HELP - The old Double glazing saga

[smiley]

Hi All Now I don't know a lot about double glazing except what I have heard.. " stop drafts" "Stops noise" "helps temperatures" I have had doors fitted by Anglian a while ago........well 4 weeks actually, the fitters came took out my old patio door then I noticed they had bought the wrong doors white handles instead od silver, air vents on doors, and no stay rods so doors don't blow. Clearly they are bringing and replacing the doors no problem .............. BUT Could anyone tell me what the standard of the doors should be??? Should I hear a release of something like air suction, pressure , unsticking rubber whatever you call the sound, when I unlock and open the doors?????Should I, who can't push anything much be able to push the bottom and top corners out and feel drafts? ????? Should I be able to pull 4 sheets of paper through the doors when closed ??????? Should the doors have to bed in because of movement??????Should I need them back when the doors loosen and drop naturally????? I started to rais this with the man on the other end of the phone " of course paper will pull through because it flattens the rubbers" so I stopped until I can find out more info.. Can anyone tell me what checks to do when they come to fit the new doors (sashes they call them) and what to do if they are wrong on the day???? What are my rights?????It took 6 months just to the fitting stage problems with the person we dealt with leaving the company...They realyy very bad on their own communication in their own company.. We did hold back a very small amount of money because of the wrong doors being fitted....so what should we do when the others are fitted????

 

[Lutz]

Can you be a bit more specific? Double glazing is just that and doesn't directly have anything to do with sealing, although some double glazing units do have a rubber seal where they can be opened. Whether the seal does its job or not is, to some extent, a matter of adjustment, but if done properly any seal present shouldn't even let a single sheet of paper through

 

[smiley]

Hi Lutz

We have had 2 pairs of french doors fitted. Wish we had kept to patio doors now.....

 

[Lutz]

Well, if you can get 4 sheets of paper through a gap, then it's not doing what it's supposed to, i.e. seal. The Oxford Dictionary defines "to seal" as "prevent something from escaping by closing a container or opening". If 4 sheets of paper can be pushed through, that is hardly sealing.

 

[DeliDave_]

on the french windows I have seen there are lots of adjustments.The hinges usually have allen key sockets,the heads are eccentric and when twisted pull the hinge in or out and then locked with a small grubscrew.The multipoint locking again has eccentric adjusters and should trap a piece of paper so that it needs a firm pull to move it.Sometimes matching wedges are also used to push the door to the frame.HTH

 

[MikeA]

Smiley,

Sorry I am no expert on double glazing, but this doesn't sound right. Anglian are apparently members of FENSA - http://www.fensa.co.uk/Default.aspx . Might it be worth contacting them to see what their views are and whether they have an inspection service?

Mike A

 

[smiley]

Thanks Mike, I hadn't thought of that...I have been checking Anglians site for what there doors are supposed to do
and how they are supposed to close but no joy yet...
Not that I know what to look for but its hard to find anyway..

but I would like to know how the rubbers are supposed to work.

 

[RogerB]

It always amazes me that people try to offer advise on subjects that they obviously know nothing about.They mean well but wrong advise is bad advice.
Anglian products are well made and if the faults are present then it is down to bad fitting.
Did the fitter explain that you have to push up the handle on the "master" door when you shut it.This operates a series of cams and/or hook or shoot bolts which are designed to pull the 2 doors closer together and compress the rubber seals.This is necessary to prevent draughts.The operation may be stiff at first but becomes easier with time.
If you are operating things correctly I advise you to ask for a visit by a rep who will be keen to sort things out to finalise payment.
If all fails its Trading Standards .
Hope this helps.

 

[smiley]

Hi rogerI haven't done anything yet, trying to get things straight in my head...Problem is I'm a cowardly custard, I tend to give up I'm not very good at these things.I have had a good look at the doors, there are no shoot bolts on one side of the doors at all I only found this out a few days ago agter visiting my sister and the space bar between thetwo panels of glass is wrong we asked for the black thermal space bar so I thinkg its the wrong glass as well.We had arranged for the fitters to return on Monday with new doors but as soon as I realised the doors were still wrong I got in touch. It seem silly them coming if they haven't changed the doorsAll I could do was leave a message today as the person I was talking to was out or in meetings but had booked today off.
So I'm hoping that when they turn up on Monday they have sorted it !!!

I hadn't even considered there were no bolts on the opening door side until I saw my sisters she had Everest they have bolts top and bottom, bolts sliding out the side of the opening into the fixed one and hooks as well.

 

[smiley]

Well, the fitters have been and gone. Still have original doors in....

On the weekend we did some browsing, Prior product, centurian, Avon all fit double french doors with shooting bolts
on both doors, and everest have shooting bolts, the hooks and mortice bolts....

The fitters have just told me that Anglian don't put mortice bolts and shooting bolts on there opening doors only on the fixed door.

That's not we were led to believe. Obviously the fitter is the wrong person to ask but why would I go down on security!!!

I have open fileds at the back of the house and with hubby staying away often I would have some thing less....
Oh ummmmm can't believe everyone else does shooting bolts but not anglian???

Hubbys wanting to go down to their shownroom and do this face to face, but where does that leave us and our doors?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi Smiley

It’s always sad when I read of contract that for some reason has gone wrong.

Under these circumstances it is always important to go right back to the beginning of the process and to get all the paper work and other information into strict date order. Try to recall all the names of people involved, and to note any verbal promises or commitments they may have made. It is even better if you have an independent person able to corroborate any of the unwritten information, but sadly this is not always possible.

Then you need to read through it carefully, and check to see if you have actually got what you ordered or thought you ordered.

If you don’t seem to have what you ordered, then you need to contact the company in writing and tell them what you think is not right. Keep all correspondence and insist that all telephone calls are followed up with a letter confirming any changes or agreements. I assume that at this stage some of the money has already been paid to the company, I suggest that you stop all payments until the matter is resolved.

If the company do not have a satisfactory response for you, then you must quickly seek professional legal advice. Contacting the companies trade association (FENSA) may bring some action, but don't count on it, the association is payed for by the companies and is there to lobby on behalf of their members.

I hope the matter is quickly resolved.