We are having the same vinyl blistering problems with 8 of our double hung windows both north and south facing. We are the third owners of a home built in 2002 with Anderson windows. We would rather repair the vinyl rather than replace the jams, any advise on how to fix? Sounds like a warranty claim with Anderson is a real headache.

Can you pop that bubble? Nothing will be warranted at this point. Might be easier to just pull it off and paint it.

Hi
everyone.....this is an update to my original posting.

It took a year to come to full resolution. In hindsight,
it was probably a good thing it took that long because during that time, more
windows began bubbling.

There is no "fix" for the vinyl - replacement is the
only option (unless they've come up with something since we had our issue).
After many home visits
and correspondence, they were only going to replace the pieces that were
bubbling with the same vinyl material. We told them we did not want vinyl - we
wanted wood, we also wanted everything replaced, not just the bubbling pieces,
and we also wanted them to reconsider paying for the labor to remove the trim.
They came back to us saying no one else has had this bubbling problem (implying
it was something we did wrong) and they would only replace the pieces currently
bubbling, with vinyl - not wood and there would be no compensation for the
labor to remove the window trim. At this
point, I sent them another email and literally
begged them to replace everything with wood.

In the end, after a year
of haggling, they replaced the jambs, stops and mullions on all windows with
prefinished, white wood. We had to spend over $3,000 to have the window trim
removed and re-installed. Luckily, I was
able to do the painting of the new trim, otherwise that would have been another
$2,000.

With all that said, I really
am thankful they did eventually replace everything. I’ve heard from other homeowners, there are
several window companies who would not have done what Andersen did.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

We are seeing this on our windows, too. Some of the windows are huge, and I believe the extensions jams came as part of the window itself. I can't imagine the cost to replace. Anyone have a fix for this other than replacing?

I don't think there is an "easy" answer here. Have you contacted Andersen? They should be able to see, via the serial number, how the window was ordered.

+1. Contact them first. What they will do will likely depend on the warranty coverage based on how old they are. If out of warranty, there are some creative things that could be done without fully replacing the jambs such as using a thin, rigid material to create a "veneer" over the stuff.

This seems like poor installation or even worse manufacture defect. Either way, I recommend you contact the install first and then the manufacture. They should send a representative out and will help you further.

How would that be an install issue? Unless the installer left the material out in the rain for a week that is.

Looks to me like a crappy product (the vinyl covered mdf) that deteriorated over time.

I have seen some installers really screw things up during the installation process. You be surprised. I am not saying its an installer problem, but i would contact them first because chances are the manufacture uses them for repairs/installation as well. so they can help get in contact with the manufacture and get it repaired.

1. call installer/ then manufacture if no results.

Cedar Falls, Iowa. We built our house in 2004, put in Andersen windows just like you. Ours also have failed. We had our builder back out, he got the lumber yard to come out and look. They contacted Andersen and Andersen agreed to replace all the product, But we had to have our contractor do the labor. Andersen did send a rep out to help for first day. He showed our contractor how to do the repairs. It is a big job, takes lots of time on each window. So far two guys have been here 8 days and still has 1-2 days left. The contractors have built two homes for us, are excellent contractors. Do a top notch job. There is nothing about this that is their fault. The supplier has done a great job.Bottom line is the Andersen product has just failed. I appreciate they are replacing the product, but I feel they should be supplying the labor to fix. The only reason we are fixing is because their product did not stand up.

Not sure you will find any materials manufacturer to supply labor on a product that is nearly 13 years old. It totally sucks, but at least they are supply the materials here.

it sounds like you are probably paying too much for incompetent boobs to do the job. The fact that anderesen had to show them how to do it is an indictment against their professionalism as window installers. If these are the guys that put them in you may have bigger issues than warranty parts

Here comes fridge....

Off the top rope

I had a similar issue 10 years ago. Never get a vinyl clad jamb, it will warp and bow. I was on the hook for all the labor but did it myself.

