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Read the review from one of our amazing customers below..
Why we made the decision to switch to pickard hardware for our sash window spiral balances | Core Sash Windows
I'm the director of Core Sash Windows, a sash window installation company with over 18 years experience in fitting sash windows, casements and doors all over London. As any experienced fitter of sash windows will know, occasionally lead or steel weights just aren't feasible for the particular box frames you're working with, so you'll need to buy spiral balances. Over the years we've had many issues with spiral balances - some issues that you might have with any supplier like delayed deliveries or non-responsiveness, then more frustrating issues like the springs failing after a year or two, or the retaining clips on the bottom of the springs popping off - sometimes within just a few weeks.
Until we found Pickard Hardware, we found these issues would come up on a regular basis. Pickards get the fundamentals right; they respond to you quickly and give you honest answers. If they don't have the springs in stock they'll tell you straight away rather than taking your money first and then letting you know the product is out of stock - an incredibly frustrating experience that I'm sure anyone in the construction industry is familiar with.
More importantly, the quality of the springs has never let us down, which is why we've stuck with Pickards since we found them.
The clip that fits into the sash is a common point of failure on spiral balances. The clip you can see in the below picture is prone to falling off in cheaper balances, meaning the balance is no longer attached to the window and you're going to have a client whose window doesn't work anymore.
The most frustrating thing about this issue is your clients obviously aren't aware of why their windows aren't working - meaning that you or your company is going to look like you haven't done your job right! This is a risk that you're better off not taking. Even if the springs cost more, it's better to see this as the cost of peace of mind. If your company is growing and you're fitting dozens or even hundreds of windows a week, you're much better off buying the higher quality materials - the more windows you fit, the more likely you are to see these issues commonly. Even for smaller businesses or one-man bands - you often depend on referrals, so you need to make sure you're not making it look like you're saving a few quid and giving your clients a substandard service.
The clips always slot neatly into the receiver and are easily tensioned, which is always appreciated by our men.
Another recurring issue was that the springs would simply fail over time. Since we fit a substantial number of windows, at any one point we have many hundreds of springs under guarantee. That's why we need to be sure that these products are going to last as long as they're supposed to and do their job well. You need the springs to last longer than the manufacturer's warranty, really, since no-one likes finding out that their springs have broken and effectively seized their window - and then shortly after being told by the company that installed the windows that they're going to have to pay for a replacement because the warranty has expired.
That's why we keep going back to Pickards. The balances simply do what they say on the tin, and in our experience last much longer than the warranty giving you the peace of mind to fit these items, finish the job and not have to worry about coming back in a few months or years.