When we first visited the house in Ourense, there were a few things that stood out. Several windows were old and in poor condition, the front door was in terrible shape, and the wooden gate was rotten and eaten away by bugs.
When we bought the house, as the previous owner had already requested a quote for the same things, we asked him to give us the contact details of the company. In addition, some aluminum profiles had been left in the house, a material that was supposedly part of that quote. The logic was simple: if we worked with the same person, he would discount the cost of that material that had already been purchased.
Another important detail was the color. The windows that were already installed were a silver gray that, to be honest, I’m not crazy about. In my mind, the color of the house is determined by the gutter, because the gutter cannot be changed. In this case, it is a shade between salmon and orange, so my first idea was to put the windows in a similar color. Just like in my house in Porto: the gutter is gray and the window frames are dark gray, all coordinated.
But of course, as the house in Ourense already had several new silver-gray windows, it wasn’t worth losing those windows just for aesthetic reasons. So, I decided that the best thing to do was to follow the same line: both the new windows and the door and will be the same color as the existing ones, so that everything maintains a uniform aesthetic.
When we bought the house in April, I contacted the man who had given the previous owner a quote. He came to take the measurements and told me that the earliest he was available was September.
I was desperate because the front door didn’t close properly, and the garage door—that rotten, disgusting wood—seemed increasingly urgent to replace every day.
I said I wanted to move forward and to put me on the waiting list for when he had an opening in September. Finally, he sent me the quote from which I had to subtract the 900 euros for the materials that were already in the house.
What caught my attention was that first, the new windows that were already installed in the house in Ourense were of better quality than the ones we have in our house in Porto. Furthermore, the quote this gentleman gave me for a gate, a door, and four windows—two of which were large living room windows—seemed affordable (Later we discovered that everything I had budgeted for was of poor quality).
From that point on, the less pleasant part of the story began. This man, from Aluangel, had told me from the start that he wouldn’t have availability until September, so I waited patiently. From April to September —six full months— without asking for other quotes or looking for anyone else, because I trusted that he would keep his word. Every now and then I reminded him about the matter, in case he needed to pick up the material that was stored in the garage or start something in advance. I even asked if, in the meantime, he could at least install the gate, which was rotten and falling apart. He replied with some delay, but he replied.
Things started to go wrong in the summer. He had mentioned that he was going on vacation for the last fifteen days of August, so on August 1st I wrote to tell him that I would also be traveling from September 19th to 29th, and that I needed the installation to be done before the 19th. If he had promised September, it was only logical to think he could do it at the beginning of the month.
His response left me cold: he said we’d better leave it for the beginning of October. I, with all the patience in the world, agreed. Even so, on September 1st I wrote to him again to remind him about the matter and make sure he wouldn’t forget.
I didn’t hear from him again until September 7th, when he replied to say he was on vacation. Vacations that, according to what he himself had told me, ended at the end of August, not in September. From that message on, he simply disappeared. I wrote to him several times, insisted, and nothing. He never replied again.
And that’s how I ended up: six months waiting for someone who, in the end, left me stranded.
Of course, I left a negative review, but that doesn’t take away the damage: half a year lost. On top of that, there’s an even more serious problem — we’re entering winter, and I still have the old windows, a door that doesn’t close properly and lets water in, and no proper gate. If it starts raining the installation can’t be done until it stops, so the delay multiplies.
The worst part is thinking that I could have solved everything much earlier with any other company, without this absurd waste of time.
When I came back from my trip to Scotland, on September 29th, I confirmed the obvious: the man wasn’t going to show up. So, I got moving. I started looking for companies everywhere, wrote emails, asked for contacts and recommendations. One company replied quickly by email, then a technician recommended by the carpenter who made my kitchen came — he came the weekend of October 10th to take measurements — and another company I knew from Porto also came to check the job.
The new companies talked about timelines of two months. Nothing like the endless wait caused by the irresponsible Aluangel.
Although I had already contacted several companies, none of them gave me a good feeling to move forward seriously. There was one that replied by email, but honestly, they didn’t seem very competent: they showed up once every two weeks, then sent someone to take measurements, and later I found out that they hadn’t even measured properly. To top it off, after that visit they didn’t send me an updated quote either. It was crystal clear that they had very little desire to work.
Already desperate I spoke with my neighbor Julieta to see if her son could give me a hand. David works at an aluminum and iron company, but on a different scale: they build football stadiums, entire buildings; nothing to do with installing a gate in a private house. Still, I asked if he could help me somehow.
David brought a blacksmith, and we ordered the gate practically immediately, with installation planned —in theory— for early November.