Thanks for all the recent responses! JBosier in Cedar Falls....were you windows then out of warranty? I believe ours are just out of the warranty period. We did not build this house so have no idea who the installer was but will call a local Andersen dealer and see what I can find out. There is no way this is an installation issue. Our windows look exactly like the pics above. Looks like a glue failure to me. But we have some huge windows and am estimating the cost will be quite large for the labor.

Interesting, as we had vinyl Anderson 400 series installed in our house built in 2008 and have never had an issue. We are in the process of building our next home and ordered the same 400 series windows and realized just a few days ago when they were installed that they no longer offer the vinyl interior as our current ones are and instead have a cheap "fanatic" almost like a paint product that they now do on the interior that looks like a cheap Menards window. The Anderson rep came out yesterday and advised us that they had issues with the yinyl bubbling and changed to this process early this year. I'm not sure what to think now, I certainly don't want any bubbling in 10 years but I also don't consider their current product to be "virtually maintenance free" as they claim as I already have several places that this fanatic paint has already been compromised leaving the dark pine exposed below.

Instead of this, start your own thread, give us more info and some pics so we can possibly offer some advice or help.

Looks like the glue gave way and did not hold the vinyl wrap to the structure. I would be so mad to see this happen to my windows and Andersen did do something about it at the end but still you had to pay for the labor and do some of the painting!

We bought a home that was constructed in 2003 with the 400 series Anderson windows. Around 2012 I noticed (2) mullions with some bubbling in the vinyl at the bottoms. I thought I would eventually change out the mullions with painted wood. Now I am noticing the window stop vinyl covering is coming loose from the wood also. This is definitely a defective product. I would expect a useful life of over ten years on Anderson windows!

Looks like your expectations were unrealistic. Consider replacing with a good vinyl or fiberglass window

I have this problem also, on windows that were installed c2005. If it's the glue, maybe a warm iron will re-adhere it. Going to try that, otherwise pull the offending vinyl off and prime/paint.

brad, Anderson has a 10 year transferable warranty on their frames. had you called then then, they likely would have fixed/replaced it for you. It's now 15 years and unfortunately past your warranty. You have to jump on those things when you see them.

Dean, My entire house has the same problem ALL the windows have bubbled/warped vinyl coverings are "history" Anderson should do something as they claim to be the Top Dog in the window industry. Warranties are a bunch of Hot Air to add to the sales pitches......There is no fix it would be replacement and i don't have an extra $30K laying around to fix them. And it does look like we have the cheaper windows installed that have failed. Now with all my stress semi relieved there's got to be a way to cut the vinyl covering off and a new layer or some kind of coating of paint/material to fix the eyesores. Anybody have a good reasonable fix/solution. Thanks. DER

Thank God I found this thread. I built my house in 2006 and MANY of my windows have this problem. I’m getting no help from Anderson but this thread validated my feeling this is a material defect. If nothing else, I’m going to fight like hell to find a resolution where Anderson is involved.

Okay, after reading this string of comments RE Anderson windows, I am afraid of using Anderson windows in our new home! We were going to use Anderson Fibrex windows. Has anyone had any experience with them??

Does anyone know of a way to fix the vinyl instead of ripping out the entire window? I have the same problem of the vinyl blistering on our Anderson windows. Our house was built in 2005 which is way past the warranty.

The problem of blistered vinyl bonded to the wood interior casing showed up 15 years after our house was built. Anderson will "do nothing" because their warranty is 10 years. I found that a air heat gun will soften the adhesive behind the vinyl film so I can peel it off to bare wood. The trick is to carefully use a razor cutter to cut the edges of the vinyl off along the room side and the glass side so I can paint and caulk the wood edges with no trace of the vinyl film. It's relatively easy to peel the vinyl film off once you use a heat gun blower that can soften paint so you can scrape it off wood. Be careful not to heat the glass. I use a wide putty knife to block hot air from the heat gun so it only heats the areas where I want to remove the vinyl film. So far it's working fine. In my case the vinyl film comes off as a sheet. The wood looks good so I plan to sand it, prime it, and paint it with interior latex trim paint.

