I had 5 Star for 2 projects at my home. 1st: Replacement porch door, internal front door, bay window and bedroom window. 2nd: New conservatory roof.




The request they sent for this review said honest, so I will lay everything out below.
But to summarise everyone I spoke to was friendly and helpful, the work was good and fitters were tidy. Downside of some poor communications, several delays and the seeming lack of knowledge of products between different areas of the business.

When having my 1st consultation, the gentleman was sent to next door, however he was very informative and offered us advice on door and window choices, offered deals and advice on triple vs double glazing. He advised going to the showroom, which I have to say was a waste of time. Nothing we liked at the showroom was being sold anymore, and the items he offered us weren’t on display in the showroom. Large discrepancy between brochures and showroom. E.g we would have loved the keypad locks we saw there but they are no longer offered. We had another appointment and agreed some basics and booked in for a measure up appointment.
I called the office to check the address was correct on file and was told it was. Person who came to measure up went to 2 wrong houses due to the address not being changed on printed paperwork.
Measure up went well for both projects and we went ahead with both and paid the deposits.

Doors and windows project: When the fitters started, bay window and bedroom window went well, porch door caused an issue as when they fitted the new door it would not open fully inwards and caught on the inner door. Fitters said that it would be resolved when the new internal door was fitted. It was, by 1mm, no exaggeration, but the inward swing of the door basically made the porch unusable. I queried this with the office and they sent people out to assess and agreed to replace with an outward opening door. I was told that measuring the inward swing wasn’t previously part of their contract, but now it is. That is a plus as I would not have thought to consider that as an issue as a layman. General snagging issues with the other work were usual things and resolved when they rehung the door. One snag was that there were caps missing from screws on the internal door. The 1st fitters, the engineer and the installations manager all said these were required. The 2nd fitters who came to rehang the outer door said that our doors don’t have them. Again, seems like a weird lack of knowledge about their products across staff. As I say, everyone was helpful when resolving issues, but it did drag the process out from end of October to beginning of January, with an appointment in December where the engineers just did not show with no notification. This delayed other projects I had planned in the house.

Conservatory roof project: 1st fitting date had to be cancelled due to supplier not delivering the roof the day before, caused a 2 week delay impacting other projects to install seating electrical works in the conservatory. Although this is their supplier rather than 5 Star, still something to be aware of at the start. Roof was fitted, team was friendly and tidy. I asked about a beam that looked less flush with the roof and was told it was fine. The following day I spotted some gaps and queried with the office, again, fast reply and engineer was sent out. He rectified the gaps I had seen and I repeated my question about the beam not being flush. He said yes, it would need knocking down. Contrary to what the fitter had said. This was done, but doesn’t give me faith in everyone’s knowledge/capability if they answer the same question differently. Downside to the roof is that there is a ‘airflow gap’ to allow air to circulate. This means the conservatory is still freezing in winter. When the main reason for replacing was to keep it warm in winter, it would have been good to have been told about this at booking, rather than once it was fitted.

Overall I would use 5 Star again as the work was of good quality and the fitters were tidy. I would definitely allow more time for delays and issues etc and do more research on products and fitting myself so I know more about what questions to ask.

We were very impressed with the products when visiting both the Worcester and Kidderminster showrooms and having read the reviews had high expectations. However we had a new Aluminium back door, new porch windows and a Palladio front Door fitted on 24/8/2022.  The new Palladio door arrived with a damaged handle, and the Aluminium door had a large chip on its face and a very poor attempt to repair had been undertaken. This  chip was not noticed until fitters had left. On further examination off the read Aluminium door it was evident that it had not been finished very well and the white silicone used to seal around the door was very badly finished. On examination of the Palladio door it was identified that this had been damaged on the bottom. 5 star were contacted and the service managed came and inspected the next day. To say he was not pleased is a bit of an understatement, he completed a report and offered a repair, which we accepted on the rear Aluminium door, but not the Palladio, as this is a very expensive item.  Negotiations for a replacement were undertaken by 5 star and the supplier, and two be fair 5 star were excellent in pursuing this, however it did take months. The final outcome was a new door Palladio door was fitted and the poor fixing/finishing  of the porch frame was resolved. The rear door was professionally repaired and now looks very good. after its original instalation.inally today the replacement handle was fitted so some 5 1/2 months. The finished product looks very good but its been a very long journey to get here.

