Hi All,
There aren't that many threads on triple glazing. You all have been helpful with advice in the past - I guess I wanted to share a (not good) experience of a window install so that you can avoid the problems I encountered.
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We chose Internorm because we wanted the best. Continental quality (and we accepted the premium pricing for this as “reassuringly expensive”). Internorm also offer integrated exterior roller shutters, which was a huge positive as we have a south facing plot and wanted to be able to control the heat coming into the room.
Elsewhere on the project we had 4 triple glazed Velux windows installed. All without fault.
Sales and payment went smoothly - we used an Internorm reseller, which is how it is supposed to work. The problems started from delivery. The windows arrived and the fitters didn’t know how to install them because they didn’t have experience of installing the roller shutters. So they spent most of the day propping up the windows whilst I tried to mediate between them and the salesperson, who didn’t know what to do either. Nor, apparently did his technical support.
The compromise they struck with the install will require rework, which I’ll have to fork out for.
One minor note - the keyholes they installed on the frame had ugly white plastic caps - they looked super cheap. I asked if there were other colours available. The answer was, “No - they only come in 1 colour”.
After the dust had settled, I got down to the business of giving all the windows a good clean. Then I noticed a fault in two of the four sashes that had been installed. It appeared to be roller marks on the glass between the panes.
Lockdown was upon us and it understandably took some time for someone to come and inspect the fault. When the Internorm reseller’s rep did come, he was abrupt, blaming the builders for causing it and swearing blind these were actually scratches on the outside of the glass. But he did promise me a formal response. None came.
Eventually I paid a third party to come and inspect the glass - he validated my suspicion that this was an internal fault and after an email or two to the reseller, a warranty exchange was arranged.
OK - so manufacturing faults happen (no idea how such a big fault made it out of the factory but never mind) - at the time I assumed I was dealing with a “bad apple” reseller. Internorm doesn’t pay the resellers for the labour of reinstalling warranty claims, so the resellers have an incentive NOT to be helpful when there’s a problem.
A few months later and the new window panes were here. They were installed quickly. The team was polite and tidy. Weirdly the keyhole caps were a much nicer (but different) colour. The Internorm reseller promised to look into getting a replacement pair for my other sashes to match). Strange - the first time he said this was impossible.
BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER FAULT! This time much smaller - we’re talking a few mm of plastic or silicone beading that was stuck between the window panes. Still massively irritating and really damaged my confidence in the brand. I’m still arguing the toss as to whether these faults are “in acceptable tolerance” or not. And yes - I’m aware that there are minimum standards.
What torpedoed my confidence in the brand was the carefree attitude of the Internorm UK HQ rep whom I telephoned with. He told me it wasn’t economically viable to maintain higher standards in the glass (his exact words were, “This isn’t interesting”) . I did wonder whether it would be more economically viable to sort out quality control so that two whole sashes wouldn’t have to take a wasted trip from Austria to the UK. In any case the rep refused to help.
I suspect Internorm is super helpful with large commercial projects. They seem to do a lot of work like that. Their product in general is solid and we’re mostly happy with it. Their service is best described as unhelpful and uniformed. Their attitude to quality issues is appalling. I suspect this is mostly due to how their business model operates and not just bad apples.
We have a whole house to re-glaze but we won’t use them again.
There aren't that many threads on triple glazing. You all have been helpful with advice in the past - I guess I wanted to share a (not good) experience of a window install so that you can avoid the problems I encountered.
-----
We chose Internorm because we wanted the best. Continental quality (and we accepted the premium pricing for this as “reassuringly expensive”). Internorm also offer integrated exterior roller shutters, which was a huge positive as we have a south facing plot and wanted to be able to control the heat coming into the room.
Elsewhere on the project we had 4 triple glazed Velux windows installed. All without fault.
Sales and payment went smoothly - we used an Internorm reseller, which is how it is supposed to work. The problems started from delivery. The windows arrived and the fitters didn’t know how to install them because they didn’t have experience of installing the roller shutters. So they spent most of the day propping up the windows whilst I tried to mediate between them and the salesperson, who didn’t know what to do either. Nor, apparently did his technical support.
The compromise they struck with the install will require rework, which I’ll have to fork out for.
One minor note - the keyholes they installed on the frame had ugly white plastic caps - they looked super cheap. I asked if there were other colours available. The answer was, “No - they only come in 1 colour”.
After the dust had settled, I got down to the business of giving all the windows a good clean. Then I noticed a fault in two of the four sashes that had been installed. It appeared to be roller marks on the glass between the panes.
Lockdown was upon us and it understandably took some time for someone to come and inspect the fault. When the Internorm reseller’s rep did come, he was abrupt, blaming the builders for causing it and swearing blind these were actually scratches on the outside of the glass. But he did promise me a formal response. None came.
Eventually I paid a third party to come and inspect the glass - he validated my suspicion that this was an internal fault and after an email or two to the reseller, a warranty exchange was arranged.
OK - so manufacturing faults happen (no idea how such a big fault made it out of the factory but never mind) - at the time I assumed I was dealing with a “bad apple” reseller. Internorm doesn’t pay the resellers for the labour of reinstalling warranty claims, so the resellers have an incentive NOT to be helpful when there’s a problem.
A few months later and the new window panes were here. They were installed quickly. The team was polite and tidy. Weirdly the keyhole caps were a much nicer (but different) colour. The Internorm reseller promised to look into getting a replacement pair for my other sashes to match). Strange - the first time he said this was impossible.
BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER FAULT! This time much smaller - we’re talking a few mm of plastic or silicone beading that was stuck between the window panes. Still massively irritating and really damaged my confidence in the brand. I’m still arguing the toss as to whether these faults are “in acceptable tolerance” or not. And yes - I’m aware that there are minimum standards.
What torpedoed my confidence in the brand was the carefree attitude of the Internorm UK HQ rep whom I telephoned with. He told me it wasn’t economically viable to maintain higher standards in the glass (his exact words were, “This isn’t interesting”) . I did wonder whether it would be more economically viable to sort out quality control so that two whole sashes wouldn’t have to take a wasted trip from Austria to the UK. In any case the rep refused to help.
I suspect Internorm is super helpful with large commercial projects. They seem to do a lot of work like that. Their product in general is solid and we’re mostly happy with it. Their service is best described as unhelpful and uniformed. Their attitude to quality issues is appalling. I suspect this is mostly due to how their business model operates and not just bad apples.
We have a whole house to re-glaze but we won’t use them again.
