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Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

Happy non-leaking roof to you marty21 .
Maybe i need to dither and wait until the door falls down or kick it in myself and then it will be really cold and a bit scary in the house and so fixing it will be a joy.
 
I edited a price into my earlier post. Despite what it says, we got 56mm thick doors.

1615233220793.png

Another supplier quoted £4,154.00 (inc VAT and fitting that time) for this back in 2019, in either Sapele hardwood or Accoya - same money for either.

teuchter said:
It's not an entirely bonkers price for a decent glazed door of that kind of size, especially if it includes fitting.
Is it priced all to be glazed, or with solid panels as per your existing ones?
Click to expand...
It's not a totally mad price for sure but I think you ought to be able to do a lot cheaper if uPVC is an option, especially when you consider that timber is expensive and we got fanlights etc above.
 
thank you mauvais. And you teuchter. Very helpful to have input like this, its pretty much impossible to know sometimes if your ideas of what a thing is 'worth' are in any way connected to reality, what it costs to do the work of making them etc.
 
We've just finished a big wave of home improvements:
  • Converted the garage into a bedroom for son
  • Repainted and re-carpeted his old room for daughter
  • Re-carpeted the stairs and hall landing
  • Turned daughter's old room (the box room) into a study
It's been a somewhat messy and chaotic couple of months, but everything looks brilliant :) The kids have got the right space for the next stage of their lives, we've got a dedicated room for adults that no one will be sleeping in, which seems the height of decadence :D and we've decluttered a load of stuff as well.
 
bimble said:
i find this sort of thing very difficult (the prospect of 4k for a door). It's probably a childish notion that when you spend lots of money it should bring some joy, or pleasure, not just solve a problem. In my defence i did get the flat roof fixed last year, because non-leaking roofs are a sort of pleasure.
Click to expand...
You just have to look at it more as an 'investment' than spend.
One way I try and put this kind of thing into context is to think of the many years I spent renting rooms in shared house at a cost of £500+ per month. A year of rent ... £6000 or more never to be seen again - vs a few thousand for a door or window that will hopefully be there for 20 years or longer and still worth something if and when you sell your house/flat/whatever.
There's also the thing of things that are falling apart potentially actively costing you money and displeasure by allowing other stuff to deteriorate. Totally guilty of that myself, a leaking gutter that I kept putting off getting sorted and now there's a windowsill and some bits of brickwork that's going to have to be replaced at much greater expense because several years of water dissolving it.
On the other hand I put an enormous and some would say questionable amount of time and effort into insulation and now live in a flat where you never wake up in the morning freezing. There is some joy in that.
 
I have to say that I am shocked at the door price and the fact that folks think that is normal, you can get a whole luxury fitted kitchen for the price of 2 doors like that, and it seems wrong - I am not surprised that you are asking around about it because I would too. For that price I would want it to open up a portal to the past or something.

I don't know that you could get anything cheaper but it is a shock - I mean come on I could get new double glazing in my whole flat for that
 
Boudicca said:
Perhaps you coudl find some ready made French doors and get someone to fit them? Depends on sizing of course.

uPVC French Doors Outwards Opening | Wickes.co.uk

uPVC French Doors Outwards Opening
www.wickes.co.uk www.wickes.co.uk
Click to expand...
Ive searched, I have a weird shaped door requirement so far not seen any off the shelf stuff that would work.
Feel ok about it now, i think i will find a good door maker, the ten pane Georgian type ones like mauvais has would look good, would echo all the windows in the house and are pretty popular so lots of makers.
 
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bimble said:
Ive searched, I have a weird shaped door requirement so far not seen any off the shelf stuff that would work.
Feel ok about it now, i think i will find a good door maker, the ten pane Georgian type ones like mauvais has would look good, would echo all the windows in the house and are pretty popular so lots of makers.
Click to expand...

Honestly I think if you have to pay a lot for your doors, get ones that look fucking amazing :)
 
Epona said:
I have to say that I am shocked at the door price and the fact that folks think that is normal, you can get a whole luxury fitted kitchen for the price of 2 doors like that, and it seems wrong - I am not surprised that you are asking around about it because I would too. For that price I would want it to open up a portal to the past or something.

I don't know that you could get anything cheaper but it is a shock - I mean come on I could get new double glazing in my whole flat for that
Click to expand...
For sure you could get some PVCu ones for quite a bit less. But bimble expressed a desire for something nicer.
 
teuchter said:
For sure you could get some PVCu ones for quite a bit less. But bimble expressed a desire for something nicer.
Click to expand...

Aye for sure it depends on the budget and what bimble wants - not like I have a gun to their head, just offering advice!

