How to Read a Glazing Quote
Three quotes for the same job can vary by a factor of three. The difference is almost never the glass.
What Should Be Itemised
A quote worth trusting separates the units, the frames, the labour, the making good and the waste removal. One that gives a single figure for supply and fit is asking you to trust it entirely, which is fine if you know the firm and unwise if you do not.
Making good is the line that catches people. Removing an old frame damages plaster, render and sometimes the cill. Whether the quote puts that back, and to what standard, is worth more than a hundred pounds either way on the price.
Deposits and the Pressure Sell
A deposit of ten to twenty-five per cent against made-to-measure units is normal and reasonable. A demand for the majority up front is not. Neither is a price that expires at the end of the visit, which remains common in this trade and is always a bad sign.
Take the quote away. Anything genuine is still available tomorrow.
Guarantees Worth the Paper
An insurance-backed guarantee means something because it survives the company closing. A ten-year guarantee from a firm three years old, backed by nothing, means very little. Ask who underwrites it.
Check the registration too. Replacement windows in a dwelling are notifiable under building regulations, so the installer should belong to a competent person scheme such as FENSA or Certass. The certificate at the end matters when you come to sell.
