Double Glazing advice please?

x-spendthrift

We need to double glaze the whole of our house including front and back doors. We need to do it on a budget but with so many DG companies knocking around we don't know where to start. Would it be best to concentrate on having downstairs done first and then upstairs at a later date. Do companies do this on interest free terms? We don't really know anybody who has recently had their houses DG because they were already done when they moved in. We want to avoid any cowboys but want a good job done with minimum fuss.
Also at the back of the house we have a MASSIVE window which is floor to ceiling the whole length of the house ( I would guess that this alone would cost us £2000 at least, probably even more). Also because this is such a huge area is there a special type of glass that can help to keep the house warm?
Can anybody out there give us some advice please? Many thanks

woodbutcher_2

I fit double glazing and would do one window or the whole house in any order the customer required.There are companies that offer credit facilities on windows but i would steer clear of them and borrow the money from a bank as they usually charge high interest rates.Would be inclined to do the upstairs first so as not to damage the downstairs windows when working above.All glass now is what is known as low-e glass which is energy efficient.You will need planning permission from the local council or a fensa registered company who will deal with that for you.

itsbeef

Kind of touched on this subject recently......

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=332552

Hope it helps

HugoSP

woodbutcher wrote:

...............You will need planning permission from the local council or a fensa registered company who will deal with that for you.

Don't you mean Building Regs approval?

travel_freak

Hi x-spendthrift,

I have had some quotes very recently, although only for a flat.

The keenest price I had came from Anglian and the salesman told me that I would find it extremly hard to better because he said Anglian had had a very quiet December and so all agents had been authorised to sell basically at factory price so that they have orders going through the book for the financial year end. He told me the effective discount from their usual price is 58%. Of course I have no idea if this is true or simply sales patter, but they've been around £2,000 cheaper than any other quotes I've had so far.

The sales brochure and patter regarding the quality of the units sounds good. They do these "gas filled sealed units" (no idea what this means!) which are supposedly the best on the market for energy efficiency/warmth.

I didn't discuss interest free options with them but I did also get a quote from Everest and they told me they have some sort of instalment scheme whereby you are charged interest but when signing up for this you get an upfront discount and so the net result is that you end up paying what you would have done anyway but spread over a year. Sorry, I don't have more precise info on this as Everest's quote was much higher so I've decided not to pursue this one.

I also had a quote from two smaller independent companies - one was Fensa authorised, the other wasn't. Neither have beaten Anglian's quote. If you go with a non-Fensa person then you have to apply to the Building Control Department for them to inspect the windows once they're in and make sure they conform to current building regs. My council would charge around £100 for this. It seems to me this is a slightly riskier way to do it as once you have the windows in, if there are any problems with their compliance with building regs you will have the problem of sorting things out. It seems to me it's simpler to choose a Fensa authorised person at the outset and then they deal with the certificate of compliance for you.

I posted on here for advice too and the best was to try to find others in the area who have used the company you opt for and ask them how they got on, whether they were happy with the service and fitting or not.

Good luck!

Regards,

ScoobieGirl

One of the biggest things that affected costs when I got mine spec'd was the number of openings within that window. i.e. a window with a symmetrical opening on both sides with a fixed bit in the middle is more expensive than only one side opening.

I said to the sales agent than I would have the doors done later & he said he would give me a better price if I did them all at one. Of course that may have been patter, but I was happy with the price and they did a good job.

x-spendthrift

Thanks everyone for all your advice. Happy Christmas & New year!!

03022242

building regs would be needed for non FENSA installers. a building notice i have been told costs £100 and an inspector will be send round to check the installation

woodbutcher_2

Yes i did mean building regs approval.Been working long hours renovating my house.That's my excuse anyway.

_Jan

My personal advice is not to touch EVEREST with a bargepole. I have a huge window and draughts pour through, water, its noisy, my home is cold, and I am sure I can hear water in the frames when it rains. I have been sat fully dressed with a thermal dressing gown on and heating going full blast and frozen!! The draughts and leaks were so bad I had to seal out the water with plastic 2" parcel tape - and I do not mean the odd corner! Even after several visits water is coming in and there are draughts. The two metal keys swing in the draught through the keyhole and there are holes on the inside of the frame where the wind whistles through. I ordered uPVC as I did not want maintainance. I told both the salesman and the surveyor my alumuminium windows were good apart from condensation - my home WAS beautifully and warm and quiet. Now Everest have offered aluminium - I have said if I wanted that I would have stuck with my previous window which didnt have any problem and not paid nearly £3000 for the one patio door! I truly believe the only reason they are offering aluminium is because the glass is too big and heavy for their PVCu frame and before they gunged the window unit to the frame the frame was bending in the wind!! Their response to my wanting PVCu as I was sold was would I consider secondary double glazing behind their installation which would help keep out the draughts, cure the condensation and help keep my home warmer!!!!! I have said their product is not fit for the purpose. Glass and Glazing Federation letter states "We understand that the company does not accept that your PVCu door was not fit for purpose, and their decision to replace it was taken because they wanted to help you, not because they had to." Surely GGF can tell even from that if the window was fit they would not be trying to replace it with an aluminium one!!! My local councillor came this weekend and on inspecting said it is NOT condensation it is rainwater and the bottom beading was bowing away on the inside - and if it was doing that on the inside it was likely it was also doing it on the outside - therefore allowing the water into the frame." If you have any doubt about the standard of Everest windows and service you can see full pictures and log including the fireman inspecting my sealed up windows which I could not have escaped had the fire spread!! www.grapevine4you.blogspot.com. As far as I am concerned Everest have taken my money under false pretences.

Anglian on the other hand have not given me any worry. None of my other windows by them or other companies have let the slightest bit of rain in during the same weather. From my experience Everest is far from the best it is the worst. It may have applied for more quality marks but that doesnt mean it is better than someone who has not got the money to have the product tested!!! I wrote to the British Standards Institute and said I didnt realise their kite marks meant I would be able to fly kites indoors!!! I contacted FENSA and spoke to them and explained the situation - they said they did not come out and do inspections but I should get a private surveyor and then they MIGHT consider doing something.

Jan

_Jan

EVEREST WINDOWS NOT "THE BEST" IN MY HOME!! I wish I had done a review of the situation and gone and inspected their work before ordering and not believing their advert which was completely misleading in case!!



Jan