Personally I'd need to have a pretty large pool of cash to consider over £3k for a door, for me if it was a choice between a safe and utilitarian door for £1k and a pretty door for £3k I know what I would need to do (would probably involve some 2 by 4s and a nail gun as even £1k would be a stretch for me), maybe bimble is a bit luckier in the finance department than I am though :D
 
The idea of spending 2k or so (i'm just guessing at what the cheapest made to measure door might be, fitted) on a thing that would just be a bit of a downer every time I look at or use it is really unappealing, must admit, would rather go nail gun and marine ply for a while and then get something that i like.
I do love this house, its a proper house, don't want to install a permanent crap thing into it.
Look its got a cute hay loft (?) thing above.
IMG_0366.jpeg

i think the olde fashionedy multi-paned ones are the way to go, like these sort of thing

It really helps, that i can chat about my door conundrum on here, these things can feel a bit overwhelming at times, though tbh its the only thing left thats sort of genuinely unsafe, about the house.
 
Scaffolders turned up at 7.30 this morning , who doesn't love waking up to the sound of chirpy Cockney Scaffolders?

Some tension as they needed to take the scaffolding through the downstairs flat as there is no access to the road from the back. The young people downstairs haven't moved in yet , so I was calling one of the young people , texting him , no response . Then starred looking for the spare keys which we had (the young people haven't moved in yet, getting a lot of work done beforehand) . Couldn't find the keys ffs , then young person turned up , he had the spare keys, he had been working out in a nearby park as he didn't think the Scaffolders would be here before 8 :mad:
 
bimble said:
The idea of spending 2k or so (i'm just guessing at what the cheapest made to measure door might be, fitted) on a thing that would just be a bit of a downer every time I look at or use it is really unappealing, must admit, would rather go nail gun and marine ply for a while and then get something that i like.
I do love this house, its a proper house, don't want to install a permanent crap thing into it.
Look its got a cute hay loft (?) thing above.
View attachment 257970

i think the olde fashionedy multi-paned ones are the way to go, like these sort of thing
Click to expand...

Yes I think that sort of thing is right for that sort of building.

That website is another one where I'd be suspicious about the lack of technical detail on exactly what I'm getting, and the fact they don't even show you any photos of real life versions of the type they are selling.

And 12 months is not a very long warranty. Some suppliers will offer 5 or 10 years (although as ever, claiming on these is not necessarily easy).
 
bimble said:
The idea of spending 2k or so (i'm just guessing at what the cheapest made to measure door might be, fitted) on a thing that would just be a bit of a downer every time I look at or use it is really unappealing, must admit, would rather go nail gun and marine ply for a while and then get something that i like.
I do love this house, its a proper house, don't want to install a permanent crap thing into it.
Click to expand...
That's how I feel about ours. My wife is on roughly the same page overall but on this one would have quite happily put uPVC in. We did replace old timber sashes with uPVC at the back of the house but the back of the house isn't pretty anyway.

Doors and to a lesser extent windows are things you actually interact with quite a bit. I wouldn't say they have inspired incredible joy or anything but compared to a lot of other expensive things - roof, pointing, underground pipes - the work has provided more reward on a daily basis. There's value in feeling that you made a good choice that's sympathetic to the house. It may or may not ever pay off economically but there's also value in probably not having to think about the things ever again (well apart from painting and probably double glazing failure).
 
teuchter said:
Yes I think that sort of thing is right for that sort of building.

That website is another one where I'd be suspicious about the lack of technical detail on exactly what I'm getting, and the fact they don't even show you any photos of real life versions of the type they are selling.

And 12 months is not a very long warranty. Some suppliers will offer 5 or 10 years (although as ever, claiming on these is not necessarily easy).
Click to expand...

Yep. I don't want to buy the doors online like that tbh, I would like someone who knows what they are doing to measure up for a start, and check the frame condition etc, and then fit them.

A man called Colin is coming this very afternoon, from a local company, I have a good feeling about Colin.
 
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Here is an article which gives you some things to worry about when getting custom made timber framed window/doors, and scant practical advice on how to actually make sure that what you are getting is up to standard :thumbs:

www.labcwarranty.co.uk

Tech Update: Timber Doors and Window Frames

This LABC Warranty technical update provides additional guidance on the use of timber window and door frames.
www.labcwarranty.co.uk www.labcwarranty.co.uk

While this does not offer you any sure-fire way of ensuring you're getting something decent, it does include a few things that you could ask prospective suppliers. Even if their answers don't mean anything to you, their willingness to respond to such questions might provide a useful indication of to what extent they know what they are doing.
 
I am going to ramble on a bit further because this is something I have to deal with/worry about as part of my working life.

Windows and doors traditionally used to be relatively simple things. But they aren't really any more because we now expect more from them, in particular in terms of thermal performance and security. It's quite possible for really good windows/doors to be made by a small company in their joinery workshop. The big problem is how you actually find out whether they are making them to a good standard, because a lot of the things that can go wrong won't be obvious at installation stage or even a year later.

