Swap glass in double glazing - scam?

SlapheadTom

My in-laws have been talked into swapping all the glass and handles on their double glazing. They've been quoted nearly £4000 to do this. Their house was built in the late 80's/early 90's. None of the glass units have failed and the frames seem in good condition. The sales person has told them they'll make lots of energy savings. Does this sound right to people?
My opinion is that it's a bit of a scam. I think any energy saving from old glass to new glass will be marginal and would take many years to justify cost. Yes if they had draught seals and blown units I would see some benefits but not with their units being fairly decent.
Opinions welcomed! Thanks for reading.

barbedhook

Don’t do it it will take years to get any benefit from such a large outlay there is nothing wrong with the windows that are in its a scam!!!

sevenhills

My windows are poorly fitted but if replacing I would think replacing the whole units would be best, £4,000 would cover that for me in my two bed townhouse.

Will the frames last another 30/40 years?

barbedhook

My son had double glazing fitted in 1985 and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them I definitely wouldn’t bother if there is nothing wrong with them

savemoney

Might be a modest saving if they have some special coating or argon gas filled but at that price and as there is nowt wrong with old windows, I definitely tell them not too

dogshome

Hopefully they placed this order within the last 14 days and can cancel it

FreeBear

savemoney wrote: »

Might be a modest saving if they have some special coating or argon gas filled but at that price and as there is nowt wrong with old windows, I definitely tell them not too

Even with argon gas filled units, the return on investment (i.e. how much saving will be made compared to the total cost of replacements) will far exceed the lifetime of the windows. On a window of 2.4m wide by 1.2m high, and assuming a temperature difference of 20°C inside & out, you might save around 20p per day on changing from air filled to argon filled units during a cold spell.

If you want to work out the savings yourself, have a look at https://www.doubleglazing.com/windows/double-glazing-materials/double-glazing-u-value-explained/

As for paying £4K just to replace the units and handles (why the handles - are they faulty ???). Had a quote to replace a sealed unit in the kitchen (approx 1m x 1.2m) for £80. Replacing all the windows (nine, including a large bay window) is costing me just over £5K. By comparison, your £4K quote is excessive.

millie

We had the glazed units on the front of our house replaced last year because we did not like the lead on them. There were 2 large bays and a smaller flat window. they were replaced with Pilkington Glass which is supposed to be energy saving and it cost £700. So £4000 seems a bit excessive.

[Deleted User]

If the old windows have exterior seals then its worth a change just to increase security.Peel out an exterior seal and the window is easily removed silently.an easy way in for burglars.. Its worth the change just for peace of mind ..While you re at it OP, replace the old euro locks for snap safes

FreeBear

Houbara wrote: »

If the old windows have exterior seals then its worth a change just to increase security.Peel out an exterior seal and the window is easily removed silently.an easy way in for burglars..

To swap the glazing beards from the exterior to interior requires new frames. Not a trivial exercise, and certainly not something that can be done when replacing the sealed units. And if you have ever tried to remove a glazing bead, you should know that it is not something that can be done in seconds. There are much easier ways to gain access to a property.

matelodave

The big problem is that even swapping single glazing for double glazing only reduces the heat loss through the windows,most of the heat loss is through the roof, walls and floor. Even if upgrading your windows does reduce the loss through them by 50%, it's not the same as reducing your heating bill by 50%.

In most houses the actual proportion of the total heat loss caused by windows is probably a lot less than 25% so a saving of 50% of 25% is only around 12.5%. If it costs £500 a year to heat your home, then at best you'll only save around £62.50.

Divide that into £4000 gives you a payback period of around 64 years.