High spec uPVC?

[Crofter]

I'm looking for a sliding patio door with a decent uW value... and a window as well. To replace the current units which are both comfortably under 1.0 uW.

Money is a bit tight so I'm trying to juggle thermal spec and budget. The originals were Aluclad but just to replace these two units at today's prices is going to cost approximately double what it cost me to do the entire house back in 2016!

 

So I'm considering uPVC. It looks like there are some pretty high spec options these days. The names that have come up are:

- Eurocell Syncro

- Aluplast Super Slide Neo

- Liniar Modlock

- Ideal 8000

 

It seems hard to find any suppliers who will deal directly with me, even if I'm offering to drive down and collect these in a van... don't they want my business??

[Mike]

8 hours ago, Crofter said:

The originals were Aluclad but just to replace these two units at today's prices is going to cost approximately double what it cost me to do the entire house back in 2016!

Not answering your question, but why would the alucald ones need replacing after only 9 years?

[Crofter]

12 hours ago, Mike said:

Not answering your question, but why would the alucald ones need replacing after only 9 years?

Operator error. 

The house is used for holiday letting and we have dozens of different people staying there each year.

The tilt/slide mechanism was too complex for a few people, and some just left it open, others tried forcing it closed. It's now pretty badly damaged and I think the most sensible thing to do is to replace it with something simpler. 

Similarly, the window was damaged when somebody opened it during a gale. That's eventually led to some rot in the frame. I shouldn't have specified a side hung pane.

[Crofter]

So, I have tracked down one very promising lead, but the only supplier who has given me a quote for this system just isn't passing the sniff test. Their FENSA number doesn't match the company name or location (hundreds of miles away!) which seems very shady to me. It's a shame because the uW values and price are good. Maybe too good to be true?? They also appear to trade under various different names that all come back to the same phone number, although at least it's a landline.

[JCL]

We have 3 eurocell upvc ones. Good doors, just make sure the drains in them

are working correctly as ours is draining on the corner of the frame making the tray under the door wet.

[Crofter]

8 minutes ago, JCL said:

We have 3 eurocell upvc ones. Good doors, just make sure the drains in them

are working correctly as ours is draining on the corner of the frame making the tray under the door wet.

I did consider Eurocell. They could do uW 1.1 for the sliding door and uW 1.0 for the window. It would have been very good value and given they have a showroom in Inverness, it would have been very easy. 

 

Ultimately, though, I spent a bit more money in order to get u values that are substantially better. 

 

And don't get me started on a certain 'big name' outfit who, now that they have my phone number, won't leave me alone. Their quote was laughably bad. The sizes bear no resemblance to what I asked for, the colours are wrong, and they won't give me u values for anything. These places operate as finance providers and don't seem to know anything about windows.

[JCL]

I know what you mean. We ended up using linear windows and eurocell sliding doors as the whole bill for this was 3x cheaper than just having the expensive sliding door options alone! Must say, no draught, and very warm!