I remember once chatting to a friend about her new double glazing. (I know right?)
“We weren’t really sure what to look for,” she explained, “so we got three quotes and picked the middle one. We figured they must be half decent, but they wouldn’t be ripping us off completely.”
I have a very similar strategy with my food shopping – ‘second crappest’ is a motto I have passed down to Bee, and one which defines our supermarket habits.
For a big investment though, like new windows, you might want to do a little bit more research, so here are four top tips to help you plan your window installation:
Read reviews and check accreditations
Few of us nowadays will make a large purchase without first reading a few online reviews – we are the Trip Adviser generation. Reviews are really useful, but trade websites and reviews from established bodies are also a good source of information so do look out for kitemarks and accreditations and check them out properly rather than just taking the company’s word for it. K Glazing for example shows the Which Trusted Trader logo and links from this straight through to the Which website so you can check it out.
Experiment with colours and styles
Windows don’t just come in white PVC you know, you can customise pretty much every aspect, from the colour of your frames to the material used for your latches. Rose Collection have a really useful tool called a sash window builder, which allows you to customise your window design online. Lots of fun for a quiet five minutes at work.
Visit a showroom
When you think of double glazing, chances are you think of men turning up at your door with a folder full of laminated pictures. (I don’t know where that image even came from, I’ve never had a window salesman come to my house.) Just looking at pictures doesn’t tell you though how a window really looks and feels or how easy it is to open to close, so it’s always a good idea to visit a showroom too if you can.
(Is it just me or did you used to really love going to showrooms as a child? I really liked an outing to MFI where they had all the kitchens set up like real kitchens. Before the days of IKEA obviously, when it was still a novelty.)
Lots of companies have their own showrooms, like Reddish Joinery, which has two; one in Sale and one in Warrington.
Know where your windows come from
If you’re the sort of person who likes their pork chops straight from the farm then you might like to look for a company that takes care of the whole process itself, from manufacture through to installation. Majestic Designs do this, and they are based in Somerset, like me, making them locally sourced. Having your windows done by them is basically like going to a farm shop.
Are you an experienced window shopper? What top tip would you share?
Sponsored post. Image credit – Farmhouse window from Rosamund Parkinson/shutterstock
This is some really great advice for anyone looking to replace their windows. I really liked your point about experimenting, because too many people will replace their windows with the exact same style they had before. And I agree that there are far too many options to just go with white PVC, and that the sheer amount of variety begs you to try something new. Thanks so much for writing!
Customizing is definitely an option with windows. As you shared, from different colors to different styles, there are many options.
Great post! I like the advice about actually visiting a showroom to help get a better feel and look of the windows! Thanks for sharing!
Superb thought of mind my dear friend. I like each and every aspect that you have mentioned in your blog. I am happy to read your blog and looking some more stuff from you like this.