I’m going to be bidding a medical/professional complex with about 200 Pella windows;
about 4’ wide by 6’ tall
windows don’t open
they have metal miniblinds between the panes of glass.
I’ve read on here that Pellas are a nightmare, but I honestly don’t see why. I did notice that there are little metal tabs on the inside pane, are these difficult to detail around?
Also, any recommendations on pricing would be great!
Thanks!
They can be a challenge, for me it’s no big deal. Take your time, keep things in order. Your finger tips will be sore, part of the game. Some pella’s have a cut out too help remove and some don’t. Pricing is what works in your area. Can be very time consuming, fresh rubbers is a must. Have fun.
DW
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Are you planning on cleaning just the outside surface and the inside surface of glass? Are you aware of the fact that sides 2 and 3 should also be cleaned? You’ll be dealing with the blinds between the panes while you clean surface #2. Taking the inside pane of glass off the window in a very heavy office furniture environment is going to be a challenge as well. You’ll have trouble moving the furniture out of the way, when it is necessary so you can take the inside glass off the window. [B]You don’t think that will be a royal pane?<O:p</O:p[/B][/FONT][/SIZE]
No, I did not realize that sides 2 and 3 needed to be cleaned. I’m assuming the building owner is not aware of that either.
Based on the collective experience here, will it turn out well if I only clean the outer-most panes?
Thanks for the help!
Usually they turn out alright if you skip the inner panes, because they generally haven’t ever been opened and exposed to anything. But I’d be sure and let the building owner know. Give him a quote on doing it either way, and let him choose. He’ll likely choose just the outer and innermost panes…but at least he made that call, not you.
There is so much work out there that I tactfully decline when coming upon Pella window estimates.
Sad thing is that the windows overall appearance after you have so called “cleaned them” will be less than desirable and now your name is attached to the job and the home owner’s experience will not warrant a repeat clean.
True, true. But that’s why if he does decide to go that route he needs to make sure the owner is aware. And a house of 20 or so might be manageable…200 of those would be… a lot of damn work. Almost impossible for 1 guy I’d think.
But I don’t think they’d be less than desirable, just not quite perfect. Maybe try one and see first if thats an option… if it comes out crappy, then certainly I’d either do it all or do nothing.
That depends on how long it has been since they were last cleaned on the inside. Sometimes when the customer sees how bad the window looks after just cleaning the outside surfaces, they agree to pay the extra charge to clean the inside surfaces. But quote it both ways and let the customer decide. By the way, the removable glass is going to be pretty heavy if it is 4’ x 6’, so be prepared to possibly need a helper to remove and reinstall the glass.
There are vents that allow air to enter and exit between the 2 pieces of glass.
My friend, those things are a lot of work. I did so many when I first started in this business that I actually advertised myself as the Pella “expert.” My company cleans the windows at the Pella window store here in town and we have a Pella factory here. The Pella store actually gives my card to every customer! Arrrrgg! I do a lot of those @#$%^ windows. Better price them accordingly ($15-$20 a piece) if you are going to take them apart and deal with the slim shades. Break a removable pane and a 4X6 will set you back $100 bucks or more. Bend the slim shades and they’ll cost $50+ a piece to replace. Tread carefully around these marvels of window engineering…
Thank you all for the tips.
I think I’ll give the owner two options, cleaning everything or just inside and outside.
He has already made it clear to me that he doesn’t like these windows; as the building owner he has had to pay to repair them at times. He is appalled at how much replacement pieces cost.
We’ll see how it goes!
If it has been more than 5 years since they were last cleaned I bet they’ll need a 4 side cleaning. My residential pella customers get the 4 sides cleaned every 2 years.
Judging by that statement, you may want to protect yourself from any liability for the repair of windows that break while you are cleaning them.
You will probably be the first person ever , or at least a long time to be opening them.
Hopefully by reading all the posts in this thread you’ll now know why Pella windows are a nightmare.
Steve mentioned $15-20 per window if you do the full clean (4 sides). Even at $15/per x 200 windows = $3000. Good money but for one person it’ll be a tiring job.
Even if you’re doing 2 sides, squeegeeing/detailing around those clips will slow you down. Hit a clip with your squeegee blade and you couold lose some rubber on the tip and you’ll be changing rubber pre-maturely.
I love that line. I have only done pellas a couple of times, they are not real popular around here. The first time it was just the 2 surfaces, they had someone do all 4 a year before and it was a nightmare for them to get it right, so they said we are not even messing with that any more, which was fine by me.
Another time I gave multiple bids (outside; Outside & Inside; complete service) she flipped out at the complete service price, but when I explained what was entailed she understood, … but not enough to schedule a cleaning.
Yep !! There’s more fine dust on the inside and problems with the dry rot blinds !! You will not be happy or the customer either way !!! At any price !! Stam. pro window kleening 27 years and proud sorbo user
