Quote to replace wooden window

[cazzz]

I've just had a quote to replace a very rotten back window - £1300 plus VAT which is for a bespoke window and installation. This seems extortionate to me but maybe I'm behind the times on window costs! It is a 6 pane single glazed soft wood window measuring approx. 26" by 41". Does this quote sound about right to you? I'm in Cambs/North Herts so if you know where I could get an alternative quote I would be very grateful.

 

[Pford75]

In my experience, many joiners don't want to get involved in installation. As a result, they price this part to discourage. Ask for a split of supply and fit...it could pay to have them supply and someone else fit.

 

[cazzz]

Thanks. The builder provided the quote. The chap who will be making the window is asking £780 and the rest is the builder's labour to install.

 

[piapiapiano]

It was cheaper for us to get the joiner to install our wooden windows. Paying for just the windows incurred 20% VAT. Paying for windows plus labour to install incurred only 5% VAT. But maybe that's just the Isle of Man...

 

[Feltwell]

£520+VAT to install a window? Unless there is some serious extra work involved, that sounds very high to me. Fitting windows is not a difficult job. Is your builder having to sort out brickwork or stonework at all, or is it just a case of fitting this new window in the hole the old one will vacate?

If it's a straight "out & in" job of swapping the new window for the old, I wouldn't expect to pay more than a day's labour at most - round here that's about £120. In the South East it will be higher.

As for the price of the window - without more details of exactly what you're having made it's difficult to say. I've had a price of £600 to make a new box sash window, and £1000 to make a new set of french doors.

Whereabouts are you? Someone on here may have a contact for you - I, for instance, know a very good joiner who does door & window fitting but that's not much use if you're 200 miles away!

 

[rocky12345]

if in you are not sure please contact me, EXTANCE Renovations & Preservations. 07792589995 i can help

 

[worms]

The OP may or may not wish to take up the kind offer above, but somehow I find it impossible to put much trust into any business that only gives a mobile number. Is this simply showing my age and the extent to which I am out of touch with the realities of trade in today's world, or am I right to be suspicious and think that the world is full of cowboys?

 

[skier-hughes]

If you are busy busy and out at work all the time, wihtout incurring the costs of a secretay, a mobile is a must. Unless you are like my father in law who carries his with him, but turns it off, as he keeps getting calls which interupt him

For the cost of the window, there is softwood and there is softwood. We have some high quality douglas fir and it costs us just over £600 for the timber to make 4 x 18" x 11" windows and one 55" x 30" window. Then there is the cost of Jo's dad making them and fitting them.

This is about the medium priced wood, lots cheaper and more expensive!

 

[d49xc]

Given that the user rocky12345 has just two posts, both of which seemed merely an attempt to advertise their business which as you say only gave a mobile...... I think I'd give it a miss.
I would not deal with anyone who does not supply a business address and a landline number.

Re the issue
I'd agree with the other comments...installation costs seem very high - unless there are major complications involved.
Cost of the window itself seems reasonsable...for a bespoke softwood window....if anything fractionally low

PS just a thought - you don't say whether it is an upstairs window. If you are going to need scaffolding to be erected to get access up to it then this might account for the cost of installation.

 

[AMc]

It does sounds quite a lot but it's hard to know what else is involved - is the builder going to fit and decorate the window?
I got my frames from a joiner, glass units from the glazier and then paid to have them fitted by a carpenter and painted by a decorator - as part of larger jobs so it's hard to qualify the end to end cost but that doesn't sound way over the top.

If you're not happy with the quote then its entirely reasonable to get a couple more - there shouldn't be any ill will from the builder in getting a second opinion. I found that 3 quotes would help you to establish a reasonable idea if one was out of whack. It's also worth bearing in mind that the quality of the work and the installation may be worth paying more for. If you nice new window is installed on the cheap then you may end up doing the job again in a few years.

 

[childrenanddogs]

The cheapest quote we've had so far for each new sash window is £1600, so seems a bargain to me!

 

[skier-hughes]

Ooops, I forgot about the glass in our windows, from the last time we had dg units I'm expecting about £300/400

 

[Nigel Watts]

I've just been quoted £20k + VAT for having the paint stripped off my stucco prior to assessing it for repairs, 40% of which is for the scaffolding.

 

[biffvernon]

Thanks. The builder provided the quote. The chap who will be making the window is asking £780 and the rest is the builder's labour to install.

That's about a fair price. I'd probably do it for that but in oak. I wouldn't fit it unless you were within easy commuting distance of my shed but I would tell you how to do it yourself. No more than a day's labour so your builder is way over the mark.

Certainly don't trust somebody whose address you don't know. You should be able to visit his/her workshop.

 

[cazzz]

Many thanks for your helpful comments. I will try and get a couple more quotes but the current window is looking a bit vulnerable (back wall being lime rendered so is a bit insecure) so may have to bite the bullet and cough up.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

The OP may or may not wish to take up the kind offer above, but somehow I find it impossible to put much trust into any business that only gives a mobile number. Is this simply showing my age and the extent to which I am out of touch with the realities of trade in today's world, or am I right to be suspicious and think that the world is full of cowboys?

Given that in his 3 posts he's managed to give two different spellings of his business name (one with and one without an "N") I'd be inclined, in this case, to judge by first impressions and assume attention to detail and careful workmanship are not Rocky's strong point.

 

[meljones35]

Anybody around Wymondham, Norfolk, know a good joiner they would recommend?

 

[Penners]

I've just had a quote to replace a very rotten back window - £1300 plus VAT which is for a bespoke window and installation. This seems extortionate to me but maybe I'm behind the times on window costs! It is a 6 pane single glazed soft wood window measuring approx. 26" by 41".

I reckon that's expensive, but without any kind of information on the potential removal/re-installation problems it's very difficult to be sure.

I installed a new window (where one hadn't previously existed) in our last house about 3 years ago. It was around the same size and specification as yours and the window-frame cost me about £350+VAT at a local joinery company. That didn't include glass or furniture. I installed it myself in a pre-prepared reveal in a day. Obviously I didn't have to remove an old window.

 

[michael]

It sounds horrendously expensive. Is any of your window salvageable? Do you know of a good jobbing carpenter in your area? He may be able to repair, shape or buy some of the components of your window off the shelf.
I’ve just had a local carpenter replace of 2 timber cills, 2 staff beads, 2 sections of inside lining and the splicing in of part rail/part style including the joggle / horn which he cut to shape. Total cost including installation £150

 

[Penners]

the joggle / horn which he cut to shape.

I bet that stung a bit.