Double glazing information

CommuterRevenge

We are going to replace our double glazing.
The main rooms have leaded Pilkington K installed in the early 90's
When the sun or a bright day is on it, it reflects back making our rooms private.
We have patio doors at the back installed around 2010 that have a more normal glazing that you can see clearly through with very little reflection.
We went to a reputable local firm, but he was adamant it was all in my head and I  was imagining it as the glazing had no treatment in those days when initially came out. His fitter said the same.
Am I imagining it, or could it be some other treatment?

Secondly, I'm wary of local fitters in case they are not around for 25 years, but even more wary of the SAfeStyle, Everest Anglian basic pushy salesperson just trying to get the most money from us, is there a well known but respected for quality and durability double glazing firm. I'm in Kent if that helps.
Thanks

markin

All glass will reflect when the sun is head on, or when its bright outside and darker inside, Glass on the north side in the shade will be easy to see in. If you walk around naked im sure everyone gets a good look when its dull outside or you get too close to the window.

FreeBear

Pilkington K has been around for over 30 years (according to Pilkington themselves). What has changed is the type of coatings used and the thermal performance. Modern sealed units using Pilkington K glass and an argon filling will have a better u-value than your 1990s units. It won't be a huge difference, and I suspect you would be hard pushed to notice the difference if the current windows are in good order.

flashg67

I only remember Pilkington K glass as being energy saving rather than light reflecting - couldn't easily find any online reference to that either
I'd much prefer a recommended, established local firm (Which is what I chose recently) than a large national. You'll likely find that they all use one of a limited number of manufacturers of the frames & glass anyway

diystarter7

flashg67 said:

I only remember Pilkington K glass as being energy saving rather than light reflecting - couldn't easily find any online reference to that either

You beat me to it.

Use a local firm that has been around for over 25 years under the same management.
Read their reviews. The reviews may not tell the whole story but massively better than nothing.

The company you may want to choose, check which bodies they belong to to check their registration as well as when things go wrong they can go wrong big time.  
Sadly some outfits lie about which governing body/etc they belong to. FENSA is a good 

Easy read, good start - btw, FENSA does not cover conseravtories

https://www.fensa.org.uk/doubleglazing---so-many-questions

BUFF

flashg67 said:

I only remember Pilkington K glass as being energy saving rather than light reflecting - couldn't easily find any online reference to that either

energy-saving because of the low-e coating which also makes it slightly more reflective (imo). I can usually tell which windows in a street have glass with low-e coating & which have no coating, they do look different.

CommuterRevenge

BUFF said:

flashg67 said:

I only remember Pilkington K glass as being energy saving rather than light reflecting - couldn't easily find any online reference to that either

energy-saving because of the low-e coating which also makes it slightly more reflective (imo). I can usually tell which windows in a street have glass with low-e coating & which have no coating, they do look different.

Apologies I forgot to bookmark and did not realise there were responses. I think your response fits best BUFF. THere is probably not a major difference, but you can tell looking down the street the newer glazing because you can see through the ones that don't have nets up. Ours is more noticeable because it's west facing and the sun in the evening makes it a bit more opaque. Thanks.