Double Glazing On The Web

Being ‘green’ is a new trend!  Even the celebs are getting onboard, shamelessly plugging their new products and services.  Are you following the herd?  How green is your home?  (Tut tut if your television is on standby!)  The best home improvement that you can make is to ensure your home is running efficiently.  Who would have thought that the words ‘home improvement’ and ‘save money’ could be used in the same sentence!   

Being green is not just about recycling the bottles of Shiraz you bitterly regret on Sunday morning; you can actually save some real cash here folks!  It’s so simple and the best place to start with your energy usage.  Do you have a timer set for your heating?   How well are you keeping that heat in?  There are many low cost measures like a new set of heavy curtains to block out draft and keep heat in.  Draft blockers along the bottoms of your doors can also make a huge difference and speaking of doors, double glazed front and back doors are not only more secure and easier to clean than traditional wooden frames, but can seriously improve your home insulation.

Recycling has become much easier as well with most Councils providing a separate bin for recyclable items.  You can recycle indoors as well, instead of throwing away your Saturday night take-away boxes, give them a wash and use them for storage! 

Just changing your habits and attitudes toward being ‘green’ is a start.  Everyone can help and everyone will benefit from doing so.

You can’t beat a good old home make-over programme with your tea and biscuits, it’s classic ‘triumph over tragedy’ TV! You also can’t help but feel envious.  A team of professionals arriving at your home to reverse your embarrassing amateur attempt at ‘chic’ is nothing short of a dream come true.  In 60 minutes your dwelling could be transformed into magnificence AND you’ll be on telly! 

The recent credit-crunch has led to a significant increase in DIY home improvements and research shows that in order to save money, DIY enthusiast’s are attempting large projects that normally require a skilled professional.  Surely Double Glazing installation isn’t something that anyone would have a stab at……unbelievably, yes it is!

Many DIY projects fail miserably and end up costing considerably more in the long run.  If you are planning DIY home improvements, especially something as ambitious as new windows and doors, be realistic: do you really have the ability, skills and time to do this work yourself?  If a skilled professional isn’t within your budget, perhaps you should consider delaying the project until such a time arrives.  The cost of rectifying your ‘efforts’ could amount to more than it would have cost in the first place for the professional.  It’s also highly likely that your spouse will never let you forget either!

First impressions mean everything; we’ve all heard it, but does this age old saying really apply to such things as front doors?    Well folks, the scores on the doors reveal the answer is Yes.

After weeks of ritual cleaning, de-cluttering and sprucing, your home is finally ‘on the market’.  It seems a little unfair that after all that effort, your prospective buyers’ opinion was already swayed before they took their shoes off.  Expensive, stylish décor will certainly muster up some lust, but what use is this if their heart was left at the Front Door?   

Research shows that most home buyers take in only superficial impressions of a property, so it’s time to shift the focus and consider your front door and what it says about you.  Upgrading your “curb appeal” could help you sell your home more quickly, for the price you want and more importantly need.  However with so many Front Door choices, how do we know which one to buy?  Take the guesswork out of the equation by considering these four crucial elements: Safety, Durability, Design and Budget. 

Remember, your Front Door can serve as a powerful design element and project an instant image of luxury to your potential buyer.  However what they say about your tea and homemade scones is probably best kept to themselves!

Apparently police have the authority to try the doors of private properties without warning in an attempt to remind people of the need to be security conscious. Over the years various initiatives have been run by local police forces with surprising results.

Unless you live in a remote corner of the country or have a pack of very large dogs, most people nowadays lock their doors as a matter of routine. However  in a recent operation conducted in Liverpool, out of 3,500 doors checked by police, 66 were unlocked. A further 14 had large ground floor windows open.

Obviously self-locking Yale fitted doors bypass human error, but the popular uPVC doors with handles have to be locked from the inside.

Sadly we no longer live in an era when we can leave our doors unlocked uncase the neighbour’s pop round or the kids are out playing. Make sure both your front and back doors are solid or uPVC with Yale or upgraded locks and if they do have glass panels, make sure they are double glazed and for securities sake remember to lock your doors them at all times!

Bi-fold doors used to be right up there with other ghosts from interior décor’s murky, quirky past. Standing alongside cocktail cabinets, the Oh so functional kitchen hatch and wood paneling, the bi-fold door was to many, an embarrassment from the past.

Not so today. Impressive advances in folding technology, the runners and a wide variety of uPVC options, means the bi-fold door has experienced a considerable re-birth. Coupled with the current trend for space and minimalism, the functionality of the bi-fold door has found a new place in the hearts of 21st century interior designers.

PVC is low in its use of resources. Its production costs are moderate and it has low maintenance requirements. The PVC Aware campaign has been launched, primarily targeting the public sector, to promote the environmental benefits of PVC when used for window frames etc…

Surprising as this might be to some people, PVC does have genuine green credentials, being 100% recyclable. A quote from the  campaign website reads: “PVC, especially when used in such products as window and door frames, may be continuously recycled in a closed loop with the recycled material being used again and again in new window frames and other building products.”

PVC Aware campaign is also being supported by the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) who congratulated the organizers on providing customers with the necessary facts to make an informed choice, rather than relying on often media generated ill-formed opinion.

PVC window frames received an A+ rating in the BRE Green Guide www.thegreenguide.org.uk

When my husband and I remortgaged last year, had we had a crystal ball, we would never have fixed for five years. Nonetheless, the decision to add a bit to the mortgage and build a conservatory was one of the best we ever made – you win some and you lose some, but when extending your home or making any form of home improvement, you can’t go wrong with doubleglazingontheweb. 

Extending your living space is an investment, not just in the value it adds to your home, but in benefits to your lifestyle; more space, extra facilities, storage etc…

If the decision to extend is a no-brainer then the decisions which follow certainly aren’t – conservatory or extension? One room or two? Open-plan and minimal verse functional and traditional? Windows, doors, fascias, building materials, plumping, gas, electric, flooring, heating, paint, upholstery…. the list goes on, but have you ever spoken to anyone whose improved their home and can fault the double glazing? I haven’t. It’s simple, adaptable, energy efficient, kind on your purse and the environment, looks good, is easy to clean and best of all you can see through it – if only mortgages were so transparent!

Home Improvements Bring Tricky Decisions

It’s now an accepted medical fact that our moods can be seriously affected by light levels.  SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) may be an ailment of the winter months when light levels are low, but what about those who live in dim, dreary houses year round?  You know for yourself that if the sun is shining when you get out of bed in the morning you instantly feel better about the day ahead.

I imagine that when we all lived in caves, dark confinement was essential for protection against the wild animals roaming the land.  Times have moved on.  Let there be light!

Doors and windows are the only design elements in your home that are capable of increasing natural light levels - and its natural light that is needed to improve that dark mood of yours!

In the next entry, we’ll look at how to plan your windows and doors for the best possible levels of natural daylight.  In the meantime, beg, borrow, or buy a compass to work out which direction your house faces.