Help,double glazing advice.

trafalgar_2

First a little story ,I have just been through 3 hrs of sales pitch and was actually impressed but then came the price..................£10,000 for 8 (four of which I would call small hall windows) upvc windows which by the end of it reduced to £6,400.................£5,000 if I committed by midnight tonight ....I didn't as I object to being pressured.

is that a reasonable price or extortion.

I know nothing about the cost of double glazing and would be very interested in hearing rough prices that anyone has had to pay and / or recommendation of particular companies that people have had dealings with.


Please help , my house is i need of new windows:)

Rex_Mundi

Which area are you in?

What you've got to realise is that the guy that came to see you is a salesman. He is worried about his commision which is part of the price he gave you. So straight away you will be paying for more than just the windows.

Find a local small business. Chances are you will get the boss out to quote you. He will be interested in selling you windows not getting his commision. Also big companies are more prone to using contractors to fit the windows. They are paid by the job, so the quicker they get in and out of your place, the quicker they get their next job and paid for yours. Smaller companies are more likely to employ their fitters, so you will get much more feedback if you have a problem.

Get at least three quotes before you decide who to go with.

I would always be wary of any company that employs high pressure techniques (like you've just been through) to sell their products. If they are genuinely offering a good deal. They should have no problem leaving you with the info and letting you make your own mind up.

I worked for a small double glazing company for many years. For a quote you would be lucky to keep the boss there for more than half an hour. He would measure up, answer any questions you had and give you a price. The price would hold for one month. We were too busy to waste time on sales tactics. The quality of service and the windows kept the company busy all year round.

Rex_Mundi

An afterthought.............

Because of my experience in glass (over twenty years as a glasscutter) I was recently contacted by one of the big window companies and asked if I would be interested in selling for them. They offered me 15% commision if you paid cash/cheque/card, or 20% commision if you took out finance.

Now look again at the price you were given.

£5000 for 8 windows sounds way over the top to me.

trafalgar_2

Thank you Rex_Mundi,

I'm in the Bristol area and really only got them in to give me some idea.................everything was fine ,then the pressure started,we told them we wanted to consider it and demanded to know where we could actually see a job that had been done,told them we'd look on saturday and give them an answer then...............all seemed ok and the man actually left but he didn't drive away,then the phone calls from 'head office' started:(

we eventually told him no way would we even consider them now.


Thanks I will look into local firms and get some more quotes before deciding ,you've been very helpful:)

Nile

Hello Trafalgar

I would agree with the 'get three quotes' suggestion. We asked friends and work colleagues for their personal recommendations and which companies to avoid. If you get lots of positive comments about one company, make sure that they are included in your three quotes.

We decided to do the back of the house one year and the front of the house the following year. There were two reasons why we did this. To spread the cost over two years and to assess the quality of the windows and workmanship of the company.

We had a minor fault with one bedroom window during the first year..........they immediately came round to fix it.

We were very happy with the quality of the windows and fitting.........so we got the same company back to finish the full house.

Purdy_1

2 years ago when we bought our council house we were looking for quotes for new windows. We had 3 quotes.

The first was for very "bog standard" windows at a resonable price.

The second quote was from a major firm that advertises on tv, I'm sure you know the one :mad:. 4 hours they were here for and in the end we had to ask them to leave. For about 6mths this company would phone and ask if we wanted another quote even AFTER we told them we had windows with someone else.

The third quote was with a local firm and their salesman did not apply any pressure, we felt comfortable with him and they gave the best price. We paid £5,500 in total for 1 flat window to be made into a bay, porch door and side panel including catflap (we provided catflap) front door, french doors, 3 average windows, 1 big window and the bathroom and loo to be knocked into 1 and also deepened. They also moved a radiator, took the wall down between loo and bathroom and blocked up the loo door. It took them exactly 5 days to complete.

Party_Animal

I would have nothing to do with anyone who gave me a 3 hours sales pitch, I would be throwing them out after half and hour, or anyone who offered to reduce their price if you sign up today. A genuine surveyor ( not sales rep) will measure up and assess what's needed in minutes and give you a firm price which you should compare with at least 2 similar companies. I always get 6 and don't necessarily take the cheapest. With 6 you tend to find that 3 or 4 are in the same ball park. Ignore any ridiculously low ones and obviously the highest. Then look at the remaining 3 or 4 and ask to see work that they've done. If you're left with 3 simliar prices you tend to get a feel about the companies. Do they seem professional in their approach etc? Make sure theyre all pricing on the same spec of windows.

suki1964

I felt at a loss when getting quotes for windows myself, suddenly felt like a little girl way out of my depth

I asked 3 companies for quotes. The biggest national never bothered to turn up nor did they ring to cancel the appointment. The next company sent out a salesman who never even brought any samples and then sat and told me what I wanted rather then listened to what I was asking for but gave a reasonable quote. The third company rang me the night before to confirm the appointment, salesman came with samples and books and listened to me. He was £2k dearer but I rang him later and negoiated a better price by paying cash. It was a local company, the fitters were employed directly by them and they turned up on the day and time they said they would and done a very neat and tidy job.

Do get a few quotes so you can compare and as said before the cheapest is not always the best and a smaller company can do better prices for cash payments. Its always worth asking neighbours who they got their windows from.

trafalgar_2

Thanks everyone,I've asked round the neighbours and got numbers /recommendations off them,I will get as many quotes as I can and take all your helpful advice in mind .

thanks:)

Plasticman

Also worth considering what sort of guarantee you get. When I had a previous place double glazed two companies were very close in price but one had a ten year guarantee that was independently backed – so if the company went bust and the windows started to leak at least we had a chance of getting them fixed.

Baz_Bee_2

You can get made to measure windows now from places like Wickes and B&Q. You do not need to order to get any idea of the prices for the size of windows and doors you need. This will give you the material costs. If you are changing the window board to PVCu (BTW if any window /galazing company refers to UPVC in sales pitch or literature be wary. They have not been called this now for nearly 10 years - they are PVCu) as well add say £20/m for materials. Then add say 5% for other sundries like fixings, trims etc. Fixing 8 windows in a typical house should take a competent team no more than 1½ days (1 should be OK normally), So add to your material costs £600 for labour. Add 15 - 20% for overheads and profit and you should get a rough idea of the sort of cost you/they can do it for.

In fact there is nothing to stop you getting the windows yourself and then asking a local builder to fit them. I have done this very successfully. And often the window supplier will send out a surveyor to measure up for you to ensure windows are the right size for the openings. can save a fortune this way.

The one thing to bear in mind is the bigger the company usually the bigger the price and often the poorer the service.

Good luck