Straight talk on double glazing and window quotes
A new window can fit the hole perfectly and still leave you short of room for a blind, a curtain track or even your knuckles. Here is what to measure in the reveal before you sign, and what to ask the surveyor so the finished opening is covered by the quote.
“Six to eight weeks” is a manufacturing estimate, not a delivery promise — and most quotes never put a real date on paper at all. Here's how to turn a vague timeline into a schedule you can actually plan a kitchen, a carpet and a week off around.
A supply-only window quote can look like the smart, no-frills option — until the pallet lands on your driveway and the measuring, fitting, disposal and paperwork all become your problem. Here is what that cheaper headline price really leaves on your side of the ledger.
That neat little swatch in the showroom is not your window, and the lighting in a window showroom is nobody's idea of a British afternoon. Here's how to test a window colour properly — big samples, the right wall, the right hour, and a finish reference locked into the quote so 'anthracite' can't drift into something else entirely.
New low-emissivity windows often collect condensation on the outside pane on cool, still mornings. It looks alarming, but it is usually a sign the glass is insulating properly, not failing. Here is how to tell outside dew from a blown seal, what to record before you call anyone, and what to ask if your 2026 quote promised 'condensation-free' windows.
Almost every window quote says the balance is due 'on completion' — and almost none of them say what completion actually is. Here's how to pin that down before the fitting date, run a proper snagging walk-round, and hold back a sensible slice until the last tube of sealant has cured.
Frames, glass, handles, the fitter's tea budget — you can spend weeks on the detail and still get caught out by a certificate nobody mentioned at quote stage. Here's what FENSA and Certass actually do, why your future buyer's solicitor will care, and the three questions that settle it before you sign.
Most quotes spend their words on glass and frames. The sill, the weep holes and the cavity closer are where rainwater is actually stopped — or let in. Here's how to read a 2026 quote for the bits that keep your wallpaper dry.
A PAS 24 badge on the lock is not the same as a PAS 24 window. This is how to read security wording in a 2026 quote, spot the gaps, and ask for the paperwork that actually proves the whole assembly has been tested.
A signature at 9pm on a Tuesday isn't the same thing as a decision. Here's how the 14-day cooling-off period really works on a window contract signed at home, when 'bespoke' genuinely does remove it, and how to cancel in writing without leaving your deposit behind as a parting gift.
A window quote can look tidy until you reach the deposit line. Here’s how to judge whether the upfront ask is normal, cheeky or a warning sign — and how to pay in a way that keeps you covered.
Two fitters, same window, same street — one quotes £300 for access, the other £1,200. The difference is rarely greed. It's scaffolding, towers, licences and the awkward question of who owns the metal. Here's how to read the access line without getting buried.
An upstairs window isn't just there to let light in and keep the weather out. If it serves a bedroom or a loft room, it may also need to be a way out — and the quote in front of you probably doesn't mention it. Here's how to check the 450mm rule before the frames are made.
A ten-year guarantee sounds reassuring until you ask who actually pays when a hinge fails in year seven. Here's how to separate the installer's promise from the manufacturer's cover, spot an insurance-backed policy, and check transferability before you sign.
Most window quotes tell you exactly what goes in. Far fewer tell you what comes out — and who is legally responsible for it. Here is how to make sure removal and disposal are priced, licensed and documented before the fitters arrive.
A sales visit is not a survey, and a quote marked 'subject to survey' is not a fixed price. Here's how that small asterisk can move risk onto you, what a proper 2026 survey should check, and how to compare window quotes that include the awkward bits.
Most window quotes don't mention sound at all, and the ones that do tend to say 'acoustic' and leave it there. Here's what Rw actually means, why triple glazing isn't automatically quieter, and how to specify a window that deals with the A-road at the end of the garden.
Record summer temperatures are no longer a freak event, and the frames fitted in a hurry are starting to show it. Here's what sustained heat actually does to uPVC and aluminium, how to spot the damage in November, and the questions that separate a proper installation from a hopeful one.
Collecting window quotes feels like diligence, right up until it becomes a fortnight of evenings spent comparing PDFs you don't fully understand. Here's the point where shopping around stops paying you back — and the three-quote rule that actually does.
A window quote is a beautifully tidy document until the old frames come out and meet a 1930s wall with a rotting timber lintel. Here's how to get plaster, lintels, cavity trays and uneven openings scoped in writing before you sign anything.