French doors

brummie_girl

I've had 3 quotes for French doors which I'm mulling over (despite pressure from one firm to sign up immediately as the 'special price' was only available for 24 hours). Involves removing a large window & brickwork below and replacing with white uPVC internally beaded Georgian style multiway French doors (1700x2100mm). The prices include materials & labour:

Firm 1 (national, well known) £3500. Argon-filled, low E DG. Steel frames, 9 point locking system, anti-bump handles.

Firm 2 (national, well known) £3021. Argon-filled, low E DG. Steel frames, 5 point locking system.

Firm 3 (local builder) £1650. Pilk K DG. Steel frames. Multi-point locking system. Windows made by local reputable firm (can inspect prior to purchase). Builder not FENSA regsitered, but recommended I ask building inspector to issue a certificate on completion which will cost £75.

Does anyone with industry know-how have any advice? I was put off firm 1 by their pushy & obvious sales tactics (list price halved & phoned the area manager for further discounts, pressure to have finance & sign up immediately), but we have used them before & were pleased with their work (replacing our guttering & fascias). Firm 2 are 'the best' (!) but the price of firm 3 is obviously attractive, and the builder was recommended to me.

When I look at the price some people have paid to have their entire house double-glazed, £3000 for a set of doors seems a bit steep.....

thehairybuilder

to put this into perspective you can buy A rated quality pvc french doorsets from any builders merchants for £700 - £800 - I buy them from here http://www.cairngormwindows.co.uk/
so the rest of the price is basically the fitting price which would suggest the 3rd price is the sensible one

iamcornholio

IMO, avoid the rip-off national companies. At least £500 of their quotes is pure commision for the sleazy rep. More so if you sign up for finance too

The quote for £1.7k inc council fee is more like it for Birmingham, but you could get this work done for as low as £1.4k from small local firms or sole traders

Argon fill is sometimes required for doors with a large glass area compared to room floor area, but for replacement such as this, you wont get much benefit from it, and it is generally not required - and the building inspector will be satisfied with just the low-e glass

Locally, 1700mm french doors can be made for around £400, and are generally less than £500 "off the self" from a merchant

joncarpet

apologies for jumping on your thread, but we've just had a quote to replace a 2500x2700mm patio door with french doors and wing lites either side, make good the plaster around it and dispose of patio door for £1350 (from a builder who has done other work for us in past).
not sure of the lock or glass quality at moment, but is the price about right for Leeds?

brummie_girl

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to opt for a local firm or builder rather than one of the nationals, and from what you've said a price of £1500-£1700 seems fair. :beer:

SarahLou

The third quote sounds the best to me - very reasonable in fact. We've had quotes within the last 6 months to have our patio doors taken out and some french doors put in place (so no hassle with any walls getting in the way as the hole is there already - in fact many said they'd have to put "fillers" in as patio doors are wider than conventional french doors). Our quotes ranged from £950 to £1900 ish. So your third quote sounds very reasonable indeed.

brummie_girl

I've had another quote from a local specialist window firm. I was tempted to go with them even before I had the quote through, because the guy that came round was straight-talking, answered all my questions and applied no pressure. The quote was £1158! Pays to shop around....

gallagher30

£1158 is more like it!

Just shows!

rommers

brummie_girl wrote: »

I've had another quote from a local specialist window firm. I was tempted to go with them even before I had the quote through, because the guy that came round was straight-talking, answered all my questions and applied no pressure. The quote was £1158! Pays to shop around....

which firm was that brummie girl?

ytfcmad

brummie_girl wrote: »

I've had 3 quotes for French doors which I'm mulling over (despite pressure from one firm to sign up immediately as the 'special price' was only available for 24 hours). Involves removing a large window & brickwork below and replacing with white uPVC internally beaded Georgian style multiway French doors (1700x2100mm). The prices include materials & labour:

Firm 1 (national, well known) £3500. Argon-filled, low E DG. Steel frames, 9 point locking system, anti-bump handles.

Firm 2 (national, well known) £3021. Argon-filled, low E DG. Steel frames, 5 point locking system.

Firm 3 (local builder) £1650. Pilk K DG. Steel frames. Multi-point locking system. Windows made by local reputable firm (can inspect prior to purchase). Builder not FENSA regsitered, but recommended I ask building inspector to issue a certificate on completion which will cost £75.

Does anyone with industry know-how have any advice? I was put off firm 1 by their pushy & obvious sales tactics (list price halved & phoned the area manager for further discounts, pressure to have finance & sign up immediately), but we have used them before & were pleased with their work (replacing our guttering & fascias). Firm 2 are 'the best' (!) but the price of firm 3 is obviously attractive, and the builder was recommended to me.

When I look at the price some people have paid to have their entire house double-glazed, £3000 for a set of doors seems a bit steep.....

If it helps, if a fabricator was buying this size door in Aluminium powder coated in White they would pay circa £500, Ali is roughly 30% more expensive than PVC. This is the cost of the metal only you then add on labor for manufacture, glass costs and fitting. They tend to work on £1000 per panel so less 30% for PVC should mean you should pay around £1400-£1500 for the equivalent in PVC.

I work for the biggest producer of Aluminium profile in Europe to the building trade.

PS: Aluminium French doors will out last and out perform any PVC product.

docmatt

rommers wrote: »

which firm was that brummie girl?

She's probably moved house.