Double glazed french doors.

Sorry, me again. If you dislike me then just don't reply.

I had a carpet fitted recently ) my Christmas present. OH saw French door was rotten at base and leaking so it needs replacing. Its single glazed at the moment - old door?

Anyway, I got a couple of people in to price for a double glazed door there. The prices I had were between £3000 and £4000 . I thought it was steep to be honest and OH said he could buy French doors from Wicks and they were only about £500 but I looked at Wicks and the sizes are wrong. I decided that despite my fears of OH that would be a better option until I looked.

My crappy door ( beginning to think this is a crappy house!) is 2003 inc frame ( height) and 1906 ( width) inc frame. The window/ doors themselves are 1008 ( all mm) If you want it the old way which is how I work - these are effectively 3ft windows ( without frames). Is it possible to get this anymore?

None of those who priced said anything about the doors being " non standard" , if they had I might have understood the cost - but I still think £4000 is too much for a 3ft window.

Are there any other cheaper solutions? PS I don't want to knock walls out ( husband is rubbish brickie and plasterer, it would never be finished!) . Thanks.

Reply to
sweetheart
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How can anyone possibly dislike you, sweetie?

Is there no possibility of repairing it? The doors are presumably wooden, so it ought to be possible to cut out the rotten bits and set in a fresh piece of wood in its place.

If you also want to convert single to double glazing, that's a separate matter. You still wouldn't necessarily need to get new DG PVC doors, you could simply get double glazed pane units made and set them into your existing wooden doors, if they're strong enough to take the extra weight. Or make new doors.

When you get someone in, they will always be custom manufactured to measure. Also, I think, the price will include a new frame (I mean the frame attached to the house, which holds the doors, not the door framework which holds the glass panes - though obviously the price will include those as well). So you're not comparing like with like if you look at Wickes, as they will probably sell you just the door, which you're expected to hang into your existing frames (I may be wrong about this). But even allowing for all that, I do reckon that the prices you've been given are steep. All double glazing companies are chancers, and if you do think you might want to go with them, try haggling. You may well see the price drop by more than half as they suddenly remember they have a special offer on, if you can convincingly lie to them that there is no way you can afford to pay the price first quoted (it might not be lie!).

I'm not sure I understand your figures. Are you saying the fized frame (into which two doors are hung) are 2003x1906 and the doors themselves are 1008 wide each? I'm trying to picture how you fit 2x1008 into 1906. Or is there just one 1008 door and the other half is non-opening? And 3ft is of course only 915mm, so are there four 3ft x 3ft panes all together, two in each door, or two 3x6, or lots of smaller panes, or what?

As I said, don't expect to be able to find standard stock sizes which just happen to fit. Expect to get them made to the right size.

It should be a simple joinery job to fix the rot, or even to make a new pair of doors. You could go to a glazier and get a price for just the double glazed panes, which you could then fit into your own wooden frames.

Reply to
Ronald Raygun

Sorry, me again. If you dislike me then just don't reply.

I had a carpet fitted recently ) my Christmas present. OH saw French door was rotten at base and leaking so it needs replacing. Its single glazed at the moment - old door?

Anyway, I got a couple of people in to price for a double glazed door there. The prices I had were between £3000 and £4000 . I thought it was steep to be honest and OH said he could buy French doors from Wicks and they were only about £500 but I looked at Wicks and the sizes are wrong. I decided that despite my fears of OH that would be a better option until I looked.

My crappy door ( beginning to think this is a crappy house!) is 2003 inc frame ( height) and 1906 ( width) inc frame. The window/ doors themselves are 1008 ( all mm) If you want it the old way which is how I work - these are effectively 3ft windows ( without frames). Is it possible to get this anymore?

None of those who priced said anything about the doors being " non standard" , if they had I might have understood the cost - but I still think £4000 is too much for a 3ft window.

Are there any other cheaper solutions? PS I don't want to knock walls out ( husband is rubbish brickie and plasterer, it would never be finished!) . Thanks.

