Custom Exchange Windows

Michal and his team are the best in the Tri Valley area. After thorough research online, I reached out to Michal for an estimate. He came on time and emailed me that evening to provide me with an estimate. He told me it would take about 8 weeks for the windows to arrive. I didn't bother looking at any other window companies because I liked Michal immediately after meeting him and knew he was the right guy.

8 weeks late after the Simonton windows arrived, him and his team replaced 6 windows and 1 sliding patio door. They were so meticulous, worked hard all day long, and clean. Everyone was so nice and professional. We immediately noticed the decreased level of noise. Our old windows were from the 70s and we live in a very busy area. I couldn't take the noise anymore. I am so happy that we chose Michal to do our windows.

Great communication, great service, and amazing quality.

Michal responded promptly to my request for a quote and surprised me with a great price for high quality windows. Installment was even before the promised date and was completed in record time. His installers left my place spotless and it was an all around great experience which leaves me to highly recommend Michal Kuron and his team if you ever need window replacements.

We hired Custom Exchange Windows to do a full window upgrade from single pane to dual pane, as well as replacing a sliding door. The owner is professional and responsive. The workers arrived on time and were courteous and professional. The cost for the job was very reasonable, and the quality of the windows and sliding door is excellent. The windows and door do a good job of insulating our home against the elements. I'd highly recommend them if you are considering upgrading your windows and/or sliding door.

I shopped around an RFP to replace 22 windows to five different window installers in the Bay Area - but I ended up going with Custom Exchange mostly because they work with a brand I heard positive things about (Simonton), excellent pricing, great communications, and they're a local business.

I'm glad I went with Custom Exchange. They were easy to work with - Michal Kuron was my primary contact, and he was very responsive, direct in his answers, and didn't waste any time. I was also highly surprised that Custom Exchange doesn't take any money down (e.g. 10% on signing, 40% on start of install, etc); I placed the order with Michal, took four weeks for the windows to arrive, they scheduled an installation that took two days, and then I paid on the entire amount in full on the last day. The whole thing was stress free. There's nothing shady about Custom Exchange either - one of the competitors I had out was double the price, and then they offered a 10% discount on the quote if I promise to write a Yelp review. Again, Michal was totally direct - here's the price and it's low to begin with - I didn't bother negotiating with him since all the other quotes I had were much higher (one competitor took their Simonton bid close to Custom Exchange, but at that point I was more vested with sticking with a local East Bay company).

Regarding the installation, it was efficient - it was more like two half days where the team (consisting of Robert and Joseph) arrived promptly at 8:00AM and they knocked out one floor per day by about 1:30PM PST. Given it's the middle of a pandemic, I was pleased to see that Custom Exchange uses a small team to do the installation - some of the other vendors I talked to said it would take upwards of five installers to do the same amount of work in the same amount of time. Also on the pandemic, Robert and Joseph kept their masks on the entire time - which I found very considerate and respectful. I read a review on Yelp where someone complained about the installers speaking Polish to one another - I didn't have an issue with this because the times I spoke to either Robert or Joseph (e.g. giving me a walkthrough, fixing a broken cam lock, offering snacks, etc), their English was perfect and I did not have any issues understanding them, even through face masks.

In terms of windows themselves, I had ordered the Simonton DaylightMax 7300 and Madeira 7500 series. There's a slight green tint to the windows, probably due to being Low-E3 366 rated; it's noticeable, but doesn't bother me. Simonton has a 2x lifetime warranty - so as long as I own the home, and whoever I sell the house to. I opted to go for windows without the grid, so it really changed up the look of the house - I feel like I get to see more real-estate looking in and out of the windows.

I was planning on writing this review later to give the windows more time to settle, but this past weekend's weather - ~105F days and rain in the evening - was a good first test on performance. See attached image from my thermostat and sensors for reference, but without the AC on and temperatures ranging around ~105F, the house stayed in the 80s. It was on track to enter the 90s before I turned on the AC in the evening, but the point is that prior to the installation, I was hitting 80s internally on high 80F days. On a day where it went from 90 to 105 between 11AM and 5PM in the past - I would have the AC on the entire time. Although my house isn't overly efficient, these windows are making a noticeable difference. After the rains this weekend, I went through and checked the windows - I wasn't seeing water pull up in the window tracks anymore like I did with my prior setup. No leaks or other issues from what I can tell. The final note on performance is noise - I live about a mile off of 580, and with the windows closed, it's definitely a lot quieter. The overall ambient sounds of the freeway are still present, but they're softer and quieter.