We have the exact same problem and it definitely was not an installation issue.

Repairing Blisters on Vinyl Clad Wood Window Interior Trim

The Fixed, Double-Hung, and Casement windows in my house are failing by the vinyl film bonded to interior wood trim bubbling and blistering. It’s really ugly!!! .

The problem is that the adhesive behind the vinyl sheet fails allowing the vinyl to move away from the wood surface. It could cost tens of thousands of dollars to remove, repair, and re-install the windows. I need a simple, low cost method to remove the blistered film, sand, and clean the wood, so it can be repainted.

I used a razor cutter to make vertical cuts through the vinyl film on the window side and the interior trim molding side so I could lift off a long sections of the vinyl film. Photo 1

The problem is that the vinyl film tore in an irregular fashion with small pieces of vinyl film trapped and protruding from the surface where the interior trim molding covers the side jamb of the window Photo 2

I held a wide putty knife against the edge of the interior trim molding to steady my razor cutter while I cut the vinyl film. Photo 3

If you use the heat blower gun next to the glass BE CAREFUL THE HEAT DOES NOT DAMAGE OR CRACK THE GLASS. In my case, it was easy to razor cut the vinyl film next to the glass so it did not leave any jagged edges when I pull off the vinyl film. The edge of the film next to the interior trim molding was more difficult to remove, so I had to use the heat gun on that side of the trim.

I used a Black and Decker “Heat and Strip paint remover blower gun to soften the vinyl film and the adhesive behind so I could scrape it off flush with the interior window trim. Photo 4

I used a small chisel to scrape the warm, soft vinyl film along the edge of the interior molding trim. The hand tools I used are shown in Photo 5 with small pieces of vinyl trim scraped off the wood with the chisel.

Photo 6 shows a close up of the cleaned wood near the edge of the trim molding.

Photo 7 shows the window ready for sanding before priming and painting. I assume primer will adhere to the sanded glue.

It appears that some sections of the vinyl film can be peeled off, but other sections might need to be heated to soften the adhesive so the film can be removed.

NOTE TO HOUSE PAINTERS: This is a huge new opportunity for you. I assume millions of homeowners will experience this problem described above. Why don’t you develop techniques to remove the blistered vinyl film and advertise. “Don’t spent tens of thousands of dollars removing and replacing your windows because of blisters in the vinyl clad interior trim. We have special techniques to remove the film, prime and paint the wood so that that your windows are no longer an eyesore and look as good as new.”

Photo 7 Cleaned wood ready for sanding, primer, and paint

Photo 1 section of vinyl film torn off wood - note jagged edges from trim molding side

Photo 2 jagged edges of vinyl film along interior trim molding side of jamb

Photo 3 - I used a putty knife as a guide for my trim razor for a clean edge cut

Photo 4 a heat and strip paint removing gun ~ $ 25

Photo 5 tools I used plus a razor cutter

Photo 6 close up section of cleaned edge near interior trim molding

Great follow up and write up. Thank you on behalf of the folks that will have to deal with this in the future.

An Easy, Fast & Effective way to Remove Blistered Vinyl Cladding on Interior Wood Window Trim

I experimented with several methods to remove blistered vinyl clad from interior wood trim. The best way to remove it is to cut it with a razor knife and peel it off the wood.

The only problem is where the vinyl wraps at a right angle over the ¼ inch edge of the wood that tucks behind the interior trim molding. This section of vinyl is long and narrow so it tends to break into small pieces as you pull it off. The small pieces are difficult to remove.

The first step to remove the vinyl sheet is to use a razor to cut the vinyl along the edge of the house trim molding.

