Double Glazing On The Web

Ludicrous new plans have been unearthed regarding a new government stealth tax on everything from views, to parking spaces, patios and conservatories! The proposed taxation on would be imposed through the council tax system and has already come under serious scrutiny and heavy opposition .

Perhaps more controversial than the proposed tax itself is the investigative work, already undertaken by the Labour government, into over 100,000 individual homes. Aside from the strong moral objection to the nanny state, surely the money spent alone in employing tax collectors to carry out in-depth assessments on everything from the width of a balcony to the extent of the view, cannot possibly be justified?

The extent of the surveying is mind-boggling; even the difference in the type of conservatory would be considered a contributory factor when calculating the level of added tax. The Valuation Office Agency, which is compiling the massive database of every home, has divided the three-quarters of a million people with conservatories into groups, for example, double-glazed conservatories will be hit harder than those with single glazing or lean-to’s.

Malcolm Moss, MP for North East Cambridgeshire, has today been quoted as saying “Only Labour would think of taxing people for having double-glazed windows or a patio. I hope Gordon Brown will see sense and scrap these plans immediately.” – We can but hope!

I can think of lots of reasons to buy a conservatory –  for us, it was the chance to get a bit more precious living space without breaking the bank. But since we’ve had it, it has been the best room in the house, terrific for soaking up the sun all year round regardless of the weather; catching a few rays of winter sun in January is absolute heaven for me. It’s also been brilliant entertainment for our two cats, which can bird watch to their hearts content without have to get their paws dirty!

However in a recent article I read, I was surprised to find ‘smoother transition from dining room to garden’ listed as a good reason to erect a conservatory – surely that’s clutching at straws? The journalist explained that a conservatory could provide a kind of gateway from your dining room to your garden. Call me clueless, but one thing my husband and I never said when considering buying our conservatory, was ‘you know what darling – what the dining room really needs is a uPCV / glass gateway leading onto the lawn…’ 

Still there you have it – forget the extra space and the value it will add to your property, more significantly, a conservatory will add that all important gateway from your house to your garden!

The conservatory is a longstanding British tradition which really came into its own in the 1800’s and with the great British climate being what it is; it’s easy to see why.

When considering buying a conservatory you will quite often hear cynical advice such as ‘they get far too hot in the summer you know…’ Well yes, they do, I agree – a glass box which is in effect a green house, pegged onto the side of your property is bound to get a little heated in direct sunlight. In fact I don’t sit in mine at the moment (mid-August) partly because it’s really hot in there, but more importantly, because it is one of those rare moments in the British calendar when it is actually possible to sit in the garden!

However, at all other times of the year, my favourite place in the house is the conservatory. There I can soak up precious rays of sunshine whilst smugly sheltered from the ravages of the bitter wind, pouring rain, drizzle, sleet… whatever the great British weather chooses to throw at us. In answer to the question ‘is it too hot to sit in the conservatory in the summer?’ I would say ‘yes it is’ - but when the summer only lasts about 2 weeks, I consider it a terrific investment for the remaining 50 weeks of the year.

Accidents happen and windows get broken for all sorts of reasons. The invention of double glazing and reinforced glass, has meant that our glazing is no longer as fragile as it once was, but it’s still far from infallible. Thankfully, replacing broken windows is no longer the chore it used to be either.
Whether you’ve suffered a break-in or a football though the patio door, you can now order replacement windows, glass, frames and even arrange fitting, online and all from the comfort of your own home.

Did you know that one of the most popular items on E-bay is the humble back door?

I find this amazing. Fighting passed the mental image of someone trying to jam a back door in a post-box and forgetting the suggestion that anyone would want to buy a second-hand back door, it is still very difficult to believe that with all the professional and very competitive companies in the market, specialising in replacement back doors, that anyone would decide that E-bay would be the best place to look for one.

Clearly more and more people are recognising that items bought on the web, offer terrific value for money. The web solution can offer a real bargain when it comes to back doors and by using a specialist, web-based double glazing company, you could even beat e-bay on price and service!