UPVC Profile or manufacture quality?

[frediaz]

I am about to order a set of UPVC windows for my home. Different suppliers use different profiles: Rehau, Veka, Profile 22, etc. What matters more, the quality and reputation of the profile producer or those of the windows manufacturer?

Are there any dodgy profiles out there that you know of?

 

[Richard C]

I had Rahau units installed last year & have been very pleased with them, don’t know about the other two, I suppose it depends on what sort of look you want. I did a lot of research before ordering & obviously manufacturing quality is very important but there are increasingly few DG companies around making their own units these days. Even many of the large National installers buy in these days as they just can’t compete with the large regional manufacturing units on price & quality, which generally seems pretty consistent. Swallow (or was it Swift!) seemed to be an equally good product I looked at but I don’t know what profile that is. Look at the quality of the hinges & lock mechanisms & at the jamb security pins. The quality of the installation is the main thing as it’s usually what makes the difference between a good job & a bad one these days!

 

[frediaz]

I guess this is right, this company is ordering the windows from a larger manufacturer. It is fine if they are selling the windows and the installation to some old lady. They are not installing them in our case so they are only getting their cut for re-selling them. I might as well go directly to the actual manufacturer.

The only thing that could be happening is that they get a much lower price from the manufacturer than I would so I could end up getting the same price from the latter

 

[Richard C]

I originally intended to do my own installation but although there are one or two factories prepared to supply retail (U Fit being one), I found most will only deal with the trade so you inevitably end up going to a supplier anyway. I approached around 8 suppliers & mark ups seem to be anything from 25% upwards but I soon realised I was not going to get anything like the discount offered to regular account customers.

When I did the sums, I reckoned I was only going to save around £50 per window if I did all the work myself so in the end decided it was a “no brainer” compared to the total spend & so paid to have them fitted. I also wanted a conservatory & a whole load of other building work done so, after a look at some of his work & a lot on negotiation, I chose a local builder/installer. They did all the work, made good & fitted new internal Polyboard cills; add in FENSA registration & an independent 10 year warranty (for what they are worth), all without the hassle of going it alone thorough Building Control! As an overall package, I probably couldn’t have done it much cheaper if I had employed my own subs & it would probably have taken me 3 months longer!

 

[ipjodan]

I agree with Richard,

Just had Rehau windows fitted, very happy with the quality, look and they dont have those stupid "vents" on them