Dear GBF-ers,

I have a fixed wooden-framed window that needs to be replaced sooner rather than later (interstitital condensation + frame is rotten at bottom).

Given that it's fixed, I thought that I could save some money by building the replacement frame myself.

After reading many of the posts here on GBF and consulting those whose judgment I hold in high regard, I've settled on the following shortlist for the glass unit:

<> 4-16-4-16-4 or 4-20-4-20-4
<> soft-coat Low E (Planitherm or similar)
<> warm spacers
<> Argon filling

I contacted Pilkington directly and was told that I had to go through a middle man!

So the question I have for you all is this:

What suppliers are worth approaching for getting quotes?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I'm in the Manchester area -- but happy to drive a bit; we have a Renault Espace so collection won't be a problem.

Try CS Glazing in Buckley. I don't have their number at hand, but they are in the book.

Cheers :-)

Posted By: tonyAny local glass shop will be able to get it for you, get price first.

agree, even in little old kernow, there are two companies in my town that would do it

James, in your post above am I right in assuming that you would expect to pay £100.00+ m2 for standard triple glazed units. I require 2 no. 2m x 3.5m triple glazed units and 2 no. 2m x 1m triple glazed units, warm edge spacers, Argon filled and 8mm toughened (each pane). I know for a fact that these have been out sourced to Pilkingtons as they are too large for their own facility. I have been quoted £5858 + and am concerned that this appears to equate to approx. £325m2. Obviously these are not run of the mill units but any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks Peter, interesting on two fronts, actual cost (am I right that that is a unit price not m2), which seems considerably cheaper, and the fact that 6mm glass has been specified ( I appreciate that in one dimension your units are smaller but in the other they are larger). The thickness is of interest as the weight of these units, near to half a ton, are causing installation issues, due to limited access. Can I ask how yours were installed, as we are heading down the route of requiring a crane (this cost is over and above the unit costs).
Thanks, Andrew

Be careful with that £400 a unit (£112m2) price mentioned above , as a small buyer you'll probably not get near it. for 6mm toughened in larger format .
If your're the end client expect a large mark up on glass and seal unit as it's easy to break them during transport and installation and supplier/intaller will look to cover this , possibly with 100% mark up

Andrew , 3G 8mm low-e toughened of the sizes your talking in going to be expensive as I'm sure your aware.
my £100m2 was for small 3G standard units from a small supplier. See if you can get a few more quotes to compare
Not got any personal experience of the large unit fitting , but the problem is getting enough men on the glass and still being able to manouver it into place , I'd imagine some kind of crane/hoist and suckion glass holding attachment would be required for that weight

Yes, I don't expect to receive 'at cost' quotations, but it's important for me to know how much the middle man is trying to pocket.

Based on what has been discussed here I certainly intend to look at a couple of alternatives.

Apparently, Solaglas has changed its name to Glassolutions.

Posted By: Cav8andrewPeter, thanks for that insight, as a comparison to your unit and based on available data, 24mm of toughened glass weighs 60kg per m2, therefore I am looking at 420kg per unit plus a figure for the edge detail seal. As James said the problem appears to be that there is just not enough grabable surface to get enough bodies around it, which is a great shame as we are now looking at the expensive crane option.

Can you not change the design to multiple smaller panes in order to avoid all this though and get more manageable panes? The bigger the individual panes the more expensive they are to buy, the higher the chance of damage in shipping and manoeuvring into position on site, the more stresses on seals and frames, the higher the cost of replacement if accidentally damaged after it is all in.....

Posted By: PeterStarckagain has has marks on the soft coating. All these units were manufactured by Pilkingtons.

Am I right in thinking that soft coats go on the inside faces? So these repeated problems are manufacturing faults?

Yes, when I said inside face I meant a face internal to the unit rather than the one facing the room. Sorry for not being clear. Thanks for the confirmation.

RobL, I've been doing some checking following your comments. I was told by the installer that because the spec. changed from 4/16/4/16/4 with K glass to 6/12/6/14/6 the coating was changed to soft. I asked the window company today and they said that was wrong and I had K glass. The marks were apparently there because the glass was too large to go through the cleaning machine and the panes were cleaned manually.