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This case study,
by
Anne Ho/den
illustrates the sales pressure of replacement window firms
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Having been plagued for many years by double glazing sales phone calls, the author had no compunction in asking for quotes. Several firms were contacted, in March 1991, and asked to quote for replacement windows for a house built in l873, an extension of a Grade II Georgian vicarage in a conservation area.
The firms selling upvc and aluminium windows sent representatives to the house, as did two local joinery firms. Other quotes were obtained by post or from catalogues. None of the companies was told that the house was listed.
The house has painted timber sash and casement windows, most of them original, set into brick reveals. The salesmen were asked to quote for one of each. The sliding sash is composed of six panes over six. The casement window consists of two opening lights meeting vertically in the centre.
In view of the fact that unauthorised alteration to a listed building is a criminal offence for which both owner and builder can be prosecuted,
it
is interesting that only one of the firms, BAC, questioned the status of the building before visiting.
At the end of the ‘visit, when asked if the salesman thought
it
would be permissible to use non-traditional windows, the answer varied from “If its round the back, they won’t notice” to ‘The Council will accept these”. Some of the salesmen’s photographs featured old buildings, most probably listed. One salesman said that you could do anything you likes to a Grade II listed building without seeking approval, but not a Grade I building.
Salesmen were keen to point out the faults of other makes of upvc and several brought samples of so-called rival products: colour turning yellow or grey with age, cold bridging, insecure systems etc. Sales patter included statements such as, “Nobody wants wooden windows nowadays as there are problems with maintenance and rot”.
Several firms asked if the author’s husband would be at home at the time of the visit (the idea being to have a signed order before leaving). One, when told that he would not, refused to call.
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PRESENTATION OF QUOTES
Only Everest and BAC gave quotes written on company paper. In the other cases, figures were jotted down on bits of paper or the customer was left to write them down herself. In all cases
it
was unclear, unless they were asked specifically, whether the figures included VAT or not. When asked for a copy of the standard contract, one representative said he was not allowed to leave one, but that he would.
In one contract, a paragraph which begins by talking about sizes and pricing, continues:
If planning permission or building regulation consent is required for any Company product detailed in the Contract, then
it
is the responsibility of the Customer to ensure that the planning permission or building regulation consent is obtained.
Discounts were offered in the order of 12% for orders given on the spot. One firm offered a 20%
reduction on the bill if
it
was given permission to photograph the house with the windows in and received a letter extolling their virtues.
Overall, upvc and aluminium window salesmen appeared to be badly informed and seemed to have learned a routine. Once into the spiel,
it was
difficult to get them to stop and to terminate the visit in less than an hour. Many exaggerated claims were made.
Quotes from the timber trade invariably took up a sheet of A4 or more and contained written details of what the price would include, in the traditional manner of joiners. The local joiners who visited were able to talk knowledgeably on the subject as they would have been making the windows personally.
STANDARD OF DETAILING
All the upvc firms offered a window which, in their opinion, would match the existing ones and mainly consisted of two sashes, some sliding and tilting and some just tilting. The latter would result in a heavy transom, being two horizontal meeting members. Some salesmen admitted that the sliding upvc sash was not a
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success because the plastic expands and contracts too much and the sash sticks in the grooves.
What they refer to as Georgian bars, the glazing bars, were invariably thin strips of plastic inserted between the double sheets of glass and bore no resemblance to original sash windows. Salesmen said that the difference would not be noticed. Weatherseal uses thick section glazing bars that are stuck on the inside and the outside of the panes of glass. These certainly would look more genuine from the outside as they would break up the glazed area, but
it
would also be obvious that the bars do not pass through the glass.
SALES CATALOGUES & TERMINOLOGY
The major national upvc and double glazing firms offer catalogues consisting mostly of pictures of smiling people and promotional text with few detailed drawings of profiles or measurements. One, Marley Primo, used vague watercoloured pictures showing the light and shade found when using traditional glazing bars but there was no indication of how this
detail would be carried
out in practice. The representatives invariably brought samples of windows.
Catalogues from the timber trade were of much better quality, except for the one from Magnet (trade), Only seven pages were devoted to windows and the first, introductory, one consisted of four different versions of the ubiquitous EJMA window, still in vogue after 45 years and as ugly as ever.
At the opposite end of the scale was the John Carr brochure with 48 pages. Nevertheless, they were unable to find space to show how the ‘Georgian bars’ fitted and none of the windows, portrayed in tiny drawings, looked anything like a traditional sash window. The sliding sash windows were only available in a stained finish
which puts paid to any chance of their
matching a traditional sash window without repainting. Another hefty tome, that of Boulton
&
Paul (128 pages) who claim to supply windows to over half of Britain’s
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CONTEXT 33
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