Double glazing guarantee

[Cruise1]

I have two double-glazing windows where they are all white streaky marks and looks like mould along the bottom of them on the inside. I contacted the glazier two years ago and he said even though they were two years old there was no guarantee. Couldn't afford at that stage to change them so have ignored them till now. Decided to look into it a bit more and have discovered they should have been under guarantee but glazier now gone bust and not in business. There is a window regulator called Fensa but they only cover England and Wales and I am in NI.
Any-one out there have any ideas for me. Seems so unfair the windows have gone like this in such a short period of time. As I am on a second floor they need to erect scaffolding etc so it is going to cost a lot to replace them.

 

[Camarello]

Your sealed units are blown so you will need to replace them all. At anything up to £300 each its going to cost you more than replacing the whole windows. You will be able to get cheaper sealed units but unless they are guaranteed by a GGF (Glass & Glazing Federation) member they are likely to fail again.

Before 'investing' in any home improvement do your homework. It amazes me how little people know about windows. White plastic all the same not !!! Forget FENSA. Forget Federation of Master Builders.

Only trade with a member of the GGF and you're covered. Trading with humpty dumpty companies Bodgit & Scarper and you're another statistic for Rogue Traders. The GGF backs up the guarantee of member companies if they go out of business. And for those that remain the GGF will make representation on your behalf to the company at fault.

In my experience you'll likely to get the best service from national companies that have been around 30 years or more. Everest yes are the most pricey but they are the best. Anglian provides good quality products at a fantastic price if you beat them down. If youd like a composite door Everest 70mm traditional door is the absolute best.
Recently I compromised on price and got the Anglian composite door along with a window £200 cheaper than the Everest Composite Door. There is no comparison. The Anglian door is 20mm thinner than the Everest door and the colour to the outside is only paint, whereas the Everest door has a coloured shell.

I do not trust any company other than Anglian and Everest and while I acknowledge that many might disagree there's no getting away from the reality. You get what you don't pay for.

The bitter taste of poor quality lingers long after the sweet taste of low price is forgotten.

 

[Camarello]

Is that what you paid for last time?

You don't need scaffolding. Your windows can be fully fitted from the inside. Remember sealed units are fitted from the inside so the frame can be fitted and sealed from inside before the sealed units are fitted. What happens if your 8 or 20 floors up?

 

[Cruise1]

I purchased the apartment as a new property so i don't know how they were fitted at that stage. When I got a glazier to give me a quote he explained they would have to erect scaffolding but thank you very much for the comments and i will ask why they can't be fitted from inside.

I wish some of the companies you mentioned were in NI but i will certainly do my home-work and use some-one who is fully registered and also with a guarantee.

 

[garyo]

How big are the windows? I'm not 100% sure whether you're just having problems with the sealed units failing, or some other problem with the frame?

A lot of mould problems can be due to inadequate ventilation, or doing lots of ironing/tumble drying with the windows closed, so may be nothing to do with the windows.

Where exactly are the streaks?

 

[Camarello]

Where you are is of no issue. What you must do is look for unique selling points. Anglian will gurantee windows including sealed units for 15 years whereas Everest will give you a lifetime guarantee. Notice the word 'guarantee' - not 'warranty'. Everest, Anglian and other GGF members do not need to give 'insurance backed guarantees' because the GGF will, in the event of the member going out of business, arrange for an equivalent quality product to be replaced to the original standard of installation. BS kitemarks covering product and installation quality.

Just to explain. I am a former salesman for Staybrite and Everest. For a short while I was with two roofline companies, one as a sales rep and the other as canvassing manager. The latter company were the worst example of illegal practices. Amber windows is one of the worst companies I've been with. They have a policy of avoiding Asians and anyone with a foreign sounding name.

Companies come and go. Set up, go bust and set up again with the same name. Then claim to have been trading umpteen years.

 

[Camarello]

If this is a new build then it will be covered by the NHBC

 

[Cruise1]

The largest window is approx 7 ft x 4 ft. It is just a really large window with no openings on it. The white streaks initially just looked like the window cleaner hadn't cleaned them properly and then they just got worse and are now all over the window. The frames are timber but they look fine I guess with only being a few years old. My guess is that the units have been faulty as some of the other apartments are older than mine and no-one else has had a problem.

It is a holiday home so there has been no tumble-dryer or anything used to cause any undue condensation.

 

[Cruise1]

I contacted NHBC yesterday and the policy excess is £813 so they will only pay for anything over that amount and I am hoping the bill wouldn't be that much. They have also advised me my solicitor never returned an offer of acceptance so at the minute I have no policy document though that should be easily sorted.

 

[crank39]

In my experience you'll likely to get the best service from national companies that have been around 30 years or more. Everest yes are the most pricey but they are the best. Anglian provides good quality products at a fantastic price if you beat them down

I do not trust any company other than Anglian and Everest and while I acknowledge that many might disagree there's no getting away from the reality.

Looks like you found someone who disagrees.

With 20yrs + experience of fitting and repairing PVC i saw some sights and i wouldn't trust any national company and i would never believe anything a double glazing salesman told me.

For the last 15 years i've been a service engineer after gaining all my knowledge working for small local window companies to fairly big regional outfits, i have seen just about every profile their is and seen some of the worst bodges ever, most coming from national companies including the 2 you mention.

National companies promise the earth and rarely deliver, they employ pushy salesman who eat all your biscuits and won't leave until you fold and you just end up signing to get them out the door cos you want to go to bed, they can seemingly knock thousands off their quote at the drop of a hat (or a phone call to their manager ), they all say THEIR profile is the best, they spout off all this bulls**t about a 16 day cooling off period but take 3 weeks to send you the contract that tells you as much, don't ever ever ever ever ever EVER believe anything that comes out of a D/G salesmans mouth, unless its your fist.

I'm currently working for a national repair company, we are sent to look at anything from a shrunk gasket to a whole conservatory or even a house full, again seeing all wonderfull things like brown silicone used to point brick horns with cos they didn't have sand and cement, box gutters that look like they've been welded by a 5 year old, windows fitted upside down and had 7 attempts at re drilling new drainage holes.........oh jesus you got me all started

IMO nationals are best avoided, their customer service will be none exsistant, the fitters are never in the area suprisingly, the girl thats dealing with it is off having a baby blah blah blah blah.......yeah i've heard them all, i've had customers break down in tears in front of me when telling me about the 'National' company they employed, i've had customers telling me about 2 year court cases, i've been in houses when the directors of a certain national company have knocked on the door for the withheld cheque, even heard them say we'll see you in court then and we never lose!!! All from a company that was your best mate when you were signing!

This is only my opinion but i would go for a well known regional company, one that works off reputation not a 50k a week advertising campaign.

Oh and one last thing, never believe anything a double glazing salesman tells you............the chances are he's lying!

 

[philipdayton]

100% agree with above.....NEVER EVER DEAL WITH THE NATIONALS.....EVER!!!!

Reputable local company with good references who use a good quality PVCu profile with good quality hardware.

Everest/Anglian use their own profile which to say it's not the best is putting it mildly, their fitters also leave a LOT to be desired.....

 

[God]

very much doubt either of the 2 big companies will even go to change a d/g unit. You need a local glazier to give you a price and get 3 quotes