Double Glazing

Bowsa

Afternoon All,

I am looking to get my entire house double glazed - 14 windows 1 Composite front door a UPVC side door and french rear doors.

Double Glazing appears to be the dodgiest industry known to man on the face of things, I've had a quote from safestyle who's original quote of 34k came down to 18k, 11k, 7.8k along with a load of very strange calls.

I have everest coming out tonight, along with looking for independents.....this is going to be a large investment for me and so other than looking to see if someone is FENSA registered, i'm not entirely sure what I should be looking out for.

I really don't want to be spending this much money again on it in the next 15 years so really could do with some guidance on what to look out for to guarantee quality windows and doors, that are fitted correctly.

TIA

lindze

If it was me I wouldn't go near the big national double glazing companies. Local firm everytime for me.
If you can get some recommendations from friends/family and get a few local companies to quote. You shouldn't get this faff of inflated prices to be discounted to still inflated prices by a 'manager' rubbish.

pollypenny

Local firm which has a reputation to protect every time!

Tell each that you're getting a number of estimates, too.

Head_The_Ball

Are you anywhere near Andover in Hampshire?

If yes, I can recommend a good company.

As others have posted, avoid the large nationals and go with a well respected and established local firm.

SG27

Anyone whos quote starts at £34k are not worth dealing with. They are con artists trying their luck and have little ethics and no incentive to do a good job.

Ask about locally for recommendations.

SuzieSue

If you're near Brighton, I can recommend a very good company.

FreeBear

Local, established company that can provide an insurance backed guarantee.
A couple of pointers - If you have bay windows, there must be structural supports at the corners even if you only have a lightweight roof over the top,
On older properties (anything built before say 1970), checks must be made to ensure that there is a lintel in place to support the outer skin of brickwork.

In my area, most of the Victorian build terrace houses have stone lintels visible from the exterior - These present few problems when installing uPVC windows.
Then there are the great swathes of houses built after WWI & WWII. These have concrete or timber lintels supporting the inner leaf of bricks, and the outer leaf relied on the window frame for support. One road I regularly walk down, just about every house has a sagging row of soldier bricks over the front window and obvious signs of cracks forming in the brickwork above.

Any FENSA approved fitter should be aware of the above issues and take steps to install lintels & supports where required. Unfortunately, some don't because it takes time and adds to the cost. Suffice to say, by the time you discover there is a problem, the company will have gone bust.