This is why I feel more comfortable specifying something from a big manufacturer "system" which has various test certificates, full technical details on record, a track record, and a decent warranty. Then you are buying something where you at least in theory know exactly what you are getting. And it has been produced under factory conditions.

That doesn't mean that route can't go wrong either of course.

It's particularly difficult with timber replacement windows for 'heritage' buildings because it's harder to find big manufacturer systems that are right for the specific building, and you're then much more likely to need to go with a smaller specialist company.
 
It does feel complex, and technical, and kind of important, i don't mind making mistakes like when i tried to paint the sofa but this is different. And double glazing salesman is a stereotype for a reason, as the people responding to my enquiry have reminded me already today. :(

Colin's website says "Our doors are manufactured from the best materials available such as Oak, Meranti and Utile to give the best possible strength, stability and finish available." Meranti and Utile? These are trees that i had never heard of, from far away lands. I don't know what it means, maybe Colin really knows his trees, or maybe he won't use the trees that people have heard of because meranti and utile sound cool but are cheaper.
 
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Hold on there is something I want to revisit here - please just say if you would rather not go into details but the phrase "when I tried to paint the sofa" has me in its grasp. Was it just a bare frame or was it upholstered? Don't feel you have to respond to this.
 
bimble said:
It does feel complex, and technical, and kind of important, i don't mind making mistakes like when i tried to paint the sofa but this is different. And double glazing salesman is a stereotype for a reason, as the people responding to my enquiry have reminded me already today. :(

Colin's website says "Our doors are manufactured from the best materials available such as Oak, Meranti and Utile to give the best possible strength, stability and finish available." Meranti and Utile? These are trees that i had never heard of, from far away lands. I don't know what it means, maybe Colin really knows his trees, or maybe he won't use the trees that people have heard of because meranti and utile sound cool but are cheaper.
Click to expand...

Do you want to disappear down a wormhole trying to take into account ethical/environmental considerations as well as technical and cost ones? You can start by reading eg this thread

Tropical timber imports

From time to time someone suggests using something that wasnt grown in their own backyard where they can watch it, and I have a little rant at them to point out that the world will end if they dont change their evil ways. Greenpeace have just launched a campaign: Hi there, Over the
www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk

NB a link right at the end about Accoya
 
Epona said:
Hold on there is something I want to revisit here - please just say if you would rather not go into details but the phrase "when I tried to paint the sofa" has me in its grasp. Was it just a bare frame or was it upholstered? Don't feel you have to respond to this.
Click to expand...
it was on a thread called something like 'stupid ideas you've had'.. i'll do a search later. I saw a lady on youtube painting her velvet sofa and thought it looked like a grand idea, sofa's still crunchy. :facepalm:
 
I picked Accoya principally because we had issues with the unknown timber doors and windows, particularly the doors which were rotting away in the frames (see the very first post on this thread) and wouldn't close properly in winter due to expansion, and I didn't want uPVC (or aluminium) for aesthetic reasons. I decided on it quite early on and read up a bit on it but I didn't fully explore all the options. It later turned out the old timber windows were from 1987 but I still don't know what timber exactly they were made of.

Accoya doesn't rot or get eaten and is stable, negligible expansion/contraction. The downsides are expense, although it seems to be equal to certain hardwoods, and the fact that the Radiata pine it's made from doesn't really have any interesting aesthetic properties of wood - basically no grain pattern. Not really a problem if painting, maybe an issue if staining is your thing. I think its ability to take paint might be slightly reduced too compared to normal timber but not to the point that it's a problem.
 
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mauvais said:
I picked Accoya principally because we had issues with the unknown timber doors and windows, particularly the doors which were rotting away in the frames (see the very first post on this thread) and wouldn't close properly in winter due to expansion, and I didn't want uPVC (or aluminium) for aesthetic reasons. I decided on it quite early on and read up a bit on it but I didn't fully explore all the options. It later turned out the old timber windows were from 1987 but I still don't know what timber exactly they were made of.

Accoya doesn't rot or get eaten and is stable, negligible expansion/contraction. The downsides are expense, although it seems to be equal to certain hardwoods, and the fact that the Radiata pine it's made from doesn't really have any interesting aesthetic properties of wood - basically no grain pattern. Not really a problem if painting, maybe an issue if staining is your thing. I think its ability to take paint might be slightly reduced too compared to normal timber but not to the point that it's a problem.
Click to expand...
I think Accoya is very likely a good choice because it's something produced under controlled conditions and there's some way of tracing back to test certificates and things like that which you can be reasonably confident apply to the actual stuff your window is made of. This is unlike simply specifying by timber species, because there are still all sorts of unknowns like has it been seasoned or dried properly and so on.

With your windows, did they offer you some kind of warranty either for the whole product, or for the Accoya wood itself?
 
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