When we purchased our house back in 2014 we had quite a mix of different uPVC windows, which wasn’t much of an issue for the first few months or so. We had a mix of new and old uPVC windows and thought nothing of it until winter time came around and our bedroom steamed up with condensation during the night and began to form large pools of water on the nice wooden window sill, which in turn started to rot the wood!
At first we didn’t know why and then realised that the bedroom window wasn’t as new as the others in the house and noticed that although they were double glazed, they didn’t have any air vents to allow for small amounts of air flow. This has caused condensation overnight to form on the window and I don’t mean a little – it’s like a waterfall on our windows in the morning, almost!
Whilst this isn’t ideal we haven’t yet made that decision to replace them, despite a number of sales men knocking on the door to try and sell us new windows, which I don’t like anyway. Why would I buy windows from a random that knocks on my door before researching and checking the market first? They do need replacing, but so have a lot of other things in our home. So at the moment it’s a cost issue and after four years of doing up our home the wife decided this year we were spending money on some holidays and travels instead, so the windows have to wait for now!
With all this in mind I’d like to share with you my preferred method of window shopping:
- Firstly decide what type of windows you want for your property. There are a number of different products on the market so it’s important to do your research before contacting a manufacture or reseller. They will all likely try and sell your their most expensive of profitable product. Replacement windows can be made from bronze, timber, steel, aluminium or uPVC (un-plasticised polyvinyl chloride)
Do your research for the most suitable product for your property type. - Approach at least 3 different companies and ask for a priced quote from each for the same or most similar product.
- Once you’ve selected a supplier and they ask for a deposit, ensure they offer GGF Deposit Indemnity Fund which offers free protection on your deposit.
- Read the contract in full before agreeing to anything.
- Check that the brief includes “making good” (repairing any damage caused to the surrounding area by fitting)
- Bear in mind that an installation can take about 6 weeks from order to completion.
- Ask the company for details on the warranty offered with the products.
- Verify cancellation periods. Most companies will not offer a cancellation period for custom made windows so be sure your happy with these before proceeding.
- Make sure you enquire about any additional work that might be required on the installation of the windows. You won’t want a surprise half way through the fit process for any additional construction work.
So at some point in the not too far future we will make this leap of faith into the unknown world of windows. Whilst it’s not incredibly high on the to do list right now, it is a job that needs to be considered within the next year to prevent further damage to our wooden windows sills, stop mould from forming and add peace of mind to good clean ventilation around the home. Better call in the windows experts for what I’m sure will be a mix of opinions of the best product for our home! I can’t wait! Bring it on sales men!
More great blog posts to read next:
How to upgrade your own kitchen on a budget
Banister refurbishment on a budget
