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nilofera

Kolbe Vistaluxe bad reviews?

nilofera
3 years ago

After much back and forth, which some of you have been very helpful about (thank you milworkman), we had decided on buying Kolbe Vistaluxe windows because we really want very narrow sight lines both interior and exterior. Our builder called tonight and said that the guy that owns his lumbar yard built a multimillion dollar house and put Kolbe windows in and they rotted in 6 years with difficulty getting service. Online review are similarly mixed.

Can anyone help us make this decision? The Vistaluxe came in above budget but we decided to splurge because the windows are so important. Other options we have looked at are Andersen E and Marvin Ultimate Narrow because they are in a similar price range. The Marvin Moderns are a little high for us. Any other window line that is a good option for a contemporary house? We are looking for Aluminum or fiberglass exterior.

Comments (11)

  • millworkman
    3 years ago

    What WoW said. Although the internet can be a dangerous place at time as well as the I know a guy who knows a guy. The people who I know who use Kolbe products have had no issues, I know the distributors and sales people as well as the distributor sales people. I cannot speak completely for anyone else situation but the people I know who use Kolbe have done so successfully for years. This includes all their product lines (possibly not their vinyl however, lol). And if you read far enough on the internet the Pope will turn out to be a bad guy............................

  • PRO
    Windows on Washington Ltd
    3 years ago

    The Pope...isn't the current one a Marxist?

  • pinkphd
    3 years ago

    We bought very expensive Kolbe windows and doors and have been VERY UNHAPPY with their service and follow up and window function. Several of the windows do not open and close properly and the expensive wood front door we purchase has warped. We have been now told that they don't guarantee against warping on their doors. We spent a great deal of money on what we were promised were the best of the best and I would not recommend using them based on our experience

  • ranchtastic
    3 years ago

    We have Andersen E series windows and some of the windows on the south side of our house have warped slightly and don't operate easily. Others are fine. Many are stiff to operate and won't open all the way. They were a reasonable price at the time. I haven't had them serviced because it hasn't been more than an ever so slightly minor nuisance.

    We are going for Kolbe VL on our new house which has a more modern look. The VL look is quite different to the Eagles. We're in norcal so not severe rain/snow/etc and lots of sun and heat in summer. Have seen VLs on other high end projects under construction in our area. Steel windows would have been our preference but are too expensive.

  • Barndo Girl
    2 years ago

    Hello,

    We are embarking on a project and seriously considering Kolbe's Vistaluxe AL product line because we really love the low profile, sleek, euro-style. There are very mixed reviews on Kolbe online. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has had this line installed in particular. These are all aluminum versus wood or clad. Also curious to know if the people who have experienced problems have been with a Kolbe factory direct installation or with a separate installer? Thanks in advance.

  • Leire Carbonell Agüero
    2 years ago

    Hi Barndo,


    We are in a simular situation. Did you end up chosing Kolbe Vistaluxe AL? Thank you!

  • ranchtastic
    2 years ago

    Saw this thread again, we ended up installing the VL WD windows in our project (still ongoing so can't speak to living with them day to day yet).


    One thing that surprised me about the VLs is that they're actually entirely aluminum construction, and the wood component appears just to be an interior finish. As opposed to the Andersen Es in our current house which are wood construction with a aluminum veneer on the exterior. I think this must be what allowed the VLs to achieve such tight sightlines.



  • Leire Carbonell Agüero
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Thank you @ranchtastic! This helps a lot. We were reading that Kolbe Vistaluxe AL was introduced in 2019.

  • Vanessa Lalli Dittenhofer
    last year

    We built our home in 2016 and did the Kolbe VL. The look is beautiful, did the windows go the floor with no trim. Sheetrock to the floor. The issues we had are the screens are very tight and scratch the wood when you take them out to have windows cleaned so use a cloth if possible. The other issue is why would they prime a black wood window on the interior white, every Nick shows through white. Biggest complaint do far

  • Madhava Cheethirala
    12 days ago

    @ranchtastic and others who end up using Kolbe VistaLuxe product... now we are exactly in the same decision point... love the sleekness of aluminium windows (VistaLuxe, Marvin Modern) and Marvin modern is a bit above the budget.


    Wondering if you still suggest VistaLuxe after using for some time?


    Thank you in advance.