This case study, by Anne Ho/den illustrates the sales pressure of replacement window firms

from a householder’s point of view and compares cost and effectiveness. It is an aspect

Conservation Officers should be more familiar with if they wish to influence householders.

CAMPAIGNING FOR

REAL WINDOWS

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

1873, 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 cata-

logues. 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 permis-

sible 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 pho-

tographs featured old buildings, most

probably listed. One salesman said that

you could do anything you liked 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 prod-

ucts: colour turning yellow or grey with

age, cold bridging, insecure systems etc.

Sales patter included statements such as,

“Nobody wants wooden windows nowa-

days as there are problems with mainte-

nance and rot”.

Several firms asked if the author’s hus-

band 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.

PRESENTATION OF QUOTES

Only Everest and BAC gave quotes writ-

ten 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 con-

tract, 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 Con-

tract, then it is the responsibility of the

Customer to ensure that the planning

permission or building regulation con-

sent 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 con-

tained 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 admit-

ted that the sliding upvc sash was not a

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 origi-

nal sash windows. Salesmen said that the

difference would not be noticed. Weath-

erseal 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 glaz-

ing firms offer catalogues consisting

mostly of pictures of smiling people and

promotional text with few detailed draw-

ings 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 differ-

ent versions of the ubiquitous EJMA win-

dow, 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. Never-

theless, 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 tradi-

tional sash window. The sliding sash win-

dows were only available in a stained finish

which puts paid to any chance of their

matching a traditional sash window with-

out 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