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Updated by user Mar 18, 2016

Rotted Doors

Original review posted by user Mar 17, 2016

I have six different Pella Designer Series doors that are rotted out at the bottom. The corner clips holding the trim on the outside of the doors along with the trim loosened over time.

Pella knew this was an issue and came out after 9 years and replace them free of charge... but the damage had been done and a year or two later they started showing.

Pella refuses to do anything to cover these door or give any type of discount on replacing them. I would never ever buy Pella again.

Reason of review: Bad quality.

Monetary Loss: $20000.

Preferred solution: Replace the doors..

Pella Cons: Defective design, Unethical.

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Guest

I have the same pella designer door in my home with the same exact problem . Obvious it was a poorly engineered design flaw .

Pella never sent out any notifications or recalls and let their customers warranty expire. Even when they call it lifetime warranty . Pella salesman quote 7000$ To replace and no warranty unless they install it.

Yes they have to install it ! Just another way to rip you off !

Guest

Same with my slider. Has been replaced once and now rotting out again.

Pella refusing to be responsible.

Wants me to pay $2000 to replace the vent door only. Yeah, right!

Guest

We had 6 Pella storm doors installed with an extensive remodeling project in our home. ALL 6 doors have wood rot due to poor design by Pella.

Water leaks between the cladding and the glass and leads wood rot in the door. We first noticed the problem when the bottom of a few doors rotted through on the inside.

Guest

Yes I have 6 that are rotted at the bottom Terrible company

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1884321

Same here

Mike Unf

same here. the bottom of my pella slider is completely rotted.

I can stick my hand under the door to the outside, that how bad it is. Pella refused to help.

F@$K that comapny. Never Again!!!!

Guest

I have 9 exterior Pella sliders. Each one has rotted from water seeping between the aluminum and the glass at the bottom. You can push your finger into the wood!

Tayden Qnf

We have rotten slider door as well . Never again will be buy Pella

Guest

I just removed the rotten wood at the base of my Pella sliding door. I have 3 doors.

This exact problem (exterior aluminum trim leaking into the interior of the door base) has happened to me.

I am pissed. I now have 3 doors I have to rebuild.

Guest

my pella sliding door is rotting and swells up after a rain. it is hard to close and open.

Guest

My pella door is trash completely rotted on the bottom like nothing l have ever seen. Do not buy Pella.

Jeena Lls

So you waited for Pella for 9yrs? You knew your doors were leaking water in the corner trim pieces and did nothing, when a single tube of caulking for $5.00 could have solved the problem?

You expect Pella to replace your $20,000 doors free of charge after 9+ years with no maintenance on your part? Water issues require immediate attention. There can be no wait. Also, what is with the exterior threshold step at the same elevation as the door?

In a cold climate, unless a handicap accessibility issue exists there should always be a step down at an exterior door, especially one that accumulates snow as yours does. Drain the rain at the plane. In your situation the step should be removed or there should be exterior cover to protect the door. Do you have gutters?

Do you have a wide roof cornice? What side is this door mounted in, N, S, E, W? What is the yearly average rainfall at your location? Many architects today are designing homes that will not adequately protect windows and doors.

Maybe your real beef here is with your builder or architect. I've installed more Pella products than I can remember over the course of nearly 40yrs. My own Pella windows were 30+ years old when I sold my home last year. I experienced no problems with my units, short of a few broken corners on some screens.

I was able to order a box of these corner pieces for something like $23.00. My home had gutters, was located in a 40" average yearly rainfall, cold climate location, had a step at every door. I've never seen an interior natural finish that held up longer than 15yrs on a wood window sash. The reality of your situation is that there are multiple variables taking place and the root cause may have little to do with Pella.

You might simply be blaming a symptom of a completely different problem.

I know of NO window or door company that after 9+ years, would give you a single cent towards window or door replacement. It seems you are being less than reasonable, both in your description of the problem and how you handled it, and your expectations on a company in the 21st century.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Jeena Lls

Shame on you. I noticed the wet wood when the paint started blistering and CAULKED the trim on the outside doors RIGHT AWAY.

Made NO difference. I just went to refresh the paint on the door and ended up having to pry bar out and remove the entire bottom wood panel under the glass. All wood rot (luckily no smell).

Now I have to rebuild the bottom of the door and figure out what the fix is so it doesn't happen again. Yet you don't see a word from Pella what that fix is.

Tony Tty
reply icon Replying to comment of Jeena Lls

Perfect idiotic comment from either a Pella employee or someone who hasn't purchased inferior Pella products in the last 15 years. I'm a builder and I know how to maintain a home.

The design of Pella products are faulty. If you think the correct way to keep a 3k door from leaking is to use caulking to stop the leaks you are a complete fool. I have six Pella doors in my home that I built myself. The front door slab rotted out within the first 4 years.

The reason why it did was because the rubber seal at the bottom of the door directed water under itself to the unprotected raw wood it was attached to. I suppose I should have caulked my new door. Pella replaced the door slab twice. When the third slab started to get spongy I replaced the door with a Thermatrue that is better designed and half the cost.

I have two sliders that are rotting at the base inside the house. Brilliant design Pella, absolutely brilliant. Two other metal doors are rotting at the jambs. The last door is ok.

I believe it has been good because it is an interior door that connects a garage to my home. Apparently if you install your Pella door where it is not exposed to any type of weather it will last a very long time and is a great door.

Maybe Pella made quality products 30+ years ago but they are producing substandard over priced garbage now. My advice for anyone searching for an answer to why their Pella product has failed is to cut your losses and just replace it with a different brand.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Tony Tty

Naw, we're all just idiots who don't know how to maintain (or in your case, even build) our homes, including every sliding door and window of a faulty design admitted to by Pella during a class action lawsuit. That they never honored the terms of, nor their "warranty".

Glad I paid extra for them to install them even, to make sure everything was done to Pella's "high standards". Ugh.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Jeena Lls

Pella doors don't last past 10 years. My sliders are rotted as well.

Yes I have caulked now, but too late. I thought these are maintenance free. We are talking about Pella. Not bottom of the line windows.

If they would have said the aluminum seal would fail and needs to be caulked, I would have.

I've also been dealing with Pella on their windows leaking and condensation forming between the panes. Pella should be put out of business, garbage products.

Guest

Pella is synonymous with junk; they built millions of bad windows and want to act like they didn't. They will not stand behind their product.

They are marketing heavily to builders to get some of their lost market share back but most builders are so disgusted with them that they would not install them if they were the last window in the world. The best strategies are to have their overpriced local distributor come out and give you an itemized estimate. Take it to to the local Lowes and special order the sashes for your windows and then replace them yourself. The windows that are not too bad should be sealed with a high quality exterior silicone caulk where the glass meets the aluminum at the exterior (which is where the water infiltrates).

You may also have replacement windows made to fit inside the the window openings.

The happiest day of my life will be when these filthy bastards go out of business.

Guest

*** and I was going to pay EXTRA for Pella "quality". I guess I will look elsewhere!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1147576

A door rots from poor installation and or the homeowner not taking care of their humidity/it's wood in holes in your house, if not taken care of it will rot. You could have any sort of companies window and you would have the same problem. Especially over a period of time like that.

Rayven Twt
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1153432

Not true. You speak without knowing.

Pella had bad design on the exterior window molding on their doors and came out 10 years after installation before the warranty ended and replaced all of them for free. But by then, the damage had been done. This is not from poor installation as the doors slide on a track and are completely free of anything done on installation.

It is also not from a humidity issue as I have a complete air exchange humidity control system in my house. The Pella company is as bad as it's doors for admitting to a problem but not standing behind the problem their original designs caused.

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