Stay away. Do your research. My builder used Chantecler for all of the windows and doors on my home, so it was certainly not my decision to use this company. My builder has since stopped using them as most of their clients have subsequently had issues with Chantecler. I'll try to be brief but essentially I've had issues with product, service and warranty....everything!!
Note: Their warranty is just ten years and covers parts ONLY. Labour is only covered for the first two years. Similar companies in Ottawa offer a twenty year, fully transferable parts AND labour warranty. Again...Do your research.
1- 1st year: Trim around my front door began literally falling off the door frame. I also noticed that some trim under one of our windows had come loose. Called Chantecler. The woman in the 'service' department was less than pleasant. On top of this helpful attitude, Chantecler requires that you be home between 7am and 4pm for a service call! That's a nine hour window! I can understand the need for them to book a window of time, but an entire day? I pushed back, asking for a narrower window, and was refused. I scheduled the repair and, as required, took a vacation day. I was given a date two weeks out. A few days before the work was to be completed I receive a call saying that there was a mix-up and that I would be re-scheduled for six weeks out!
2- Another entire day off and now they had the nerve to not show! After informing Chantecler by email of my displeasure, Frédéric, the ‘service’ manager responded, slightly apologetic, that someone on the crew was sick and this resulted in the no-show. He offered to have them come “first call of the day”. Apparently first call is 9:15am, despite the fact that Chantecler usually insists that their customers remain home starting at 7am. The crew arrived and guess what? They had NONE of the supplies needed to complete the work!
3- Time to re-schedule again! First call of the day. By 9:30 nobody had arrived. I tried calling Chantecler for an ETA….no answer. Fearing this was another potential ‘no show’, I headed out the door. As I was leaving (now about 9:45) the crew arrives. While I understand that Chantecler is about 45 minutes away from my home (in traffic), this meant that the crew did not leave the warehouse until around 9am. Not acceptable. I instructed them to complete the outside work and that once again I would need to book a service call for the interior work.
4- Well…..the outside repair was terrible. The crew was supposed to fix a small bubble that was causing the cladding strip to separate from the wood frame. To my surprise, after the ‘repair’ was conducted, a larger bubble emerged! In fact…the bubble was now permanently caulked to the window! On top of this, the actual caulking job was ‘sloppy’. Another email to Chantecler……Another appointment. Finally things were fixed.
5- Two years later. Now, moisture has developed between two panes of glass on one of my windows. The pane obviously needs to be replaced (a simple 20 minute job). I was under the understanding that I would be covered under a 10 year warranty with Chantecler. But it turns out that the ‘terms’ of the Chantecler warranty make it almost useless. I call/email Chantecler. This time it took two weeks for them to even acknowledge my emails/phone calls. I’m also being treated to ‘curt’ one liners. Basically, according to Frédéric, the window itself is covered under warranty, but not the labour. Because I live ‘outside’ of their area (I’m in Ottawa and Chantecler is across the river in Gatineau), there’s a minimum $150 charge to do anything at my home. And of course I also need to make myself available for an entire day if I want them to come. Frustrated, I made a quick call and I learned that I can get Verdun to come and install the same pane for $200 (including the actual window)! Incredible. I’m so done with this shoddy company.
Michael B
