Replacement window installers
It’s often the builder who installs the windows in a new building as it goes up. Replacement window installers are another group, normally engaged to remove and replace the windows in an existing house. They are usually suppliers of double-glazed windows in aluminium or plastic. Within this trade, there are a number of household names who have a large share of the market as well as numerous local firms – who tend to be cheaper and may also do the job sooner.
When you engage one of these firms to carry out the work for you, there’ll be no question about a written contract, but it will be on the installer’s terms and you should read his standard form very carefully before committing yourself and handing over a hefty deposit. Window installers rarely undertake to do any building work in connection with window replacement, if you want any opening decreased or enlarged you’ll normally have to have a builder in and in that situation it’s worth considering whether you’d be better off using a builder for the whole job. In the past Which? readers have been less often disappointed by window installations carried out by local builders.
