I smell mold and it seems to be coming from my bay window...?

Question

Sears came out and sided last year and now I smell mold in the window they worked on. Are they responsible?

Answer 1

what kind of work did they do to the window? we don't know what you saw them do to it. did the guy remove it or something? the only thing he should have done was line the outer edge of it with "J" channel for the siding to go into. sears hires sub contractors to do siding for them, they don't actually have employees working for them who do siding work. those sub contractors aren't getting paid a lot, so they just slam the jobs out willy-nilly from what i have seen of their work (i've been out to fix). it would be best if you called them and complained, and see if that gets you anywhere, but... i would get a 2nd opinion from a siding contractor first. sears could have damaged the roof over the window, done the installation of the j channel incorrectly, or not applied caulk in between the j channel and window, or applied it in such a way that it causes water to run into the wall or above the window. hopefully you are still within the warranty period, usually one year. if you don't get anywhere with sears, then start calling your state dept. of consumer protection, the better business bureau, then your lawyer. good luck.

Answer 2

yes probable they have not applied silicone around your window neither the flushing paper under siding around the window. First but em,side paper overlaps the but em one, top overlaps the sides.

Answer 3

Bay windows are common "leakers".  If sears only sided the home I would say "no" the are not responsible.  On the other hand, if they caused the leak by putting a tack or nail in the wrong place then "yes" they are.  What you have to realize is that sears will never admit to thier damage or liablility for your mold problem.  They will blame it on the window installer and the window installer will blame it on sears.  You are kinda in a no win situation.  In order to hold a specific company liable for the damage to will have to get a writen statement from the other company and prob a second writen opinion from a home inspector or service company.  Your best bet at this point is to call a licensed contractor to assess the issue and recommend repair.  Then file it on your insurance or pay for it yourself.  I know this is not what you wanted to hear but, sometimes life throws you a curve.  Don't exahust your efforts trying to "prove" and spend your effort "repairing".  YOU will be better off in the long run.