Hi all
I have an old aluminium sliding patio door in the UK.
The outer pane of the double-glazed unit has shattered, but the inner pane is still intact. The door is old but currently still usable, and the broken outer pane is not an immediate safety issue because the area is cordoned off.
A local window company has quoted around £400 including VAT and fitting to replace the sealed unit. However, they warned that because it is an old aluminium wrap-around door, dismantling it could be risky due to perished seals and seized/rusted screws. They said it could turn into a nightmare and lead to additional costs.
They also suggested replacing the whole thing with new French doors for around £900 instead.
My questions are:
1. Is replacing the sealed unit in an old aluminium sliding patio door usually straightforward, or is it genuinely risky?
2. If it does become a “nightmare”, what sort of additional cost might realistically arise?
3. In real life, how often do these jobs turn into “once dismantled, it really needs full replacement”?
4. Would you repair the glass only, or replace the whole door?
5. Do £400 for glass replacement and £900 for full replacement sound realistic in the UK?
Any advice from people with experience of older aluminium patio doors would be much appreciated.
I have an old aluminium sliding patio door in the UK.
The outer pane of the double-glazed unit has shattered, but the inner pane is still intact. The door is old but currently still usable, and the broken outer pane is not an immediate safety issue because the area is cordoned off.
A local window company has quoted around £400 including VAT and fitting to replace the sealed unit. However, they warned that because it is an old aluminium wrap-around door, dismantling it could be risky due to perished seals and seized/rusted screws. They said it could turn into a nightmare and lead to additional costs.
They also suggested replacing the whole thing with new French doors for around £900 instead.
My questions are:
1. Is replacing the sealed unit in an old aluminium sliding patio door usually straightforward, or is it genuinely risky?
2. If it does become a “nightmare”, what sort of additional cost might realistically arise?
3. In real life, how often do these jobs turn into “once dismantled, it really needs full replacement”?
4. Would you repair the glass only, or replace the whole door?
5. Do £400 for glass replacement and £900 for full replacement sound realistic in the UK?
Any advice from people with experience of older aluminium patio doors would be much appreciated.
