Some advice please would be appreciated. I am in the process of getting double glazing quotes for my victorian house. 13 windows to be replaced and 3 of those will be vertical sliding sash. I have had a very competitive quote from a well known regional firm that have been going for 40 years and advertise on television etc i.e., a respectable outfit. They are a member of Network VEKA. The quote is £6400 and I am happy with that but I have 2 reservations. The first is that the majority of firms who have quoted state that their units are Argon gas sealed. But the company I am thinking of going with has no gas within the unit. They state that the benefit of gas sealing is additional thermal qualities but because we are in the south west of the country, which is very mild, it is not required. If that is the only benefit I am not too worried. My second reservation is the one I am more worried about. I found a website that gave a lot of informative information about double glazing and it stated that the minimum profile you should consider is 60mm and preferably 65 or 70mm. Most of the companies stated they did 65 or 70mm, but the company I am favouring is only 58mm. Should I be concerned?? As I state they are well respected in the south west and belong to VEKA. thanks.
Whether you live in a warm area or not, I would have thought the better the thermal properties of the glazing the better it is. Unless you never need the heating on because it is so warm indoors! Do they rate the glazings thermal properties, and will it meet the Building regs of 1.8W/m2K? Vision glazing do a unit about 30mm thick. It is a high quality unit, used in all the best homes. So in this case, I don't think size matters.
Not heard of VEKA but are they FENSA registered? If they are this should give you some reassurance. Standard UPVC Low-E units (air filled) with a 16mm air gap will give a U-value of 1.8 Argon filled units with the same spec will give you 1.7. Not a great deal better Their "we live in the sunny south so we don't need high insulation windows" excuse is a bit wooly though. Ask for some product info confirming u-values If they are not FENSA registered, you'll need b/control approval. Send a copy of the spec to them to see if they will accept it before you have the windows installed.
they need fensa registration or you need to involve building inspectors.I work in torquay and we have to have gas that is the main point of the new regs.
Thanks guys. I can cofirm they are FENSA registered and thermal qualities meet the minimum requireemnts, well actually exceed them. My concern, as originally mentioned , was the slimness of the units i.e., 58 mm and whether this meant they would be inferior in anyway. As regards VEKA, apart from being a manufacturer of upvc, any double glazing company that is bonded with them gives the following benefits. VEKA, themselves will return money if your chosen company goes out of business with your deposit before works are completeed. They give an independant 10 year guarantee on top of the installing firm. It appears to be another level of protection.
you mean the thickness of profile not the unit.most aree 65-70mm but this is to cover the old sealant as wooden frames are 65-70mm. You need to make sure they are reinforced with galv or alu. If getting white get blue white as it appears whiter
okay, so 58mm wouldn't mean the unit itself is inferior, just that there is more making good to do afterwards?
jimjam, use the right terminology. A <u>UNIT</u> (in window terms) is the glass sealed <u>UNIT</u>. You are talking about the <u>PROFILE</u> of the frame. Completely different things I'm sure you'll agree.
Firstly Veka only make a 70mm profile and is a very good window as long as it is manufactured by a good fabricator...wouldnt worry about argon gas just make sure they use K glass and toughned where necessary....
fensa just means the firm has applied/paid for the right badges to be able to rubber stamp thier own work, instead of the BCO doing it, however this does not mean a good job is always the outcome, it depends on the fitters which is luck of the draw on most big firms.
> fensa just means the firm has applied/paid for the right badges to be able to rubber stamp thier own work, instead of the BCO doing it, however this does not mean a good job is always the outcome, it depends on the fitters which is luck of the draw on most big firms. Too true. FENSA means nothing about the <u>installation</u> of the windows, it's all about the type of glass, type of hinges, ventilation etc etc A window that complies with FENSA could be very poorly fitted (and often they are)
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