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You get what you pay for. The big companies sound expensive until you see the difference between them and the cheap ones. If you are thinking about moving soon get a cheap door if you are staying get a Everest or Anglian or at a push Zenith. the others are just trouble in store.

I worked for a DG company a few years back and it was always the cheap doors that were broken into or worse were just falling to bits after a few years. I say worse because even the strongest door will let someone in if the glass is smashed) . But the burglars love cheap doors. In the house in 30 seconds and no noise. I have seen it done.

The big companies make the door to fit so they don't have a standard size.

Gary

Reply to
Gary

Have you checked to see if their are any local joinery firms that can make a direct replacement rather than a UPVC solution? Likewise local window makers are often far cheaper than the big nationals.

Peter Crosland

Reply to
Peter Crosland

Most double glazed windows are made up to suit the opening. Its a really trivial job if you have the machinery as even the small companies now do. Doors can be adjusted downsize quite easily in the same manner. Where you are makes a big difference but if you are within 30 miles of Hull try Victoria Glazing who replaced my old front door and surround a couple of years ago.

Reply to
cynic

Anglian, Everest? That is the sort of mega rip of prices they'll quote, along with the hard sell "I'll have to speak to my manager" to get a "take it or leave it now" offer of a 75% "discount".

Doors don't come cheap but =A31000, installed, for a door and normal casement windows both sides would be ball park.

ASCII Art:

+----+----+----+ | | | | | | | | +----+ +----+ | | | | +----+ Look for an established local double glazing firm that has been trading for at least 5 to 10 years.
Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Anglian, Everest? That is the sort of mega rip of prices they'll quote, along with the hard sell "I'll have to speak to my manager" to get a "take it or leave it now" offer of a 75% "discount".

Yes it was actually. But they didnt offer the " hard sell" - maybe because I was so clear I would not sign up there and then ( I told them that on the phone too).

The original quote was £5000 reduced ( said he) to 3800 in the case of Everest.

I dont think its worth that. I dont mind paying for fitting or plastci as that will be maintenance free but I did sort of have a figure of about £2000 max in my own mind for these doors.

As I said its not a massive door.

Angliam nearly wouldnt quote ( dont like them anyway) because OH wasnt there! Well OH was there but hid because he doesnt want to see them! He is like that. Besides I am paying and I dont like sexism. So they were out. They were slightly higher.

As someone asked

My measurement of the doors 1104 cm wide. 2003 height . The standard Wicks ( and it seems true of all DIY sales seems to be 1490 x 2090

I live in SE Cornwall and my options seem a bit limited in terms of companies to be honest.

Reply to
sweetheart

This side of the Pond, 80" high is pretty standard as a door height, with an alternative standard of 79.5" - which gives a rough opening height of around 83" or 82.5" (i.e. taking into account the frame and the need to usually shim things a little to get everything square and level).

2003mm is 78.85" I think... so it does look like you either need a door that's around 4" shorter than "normal", or you need to get an extra 4" of height somehow. Any chance of doing the latter? (I had to do that when I put a new front door in at our place, but it's all timber construction over here which makes things a lot easier than if you're working with brick and concrete!)

Do Anglian make their own windows, or are they bought in from someone else? You could try going direct to a few manufacturers - the price you've been quoted sounds extremely high if you're happy with something along the lines of "one of those Wicks doors only custom-cut a little shorter". A couple of my family members over here work for a window manufacturing company, and there's not typically a significant price hit for something "odd". I'd expect maybe 20% on top of the cost for the things they churn out that go off to the DIY sheds for sale, but 4 grand just sounds ridiculous.

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules Richardson

I am sorry, I think I may have got it wrong. OH tells me that you measure the size from the outside. I confirmed this on the internet. What confused me is that the plonker who came to " measure and quote" did it from the inside - although to be honest his measuring looked odd to me at the to me as his steel rule wasn't straight .....

