sash window quotes.... first one in any opinions?

[Dupont666]

Right the quote from my local company is as follows:

windows involved said:

Living room (1) kitchen (1) bedrooms (2) bathroom (1) 5 standard sashes in total) landing (1 centre hinged panel window)

Sash window refurbishment and draft proofing said:

Free top & bottom sections of each sash window

Remove staff beads, parting beads, sash cords, sash weights, top and bottom sash.

Burn off all old paint to expose original profile

Plane both sides of sashes to improve fit as required and paint exposed wood with a quality primer

Cut or add shims as required to align misaligned windows

Prepare sill, frames & architraves for painting
Fit draft proofing pile to upper and lower sash windows

Reassemble windows with new staff/parting beads & sash cords

Lubricate pulley wheels and adjust weights to balance sashes

Check performance

Supply and fit replacement solid brass/chrome window furniture: sash pulls Brighton fasteners if required at extra cost

Exterior work said:

Thorough prep as per refurbishment

Replace/repair any damaged wood where necessary

Re putty where necessary

Prime all bare wood surfaces

Paint all wood with good quality exterior under and top coat, sanding between coats

Interior work said:

Thorough prep as per refurbishment

Paint all wood with good quality interior under and top coat, sanding between coat

Prices including Misc said:

5 standard sashes @ £495 per unit

Landing window @£195

Total £2,670 inclusive of materials & paint, exclusive of VAT (net for cash)

Misc: (if required)
Supply & fit new individual glazed sashes @ £160 per unit

Remove old and supply & fit new glass in sash windows @ £95 per sq/m per clear pane (min charge £60) – £125 per sq/m for opaque/frosted glass (min charge £80)
Acoustic/laminated Glass @ £250 per square metre

Remove rotten and supply & fit new exterior sills/bottom rails @ £95 per unit

Supply & fit window furniture @ £25 per window

Supply & fit security locks @ £20 per window

Balancing lead @ £5 per kilo (included when fitting audio/laminated glass)

Estimated time said:

Anticipate the work will take 3 men about a week to restore your windows to their former glory. The quote is for the full service we provide and I assure you, you will be very pleased with the results as about 25 - 40 man hours of work goes into each window.

So that is the first quote and it seems ok i think, bearing in mind the windows are not the largest and his quotes are £250-1000 per window depending on size.

So do the window experts and people who have had similar out there think its reasonable too for the amount of work?

One is like this but is only 2 foot high or so (bathroom):



4 are like this in varying sizes but are single panels of glass and of similar size:


And I will ignore the center hinged window as its not a sash and is only £200.

Any opinions welcome....

hoping to have a couple more comapnies round this week or next.

[A M G]

Having done my own and knowing how much work goes into it, and having been quoted by local companies for the same, your quote sounds very reasonable to me. Have you seen any of their work to judge quality of finish though - any references?

ETA; It takes 2-3 weeks for putty to go off sufficiently to be able to prime and paint - how do commercial refurbishers get around this? Just curious.

Edited by A M G on Wednesday 18th November 10:04

[Dupont666]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Double glazed is roughly £1500 a window for sash windows... so take my number and triple it for the cheapest quotes...

The windows are max of 4ft across and 5ft high so its not really an issue with the heat loss that you have as I havent notice it being that cold even in winter.

[Dupont666]

A M G said:

Having done my own and knowing how much work goes into it, and having been quoted by local companies for the same, your quote sounds very reasonable to me. Have you seen any of their work to judge quality of finish though - any references?

ETA; It takes 2-3 weeks for putty to go off sufficiently to be able to prime and paint - how do commercial refurbishers get around this? Just curious.

Edited by A M G on Wednesday 18th November 10:04

For your first question this is some of the pics off his work:

http://www.sundialps.co.uk/refurbishment_what_we_d...

As for the putty query, he doesnt use it as he knows it takes weeks before its good to paint, he uses a sealant that is designed for sash windows that is ready to paint in 15mins... Will see if I can get more info out of him on that one.

[siscar]

We chose to retain the original glass because it was original, mainly from 1830 and some from 1870. With the windows fitting properly now they aren't cold, obviously DG would be better but the slightly wobbly glass adds something IMHO.

When we had our ones done the system put in means we can easily take them apart, which is really good for painting them, you can take the windows out, paint them and let them dry before you put them back in again so they don't stick.

[Dupont666]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Its expensive only if you want to use the existing size sash and wedge 2 pieces of glass into something designed for 1 (as the person told my OH), so that is difficult to do and as such they up the prices:

http://www.germanwindows.co.uk/boxsashwindows.html...

or a better one is:

http://www.sashwindowspecialist.com/price.html

The bottom one is my next port of call for refurbishment and double glazing quotes

[Dupont666]

siscar said:

We chose to retain the original glass because it was original, mainly from 1830 and some from 1870. With the windows fitting properly now they aren't cold, obviously DG would be better but the slightly wobbly glass adds something IMHO.

When we had our ones done the system put in means we can easily take them apart, which is really good for painting them, you can take the windows out, paint them and let them dry before you put them back in again so they don't stick.

That is another point... All the windows are original and the glass is also original in all bar the kitchen which has been smashed and redone at some stage.

[Steve_W]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

If you're trying to fit DG into the original window frames there isn't usually enough depth of beading to be able to rebate it out and fit the sealed DG unit in place of the original glass.

Often the original beading is also too thin to be able to carry the weight - that's why so many replacement DG sash windows are one sealed DG panel with replacement beading stuck to the pane in a mimicry of the original - they often can't get the beads thin enough to do the job and look right.

Hence you end up having a whole replacement rather than simply dropping a bit of extra glass in to make it DG.

Edited to add last sentence!

Edited by Steve_W on Wednesday 18th November 11:20

[Wings]

A M G said:

Having done my own and knowing how much work goes into it, and having been quoted by local companies for the same, your quote sounds very reasonable to me. Have you seen any of their work to judge quality of finish though - any references?

ETA; It takes 2-3 weeks for putty to go off sufficiently to be able to prime and paint - how do commercial refurbishers get around this? Just curious.

Edited by A M G on Wednesday 18th November 10:04

Sprinkle over/into the putty a powder filler, pollifilla or tetron type filler.

Edited by Wings on Wednesday 18th November 20:21

[Simpo Two]

A few years after I bought my new house, the putty started cracking and breaking up. I chiselled it out and replaced it with new putty. A few years later, the new putty started cracking and breaking up... At this point I thought 'bks to this' and replaced the affected areas with hardwood moulding, fixed with sealant, and a coat of stain on top. Still perfect

[wattsm666]

Try getting a quote for new windows to compare.

http://www.mumfordwood.com/

[MrV]

Dupont666 said:

siscar said:

We chose to retain the original glass because it was original, mainly from 1830 and some from 1870. With the windows fitting properly now they aren't cold, obviously DG would be better but the slightly wobbly glass adds something IMHO.

When we had our ones done the system put in means we can easily take them apart, which is really good for painting them, you can take the windows out, paint them and let them dry before you put them back in again so they don't stick.

That is another point... All the windows are original and the glass is also original in all bar the kitchen which has been smashed and redone at some stage.

Its a bit 1970's but have you thought about adding secondary glazing ,it does work

I went this route on my last place when I had a run in with an over zealous local preservation officer who wouldn't entertain having the sash units remade to made double glazing.