A house renovation effort might occasionally be a complete failure.
Elisa and Peter DeNicholas have been fighting with Home Depot over a back door for nearly three years, and it has only caused problems.
The couple made the decision to install a new French door in place of a sliding patio door that had grown challenging to open and close.
In January 2022, they said, they spoke with a salesman at the Home Depot in Toms River about their desire for their Lavallette home.
Elisa DeNicholas stated, “We live in a house that is near the bay and in a very windy area, even though it is not on the water.” We wanted a door that was reliable and strong enough to withstand strong winds, therefore we specified this.
After deciding on an Andersen door, they paid $6,449, which included an installation cost of $1,048.
There were problems immediately when the door was installed that April. It wasn’t a huge deal that the screens weren’t accessible yet, but what was the main issue? According to DeNicholas, the lock wasn’t operating correctly.
Three weeks after claiming to have ordered a new lock, the installers tried the solution.
It was still not functioning correctly. According to DeNicholas, it needed to be held in a specific position and then twisted violently to lock. I disagreed with the installers’ perception that I was having trouble because I wasn’t doing it correctly.
When the screens arrived the following month, personnel installed a second new lock.
However, she claimed that the lock failed once more within a week.
She said that the door was always opening due to the wind or the lock’s inability to catch because it was so loose. The door was then opening on its own initiative and the lock was practically hanging off it.
Home Depot eventually dispatched someone to have a look after six customer care calls.
An additional fix was made on June 20, 2022. However, it only lasted for six months, and because the Home Depot guarantee had expired, the shop advised her to get in touch with Andersen.
When I did that, Andersen promised to provide a lock and other door parts, according to DeNicholas. Since Home Depot did the installation in the first place and they believed it was their responsibility to fix, they refused to leave.
After six more months of complaints and calls, Home Depot sent someone to fix the door in July 2023. However, according to DeNicholas, they did not use the parts that Andersen had given, and the problem persisted.
Throughout the summer and fall, Home Depot returned multiple times, and by the end of October, it appeared to be functioning well.
In March 2024, it failed once more. A technician from Home Depot arrived after multiple calls and completed the repair. However, this one also experienced issues. The door was difficult to close by the winter of 2025.
According to DeNicholas, we had to slam it shut with such force that I was afraid the glass would shatter.
CONNECTED:
Do you need your house fixed up? Before you employ a contractor, take precautions.
According to the consumer, Home Depot messes up delivery and refuses to give a refund.
Homeowners claim that Lowe’s fixed a window job that seemed to be a preschool project.
For a while, they put up with it, hoping that the weather-induced growth was the culprit. However, it persisted until the spring.
In May, the installer returned. He put the hinges at fault this time. He stated he will order replacements.
DeNicholas called Home Depot once more after a few weeks had passed with no updates. The customer support representative assured DeNicholas that the order would be placed and that he would receive a call the following week, even though it appears that the hinges were never ordered.
There was no call.
She claimed that this was the most annoying purchase she had ever made. I find it incomprehensible that a business like Home Depot would not stand behind its work.
She posted critical reviews on Google, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau because she was tired of it all.
She also sought assistance from Bamboozled.
We contacted Home Depot to look into it after sharing the repair history with them.
After getting in touch with DeNicholas the following day, Home Depot dispatched another installer to the house.
DeNicholas stated during the inspection that although they appear to believe the door is in good condition, the installation was the source of the issue. He stated he would try to get me some sort of compensation, but he believed that a new door would not solve the issue.
More hinges that Home Depot bought won’t be delivered until July 17.
According to DeNicholas, purchasing a home was a simpler process than having this door fixed. There isn’t anything that I can think of that was more bothersome or aggravating. And it is completely absurd that it has continued for more than three years.
With Home Depot, we checked in. It expressed regret to the couple and said that it looked forward to making things right because this isn’t the kind of experience it wants its customers to have.
DeNicholas stated, “I am not happy with this situation because it has gone on for too long.” But I suppose there isn’t much I can do right now.
We’re hoping this repair works. If not, we will inform you in a subsequent column.
On Thursday, June 19, 2025, Elisa and Peter DeNicholas stand at the problematic door they purchased from house Depot at their Lavallette, New Jersey, house.Jim Lowney | For Advance Media in New Jersey
Stories by
Karin Price Mueller
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