new windows

[mrcabrach]

had a couple of firms round to give us a quote for double glazing
1 was selling windows with argon between the glass which had a 20mm gap and the frames had 5 chambers with steel reinforcement sales man also said glass & frames was gauranteed for 10 year. O and every one else sold rubbish

the other firms windows had a heat reflecting coating and had a gap of 27mm with steel reinforced frames with 3 chambers

both firms were quoteing much and such the same
can i have an experts view on which is best
thanks for your replies in advance

 

[Richard C]

Personally, I have no time for salesman that junk other companies products rather than try & sell the benefits of their own so that would be a huge big black mark on my comparison tick sheet for a start. The coating is pretty standard stuff now & is a requirement of the latest regs. so nothing out of the ordinary there either & the other guys windows should also have it.

Are you sure the other guy said 27mm air gap & not 27mm units which is the total width of the 2 glass panes & air gap; although it’s actually 28mm! Have a look at this guide where you will find most if not all the info you need;
http://www.thewindowman.co.uk/air-gap.htm

Get some more quotes; I would het at least 6 & make sure they all know they are in competition. Let the salesman know you’ve done your homework immediately if they start with the ‘bull histing’ garbage that some trot out; it will save you both time, they will concentrate on giving you the facts & benefits of their company & your less likely to get caught out. Don’t pay more than 20% up front (10% if you can get away with it) & don’t make the final payment until your entirely satisfied.

The thing to remember is that very few companies actually make their own windows these days; they come from regional factories which often make several window ranges based on the various profiles available which, in turn, directly relates to quality & wholesale unit price. Many of the large regional window companies will be using the same units as small local window installers so the only real difference is usually their mark up & customer service. Given they both may well be using the same units, what’s really important is the quality of the installation. Most fitters are self employed these days but I think it’s better to use a small local company that regularly uses the same guys or even directly employ their own fitters; they rely on repeat work through reputation/recomendation so that way you are more likely to get a decent job. To ensure your comparing like with like, you should be looking at what’s included; access scaffolding (a very popular extra after signing the contract!), making good on the outside at least, disposal of your old windows (cost of skip can be another extra!), independent 10 yr warranty (in case they go broke), compliance certificates – either FENSA or LABC but make sure you understand who is to pay the LABC fee.

 

[steveb1964]

i went through a similar process!

had 4 quotes ranging from £3000-£5000

all offered much the same yet 1 was very pushy and 3 of them slagged other firms off saying they sell rubbish etc

left me with 1 which is a locally run business that's been going for 25years. very nice guy, didn't slag others off and knew what he was talking about. They fit kommerling or Synseal depending on what the customer prefers and they supply the low E glass which has a U rating of 1.4 whereas 2 of the others said low E glass was rubbish and had a U rating of 2. They sell pilkington k argon filled gas windows and when I quizzed them about the U rating they told me it was 1.5 - I then showed them the U rating of the low E glass and they were rather embarrased with it being 1.4. I then asked what else they lied about

I know people who have used this firm and I've been round to inspect the work which I was pleased with so my advice is get a few quotes from local people, avoid big firms like safestyle and if you can get them to show you some examples of their work