The second step is to make a cut in the vinyl about an inch away from the house trim molding. This cut allows you to peel up a section of the vinyl toward the trim molding. It’s easier to peel a strip of vinyl over an inch wide that to try to peel up a ¼ inch strip of vinyl along the trim molding.

The third cut is along the edge of the window trim molding. see the first photo below.

The large sheet of vinyl is easy to remove. The second photo shows why it’s important to cut the vinyl about one inch from the edge along the house interior trim molding so that you can remove the 1/4” strip as part of the wider section of vinyl sheet.

Using a razor cutter and chisel or small putty knife, in 15 minutes, I was able to remove the vinyl

sheet from a fixed interior window section that was 58” wide by 3.5 inch deep.

In took about 10 minutes with a power sander and 120 grit paper to remove the glue residue so this section is ready for priming and painting.

The large sections of vinyl are easy to pull off. The tricky part is to cut the vinyl film so that you can remove the vinyl with the ¼ inch section near the interior trim molding so that it doesn’t tear off in small sections because you'll waste a lot of time trying to pick off the small sections of vinyl next to the house trim molding.

I have the same issue. The glue is old and dry resulting in de-lamination. I tried heating it with an iron and it worked ok...not great but heating the glue up makes it stick back down but it can wrinkle so be aware.

We have the 100 series and they have all warped. Andersen rep said we installed incorrectly bc we nailed every other hole, not every hole and the stucco meets the window where there should be a 1/4” gap. Warning to all future Andersen window purchasers. Make sure you follow the installation instructions to a T and take pictures of every step for proof later.

You choose a good windoe msnufacturer but their lower end window with plastic costed jambs. i suspect the heat and UV from sun has caused the bubbling. it also occurs on metal entey doors with pladtic mouldings around tge glass insert IF a non vented storm door is also used.

t o anseer your question on whether it is fair probably NOT as they should replace the entire unit so your contractor or builder not Andersen is out the labor. chat with your builder and who he bought the windows from let then wirk out the labor.

if all ekse fails you can change the casement sash hardware in about 29 minutes per window i did the same when an andersen casement fogged over and they sent me a new sash anf i transferred the hardware. a drill and tem minutes (max) per window.

Be glad you have Andersen and not the defective Pella windows that rotted under the cladding.

jimc805 My affected windows received no sunlight. They were in the covered deck. The windows with the most sunlight were unaffected (so far).

I found something that worked on these vinyl blisters, a clothes steamer! I had these blisters all over the jambs of my south facing casement windows. I used the steamer to heat the vinyl, smooth out the blisters, and reactivate the glue. Looks great!

Sadly...with the glue being faulty, I suspect it is only temporary. That said, you inventiveness is exactly the kind of ingenuity that made this nation great.

Fingers crossed that it lasts a while until I sell

it!

Briilliant!

At the risk of not sounding sympathetic to these home owners with issues, the home owner has to be involved with the builder/remodeler in the choice of your materials, such as windows and doors so do your homework. You can not leave these decisions up to only the contractor as they are driven by cost vs profit. I believe that anytime you have a lamination (such as vinyl) glued to wood you have the potential of a delamination. Dont buy a window jamb extension kit that is not solid material (wood or polymer).

For those that suggest replacing their entire window (sash, frame and jamb) to fix a jamb problem this is not necessary! I have the 400 series Andersen in maintenance free clad over wood exterior material but I ordered solid wood not vinyl/wood jamb extensions. Some primed wood jamb extensions might be (FJ) finger jointed short pieces of wood glued together - it is a cost saving process in lumber industry snd I have seen the glue fail. This comment not aimed at Andersen, but others. Home owners - Beware of the materials you or your contractor choose.

For those of you upset with Andersen you need to direct your frustration to your installer as they are responsible and will seek help from Andersen. If installers refuse to buy Andrsen products than the msnufacturer will make adjustments. Andersen Renewal only install their own windows so you are in a better position with potential issues.

