My dealings with EAS: mess, stress and expense

If you’re reading this then you’re probably wondering about giving EAS a big lump of your cash in return for installing double glazing. It’s an important decision—your house is one of your biggest assets, and the bill for double glazing could well be one of your most expensive purchases. Or maybe you’ve had a similar experience to mine—and are wondering if anyone else is in the same sad and sorry boat as you? (the answer’s YES!)

So it’s big decision—and it’s a tough decision. You’ll be asking yourself:

• Will EAS make a decent job of the actual installation—no mess, no damage and good workmanship?
• Will the windows that EAS installs be fit for purpose?
• If there is a problem, will EAS sort things out quickly and without hassle?

And my answer to these questions: a big, fat ‘NO’. Here’s what happened in a nutshell:

• EAS replaced a downstairs bay window, but didn’t support it properly whilst they did the work. The entire bay of the bedroom above cracked away from the outside wall of our house because they hadn’t put in proper supports.
• It turned out they had no idea as to whether the window they installed could support the ton and a half of brick, cement, plaster, glazing and roofing that was resting on top of the ground floor window frame. They’d subcontracted the manufacture of the windows to another company. Despite repeated requests, EAS couldn’t supply the information needed for the structural engineer I hired to work out if the new windows were fit to support the load above.
• The cracking got worse whilst all this went on. It took me 6 months, over 40 emails and phone calls AND £500 worth of structural engineer’s fees before EAS agreed to put the bay right. The bay had to be demolished and rebuilt in lighter materials—with a huge amount of mess and dust, and the final parts of the work only completed 9 months after the original damage was done.
• EAS refused to cover the cost of my structural engineer and the full cost of redecorating the bay. Even after legal action I’m still £500 out of pocket—and that’s without any charge for my time or the endless hassle that my dealing with EAS turned into.

You can find out more about this sad and sorry tale on other pages of the website. There’s also advice about what you may be able to do if things go wrong. Plus a word of warning and explanation about what FENSA registration (that you’ll see mentioned on the EAS website) does and doesn’t mean