replacing double-glazed windows

we're in the process of getting quotes to replace three windows--a bay window & two bedroom windows--which have all begun to mould at the base & leak water onto the ledges.

i've heard that the best time to buy is in january. can anyone confirm this from past experience?

anybody got any tips?

Double glazing always seems cheaper in the summer to me..or they have offers such as buy one get one free and so fourth.  I always get double glazing sales people knock on the door or call my home phone in the summer and I put it down to the fact they are obviously struggling to sell them and have stepped up their sales patter.

January sales are probably a possibility...maybe cheaper as no one really has much spare income after Crimbo.

I should imagine with the looming winter that they may put their prices up a little.

Bear in mind that there are people who do repairs (misted units etc.) and that's a lot cheaper (e.g. 1m x 1m sealed unit replacement cost is perhaps £80 - i.e. if the frame is OK, they can just replace the glass. We're just about to have one done. They will also replace hinges, locks etc, though that is actually pricier than the glass...

You can find these people in the yellow pages and might be much less stress than wholesale replacement (with the wild pricing policies of double glazing sales people!)

yeah, we're finding that a lot of these companies are just scam artisits. they insist that we both be present so that, presumably, they can launch into the hard sell & try to get us to agree to something on the spot.

ain't gonna happen.

i had one guy the other day who wanted to park his ass on my couch until dh got home from work! he was shown out straight away. had another call to reschedule a 3pm appointment for 5pm, on the premise that the police tell them it's better to have two people in the house when they call.  he was told where to go as well.

Hi Niku,

yeah, we're finding that a lot of these companies are just scam artisits.

Whatta yer expect living in Brummy?!   oops did i say that out loud?! 

We've just had our windows re-done and a similar requirement to you was the 'Bay' window. Ours isn't curved but more 'square' so they break up the bay window into separate windows and count them individually. So our's became the main front 'window' and 2 side 'windows' making a total of 3. Then we had 4 more bedroom/bathroom windows done as well.

I researched quite alot of local suppliers and tradespeople in the window and conservatory business and got prices from quite a few places. I was very tempted by the 'warehouse' type supplier who measures up and gives good discounts and then says you can fit them yourself or they can do them.

In the end, I went 'high end' - to Anglian windows - their fitted price was only £400 quid more than a few other quotes I had, got the salesman in with the usual sales pitch - but i bargained him and said yes to all their 'sales incentives' (which is just sales crap really)

Managed to wangle 'free' window vents for all windows and my two south facing bathroom and bedroom windows, I had the Solar dark glass 'upgrade' thrown in. All the work was done meticulously, excellent fit and finish, 2 days like they said, no mess inside, all guarantees in place and I'm very happy - to me, worth spending the extra for peace of mind - anything of a concern, they'll be out to fix and seeing as they're a big company, an increased chance they'll still be around in some years time. Paid £3K for everything.

The 'warehouse' guy is based in Ascot, not sure if he'll cover your area for fitting, but maybe for supply. I can recommend our complete experience with Anglian, if I had to do it again, I'd certainly give them a call - all double glazing comes with the salesman at home thing though.. do your homework and ask for discounts all the way through and be forceful that you'll just get a price and compare elsewhere unless he really sorts you out a good price.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Hi Niku,

Whatta yer expect living in Brummy?!   oops did i say that out loud?! 

buttmunch!

thanks for the info. i might give anglian a ring to see if they'll quote.

i am a salesman's worst nightmare. i don't fall for pitches and i don't trust anything.

i am a salesman's worst nightmare. i don't fall for pitches and i don't trust anything.

When I was in junior high my sweet and mild-mannered parents let an encyclopedia salesman in the house. Poor guy had no idea what he was in for--it was like a pair of cats after a mouse. They sat on opposite sides of the room, they turned everything he said against him, and when he was convinced he'd finally got them hooked they very politely said "no". 

Funniest thing I'd ever seen! And (which I suppose was their goal) I learned exactly how to deal with salesmen myself.

yeah, we're finding that a lot of these companies are just scam artisits. they insist that we both be present so that, presumably, they can launch into the hard sell & try to get us to agree to something on the spot.

ain't gonna happen.

i had one guy the other day who wanted to park his ass on my couch until dh got home from work! he was shown out straight away. had another call to reschedule a 3pm appointment for 5pm, on the premise that the police tell them it's better to have two people in the house when they call.  he was told where to go as well.

DH let a guy into the house that was trying to sell us covers for our drains. I received a call while I was in the grocery store from DH explaining the guy wanted us both there - he had his big case and everything ready to set up a demo in our living room. I told DH to get rid of him because we could not afford it. DH is too nice to boot him out so I arrived home 10 minutes later and the guy is pitching hard to us - I simply opened the door, said no thank you, that we would not be purchasing today and sorry to have wasted your time. He kept on so I actually had to tell him very forcefully to leave.  And then had the gall to ask us for names and numbers of our friends and relatives on top of that.

We've only replaced half the windows in our house last year before DD was born, we just need to replace the bedroom windows.  We went with a window guy that lives on our estate.  Because he lives local and goes on his reputation were the main reasons for going with him.  He does all the work himself and he does a lot of the windows in the area, including my in-laws.  He designed my MIL's bay window and when FIL broke a panel literally days after I moved over with a new fishing pole he came out the next day to replace it.

Like DtM said, if your bay window has panels each panel is considered a different window, even though you need to replace them all...   

Good luck!

...all double glazing comes with the salesman at home thing though...

It ain't necessarily so.  I once thought so as well, and wish I'd have known otherwise (at the time).  If you have a good general builder that you work with regularly (as I now do), he could sort you out with double glazing without all the rigamarole.  If he doesn't do it himself, he knows somebody, or knows somebody who knows somebody...and we manage to work it out without much ado.

I had a local builder do my double glazing and he made a real mess of it, we also had St Helens Glass (a big firm) do our windows and they did a beautiful job. Get recommendations from your friends or neighbours, don't be afraid to use a big company, local or nationwide, just get recommendations.

True - it all depends on the people involved.  I had a local big company with a great reputation do the windows we were replacing - and was far less than impressed.  It was like they sent Del Boy and Rodney to do the work, and it showed.  (Had a similar experience with our roofing - used one of the most reputable companies in Leeds for it - and they did a crap job of it.)

I used a local guy in the adjacent housing estate to do our boiler - three years ago, who proved to be a total cowboy & is no longer anywhere to be found.

Now I work with a local general builder who has run his own independent business in my town for 40+ years.  He's good & knows his stuff, and I've not regretted any of the projects we've done with him.  On the windows - he said that company we used is normally reasonable (but it's not the window people he'd have used).  On the roofing - he said that contractor used to be the best in Leeds, but they are past it now.  He'd never heard of our boiler guy.  Sadly, he's intending to retire next year, but I think he'll still do select projects as/when it suits him.  He does work for ALL of our neighbours going down the terrace line, and has to turn work away because he's so busy - he works for who he likes to work for. 

Lol!  So I've approached this from all angles really.