Double Glazing What Price? UPVC Sash Big Victorian House

funkyfresh3000

Hello.

Just had several quotes from the big nationals to replace victorian timber sash windows with uPVC sash windows.

I'm not looking for the cheapest supplier, nor recommendations for suppliers, I am wanting to know what I should be paying for a good quality job that respects the house.

I've seen other peoples quotes on line, ie. "I got X amount of windows for £X" but they never state the type or size of the windows and this severely alters the cost.

With all the BS discounts and absolute horror stories online about the "big 4" and their unfair pricing systems it is impossible to tell what I should be paying for the job. I have no idea if it is 5 or 50k?. All the companies I've recieved quotes from have been accused in forums of overcharging customers by £1000's which only becomes evident after the customer refuses the quote repeatedly.

There are 11 windows in total (3 of which comprise of a bay). They are all very large. I have included the measurements below. We want white UPVC sash, made to look like the exising windows (i.e. we don't want to square off the existing arched brickwork with upvc infills, we want arched upvc frames). I want reinforced upvc and good quality glass and security fittings.

2 x 220x125cm
2 x 220x90cm
2 x 175x90cm
5 x 175x125cm

Any ideas what a job like this would cost?
Thanks so much in advance!

PS. I put this thread in the "is this quote right" section instead of this one by accident, so it appears in both, apologies, new to this!

Ionkontrol

Putting in plastic windows does not 'respect the house'.
How about refurbing the original windows?

Doozergirl

Ionkontrol wrote: »

Putting in plastic windows does not 'respect the house'.
How about refurbing the original windows?

Mmm. When you have to consider cost and maintenance then sometimes timber just isn't an option new and refurbing single glazed sashes? Not practical if you want to be warm and by the time you've

With a little bit of thought and someone who really knows what they're doing, you can get uPVC that looks really good. Dummy sashes, sash horns, dividers, different colours etc. Not original but genuinley smart and quite sympathetic.

OP, I go directly to a manufacturer (I won't recommend them as you'v asked us not to!) For this house, very similar sized windows, reinforced glass (you have to for building regs at that size anyway) and a low uValue window (we used the second most expensive type of glass out of a choice of four (1.2 uValue), all of which met building regs) with lots of extra bits to echo the original windows with sash horns, proper dividers to make it look like four windows in the sah etc. we paid about £250 a window. Fitting we pay someone locally on a day rate and get building control to approve them.

I'd not use a National ever. A local independent will be better for service and you should get someone who actually knows about windows. Last time I used a local independent I paid around £300 a window, fitted but they were less fancy and the windows were half the size! No-one else could touch his prices until we started buying direct ourselves.

Drive around and look at people's windows. There is a vast difference between uPVC window that fits a space and one that has proportions and details to reflect what was there originally.

funkyfresh3000

Hi. I totally hear what your saying about the PVC v Timber issue in old houses. Me and my partner talked for hours and hours about it. Ofcourse the house would look amazing in hardwood and it would inevitably add a degree of value and at first we wanted nothing but hardwood, but we feel it requires too much upkeep, it would be impossible for us to sand, prime and paint multiple coats every 5 years and we would have to pay a contractor to do it.

We can't risk the windows rotting and this is such a high risk with wood and the guarantees for timber are much less than UPVC and have many loopholes (i.e. whose responsibility is the damage?) My Mother in law spent alot of money on a timber conservatory for her listed building. It's been up 12 years and they've had to have large sections removed due to dry rot DESPITE them repainting and looking after it. They were still under guarantee and the DG company came out and sawed out sections out of the timber and replaced them, the repair was very obvious.

Also security wise, UPVC is much more durable because in good windows it is steel reinforced.

We are not opting for uPVC as a money saving option, we just want to put the windows in and relax for the next 20 years. When I said we wanted to "respect the house" I meant that we wanted to mimic the windows existing appearance, try to maintain the character of the building. Some DG companies have ugly thick transoms/mullions, bolt on features etc. but uPCV has come along way and you can find sash windows that look really authentic with fine detail only it's made of plastic and not wood.

Thanks for your response!

funkyfresh3000

Hi. Thanks so much for your imput.

I did not know that windows of a certain size required safety glass, just thought it was determined by their height from ground level. That gives me something to double check. Will that still be the case if there are multiple panes in the window? i.e the size I listed for the windows will not be one solid sheet of glass.

£250 a window sounds very cheap when I have been quoted between 1 and 2k per window. I found out about DGCOS on here and have 2 local approved fitters (they supply also) coming to quote me this week, so buying straight from manufacturer could be a possibility although I would like to get the whole job done with one company.

In terms of cost for Double glazing, I've heard that supply and fit should be around £250 per square metre for good quality. Does anybody know how accurate this figure is?

Doozergirl

funkyfresh3000 wrote: »

Hi. Thanks so much for your imput.

I did not know that windows of a certain size required safety glass, just thought it was determined by their height from ground level. That gives me something to double check. Will that still be the case if there are multiple panes in the window? i.e the size I listed for the windows will not be one solid sheet of glass.

£250 a window sounds very cheap when I have been quoted between 1 and 2k per window. I found out about DGCOS on here and have 2 local approved fitters (they supply also) coming to quote me this week, so buying straight from manufacturer could be a possibility although I would like to get the whole job done with one company.

In terms of cost for Double glazing, I've heard that supply and fit should be around £250 per square metre for good quality. Does anybody know how accurate this figure is?

You reinforce the bottom sections. Certainly you need reinforced because if it's less than 800mm from the floor (which most are, especially with windows that tall) but with windows nearly a metre high, we've reinforced the bottom section of all of them.

You can buy great big folding sliding doors for £2000. There's not a chance I'd pay that for a window! :eek:

The company I use fit as well but it's cheaper for us to use our own fitter.

funkyfresh3000

There is a company called Masterframe who specialise in sash windows, it's all they make. They have a bygone collection and in it a beautifull 'late victorian centre bar' design. This is exactly what I meant when I said I was looking for someone who would respect the house. However, I can't find any reviews on these guys. Anyone had any dealings with them? I may put this is a new thread. Thank you

Doozergirl

http://markbrinkley.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-sash-windows-work.html

Mark Brinkley is the self-build guru. If you put in his name and Masterframe, you get quite a few blogs back. And he is complimentary.

They make no bones about being expensive. However, if I had budget of £2000 a window, I would opt for a traditional hardwood!


Looks like you might be able to go direct to them - might be cheaper than through someone else.

WillowCat

I have three Bygone collection windows, installed earlier this year.

They are absolutely gorgeous - white wood grain, continuous sash horns, deep bottom rail etc.

They were also approximately twice the price that a local company quoted for their version of a uPVC sash window, but the attention to detail was not to the same standard.

I live in an exposed (coastal) location so didn't consider timber at all.

However, we were very unhappy with the fitters which soured our experience. Unfortunately Masterframe allocate an area to a single fitting company so we had no choice but to use this company.

The local company who quoted for sash windows fitted regular windows to the back of our house and they were first class. They did contact Masterframe to try to buy the windows (one of their other ranges, i.e. Heritage) we wanted for them to fit but apparently it was a no go.

funkyfresh3000

Hi. Thanks so much for your response. Which regional fitter were you allocated? Did Masterframe/Bygone address any problem issues in due course and to your satisfaction?

WillowCat

I'll PM you.

The issues were not with the windows, therefore we did not get Masterframe involved. The issues were with the quality of the fitting, and collateral damage to the house.... I'll PM you.