Double Glazing Negotiation / Price

[Wildfire]

Being a (relatively) new home owner, we bought a fixer-upper flat a while ago and we've hit the point of needing new windows as quite a few of the units are blown and the frames have seen better days.

I'm having a few local companies come out to give me quotes and am avoiding the big ones like Everest for the moment.

Question is, how much negotiation can I do or expect to have to do with local companies?

When we moved in (around 4-5 years ago) we had a few quotes from companies that had found out that we had just moved in and from memory (I can't say that I remember them in much detail) they were a fair bit less than what I'm getting now.

Any advice is welcome.

[Coleman262]

Make sure you’re comparing like for like products.

There are so many cheap alternatives on the market, and makes a massive difference to price.

Also prices have risen (brexit) and weak pound don’t help.

But you should be able to go back and haggle a bit but probably not loads

[nichio3478]

Be very very careful - there are lots of conmen.

Don’t pay an upfront deposit of more than 30% and put it on a credit card.

I’ve just been burned and lost £1200 having sourced a company off one of the reputable tradesmen review websites.

[Jag_NE]

Even local companies (my mate runs a fairly succcessful one) employ aggressive sales tactics and massive (I’m talking 50% climbdowns) can still result in a closed deal that’s worthwhile doing. They will clean up on poorly informed customers. If you are very price sensitive I’d get a few quotes from one man band joiners. Windows are not very expensive at all and if he will supply at cost price plus a fair rate, it will be cheap. I wouldn’t get hung up on spec if the flat is a short to medium term fixer upper.

[B17NNS]

Price the windows up yourself here

Should give you a rough idea of what you should be paying plus profit and labour.

[Promised Land]

Be in charge of the visits by different reps, tell them from the off you don’t want any slobber and they can give you one price and one price only, then you’ll show them the door and wait for the next rep.

All that sign up tonight and receive x% discount doesn’t wash, I would also get the windows priced up by an Indy supplier for supply only so you can see how much more they’re lumping on for fitting and removal of your old ones.

Obviously goes without saying you’re paying for the rep and his managers in that difference too.

[Wildfire]

Promised Land said:

Be in charge of the visits by different reps, tell them from the off you don’t want any slobber and they can give you one price and one price only, then you’ll show them the door and wait for the next rep.

All that sign up tonight and receive x% discount doesn’t wash, I would also get the windows priced up by an Indy supplier for supply only so you can see how much more they’re lumping on for fitting and removal of your old ones.

Obviously goes without saying you’re paying for the rep and his managers in that difference too.

Excellent suggestion! I’ll get an Indy supplier to quote on the units by themselves.

[Wombat3]

Ask around, if you know a local builder ask him who he gets his windows from.

Good local companies will give you a straight figure & I found there was not much to choose between the numbers I was given across 3 of them.

I'd stay well away from the "Nationals"

[Toltec]

Recently had the windows and doors in a rental house changed by Supaglaze (based in Kent), six windows and two doors plus a side light on the front door for £3600. A couple of small windows in the loo & bathroom, but a couple of 2.4m wide ones at the front as well. All in white and nothing fancy, but another quote was £6k so pretty happy with the price, fit and finish. Short lead times as they manufacture the windows themselves, we placed the order on a Thurday and they finished the fitting on the following Tuesday. Might not be the style/features you want, but would give you a baseline to work from, assuming they come out your way.

[lancs16]

We are in the process of doing this at the moment, think we are going for the local company who I know a few people have used comes out at 8.5k for 10 windows, patio door and a Rock door.

Had a few quotes and it was the cheapest but also the one we were most happy with..that's the price and that's it. Did have a truly awkward visit from one company who do a lot of mail leaflets saying how good their windows are. Had to play guess the price, messed about with his calculator, guessing what we both did as a job. Funnily enough maybe our lack of enthusiasm transmitted as he said he would 'fight our corner' and see what he could do after speaking to his team but never heard from him again :-)

[technodup]

Coleman262 said:

Make sure you’re comparing like for like products.

It's almost impossible tbh, and that's not even taking the salesman's waffling pish into account.

We sell a couple of different profiles, both top names in the industry. Different fabricators though, and that's where the differences come in. One is made by very expensive machine, the other by a guy who failed at school. To an experienced fitter they're miles apart, to the untrained eye a white window is a white window. But some insist on one brand over another simply because they've heard of it or someone else said it was good.

OP would get no discount from me. And I wouldn't give him a supply only quote either. But then I'd give him a fair price from the start.