Andersen is a good window you just have to look at any window construction for build quality and materials used. There is a reasons for difference in cost of windows.

Good luck.

Every situation is different and they should be evaluated on there own. If an owner is suppying the windows they are playing the contractor and taking there risk.

I disagree with the comment "Andersen is a good window". When I retired, my wife and I spent over a year planning our new custom design home and a year checking out builders and property sites in many areas of the US. We found and hired the best custom builder in the area we wanted to build our new house. At that time, our builder recommended Andersen as a very high quality window. Andersen windows around our house face different directions in sun, partial shade, and dense shade. Several of our windows have had the vinyl film begin to blister. The window installation has been inspected and found to comply with the best construction practices. There is "only one conclusion = Andersen has a serious Quality Control problem when they bond vinyl to the wood window interior frame and they only guarantee the vinyl will stick to the wood for 12 months. After that, the quality problem becomes the homeowner's problem. The homeowner has to figure out how to remove the vinyl film from the wood so he can prime and repaint the area so it looks "as good as new." Ignoring a major quality defect and refusing to give advice and help homeowners fix it is NOT characteristic of a high quality window manufacturer.

Tom Sheridan

Tom,

I had Andersen casements installed in our old house in 1998 and our new custom built home in 2019. I choose Andersen 400 series and solid wood trim and painted them myself.

The difference is I did not trust the custom bulder to spec our windows. I researched three other competitive brands vs. Andersen and ordered Andersen. You or your custom builder choose a good window with a fifteen year (15) warranty on sash but a trim package with only a year warranty, that one year warranty should have been a red flag. Most U.S. States require a builder to supply a 12 month warranty so you may have recourse.

The trim package was a bad choice, in my opinion. I would never choose a vinyl wrap any more than I would buy a piece of furniture that is wrapped in vinyl thinking it was high quality furniture. The vinyl worked it is the glue that failed.

Andersen makes a good window for all budgets, your choice of trim package was the problem. Would you buy a car based on a salesman opinion or yours?

Next time dont listen to your custom builder, do your own research.

When the blisters became visible on several windows on different side of the house, I contacted several contractors. They all said the same thing, "Blisters in painted window trim on the inside of the house is always caused by water leaking into the house. I had my house checked and there were NO water leaks around any of the windows. Then, I inspected the blisters and discovered the problem was caused by separation of the vinyl film from the window frame.

Andersen NEVER DISCLOSED THEIR CRAPPY CONSTRUCTION PROCESS IN THEIR LITERATURE. Andersen has a lot of warranties. When I called them, they said the warranty on my window serial numbers was only good for 12 more months. I had an outstanding custom builder with an excellent reputation. The Andersen windows were very expensive but there was and probably still is a quality control problem at Andersen.

Tom

Sorry for your problem and I understand why a home owner not experienced in purchasing building products might spec vinyl trim to save maybe $50/window but after you spent tens of thousands of $$$ on windows, you saved little. Your experienced custom builder should be familiar with these products.

Ultimately a poor choice was made in trim, so dont accept the same replacement material. The one year warranty on trim (only) would have raised questions for me. The trim product is unacceptable and TELL your builder to replace the vinyl with solid wood and paint it. If it was your choice to save a few bucks then the ball is in your court.

Skip the Andersen local rep and call Andersen Corporate, let them know of your lack of your issue and see how they reply or threaten/start a class action suit. You certainly have an audience here. You have a good window just bad choice in trim package. I have replaced wood rotted cladded 13 year old Pella casements windows that were one year out of warranty do these things do happen to manufacturers.

Your builder is ultimately responsible for your home for one year for the finished product in most States, unless the trim was your choice and he did not try to talk you out of vinyl.

