So we bought a detached place off market near the city centre back in February. Its a full renovation job and were currently renting nearby while we work through the plans. The house needs 14 new windows and 2 sets of French doors and weve been quoted anywhere from 18k to 26k from UK suppliers depending on spec.
Long story short my husband found a manufacturer in Poland who can do the lot for about 11k including triple glazing and delivery to a UK port. The savings are massive but Im just really confused about a few things and Id rather hear from someone whos actually done this than get another vague answer from a forum post from 2019.
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Does importing windows from the EU affect building regs sign off? The Polish company says their products are CE marked but I know the UK moved to UKCA marking. Does that matter for windows or is there an exemption still running?
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If we use a non FENSA registered installer does that just mean we need to apply for building control sign off ourselves? Is that a big deal or is it straightforward?
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The freight bit. The manufacturer says they deliver to Felixstowe on a pallet and we arrange collection from there. Has anyone actually done this? Do you just hire a flatbed or is there a haulage broker you can use? Im worried about damage in transit and who is liable once the goods leave the port.
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Any gotchas with customs or VAT on building materials from Poland post Brexit?
We want to get this right because the savings would fund the entire kitchen. Thanks
On your FENSA question, yes if the installer is not FENSA registered you need to arrange a building control application yourself through your local authority. It is not difficult but it is not free either, our council charged around £300 for a window installation inspection and you need to have it arranged before work starts not after. The inspector will want to see the windows meet the thermal performance requirements in Approved Document L and will check things like ventilation provision and means of escape from first floor bedrooms.
The CE vs UKCA issue is worth looking into carefully. The government extended recognition of CE marking for construction products but that extension has been subject to rolling deadlines and I would check the current position on the DLUHC website before committing. If the product has a valid CE mark and a Declaration of Performance it should currently be accepted but “should” and “will” are different things when a building control officer is standing in your kitchen. Get the manufacturer to send you the full technical documentation including U-values and air permeability test results before you order anything.
Can’t help on the building regs side (Wendy has that well covered) but I can chip in on the freight question. A friend of mine imported roof tiles from Spain a couple of years ago, similar arrangement with collection from Felixstowe. Two things to watch for.
First, demurrage charges. You typically get a short window, something like three to five working days, to collect your goods from the port before storage charges kick in. These are not trivial. His tiles sat there for eight days because the haulier messed up the booking and it cost him nearly £400 in port storage fees on top of everything else. Get your haulier booked before the shipment arrives, not after.
Second, VAT. You will pay import VAT at 20% on building materials from the EU. This applies at the port and you need to have your customs declaration sorted in advance; most freight forwarders will handle this for you for a fee. If you are VAT registered for any reason you can reclaim it, but if not it is a straight cost. Factor it into your savings calculation because 20% on £11k is £2,200 which changes the maths somewhat.
On haulage, look at Shiply or similar broker sites for flatbed quotes. Triple glazed windows on pallets will be heavy, so check the total weight before assuming a standard transit van will do the job 
@WatchfulWendy62 thanks thats really helpful on the building control side. So just to make sure Ive understood this right. The windows are being fitted by a local joiner who is not FENSA registered but he has fitted European triple glazed units before and comes recommended by a couple of people in our area. So I need to apply for building control sign off through the council myself before the installation starts. Or can I apply after? Im just wondering about timing because the windows wont arrive until mid June at the earliest and I dont want to be paying the joiner to sit around waiting for an inspection.
On the freight question @greenwhistle_hants that is interesting about the Spanish tiles. The company we are buying from in Lithuania handles delivery to a UK port but they said we need to arrange the last mile ourselves from the depot to our house. The units are on two pallets apparently. Did your friend have to sort customs paperwork or did the supplier handle all of that? Im confused about whether theres still a customs declaration needed for goods coming from the EU or whether theres some kind of threshold.
Also one more thing. The supplier has quoted us in euros and the exchange rate has moved against us a bit since we placed the order in March. We didnt lock in a rate which in hindsight was probably stupid. Has anyone used a currency broker for something like this or is it not worth it for a relatively small amount. Were talking about 8500 euros total.
Thanks
@MrsKelso_Builds my friend’s experience was post-Brexit so yes, there was a customs declaration involved. In his case the freight company handled the actual paperwork but he had to provide the commodity codes and confirm the value of the goods. The supplier should be able to give you the right HS tariff code for the windows. There will be import VAT at 20% on the declared value plus shipping, which you pay before the goods are released from the depot. No way around that one unfortunately.
On the currency side, for 8,500 euros I probably wouldn’t bother with a formal currency broker. The fees and spreads tend to eat into the saving unless you’re moving larger sums. A Wise account (formerly TransferWise) would give you a decent mid-market rate with a small transparent fee. That said, if the rate has moved significantly since March you might want to just bite the bullet and transfer now rather than hoping it comes back
PS: on the building control timing, I believe you can apply before or after installation but the key thing is you need the inspection done before the work is signed off. Your joiner will know the drill.