uPVC doors

theadore_2

hello,

in the sheffield area, looking to get front and back PVC doors, want to get an idea of how much to expect. Also a recommendation on a firm that will just give me a quote and not try to sell me windows for hours which i already have would be a nice

aylesby

What you pay should reflect the quality of the door, the security of the door furniture and the overall workmanship. January and February are lean times for these guys and they should give you a better price. Ask how long they guarantee the door for. Ours is slammed many times a day.

A cheap and nasty door could go under £30 but if you want a letter box make sure they know how big and where.
Fancy glass requirements can seriously increase the price.
Door furniture are the hinges, multipoint locking and handles. This can cost more than the door.
One man should fit a door in an hour or two provided there are no problems.
Finally tidy up and take your old doors to the tip.

A reasonable budget would be £300+ for each door but I do not live in Yorkshire.

gromituk

Don't go with the nationals - or at least, make sure you get quotes from local companies too.

theadore_2

thanks

had a quote from staybright which gave me minor coronary difficulties... going to get a few more.

really annoys that people will take the !!!!!!... fortunately got a salesman who was in his first week so no polished selling technique, he even apologised for the orchistrated call from his manager to advise he can go a bit lower if we agree tonight.

also couldn't do it for 8-10 weeks, by which time it will nearly be spring and i will not care as much as i do now...

Poppycat

We are just getting a quote from a local firm for some patio doors. We have had work from this company before and although not the cheapest you can get what you pay for. We have had some windows door already which have lasted 12 years. We had the front of the house sound proofed because boy racers love to race up and won our street with that my exhaust is nosier than yours mentality. Anyhow since we got the front of the house done 2 years ago things have changed with specs with coating on the windows. Normally there is K glass which is suppose to be energy efficient, the company told me its only 15% efficient but the latest stuff is much better and they showed me a test with normal, K glass and the new stuff with a hot lamp and you can feel the difference.

Dont get cheap upvc as it can go yellow the best stuff they call virgin plastic which is new plastic not recycled stuff. I would ask friends and family for recommendations too.

gromituk

A hot lamp? Its U-value is the only scientifically recognised way of expressing it. What on earth do they mean by "15% efficient"? It's nonsensical.

I agree that virgin PVC is a good idea though.

gromituk

Oh, NEVER agree to a discount to sign up at once. If they can offer you a discount now, they can offer you one later. It is merely a ploy to stop you getting other people in to quote, or deciding against the whole thing.

Staybright's a national isn't it? A neighbour got a £1000+ quote from a national for a front door, rang up to cancel it (you have a cooling-off period enshrined in law) and they immediately chopped £400 off the price.

Poppycat

As far as I am aware because it happen to me with Everest some rogue agent who spent 5 hourse at my house gave me the hard sell and I gave him a desposit but he claimed I could cancel any time. Well according to T&S cooling off period is only for cold collers not if you invite them in by invitation. It took me ages to get my desposit back and the rogue agent later got sacked because of complaints.

gromituk is quite right about the offers though they try and get a sale before they live dont ever do that think about it first and get some quotes.

Poppycat

They had a box with a lamp in that was red and plugged into mains. They shoved glass 3 types, the normal the K glass and another type that is more efficent so they told me you could tell the difference in how much heat came through.

It was a local firm and I no the owner although I couldnt say if it was still a con. They do howveer come highly regarded in my area, and no the owner since he was 16 and now 40 odd.

gromituk

As I say, ask for the U-value of the glass. Anything else is just hokum. That demonstration sounds very dubious to me, because the sort of heat coming from a light bulb is short wavelength - like from the sun - whereas the sort of heat you want to keep in your room is long wavelength. That is why the sun heats a greenhouse. And it says nothing about how good the insulation of the frames is.

I recently had several people in quoting for PVC-U double glazing. Without exception, the nationals were a lot more expensive (regardless of the "special discounts in your area"), and I nearly threw one out on his ear when he wormed his way into talking about "special deals if you sign now", even though the first thing I said to him was I wanted his best price with no bull!!!!. He drove away in his Chelsea tractor and never even bothered to send me a quote. Not only are the nationals grossly overpriced (they have to pay for the commercial TV programmes you watch, after all), but they are much harder to tie down if something goes wrong, and their quality is no better than the genuine ones from the rest.

theadore_2

thanks for the advice people.

no more progress today.. have someone coming in from a local firm next week, hopefully getting a 60% seasonal discount and any other offers on top. just have to wait and see... i'd consider putting them in myself but the work ethic suffers in the cold.