On the whole a positive experience with the booking to fitting being completed in reasonable time. Some frustrations with fitting being delayed twice before finally going ahead. The window installation team were good and worked hard to get the job done in a day. A follow up snagging issue took several attempts to be rectified. Overall though we are pleased with the look and fit of the windows and despite delays, we would use them again

Our experience with 5-Star was mixed. The product is now installed and has made an attractive bright garden room extension that flows seamlessly from our lounge. We are delighted with the space it has created and would recommend the product. Unfortunately, however, the installation process was far from smooth and has taken 10months since we signed the contract. The process was quite stressful for us Several times the company had failed to order components putting us several weeks behind schedule. They also underquoted at the start which caused concern. The administration. team were generally quite obliging and worked to get the issues sorted out in the end. The company was very fair at acknowledging where jobs on site had not been completed to the standard promised and ensured that their installers returned to correct before the job was considered complete. We felt supported by this and all of the workmen that came to site were extremely pleasant and did a good job. Overall, although a stressful ride at times we are very happy with the room now that it is ours to use.

So good things first. The bi-fold doors and triple glazed windows are good quality and after a 13 month process (order to completion) are now fitted correctly. Communication with the company was friendly which was just as well because there were many phone calls. Eventually our particular installation was escalated and we did feel they were working hard to resolve issues. So what went wrong. We had 4 triple glazed units, 1 double glazed unit and a bi-fold door fitted. The estimate to install was 2 days! I have literally lost count of the number of days it has taken. Different fitters arrived at various times and most left with the intention of updating the installation team at 5 Star of all outstanding problems, some very significant. However, almost every time I contacted the installation team they seemed to always need a comprehensive update from me which was extremely draining. So there was a gross under-estimate of time required to fit and poor communication between mobile fitting teams and the installation department. Fitting problems. The 5 star fitters could not fit the beading to the triple glazed units to a satisfactory standard. 5 Star eventually arranged for Conservatory Outlet fitters to complete the job and the second fitter they sent did complete the work correctly. This was the primary issue, but there were many other secondary issues. Summary. As I submit this review we are happy with the end result, but disappointed with the process.

Very hit and miss from the start, think lack of communication and several different fitters made it a not so happy experience.

The most positive aspect is the finished product but the process of getting there was difficult to say the least. There were several accidents/problems and although they were eventually corrected, the communication between the office, ourselves and the contractors was very poor. We were given dates for work to take place, when no-one turned up and although this was to be expected due to the pandemic, there was no contact from the office to advise us of this, meaning we stayed in all day expecting someone to turn up when they did not. In discussion with a director from 5 star, he did explain that they are going through an expansion phase and were making system improvements. There was also some goodwill shown to us due to acceptable deviations from the contract. However, we would recommended using 5-star based on the finished product but they certainly need to improve their management systems.

I ordered my new front door with the 5 Star sales representative on August 11th 2021.
My front door was expected within 12 weeks latest.
The door was in stock but the door trims were not so I felt it wise to wait a little longer so that the job could be completed in one go (I was being a fair minded customer as it also save 2 trips of 40 minutes each way for 5 Star.
Lucas the guy I spoke to assured me he would keep in contact. The due date arrived for fitting only for Lucas to tell me the trims were not in stock (Odd because we had booked it for when they had arrived)
So we book another date. This time I phone Lucas to check, no the trims are not there again although they had been ordered they seemed to have disappeared!
We try again, the door is finally fitted on December 16th but no door trims!
The fitter re-orders them. I refuse to pay the full amount until the trims are fitted but my contract states I must pay all but a very small part of it. I am introduced to Craig Iddles who assures me he will sort things.
Next date when trims should be fitted all arranged via Craig no one can come because a lot of the staff have corona virus including Craig Iddles. I wonder if I had not phoned to check that morning if anyone was actually going to let me know that 5 Star were not coming.
January 2022 Craig assures me he has the trims in stock and sends 2 guys to fii them, guess what the wrong colour trims have been ordered ( apparently)each time
We try again Lucas assures me that he will personally oversee that the trims are in stock and that my call is the first call (I have to work and have already lost 3 x half days waiting in for this job to be done and each time it has been cancelled or as in the last time the wrong colour item brought out.
The guys arrive , first call is meant to be between 8.30 am and 10.30am it is now nearly 12 noon I had to phone yet again to ask where they were! They fit them, two nice guys working quickly. I pointed out a bulge where the trim was not stuck down firmly he assured me it was fine. I pay my final amount having been given a £50 discount for all of the half days I have lost , the long wait since door fitting to trim completion, and the general mess up. £50 is all Craig is allowed to offer for such circumstances. So much for customer consideration.
This morning at 9am Paul comes to sort the issue. He does not stick the door trim where it is bulging he just add
24 hours later I send Craig a picture of the bulged area that of course did not stick. Craig organises Paul to call and fix it.
This morning, FEBRUARY 16th 2022, YES 6 MONTHS FROM MY ORDERING THE FRONT DOOR
at 9am Paul comes to sort the issue. He does not stick the door trim where it is bulging he just added some more sealant over the bulge area.
I concede that I have to give up on this and accept it as it is a bodged finish. The door fitting itself is good the door is great. The customer service and waiting and poor finishing does no justice to the quality of the door itself.
I was brought to tears of frustration by this whole farce to complete a job that should have been so simple. I think that staff do not follow through or check properly that what is ordered is correct or keep promises to the customer even though they are always polite. I worked in sales for many years and there was always one person following through from start to finish on a job ensuring stupid things that I have described above did not mar the customer experience. It would be wise if 5 Star took up this policy in their company

