Improve your insulation with double
glazed doors and windows.
Double glazing need not be a pane if
done properly.
Fitting double glazing (especially white PVC double glazing)
in Italy is not such a common home improvement as it is in Britain.
Perhaps it is because of the general refusal to consider anything new
that prevails among a largely elderly home-owning population or perhaps
it is down to the immutable myth that Italy never gets cold (-12C was
officially recorded here this winter - is that cold enough?). On top of
that, the average Italian would infinitely rather spend hours in the
cold collecting firewood than spend some money on keeping the cold out
in the first place.
Although our house was of the new style - rebuilt to the upgraded
regulations following the recent earthquake whose epicentre was not far
from here - it had a number of mock traditional features including
timber double glazing made to look like the original windows by the
fitting of wooden internal shutters (normally these are mounted
externally). Unfortunately, like most of the cosmetic 'afterthought'
touches, the quality was not of the best and, after 5 years of being
uninhabited, had become run-down and in need of urgent repair. The
double glazing, itself, was not of the best quality, having a small air
gap, thin glass and cracked timber frames to the windows. We decided to
go for broke and replace all 25 windows and 3 external doors!
We mistakenly thought Italy would be like the UK with no shortage of
double glazing companies looking to sell their products to us. How wrong
we were. Eventually we found a company which was interested in taking
the job on. Fortunately, given the lack of choice, their prices compared
favourably with the ones we were used to in the UK although we were told
we would have to wait three or four months for the door and window
fabrication.
The PVC double glazing units and the fitters arrived one morning but
within minutes of them starting the manager was complaining that the old
glass was taking longer to break out than he had allowed for and that
the price was going to have to be increased accordingly. We made it very
clear that a quote was a quote and he had had ample opportunity to fully
assess the work before commencing. In any case, all of the old glass
came out within a few hours so either he was just trying it on or they'd
been unlucky with the first window but it had got easier thereafter.
This was not the only problem, though. The double glazing manager had
miscounted the number of windows and also got the size of one of them
wrong. We kept our hardline attitude (after all, he measured them, not
us) and we eventually ended up with two free double-glazed windows which
should look very nice in our new shed. It will certainly improve its
insulation.
One of the reasons why we got the windows for free was because of the
problems fitting the front door. An immediate clue came with how long it
was taking them to fit it - something was clearly wrong. It took several
more visits and an argument with the double glazing company's big boss
before we eventually had a front door which we felt was secure.
The last major problem was with the operatives themselves. Clearly they
had been told to get the job done as quickly as possible and this seemed
to included not putting on the silicone sealant around the PVC window
frames nor fitting the plastic vents. We were given some spurious
explanation about it not being necessary and how it could even be worse
but we persevered and it was all done in the end (although we did have
them walk off the job with 5 windows lacking handles - something no-one
had bothered to talk to us about, first).
As is our way in cases like this, we made a substantial but,
nevertheless, partial payment before the double glazing was completed.
That way, if it got nasty and went to a court, we are not in the
unenviable position of explaining why we have paid nothing at all
(something we would have difficulty in defending). Instead, they would
be faced with the equally unenviable job of explaining why a clearly
shoddy product or unfinished service merits full payment. With that in
mind, we gave them €10,000 'on account'.
The work is now finished and we are generally pleased with the double
glazing although the back door needs re-registering and we are expecting
to see their operative next week.
Would we recommend them? Well, they need a lot of supervision (but then
so do most workers here) but the windows and doors are generally
well-made with a generous air gap between the panes of glass and this
improves insulation. The plastic thoroughly covers the internal metal
frame and the window generally possesses excellent insulation
characteristics.
Have you had similar problems with your double glazing?
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