What a score is, and is not
A score is an opinion. It is our judgement of how well a product or a company holds up against the evidence we could find, stated as a number out of 10 with one decimal.
It is built from research. We study the specifications, compare models side by side, check published prices and company records, and read what owners report, both to us and on public review sites. Unless a review says we tested the product ourselves, we have not, and the score rests on the documents shown beside it.
Method version 0.1. No scores are published yet. The weights below may change before the first ones go up. If they do, this page will say what changed and when.
The five things we score
| Criterion | Weight | Scored from |
|---|---|---|
| Build and specification | 25% | Frame, glazing type and thickness, stated snow and wind loads, standards the maker can evidence, rail system, locks |
| Price and transparency | 20% | Whether prices are published, price per square metre against similar models, what the price includes |
| Warranty and aftercare | 15% | Years of cover on structure, glazing and wearing parts, what is excluded, service presence in your country |
| Company standing | 20% | Years trading, accounts filed on time, deposit terms, guarantee backing, trade body membership |
| Owner evidence | 20% | Reviews we collected from owners who proved ownership, plus public feedback we cite, weighted by how much of it exists |
The overall score is the weighted average of the five. A product is only given an overall score when all five can be scored.
What the number means
| Score | Verdict | In plain words |
|---|---|---|
| 8.0 and up | Solid | Strong evidence across the board. Few open questions. |
| 6.0 to 7.9 | Decent | Good in most respects, with gaps or weak spots we name. |
| 4.0 to 5.9 | Think twice | Real concerns. Read the detail before you get a quote. |
| Under 4.0 | Avoid | The evidence points the wrong way on things that matter. |
The rules we score by
- No evidence, no score. If we cannot find what a criterion needs, that criterion is marked “not enough evidence yet”. We do not guess, and we do not treat missing information as a missing feature.
- Scored twice. Each criterion is scored twice, independently. When the two results disagree, a person looks at why before anything is published.
- Thin evidence is shown as thin. A score built on two owner reviews says so beside the number.
- Sources first. Every figure used in a score links to the document it came from and the date we read it. No score is published before its sources are.
- Right of reply. Before a review of a named company goes live, we send that company the facts we intend to publish and ask for corrections. What they send back is checked like any other source.
- Scores move. When a price, a warranty or a company’s filings change, the score is worked out again and the date beside it changes.
- Money has no vote. No payment, partnership or advertising changes a score, a verdict or a position in a ranked list.
Where research stops
Documents cannot tell you how an enclosure feels to slide, how it sounds in the wind or how it looks after ten winters. Owner reviews are the closest evidence for those things, which is why we collect them with proof of ownership and publish the bad ones alongside the good.
When we do test or inspect a product ourselves, the review says so and describes what we did.
If you think a score is wrong
Tell us. Use the contact page and point us to the document that shows the error. If you are right, we correct the page and note the change with its date.