Help - double glazing, how do we get a good deal?!

MrDan

got 4 windows and french doors done by a local chap.. it was a mates dad.

Cost me £1250 fitted and they are amazing quality and look the part...

St Helens glass idiot quoted me £3500, when i asked him to leave it went to £3000, then they rang me the next day offering them for £2500, supprisingly they have since gone bust.

Go local, ask around! ask the neighbours. what have you got to loose ?

kbh4031

If you use a local company and are required to give a deposit check that they offer deposit indemnity insurance like the IPWFI or similar. Dont always think the cheapest is the worst. Consider sourcing the windows yourelf and getting a fitter in, so much cheaper.
Hope this helps

drowningnotwaving_2

thanks mr spicy, that's a useful link - and thanks again to everyone else

i'm amazed that the nationals actually get any business at all with all the bad press that they get - hardly anyone has a good word to say about them!

Peartree

I'd avoid the nationals like the plague unless you want to pay a mark up for their advertising campaigns. When I need something like that I usually ask everyone I know for recommendations, find out what they were charged and then still get three quotes. At work people often post on our weekly newsletter to ask for recommendations. Usually it works very well!

In many cases you'll never have heard of the company/tradesperson because if they are good they'll get so much work 'word of mouth' they never need to advertise! When I had french doors fitted, I already had a good idea of how long it would take, what was involved and how much it should cost. That is the best basis on which to be working and, happily, thanks to the forums is even easier! I went with a big local company and even knew which fitter to ask for thanks to the recommendation of a colleague I knew to be very houseproud!

ronniesboot

Fascinating reading some of the experiences with salemen from the big companies. Although its quite amusing to read their tactics are shameful and dishonest. A lot of them will go with the 'I'm not on the retail side but on the commercial side' meaning a) you can trust me I'm not one of the typical pushy salespeople and b) I can get you big discounts on the back of a large trade order. Its complete lies of course as is the 'I'm just going to phone my manager to see if I can bring the price down'. If possible invite them to use your domestic phone in another room and if you can pick up another handset in another room without them cottoning on it could be most revealing: they are highly unlikely to be speaking to 'their boss' and there's a good chance there's nobody at the other end. I honestly don't know they these people sleep at night.

PK1_3

Wondered if anyone has used Easyfit Conservatories in Walsall, Birmingham?

Considering buying a conservatory.

R they a good / reputable company - was a little concerned after reading their website which stated they had 30 years experience only to find out they all started as Easyfit 4 years ago. Is it true they use to be called Taylormade Conservatories which went into administration over 4 years ago.

Would anyone recommend Anglian or Everest, or is it better to use a small local company.

306NOTOUT

PK1 wrote: »

Wondered if anyone has used Easyfit Conservatories in Walsall, Birmingham?

Considering buying a conservatory.

R they a good / reputable company - was a little concerned after reading their website which stated they had 30 years experience only to find out they all started as Easyfit 4 years ago. Is it true they use to be called Taylormade Conservatories which went into administration over 4 years ago.

Would anyone recommend Anglian or Everest, or is it better to use a small local company.

I personally wouldn't use Easyfit. Yes they used to be Taylormade conservatories and went bump owing alot of money. Wouldn't use a national company at all.

If you want some recommendations for the Walsall area drop me a PM and I will send you a list.

I supply to most of them so get to see the quality of the PVC used and whether they use re-inforcing (alu)

Alot of companies say they do but when the window has been fabricated there is no way of knowing if they have or not, unless you know what your looking for.

bargepole

drowningnotwaving wrote: »

i'm amazed that the nationals actually get any business at all with all the bad press that they get - hardly anyone has a good word to say about them!

I work for one of the nationals, and we get around £500,000 worth of business every single day of the year, thank you.

By all means go to Wibbly Wobbly Windows in your local high street if you're too much of a skinflint to pay for a proper job, just don't come on here and whinge when they go bust a few months later and your guarantee becomes worthless.

Like most things in life, you get what you pay for, and the bitter aftertaste of poor quality remains long after the sweet taste of low price is forgotten.

ormus

then your company is prob the same one that called at my uncles recently and quoted 75k for a conservatory!!!
when he threw the chap out, he phoned up before he driven away 200 yds and said the price was now 36k!!!
needless to say my uncle told him to f00k 0ff.

gerryonihub

About 20% of a homes heat loss is through the windows. It is well worth making sure that whichever supplier you use conforms to the British Fenestration Rating Council’s (BFRC) domestic window energy rating scheme (WER) which accredits any window rated ‘band-C’ or above, to help readily compare the energy efficiency of competing products using a recognisable mark/grade for everyone to understand.

The higher the BFRC rating indicates a more thermally efficient window. The window is given a rating of A-G BFRC bands of the window energy label.

On the energy efficiency note, DG will save approx £40 on heating bills, while good insulation (loft and cavity) will save you a lot more.

So, depends where you are coming from - most homeowners fit double glazing to cut the heat loss, others just consider it a general improvement - IMHO, tie both together. Get the insulation done as priority one, and glazing as priority two. Although generally i would put high efficiency boiler and controls well above glazing.

Just something to think about.