Back door dropping

[junk]

Hi,

Appologies for the off topic post but I thought the people in here may have an answer.

About three years ago Anglian replaced our doors and windows with double glazed units. The back door has been a problem ever since because if we leave it open for any amount of time (say > 20mins) it drops making it hard to close the door again. I then have to lift the door up and then close it.

We have called Anglian out several times and all they do it just put a plank of wood under the door and lever it up, this is obviously not fixing the cause of the problem. They came out last week to fix it again and last night I was back to having to pulling the door up to close it.

Is this a common problem with double glazed back doors? Presumably the hinges are not strong enough to take the wheight of the door?

Thanks Andy

[Andy Pandy]

Unless there is play in the hinges, I would think it more likely that the frame is flexing away from the wall. Perhaps additional fixings either side of the top hinge woul help.

Can you see where the movement is when you lift the door ?

Andy

[Dave Fawthrop]

| Hi, | | Appologies for the off topic post but I thought the people in here may | have an answer. | | About three years ago Anglian replaced our doors and windows with | double glazed units. The back door has been a problem ever since | because if we leave it open for any amount of time (say > 20mins) it | drops making it hard to close the door again. I then have to lift the | door up and then close it. | | We have called Anglian out several times and all they do it just put a | plank of wood under the door and lever it up, this is obviously not | fixing the cause of the problem. They came out last week to fix it | again and last night I was back to having to pulling the door up to | close it.

The frame is probably bending under the weight of the door.

I hope you took photos of the ?repair? otherwise make timed and dated notes of what you saw. Write to Anglian saying that the repair was not satisfactory, and demand a permanent solution. *keep a copy*, and mention this thread. A proper repair will probably be no more than a few more bolts/screws attaching the frame to the house, and possibly strengthening the frame.

[Lobster]

The hinges on uPVC doors are (usually?) adjustable using Allen keys, so you can raise the door a bit... one would assume that Anglian are aware of this and the hinges are already adjusted to their maximumum, but maybe that's me being naive? It can be a bit fiddly I suppose, and a lot more time-consuming than the plank method! so I suggest it might be worth checking?

David

[junk]

Thanks both Andy and Dave. I was planning on writing to Anglian head office as I have done this before when I have had problems with the local branch and got a quick response. Just wanted to make sure they do not fob me off with a claim that it is common behaviour etc etc.

Thanks Andy

[Dave Liquorice]

Oh dear that was your first mistake IMHO. The product is good but the fitting can be abismal. Fitting is normally done by sub-contractors to the area office. Anglian Head Office won't want to know. Your area office has the sale (and the commision) that is all they really care about.

That is the only way to get any result but be prepared to get a big lump on your head from banging it against the brick wall. BTDTGTTS.

Copies of all correspondance and dates/times of all phone calls, visits etc. Make a nice little presentation send a copy to the area office, Anglian MD (not that they will care, just refer you back to the area office) and local trading standards. Request, rather than demand, that a proper repair is effected within a reasonable time scale 10 working days or you will be employing your own contractor to effect the repair and send them the bill, you'll probably have to go to the small claims court to get that paid mind. Hence having to have all the documentation, dates/times etc to show that you have been more than reasonable in letting them try to fix the problem first.

[Peter Taylor]

It could be due to distortion of the door. The PVC is pretty flexible on its own and not rigid enough to support the weight of the glass units without distorting, and the rigidity is created by inserting plastic packers tightly between the PVC and the edges of the glass units. These packers are often way too loose or there aren't enough, and this allows the door to drop out of square slightly and bind on the cill.

It's pretty easy to cure this by removing the glazing beads and packing round the glass more tightly. Ideally it needs at least 8 packers around smaller glass units (2 at each corner), with extra packers if the units are larger.

Hope you get it sorted.

Peter

[fred]

In article , Peter Taylor writes

That was my thought too.

[Michael Mcneil]

Borrow a video camera for their next antic and post it on the net. Write to a consumer complaints programme and delve in the bowels of UK.Legal to find other methods of castrating the bastards.

[Michael Mcneil]

They should be placed at the top outer corner and under the bottom inner IIRC.

This then acts as a brace.

So you will be requiring a replacement frame as well as the repairs to the glass. Don't agree to them just replacing the cill.

Get your money back off the monkeys if you can. Unless you are happy with draughty, scratched, shoddy Englishness.

I hope you get them sorted, the buggers.

[Jim White]

In message [e-mail] wrote: [snip]

Try measuring the door diagonally corner to corner. If the dimensions differ then the door panel(s)/glazing is not 'toe and heeled' correctly to keep it square. Remove the beads and pack at the hinge-side bottom and side, and the lock-side top and side to maintain the squareness of the door.

[Weatherlawyer]

Better still post a video of them doing that for the first time when they come back the nth.

[Lobster]

Could well be the answer; but the above does depend on the type of door. In some the glazing is held just be that incredibly-strong glazing tape; and indeed in those cases, toe-ing and heel-ing with packing is contra-indicated. I learned this the hard way when a pro glazier managed to crack my sealed unit by packing it out, when the tape should have done the job (he worked for a firm who didn't produce those sort of units)

David

[RedSky]

Why will Anglian head office not want to know? The OP bought the door from Anglian. He has no control over who actually does the work but his contract is with Anglian and nobody else.

If a fault develops then it is up to Anglian to put it right.

[Adrian Brentnall]

In the real world - yes. In the World according to Anglian Windows ..... no !

A few years ago they fitted replacement UPVC patio doors & windows in my late parents' cedarwood bungalow in Cornwall. Net result was that the roof nearly collapsed - and Anglian took over a year to make good the damage - which included installing a massive wooden beam across the front of the bungalow to support the roof.

Total cowboys, never return phone calls, deny responsibility - and pass the buck between Head Office and the regional offices....

Avoid Anglian Windows...!

Adrian Suffolk UK ======return email munged================= take out the papers and the trash to reply

[RedSky]

I'm not disagreeing with you that they maybe a cowboy company for they still have legal obligations to fix what's wrong.

[Dave Liquorice]

No, he bought the door from the local sales office of Anglian not Anglian head office. They operate some sort of franchise system, they are *NOT* just a single entity.

It is up to the local office to put right ie that which the OP has the contract with not Anglian Head Office. As I said they have the sale and the commision they don't want to have to spend any more money.

I've been through this loop I know. Anglian make great play in their high pressure sales of being the biggest double glazing company in the UK. Biggest company, biggest cowboys, IMHO.

The product is good but installation leaves a lot to be desired. It seems very odd that the "franchise" I dealt with had to employ a fulltime trouble shooting team to follow the installers. Wouldn't it be more cost effective and better cumstomer realtions to get the job done properly on installation?

As can be seen from the OPs post this problem with his back door has been going on since installation 3 years ago and *still* hasn't been sorted out correctly. They do the same temporary bodge each time, the same bodge that fails each time. Customer service? No.

Thats why I suggest that if he has records of phone calls, dates/times of visits etc he gives them one last chance to sort it out once and for all. If they fail, either with the proper fix or in the specified but reasonable time, he then brings in his own contractors and passes their bill on. They are simply abusing the great British "oh I can't make fuss" attitude.

[Dave Liquorice]

See it's not just me with a "one off" bad experience.

I still have all the paperwork and the list of faults for each window/door unit. About 10 sides of A4 for 2 doors and 8ish windows. Once they started playing silly beggers I listed every single fault, from missing cover caps on frame fixings and vent seals dislodged to absence of any sealing between the frame and building.