How To Pick The Best Double Glazing Company
Whether you’re eligible for double glazing grants or not you’ll want to make sure that you pick the right double glazing company and negotiate the best deal so we’ve put together a few tips.
As you’ll be aware, double glazing is one of the most popular types of home improvement project undertaken by UK residents. This improvement provides so many benefits, but to actually reap the rewards of having double glazing you must ensure that it’s properly and professionally installed. You must’ve already heard of so many horror stories where homeowners end up with shoddily fitted doors and windows that offer little to no benefit. So, how can you ensure that the double glazing company you choose is really a reputable one? Follow the following and you won’t go far wrong:
Solid Reputation
This is very important when you’re considering many double glazing companies for your project. You should check their reputation. A reliable firm will always make you feel confident about its abilities, and there’s no stronger recommendation than speaking to past customers about their experiences with the company. Though its not possible that every single customer of the company will be satisfied, but do ask about the company’s services and products and whether they would like to deal with the company again. Good double glazing firms realise the significance of satisfied customer and would do everything possible to ensure a solid reputation in order that their past customers recommend them wholeheartedly to potential customers, and where possible, buy more products.
FENSA registered
Look for a FENSA registered company, as this will definitely provide you a greater peace of mind with regards to compliance with various building regulations. It will also save cost and time of registering your window and door installation with local authorities. In addition, you will also have assurance that company has been duly inspected and vetted to meet certain standards and competencies.
Guarantees
You should always check your guarantee! People think that as they need to buy new doors and windows only two or three times in their lifetime, its important to check all available options and compare few quotes and get comprehensive guarantees for at least ten years. Many UK companies also provide an insured guarantee that basically is a policy which covers the guarantee should the company cease trading.
After Sales Service
When selecting a supplier, you should always ask yourself whether you feel confident that the company you’re considering will actually look after and service your products throughout the guarantee period. These days, many companies try to reduce their guarantee responsibilities and the only becomes apparent when you read the fine print of the agreement. In addition, some suppliers make their customers jump through hoops by insisting that all complaints to them should be put in writing. This causes unnecessary delays in responding to the issue. So give you supplier a real grilling on how your service requests will be handled. You can also discuss with neighhbours, relatives and fiends about their experiences. Reputable companies always look at their service request as an opportunity to excel.
Quality of Installers
You must ensure that installer you’re choosing has a wide and varied experience in installing latest replacement doors and windows, as this can ensure a quality job in your house. Good companies, who’re interested in providing a quality service will definitely monitor their performance and will be more than happy to arrange prompt visits to all their previously installed jobs.
Choosing a Manufacturer
It has now become common for many window and door firms in the UK to become suppliers, where they source their requirement for your house from anywhere in the country and abroad. The downside of this kind of deal is that often manufactures offer limited guarantees to supplier and this means sometimes you’ll have to suffer due to poisoned purchase whereby doors and windows supplied are doors and windows are guaranteed for ten years but glass units, handles and hinges are covered only for twelve months.
Check Company’s Accreditations (Very Important!)
Some companies claim to provide certain standards that upon checking aren’t just true. Therefore, you need to check company’s accreditations. Quality accreditations from reputable orgnaisations such as BBA (British Board of Agrement) and BSI (British Standards Institute) are a proof that your supplier has a serious commitment financially and also in terms of product and service quality. It’s imperative that you ask each and every firm to solidly back up their verbal claims with documentary evidence that they do have a certification.
Window and Door Security
The doors and windows installed in your house provide protection against elements. Often buyers forget that they also act as a solid barrier against intruders! BSI tests windows to an “enhanced windows security kitemark BS7950”. This ensures that they successfully pass the strictest security standards.
There’s a similar standard PAS 023/024 available for doors. Protect your home, family, and belongings by insisting that your supplier has actually achieved these approvals and can also provide you a copy certificates as proof.
Cost against Value
In today’s tough economic climate customers look for value for money. When interested in buying replacement doors and windows, you must examine in detail what you’re getting for your money. For instance, some companies try to pass on lower specification product for a lesser cost. It doesn’t mean that a particular company is offering you low quality product. Maybe they’ve built more quality to their finished product or service and can offer you for less. So always check the product specification before deciding.
Choose a Company with Experienced Representatives
A tongue in cheek reputation precedes “double glazing salespeople”. It is like anything else in life, you find knowledgeable and conscientious people wherever you go and a important factor to ensure that you’re fully satisfied with your product is getting the right advice regarding cleaning, ventilation, design, fire escapes, finishing etc. Chatting to neighbours, friends, or relatives about their past experiences should help point you in the right direction and you’ll be able to choose a reliable firm with experienced representatives.
Suppliers Close to Home
When choosing a double glazing company to install doors and windows try to go with the local company as you’re likely to get a better service from it. It’s a much better option than dealing with a company that’s located three to four hundred kilometers away from your house. The company will be close by in case something goes wrong and you need them to rectify the problem.
Good luck with your improvements, and always bear all these tips in mind! Stay away from the cowboys and always shop around.