On the first weekend of November, the professional recommended for the aluminum side also came back. He had already taken some measurements with David but wanted to speak with me personally.
I had already sent him a previous quote I had from someone else, recommended by the carpenter. But later I discovered that this guy had lied to me about practically everything: he assured me that the color I wanted for the windows was a “special color,” extremely expensive, and that to reduce the cost we had to use another color on the inside; he told me I had to choose a different type of glass, etc. And after so many stories, he presented me with a quote of almost 11,000 euros.
This new professional —Juan— reviewed everything and was crystal clear: what that man had told me was a lie. Especially about the color: at most, using another color on the inside would save me a few cents, so it made no sense. He also explained that the new windows already installed in the house were of much lower quality compared to what is being installed nowadays.
I honestly thought those windows were good. In fact, they were better than the ones we have in Porto. But for a house in such a cold place, they weren’t ideal. Nowadays, the standard is to use triple-glazed windows, and those did not meet that level of insulation.
Juan showed me the model of windows he usually installs and explained the issue of the color: the tone of the windows already installed was an old model that is no longer manufactured; even the handles are no longer produced. Therefore, although we would try to make the new ones as similar as possible, they would not be the same, because that design no longer exists on the market.
He was also the only one who came with everything: catalogues and samples. He explained every detail, so everything was clear before moving forward. He told me he would send me the updated quote, and he did: almost 6,400 euros. It was more expensive than what Aluangel had quoted —about 2,000 euros more— but far more reasonable than the absurd amount from the other man, who asked for almost 11,000.
So, in the end the decision was clear: we were going to install high-quality windows and a door, the best currently available. And the truth is that everything Juan explained gave us a lot of confidence. You could tell he was a serious and competent professional, and he also came recommended by our neighbors, which gave us even more peace of mind.
When he sent me the quote, I accepted immediately. I asked him to order the material as soon as possible, because he had also given me a reasonable waiting time. If we moved quickly, he would have the windows and the door installed before Christmas.
On November 28, David informed me that the blacksmith would come to install the gate. However, we soon noticed an important detail: in the lower right part of the gate, a large gap had been left. Due to the unevenness of the ground, the gate did not fit perfectly, and although the blacksmith mentioned that he would make an additional piece to place at the bottom and minimize that gap, its installation was still pending.
To this was added the lack of finishing with cement. I had imagined that the same team responsible for the gate would take care of that, but that was not the case, so I asked my neighbor to do me the favor of completing those finishes. When we arrived that Friday, we also realized that the old wooden gate was still there.
Fortunately, at the beginning of the following week, already in December, my neighbor Julieta and Ricardo offered to help us remove that wooden gate. They cut it into pieces and burned it in our rustic oven. Thanks to that, at least part of the work was finally resolved. Now all that was left was for the blacksmith to return to install the piece that would complete the gate (which he had not yet done by mid-February 2026).
On Saturday, December 27, Juan wrote to inform me that the installation of the windows and door would take place on Monday, December 29 and Tuesday, December 30. I explained to him that we would not be at the house, as we were returning to Porto on Sunday, but that my neighbor Julieta would oversee opening the door and helping them with anything they might need during those days.
As on previous occasions, Julieta kept sending us photos of the process and, in addition, through the security camera we were able to follow part of the installation. At first glance, everything seemed to have been done correctly.
In any case, we had planned to return to the house in Ourense on the weekend of January 9, at which point I would personally check the result of the installation and proceed to pay the remaining amount of the budget.
On December 30, they finished work at 10 p.m., and Juan sent me photos of the result.
On the weekend of January 9, I went to the house to check how the work had turned out, and I was pleasantly surprised. The truth is that it had been very well-done work. Perhaps there were some small details that I would have improved in the putty or silicone finishes, but, overall, the result was excellent.
We met with Juan to pay him the remaining amount and, in addition, I asked him for a quote for other things that were still pending to be done in the house. He also told us that, in the case of the windows that had already been changed but were not of the same quality, instead of replacing the entire installation it was possible to opt for changing only the glass. This is an option we will consider if, after the summer of 2026, we see that it is worth improving the insulation of the older windows.
In conclusion, despite the terrible experience we had with the company Aluangel —with which we lost more than six months waiting—, we finally found a person who carried out the work in an excellent way and who, moreover, remains as a trusted contact for future needs. Once again, just as happened with the kitchen renovation, this was a story with a happy ending, unlike the traumatic experiences we had had with our house in Porto.
TOTAL:
Gate: 1600 euros
Door and windows: 6400 euros
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