Meister Windows & Siding

In 2014 we moved from Andersonville, Chicago to Arlington Heights for the excellent school district and beautiful neighborhood. We purchased a 2200 sq ft home built in 1965 which required a bit of work. As our home inspector said «your house has good bones but eventually the big items would need to be replaced» meaning furnace, windows, soffits, gutters and roof. Since we had 5 years left on the roof… the windows, soffits and gutters came first. After reading Consumer Reports window #1 ratings of Simonton we decided to get bids from Home Depot and Olson (located on Angies-​list). Working with subcontractors on expensive projects typically spells disaster so Olson had a huge advantage over Home Depot. They offered me a fair price with their experienced crew. Unfortunately I couldn’t get myself to love the Simonton windows regardless of the Consumer Report review. They were economical windows but appeared inferior to other windows that I tested just opening and closing.
I spent many more hours reviewing Simonton, Marvin Integrity, Gilkey and Okna. I narrowed it down to Gilkey and Okna because of their higher performance and online quality reviews. In the end, I selected the Okna 800/​Enviro-​Star because they have highest air infiltration/​draft ratings in the industry at .001 and appear to be a more modern style, whereas the Gilkey appear fortress like thick. Okna windows are manufactured at a modern plant in Bristol, PA. I read they are a major window supplier in the New England area so I felt they could standup against the harsh Chicago winters. Now I just needed to locate a contractor that supported this product.
I found 2 installers that supported Okna windows in Illinois and determined Meister Windows and Siding was the best contractor for my job. Meister Windows and Siding is a family business operating by word of mouth since 1963 although they just recently added a website
. Allan Meister and his son Shane are expert carpenters and were taught their masterful skills and integrity from their father/​grandfather which allows them to identify and correct problems. These little glitches typically appear in older homes during installation and in my case were automatically corrected at no additional charge to me. The amazing thing is that Meister Windows price for 21 Okna 800 Enviro-​Star triple pane windows wasn’t much more than the inferior Simonton windows. I must mention the Okna windows also include ThruVision screens at no additional cost. You can’t tell that you’re looking through a screen… just amazing! Since I had room left in my budget Meister Windows and Siding also replaced my soffits and gutters. My gutters are the thicker gauge 6″ variety not the 5″ standard. Their installation looks wonderful and passersby’s have asked for Meister Windows and Siding phone number. No one likes to write a large check after purchasing a home but Allen and Shane Meister made it a lot easier.
One last thing to mention: Yes they do travel daily from the Kankakee area to support the suburbs of Chicago with their quality work.

Al Meister and son Shane are the best. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you consider them for a couple reasons. They do EXCELLENT work and they are family owned and operated. I read everyone else’s reviews and decided to call Al to get a quote for all of my downstairs windows and a sliding glass door. All the reviews about being timely, and cleaning up, and seeming like they were never there is all true. Their pricing is very competitive and they will be there to service my warranty in the future. There was a problem with one window frame and they wanted the install to be exactly right so they came back on a special trip to resolve the problem. Meister Windows and Siding are great folks to help you with new windows and they are good folks to get to know. I am also very impressed with the Okna window and glad I made the decision to install Okna windows. I can already tell the difference in my house and I havent even finished replacing all the windows yet! I will be using them in the spring to do the rest of my windows in the house. Great job!