Advice for homeowners

If you have ever tried to make any decorative or structural changes to your home, and used a tradesperson rather than trying to do everything yourself, you know that finding the right people to do the job can sometimes be a bit tricky. It might be finding an available plumber, or an registered electrician  where do you find them? Or do you go for a recommendation? How do you know you can trust them?

Well, one thing that can make choosing that tradesperson a little easier is if they have logos displayed, which show accreditation with a particular trade association or competent person scheme. So do you know how to spot the logos, and what they mean?

FENSA

Ok, well the name is pretty easy, FENSA! In this article, a company correctly identified the FENSA logo too. But what does it mean if you use a company with a FENSA logo?

Well, here are some of the advantages of looking for the FENSA logo when having replacement windows and doors fitted in your property:

It could save you some cash if you use a tradesman who is part of the governments competent persons schemes, like a FENSA Fitter. Being part of one of these schemes means theyre qualified to meet building regulations and can self-certify their own work, so you dont have to pay extra to get the council to sign off the work. This could save you up to #250 and is much faster and easier! time of arranging assessment by Building Control

FENSA deals with the technical aspects of window fitting and FENSA Fitters undergo training and are aware of the latest technical updates to the Building Regulations for window installation

FENSA is the brand trusted by all local authorities, industry and government. All FENSA registered companies are continually re-assessed by an independent inspection body to ensure consistency of Building Regulations adherence and service.

FENSA proactively protects consumers from the cowboys: By withholding the scheme from those unable to pass FENSAs independent assessments; and also by reporting to Local Authorities and Trading Standards companies who erroneously claim FENSA registration, to enable prosecution.

All work carried out by a FENSA installer must: Give a 5  10 year guarantee and offer insurance backed guarantee for added peace of mind to cover the installers own guarantee

FENSA Certificates: Will be sent by FENSA directly to you to demonstrate compliance, vital in the event you need to sell your house. If you have lost your FENSA certificate  it is quick and simple to re-order online from this website, or simply call the team. The FENSA team can offer support to your solicitor when tracing missing certificates during the sale of your property

Consistent installations across a wide area: If you own properties across different local authorities  for consistency of quality and price, you are able to use the same FENSA installer for all installations, as they can work in all Local Authority jurisdictions

So what other logos might be useful to know in the window industry?

GGF

Stands for the Glass and Glazing Federation and is a trade association.

Trustmark

TrustMarkGovernment-backed initiative, developed across the home improvement industry,  endorsing reputable trade associations and competent persons schemes. FENSA is a member of Trustmark.  If you use a TrustMark status company, you know the company will have been thoroughly checked and assessed as to the standards of their work and the services they are able to provide to their customers. That means, you can find local, trustworthy & reliable tradesmen, operating to Government endorsed standards. FENSA has TrustMark status and you can search for a FENSA fitter who has TrustMark status too. You can read more on this blog. Our recent poll on this blog found 77% of respondents thought that having TrustMark status has a big impact on their decision to hire a tradesman.