Double Glazing On The Web

Heartwarming news for all, and not just those involved in the replacement windows and double glazing markets, a  company involved in the manufacture of windows, doors, and conservatories, which reported profits of just £53,500 in its previous accounts, has just announced a profit of £253,000, that’s a 500 per cent rise over an 18 month period.

The turnaround seems to have been made possible by a reduction in the salary of its highest-paid director from £199,000 to £157,000, and a withdrawal of dividend payouts for the year March 2007 to March 2008 with all profits being transferred to the Company’s reserves.

There are two messages here, I think:

1) All is not doom and gloom

2) Those high salaries are still in existence!

Yesterday’s much vaunted Pre-budget report was intended to stimulate the economy by getting us all to dip into our pockets, but will it do so?

This site is, of course, concerned with doors, windows and conservatories - home improvements that not only make your home look better, but also improve it’s energy efficiency, thus bringing it into line with the government’s green agenda.

As Michael Ankers, CEO of the Construction Products Association, so eloquently said in this morning’s Guardian:

Energy efficiency measures for housing are welcome, but at an additional £100m fairly modest, and disappointing that this focuses only on insulation when much could be achieved by support for double glazing and upgrading of central heating boilers.

And really, what is 2.5 pence in the pound worth in real terms when you’re trying to bring your home up to the standards of those government guidelines?

This week our theme has been increasing the security of your home and the fact that the first steps to beefing up your home security is to ensure that your doors and windows are robust and well-secured.

With the doors to your home this need for secure locks almost goes without saying, however, you’d be amazed at how many people don’t secure their windows.  Don’t forget, windows are another entry point into your home.

All our windows are fitted with a roller cam lock system as standard.  This system comprises four adjustable roller cams with individual keeps, plus a handle that click locks and has a further key lock.  And just to be on the safe side, we have added a dead bolt for good measure.

However, here at DGOTW, we do understand that daily news reports of increasing crime rates might make you crave even more security, which is why we offer an optional upgrade to the Sac shoot bolt system.  Here’s a summary explaining why this system brings extra security  to your home.  The Sac shoot bolt system features:

• an 8 Point locking system with unique corner drive design on all windows regardless of size

• unique full depth eurogroove lock-out design to maximise security performance

• 400% more shootbolt contact area with keep when compared to traditional flat shootbolts

• modern contemporary design with options of composite or steel plated keeps

• Unique anti-slip and lock detail to shootbolt head

• Supaglide gear box action, tested to 100,000 cycles (that equals 30 years of heavy use)

• The Sac shootbolt system is rigorously tested to BS7950 and beyond to achieve Secure by Design status

• The system is backed up by Progress Plus - an anti break-in guarantee that brings extra peace of mind.

That should do the trick!

The other day, before we were rudely interrupted, we were discussing the importance of home security and how the most important thing you can do - before adding all the security lights, the crunchy gravel, and the prickly hedges - is to ensure your doors and windows are as secure as possible.

Here at DGOTW we believe we have the answer to any insecurities you may have about the security of your door.

Our composite doors have not only been tested against extreme weather, they have also been tested against the most determined burglars.  These doors passed all those tests with flying colours, and here’s why:

• They’re thick - 44mm compared the the usual 28mm of conventional uPVC panel doors
• The door frame is made in one piece - adding extra strength
• A 5-pin cylinder lock with added security comes as standard
• The lock is flush fit
• The doors have 3 locking points
• You can choose to have an extra top-of-the-range extra security cylinder lock fitted

More about the Mul-T-Lock

The Mul-T-Lock is, apparently, very big on the continent! Comprising a Break Secure Cylinder that is top of the range, it has been specifically designed to resist the most persistent burglar or, rather, wannabe burglar.

When someone applies force, the break secure section comes away, leaving the cylinder in working order. The cylinder has seven pins and is anti-jiggle, anti-drill, anti-pick and anti-extraction.

The lock comes with two high security keys. And replacements and additional keys can only be cut with the Mul-T-Lock registration card.

Safe as houses oughta be!

Next time - window locks.

We’ve talked a lot, and heard a lot, about how installing double glazing will help you to follow the green agenda and help to cut your energy bills.  Very laudable too.  However, there is another benefit that comes with replacing your doors and windows that we don’t read about so often - improved home security.

Its a sad but true fact that - despite the false statistics that, up until very recently, were fed to us by Her Majesty’s esteemed government - crime rates are rising.  Over the past fifteen years or so there has been a growing malaise within Britain, the causes of which are not within the remit of this article.