[fourstardan]

I had a local guy in, far cheaper and probably quicker.

I kept money in the local community as well, i now walk my dog and see the extension he's put on his house with my money LOL

You might have various local guys, just get quotes quotes quotes. Screwfix do windows so that gives you a price for retail costs. I believe the windows all come from a small number of places so its all markup.

If coloured outside get pricing for white inside windows too, reduces the price a lot.

[eliot]

13 trippled glazed windows supply only into my new build were 3.5k.

[Wildfire]

technodup said:

t's almost impossible tbh, and that's not even taking the salesman's waffling pish into account.

We sell a couple of different profiles, both top names in the industry. Different fabricators though, and that's where the differences come in. One is made by very expensive machine, the other by a guy who failed at school. To an experienced fitter they're miles apart, to the untrained eye a white window is a white window. But some insist on one brand over another simply because they've heard of it or someone else said it was good.

OP would get no discount from me. And I wouldn't give him a supply only quote either. But then I'd give him a fair price from the start.

Thanks, do you have any recommendations on fabricators to ask about?

I would happily give you the work, however, seems we're a bit far away.

I appreciate it's like all industries. I quote my clients a fair rate. But the general consensus is that usually take the rate, half it or half the days quoted and you'll get a realistic figure. I just have no idea what a fair quote is? Hopefully the local companies will come back around the same figures, so I'll have a good idea of what is right.

The windows are fairly big, all casement in white PVC: 90" x 70" (solar glass), 124" x 48" (solar glass), 77" x 43" (acoustic glass) and 43" x 31" (all rough estimates). No tilt and turn with trickle vents.

Current quote is £4.5k + £1.1k for scaffolding (2nd and 3rd floor).

Edited by Wildfire on Thursday 23 May 09:38

[technodup]

fourstardan said:

You might have various local guys, just get quotes quotes quotes. Screwfix do windows so that gives you a price for retail costs. I believe the windows all come from a small number of places so its all markup.

Screwfix aiui do 'made to fit' windows, i.e they're 'standard' sizes bought off the shelf and the fitter uses whatever he can to bulk out the resulting gaps. If you ever see a window with seemingly too much pvc, it's likely that's what happened.

Not fair to compare off the shelf with made to measure.

Three quotes is enough imo. Gives you a good idea of cost and you'll generally like at least one of the guys. Any more marks you out as a timewaster, cheapskate or otherwise problem customer. (To me anyway).

[Wildfire]

technodup said:

crewfix aiui do 'made to fit' windows, i.e they're 'standard' sizes bought off the shelf and the fitter uses whatever he can to bulk out the resulting gaps. If you ever see a window with seemingly too much pvc, it's likely that's what happened.

Not fair to compare off the shelf with made to measure.

Three quotes is enough imo. Gives you a good idea of cost and you'll generally like at least one of the guys. Any more marks you out as a timewaster, cheapskate or otherwise problem customer. (To me anyway).

Thanks again. I'll go with 3 local installers and see what the quotes come in like.

[technodup]

Wildfire said:

Thanks, do you have any recommendations on fabricators to ask about?

I would happily give you the work, however, seems we're a bit far away.

The windows are fairly big, all casement in white PVC: 90" x 70" (solar glass), 124" x 48" (solar glass), 77" x 43" (acoustic glass) and 43" x 31" (all rough estimates). No tilt and turn with trickle vents.

Current quote is £4.5k + £1.1k for scaffolding (2nd and 3rd floor).

I don't do inches The biggest one we'd probably be just over £1k, the rest a hundred or two under. You're not a million miles away tbh, especially with acoustic glass, we might be cheaper than down south. Scaffold sounds a bit dear tbh, we'd be half that.

[austinsmirk]

use on line calculators to give you an indicator of where you should be.

coloured frames can sometimes nearly double the price.

you might have fascia, rendering issues to contend with that might increase the price.


I don't know where you live, personal recommendations usually are the best for companies.

[Wildfire]

technodup said:

don't do inches The biggest one we'd probably be just over £1k, the rest a hundred or two under. You're not a million miles away tbh, especially with acoustic glass, we might be cheaper than down south. Scaffold sounds a bit dear tbh, we'd be half that.

I have no idea why I measured in inches! Thanks for that, good to know where I stand roughly. I did expect the fancy glass to put it up over normal.

Scaf prices are high because it's two sets, one on the front of the building and another on the back (for one window only, however it's the one that really needs doing).

[dmsims]

One option might be to hire a tower

(Even for 2 lots that's still expensive)