and it may be easier to take it on the chin and fix it yourself.

[Johny London]

That's the thing. On the whole I was very pleased with my hull. I got a custom design delivered on time and on budget. It was well priced and the fit out was great. I would expect some teething troubles and don't mind having to sort a few things myself as long as there is no significant cost involved.

But I do find trying to deal with the boating industry very frustrating. All I needed from Reg was an insight into the problem, rather than being continually fobbed off. The boat fitter let themselves down by not really checking, or possibly ignoring, a few things that were well below par. (Ill fitting stern doors in particular), and when I queried, again just fobbed off and ignored. It's a rather childish approach.

I find this sort of attitude endemic in the industry. No one seems to have heard of customer service/satisfaction or being timely and price competitive. For example, the other day I moored at a boat yard. It was closed. No big deal, came back a couple days later after checking their opening days online. Closed - for the week. No sign on line, no sign outside the yard - you had to moor and go up to the office to find a small hand written sign. Finally when I went back a few days later, intending to stock up on all sorts of stuff, well they didn't actually have much of what I wanted (eg oil filters etc). Even their diesel was about to run out. I think they are all stuck in the 70's - and not in a good way.

And so, I shall wait till the good weather then take out a window and try and see what is going on, as ultimately no one else will help and it is easier to do that then start legal proceedings.

On a plus point, the boat is getting there - looking good with a fresh coat of paint up to the gunwales (inside) and the central heating should be coming online next week!

Thanks to all for help and support on this forum - I'd be completely b*ggered otherwise.

[Richard10002]

41 minutes ago, Johny London said:

And so, I shall wait till the good weather then take out a window and try and see what is going on, as ultimately no one else will help and it is easier to do that then start legal proceedings.

On a plus point, the boat is getting there - looking good with a fresh coat of paint up to the gunwales (inside) and the central heating should be coming online next week!

Thanks to all for help and support on this forum - I'd be completely b*ggered otherwise.

Not a bad, and pragmatic, approach... once you have done it you will know all about window removal and refitting, and all about the drain hole system in Caldwell Windows.

ditto for all the help and support on the forum!