Over £1k for a set of French doors!

[VelvetSpoon]

Am I hopelessly out of touch, is this really how much things cost now?

When we had all the windows and doors replaced some years ago, it was less than £10k - that included 2 sets of French doors, 3 other exterior doors, lots of windows etc). It's all Upvc, but the woodgrain stuff (which I know adds ££s).

I'm utterly it could cost that much to replace one set of doors!

That's the kind of figure I'd have thought it would be, off the top of my head.

We had a quote for one window over the summer which I expected to be around £300. It was £450 .

I think everything is cheaper when you have lots done together, we had one done for around that this year.

We paid £1300 each for two lots of french doors in the summer.

Sounds reasonable to me, a new front door would cost you around a grand

I think there are huge variations in the quality of UPVC doors, but if these are decent ones with good locks, it isn't more than I'd expect.

We're spending £4K on a new front door (frame, skylight etc included) so that sounds about right. We're about to get quotes in to replace all our windows (sash) and am dreading it! They really need replacing though.

As with kitchens and beds, there is quite a big difference between what they cost, and what the installer charges.

For example it might take two fitters most of a day, at whatever their wages are, plus the cost of van, training, quotes, holidays, pensions, office, tools, trade waste disposal etc; and the French windows might cost somewhere around £500. £1000 sounds very reasonable.

I have mine done by a local independent who does repairs, reglazes, etc. He used to work for one of the national chains but got fed up and is winding down. There are always local independent firms, but you need to look at a sample of their work and talk to the householder.

The big names have lots of glossy salesmen to pay for so usually overcharge.

We've just got a set of 1700w X 1200h uPVC French doors with anthracite exterior and white interior for £690 excluding fitting. All white would have been £520. We'll fit them ourselves we could get a local guy to fit them at maybe £120 day rate.

We avoided the big chains and went for a local firm that supplies to the trade so doesn't have overheads like salesmen, a fancy showroom, advertising etc.