I live in Scotland in a tenement flat on the 3rd floor, in a non-conservation area. My flat currently has tilt and turn double glazed uPVC windows but are over 20 years old by now. I saw two window installers working in the area and I called them to arrange quotes. 3rd floor, 9 windows, approximately 900mm x 2300mm.
One quoted on Monday and was around 7k with VEKA windows (no mention of U value). The other quoted today for Rehau windows at 10k with a U Value of allegedly 1.0. Both contractors said that they could be installed from the inside. However, both contractors also asked if I had anyone else in or lined up for a quote. I told them the truth and they proceeded to say their windows were better and talked dirt on each other, which put me off both of them.
I called 3 more contractors today. 1 was a VEKA authorised installer and he flat out refused to work on a 3rd floor tenement. To busy and not interested he said. A second said scaffolding was mandatory and would add 3-4k to any quote so he wasn’t interested either. A third said the same about scaffolding, told me it was my responsibility to ensure the contractor uses scaffolding or we’d both be in court if someone got hurt (not sure how accurate that is. If it is, it expects the average person know all the regulations. What could possibly go wrong if a customer were to tell a professional contractor how to do their job…). Then he proceeded to try and sell me secondary glazing and claim that it’s 4x better than double glazing, which I find hard to believe and unsightly in every aspect.
Can someone tell me if scaffolding is actually mandatory or is it up to the contractor to determine their own safe working practices?
Also, can someone give a rough ballpark on what I should be expecting to pay and anything to look out for?
One quoted on Monday and was around 7k with VEKA windows (no mention of U value). The other quoted today for Rehau windows at 10k with a U Value of allegedly 1.0. Both contractors said that they could be installed from the inside. However, both contractors also asked if I had anyone else in or lined up for a quote. I told them the truth and they proceeded to say their windows were better and talked dirt on each other, which put me off both of them.
I called 3 more contractors today. 1 was a VEKA authorised installer and he flat out refused to work on a 3rd floor tenement. To busy and not interested he said. A second said scaffolding was mandatory and would add 3-4k to any quote so he wasn’t interested either. A third said the same about scaffolding, told me it was my responsibility to ensure the contractor uses scaffolding or we’d both be in court if someone got hurt (not sure how accurate that is. If it is, it expects the average person know all the regulations. What could possibly go wrong if a customer were to tell a professional contractor how to do their job…). Then he proceeded to try and sell me secondary glazing and claim that it’s 4x better than double glazing, which I find hard to believe and unsightly in every aspect.
Can someone tell me if scaffolding is actually mandatory or is it up to the contractor to determine their own safe working practices?
Also, can someone give a rough ballpark on what I should be expecting to pay and anything to look out for?