Good luck

Hi, all, I happened to jump on and see these recent comments. We actually had the blistering problem on our windows and made some comments higher up in this thread. Looked like a bad contact paper install that looked like the pics at the top of this thread. I was able to figure out the local dealer that the windows were purchased from who in turn brought Andersen into the loop for an inspection. My local dealer had seen this issue in other homes. It is not due to water, sunlight, etc, etc. It is a faulty glue job by Andersen!!! DO NOT LET THEM TELL YOU OTHERWISE! And the whole window does not need replacement; just the jambs. We had a rather large house with many windows. The rep at first had said they would replace the jambs and they would provide material but we would pay install costs. We argued with them that this was ridiculous and was clearly an Andersen issue and the rep quickly flipped during the inspection visit and agreed to pay for it all. We also got them to agree to pay for any more jambs as we suspected the issue would show up on ones that weren't obvious at the time. In the end, Andersen provided parts, our local dealer did the install with removal and cleanup and we were good to go. Thank goodness as we took advantage of the market and sold the house last spring. So be persistent! Andersen most certainly knows this is a defect.

P.S. Our windows were just out of warranty at the time but was not an issue with jamb replacement.

Contact paper is a great analogy!

Andersen or other manufacturers should not offer this type of surface product under the guise of less maintenance for home owner, which unfortunately it isn’t in this case. Glued surfaces can loose adhesion and fail. I was told by a paint chemist that wood absorbs the glue, as well as, paint. Paint is basically a glue with color and flexible characteristics added and If the glue dries out and loses adhesion than it can fail, also heat and water do not help and can lead to failure. Maybe a bad choice of glue by manufacturer or the application on production line.

In my opinion, The home owner has to invest his/her time beyond that of a contractor, in the material specification process and understand that certain processes like this may or do not work “in long term” for many reasons, maybe even beyond a manufacturers research and expectations.

A homeowner and builder needs to error on side of caution.

The issue of blisters caused by separation of the vinyl film from inside window wood trim on Andersen windows is a quality problem that most homeowners and contractors are unaware of. My house was built in 2003. I did not see the blisters until 2019 on fixed picture windows, double hung windows, casement windows, etc.

By the time I discovered the problem, my builder had passed away.

I believe a constructive approach by houzz would be to communicate broadly about this problem to paint manufacturers, paint sellers, and the home paint contractors. Painters are clever at solving problems. They can develop techniques to remove the blistered vinyl trim on Andersen windows, sand, prime and repaint the wood to "perfectly" match the color and appearance of the window when it left the Andersen factory. Another possibility is for someone to develop a YouTubeVideo showing how to remove blistered vinyl trim from the windows and paint them.

You got 16 years before failure not bad compared to other home owner. I dare say even painted Solid wood jamb would need painting in that time.

If the original poster thought five years or less was bad then they might enjoy this story. Prior to the claded Anderson casements we installed Carradco (spelling?) casements, they were primed wood. I painted them immediately and caulked the joints at siding. The wood sill rotted out within six years and I then replaced the entire window and frames with cladded Andersens with solid wood jamb extensions I installed. myself myself. That was 1998 and they still look and work well.

The original posters issue is too common with many manufacturers that offer a cheaper substitute in name of a lower cost jamb option and the homeowner/contractor needs to be smarter in their research in what they are buying. Andrrsen did offer multiple jamb options and the choice of a vinyl wrap with a one year warranty should have been recognized. This ultimately becomes an Anderson quality control issue and an infavorable name recognition problem but is actually the adhesive manufacturer issue as well as a little blame on the Andersen program manager who specified the glue and this process.

The Andersen window is still a good window and the research into whst we are buting is on us the homeowner and contractor to serve our clients.

First, I'm amazed to find th exact problem I'm having with my Andersen 400 casement windows (two sets) in my kitchen. Fortunately, these are the only Andersen windows in my house. The windows were installed in 2003. Besides the blistering of vinyl, all 4 individual window operators failed about 10 years ago. I replaced them all (wasn't too difficult). It was the gear mechanism in the body of the operator and not the spline at th ebase of the hand crank. Anyway, I think Andersen is overrated, Marvin make a much higher quality product.