Anyway, I went out with my tailors measure this afternoon ( accurate because it will bend into the edge and corner) and it seems the standard size in Wicks would fit both width and height.

So that begs the question even more as to why I am being ripped off for £3800 for a window I could buy in Wicks for £296.10 if OH fits it. The labour must be colossal. I could have a nice posh door for £400 from Wicks, all Everest and Anglian wanted to give me was the basic two pane job like the one in there.

As for the Patio door I could get that for £629 from Wicks - so why the high prices?

I think something like see me coming might be a suitable phrase! Well I may be female and a bit naive but I am not that thick

Reply to
sweetheart

It's not personal it's just how double glazing companies work. They may come back to you with lower quotes (£22K down to £6K is my record) so hang on for a bit. Otherwise find a local chippy to fit a new door for you.

Reply to
Jeff Gaines

Sounds like the companies you tried didn't want the business.

But what sort of replacements do you want? Softwood? Hardwood? PVC?

The other option is to repair the existing ones.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Well, thats OK then because they wont get it. What they will get is a bl**dy earful when they call again ( and they will - they call with regularity!)

I wanted plastic because I dont like painting and OH wont do the maintenance on wood.

I see that. The new option is preferred if within a reasonable range.

Have you ever fitted french doors? Is it very hard? Could my OH do it or is it best done by someone else?

Reply to
sweetheart

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some idea of the cost of the door on its own...

There are various online DG suppliers that will let you enter sizes etc and they then deliver to order. I just picked one at random, fed in your figures and got a quote for £890 custom made to size.

Reply to
John Rumm

Be interesting to see how much they drop the quote.

OK.

I fitted Screwfix PVC patio doors. The sliding sort. One of their stock sizes was fine for me. Think they cost about 600 quid.

I didn't find it too difficult, but I'm fairly experienced at DIY. You do need to take care the frame is set in square and level. I didn't have to do much in the way of making good inside - but a fair bit outside.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

It's all fairly straightforward really. Pick up local directory and find upvc manufacturers in your area. Ring a few and give overall sizes of the opening (W X H in mm) and they will ask you 'do you want a cill' to which you reply, 'yes please' and they will ask you if you want anything special, to which you reply, 'no thanks' as the doors will be fitted with toughened K glass by law and then get a few prices together...fully inclusive of all handles, locks, glass, cill and everything else, you should be looking at anything from £650 to £1250 depending on the quality - most builders and window fitters tend to go for the cheaper end of the market as there's very little difference now compared to a few years ago when there was some dodgy profiles knocking about.

When you've got a few prices and you're happy with one, pick out a few joiners / builders and ask them for a quote to fit the thing, telling them that you have already got the frame, you just want a price for fitting it - at this time of year they are very happy of the work. One man will fit it in a day easily, so don't pay more than £200 for fitting, maybe a little extra including consumables like silicone, expanding foam etc, so all in all, you shouldn't be paying any more than £1000 for the full thing.

Reply to
Phil L

That'll be about right. The thing about the 'off the shelf' stuff from B&Q etc is that they don't include any handles, locks, cills or anything else - you have to buy these seperate and they are a rip off.

Reply to
Phil L

If he's not very good at diy, I wouldn't reccomend starting him off with french doors - they can be a PITA to get square, they will be completed in less than a day by a competent joiner/builder

Reply to
Phil L

Just seen this post. Those prices made me actually laugh. A local firm made me up some similar size french doors (they are good quality) for about 500 quid. I fitted myself. You have to find a good local firm, the type that the local builders use. They would have fitted for about 100 quid (including sealant, foam etc). Avoid the national chains like the plague. I am shocked the way some people get ripped off. Good luck, Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

It's not personal it's just how double glazing companies work. They may come back to you with lower quotes (£22K down to £6K is my record) so hang on for a bit. Otherwise find a local chippy to fit a new door for you.

Reply to
Gary

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