Deciding between window companies

d0nkeyk0ng

We've had three quotes for a new porch, a new window, a UPVC door and some french doors (all to replace existing ones). They're all in the same ballpark (£4800). The difference between the quotes is about £25 at most.


All have had good reviews online (that I can tell). All have taken time with us. One showed us around their factory as it's all in the same location as the offices. All offer 10 year guarantees on their work. All have been in business for over 20 years.


I'd like to pick the "right" company as we will be looking to replace the double glazing throughout the house in the next few year or so as well.


How do we pick the right one?

JohnB47

It doesn't look like you're considering either Anglian or Everest so that's a plus in my opinion.

You are doing the right thing - all I can suggest is asking them to provide a customer you could contact for a reference. They'll only give you happy customers of course, so that may be of limited use.

I don't think you have too much to worry about.

They're not trying to push some mad finance plan are they? That's what the Anglian rep tried on us before I showed him the door.

Furts

Decision should be based on quality. You weigh up the profile, the sealed units, the ironmongery and the manufacturing facility then get a list of 1-4. To this add the quality of installation. Here you can only decide by looking at what the companies have fitted - not easy without visiting and scrutinising, but a cursory walk by could yield results.

EssexExile

That 10 year guarantee will be on the profiles only. The glazed units, any trim, handles, hinges, other parts, workmanship & mastic filler will be much less.

d0nkeyk0ng

JohnB47 wrote: »

It doesn't look like you're considering either Anglian or Everest so that's a plus in my opinion.


They're not trying to push some mad finance plan are they? That's what the Anglian rep tried on us before I showed him the door.

No. They're local companies - Framemaster, Finesse Windows, Window Centre - all based in the West Midlands. No finance plans. Deposit and installation approx 6-8 weeks from booking.

Furts wrote: »

Decision should be based on quality. You weigh up the profile, the sealed units, the ironmongery and the manufacturing facility then get a list of 1-4. To this add the quality of installation. Here you can only decide by looking at what the companies have fitted - not easy without visiting and scrutinising, but a cursory walk by could yield results.

That's much harder because I don't know what I'm looking for. We saw Finesse's factory and they showed us around. They get the profiles from Selecta and build the frames. The glass comes from a company that puts a 10-year guarantee on their argon-filled glazing. Not sure about the other two as we've seen only their showrooms.

Working_Mum

Have you had pics of what your units will look like?? I was told by an experienced, previous Everest salesman that you should strive to have "equal sight-line" on the windows etc - basically it makes the end product look so much nicer. If you scope a row of houses which have had their windows etc replaced with UPVC you can tell immediately which are the shoddier/cheapo jobs being able to tell which are the opening windows and which are the fixed ones - they should all look the same size.

So that would be my deciding factor - what will the finished products look like. You could maybe visit some previous customers addresses and see for yourself what they look like as finished jobs.

Furts

Working_Mum wrote: »

Have you had pics of what your units will look like?? I was told by an experienced, previous Everest salesman that you should strive to have "equal sight-line" on the windows etc - basically it makes the end product look so much nicer. If you scope a row of houses which have had their windows etc replaced with UPVC you can tell immediately which are the shoddier/cheapo jobs being able to tell which are the opening windows and which are the fixed ones - they should all look the same size.

So that would be my deciding factor - what will the finished products look like. You could maybe visit some previous customers addresses and see for yourself what they look like as finished jobs.

Everest have an appalling reputation, and their sales people are top notch at peddling any nonsense in order to win a sale. Frequently they may even invent "facts" on the spot to sound informed. Take this comment about "equal sight line" ... the buildings Regulations require egress windows to houses, and all consumers would be wise to consider this when specifying windows. This immediately throws doubts and questions to the Everest sales person!

d0nkeyk0ng

I've had 3D mockups from two of the companies. The window will replace a small garage window that faces the side so I don't really care about matching sight lines. Obviously I will be more discerning when we replace the front and back double glazing.

Furts

I am not picking out Finesse for any reason - I have simply googled and skimmed through. Everything about the company shouts avoid, or at least it does to me. It galls me when companies dumb down to such degrees and treat potential customers as fools, idiots and lacking any knowledge. For this reason alone I would not touch Finesse with a barge pole.

I will also give you a hint - my intuition is Finesse windows are banned from all new build housing sites. So do your research, and check out the other two companies. Are they better? You decide!

RedFraggle

Furts wrote: »

Everest have an appalling reputation, and their sales people are top notch at peddling any nonsense in order to win a sale. Frequently they may even invent "facts" on the spot to sound informed. Take this comment about "equal sight line" ... the buildings Regulations require egress windows to houses, and all consumers would be wise to consider this when specifying windows. This immediately throws doubts and questions to the Everest sales person!

An appalling reputation that is well deserved. DH worked for them for nearly 30 years. Awful company imo.

Doozergirl

Furts wrote: »

Everest have an appalling reputation, and their sales people are top notch at peddling any nonsense in order to win a sale. Frequently they may even invent "facts" on the spot to sound informed. Take this comment about "equal sight line" ... the buildings Regulations require egress windows to houses, and all consumers would be wise to consider this when specifying windows. This immediately throws doubts and questions to the Everest sales person!

I drew from her post that he basically meant use dummy sashes. It's what I specifiy just so the outside is uniform. I can't bear the flush look with obvious openers.

That's a specification thing rather than quality of supplier, but I do get the point the poster was making.