What is within the remit of this piece is the fact that the growing malaise has resulted in all of us needing to be more vigilant when it comes to protecting ourselves, our homes, and our families.

There are a number of actions you can take to increase your home security:

1. Keep gates and outside doors locked and ensure fences are in good repair
2. If you don’t have window locks - get some
3. If you have an integral garage - secure it, it’s another route into your home
4. Consider gravel paths - you’ll hear clearly whenever somebody approaches your home
5. Remember that overgrown shrubs and trees are excellent hiding places for intruders

Now - go back and look at items 1 and 2 on the list, which was researched by looking at the websites of security specialists and local police forces, and you’ll see that secure doors and windows are the number one priority when planning your home security system.

We’ll tell you how to strengthen your barricades next time.

A report from Palmer Market Research, a market research organisation active in the UK building industry,the public sector market for replacement windows continues to offer some business potential. this despite the falling private sector market.  Even so, the market for replacement windows in the social housing sector fell by 4% in 2007.

Palmers subdivide the social housing market into a further two sectors:

• Local authorities and Arms Length Management Organisations
• Housing Associations and other Registered Social Landlords

Robert Palmer, who heads up Palmers, says that the overall downward trend masks differences between the two sub-sectors and, although the local authority market is down, the housing association market is buoyant.

His company’s prediction is for a decline in the replacement window market by 5% in 2010, growing to a 6% decline in 2011 and 2012.  Palmer is also at pains to point out that exterior doors consistently outperform replacement windows.  Based on this fact, he predicts a 3% growth for the exterior door market in 2008, a 2.5% increase in 2009, moving to a slight decline between 2010 and 2012.

He bases these predictions not just on the less saturated market but also on the increased perceived need for home security.

You know, Palmer has a point about home security - so next time, I’ll tell you how our exterior doors can increase the security of your home.

According to a recent study at Yale University - if you feel warm, you are more likely to be generous and trusting. Part of the research involved giving volunteers a hot cup of coffee or a cold drink and asked them to rate how trustworthy a person looked. Those holding the hot drink rated people as more trusting.

The professor of psychology, John Bargh, who conducted the study says the results show that there is a close connection in our brain between physical warmth and emotional warmth. The insular, which is a walnut sized piece of brain right in the centre, handles the way we perceive physical temperature and how much trust we put in somebody.

So it seems that when you are to make a big decision or a big purchase, such as double glazing, you should refuse that cup of tea and ask for a cold drink instead.

I read in the Edinburgh Evening News that every city council department is to be given an “energy champion” in a bid to drive down costs and save more than £1 million.  Mostly the article waffles on about street lights, the use of council vehicles, and closing window blinds.  But there, tucked away near the bottom, I read,  “our buildings are notoriously bad for wasting energy. One of my bugbears is how we put conservation before energy-saving measures – for example not being allowed to put double glazing into certain buildings.”

Of course, I wholeheartedly agree - that’s my job, isn’t it?  What bugs me is that upgrading windows seems to come very low down on the list of energy saving measures, mentioned in the same breath as providing swimming pool covers in schools.

When I read that the authority’s energy spending has risen by 35 per cent over the past three years, from £9.7m in 2005 to £13.2m at the beginning of this year, and that energy costs for 2008-09 are predicted to rise to £14.4m, I can’t help thinking that they would be better upgrading windows now in addition to the planned measures of encouraging people to check thermostats, close blinds at the end of the day, and ensure taps are turned off.

In a rather sad story from a Flintshire local newspaper we read that the found of a charity for disadvantaged children has been forced to consider giving up the work after being terrorised. 

Margaret Williams, who runs the charity Superkids, says she is being repeated targeted by ‘mindless thugs’ and,  in another episode of the vandalism last Saturday night, bricks were thrown at the house windows.  Margaret said, “I usually sit by the window and I was so terrified when I heard the bang, I nearly had a heart attack. My heart was still racing on Sunday morning.  If we did not have double glazing, it could have come straight through the window and caused someone serious injury.”

To be honest, that advantage of double glazing has never occurred to me, what a sad indictment on modern society that it now has.

In a Pet Ezine article about how to keep your Boxer, or any dog, healthy, I read the following:

Fleas mostly live and multiply in your home. The comfortable living - central heating, double-glazing and, best of all, the fitted carpet - we create for ourselves and our Boxers also work best for the fleas.

I’m not sure whether you’re getting rid of fleas or keeping them comfortable…

You read it here first!