While we have eventually ended up with the product we wanted and to the standard expected, the process of getting there has been long, frustrating and full of problems.

During the building phase (floor and walls) the builder arrived with the wrong plans completely. On the second day, he had been given our plans but these were still wrong. It took our intervention and a visit from 5 Star's Technical Manger to sort out what was to be built. However, this meant that the builder had to work without any plans.

Obviously we were quite frustrated with the start to the project which was only added to when we waited in until early afternoon one day soon after only to find out, after contacting the builder ourselves, that he wasn't coming on that day.

Because the builder had no plans or instructions, we were also unaware of what was supposed to be happening about our drainage. As a result, we agreed to leave that for the time being until this was sorted out. This was a mistake because 2 months later we had to make contact several times to get this done. This was despite the surveyor visiting, picking up on this and telling us he would get it arranged.

The fitters of the windows and roof were very quick and looked impressive. However, this was probably the cause of several problems we encountered with leaking and incorrectly fitted gutters. However, all faults were eventually corrected after 3 or more visits.

5 Star provide a good product that we are now happy with. It is a shame that they let themselves down with poor internal communication that left us very concerned throughout the project. We were disappointed at the overall service we received and because the project took 6 months to complete when we were originally told 10 to 12 weeks.

Initial consultation was full of promise and the salesman worked well with us to realise our vision.
The lead time after the initial base build was far longer than we had been led to believe. We were told initially 2 to 3 weeks the actual wait was 9 weeks. During this time the base was totally soaked with water as a result of being exposed to the elements, water was even rising up the breeze blocks.
After final clean down there were several areas which needed rectifying. An example being the floor membrane was left untrimmed and the use of a sticky filler instead of proper plaster that didn't dry out properly when installing the sills.
The main concern was the floor which had a groove in it ,together with crumbling by the doors. We believe this was due to the length of time the base was left open to the rain and bad weather over the winter months.
We are pleased with the final conservatory but unfortunately disappointed with our overall experience .
It has felt like a protracted build where five Star windows should have been a lot more Pro active paying attention to detail and unprompted communication.

I had chosen this company over others because their product seemed superior. The service was uncoordinated (window fitters arrived but scaffolding had not been erected) and schedules were stretched and not adhered to. A window was fitted that was not according to requirements and later a reduction in payment was offered adding delays. The workmen were polite and worked hard and tried to leave the place clean but left me with a feeling that they will do the bare minimum possibly because they are not given all the details of the work required. The product is fine but the 20 year warranty offered with the initial contract turns out to be not exactly that(20 yrs unconditional).

We ordered a new front door and 2 windows and when it came to the installation, we were informed by the fitter that one of the frames was missing. Despite making numerous calls to the company, no update was forthcoming or more importantly, no apology. The emphasis was firmly on our part to find out what progress, if any, was being made. After 3 weeks and a visit to the store to enquire what was happening, an emergency order was made to replace the missing frame. The replacement frame was fitted and we were informed by the fitter that the original frame had appeared - no one at the company informed us of this, just the fitter. Whilst the work has been carried out to a reasonable standard, the customer service seems sadly lacking.