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Archive for the ‘Conservatories’ Category

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10 Year Guarantees

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

One issue that seems to get the blood boiling for people in our industry more than any other is the subject of 10 year guarantees.  Ross Dent, the owner of a window company in Plymouth recently brought the subject up by posting this comment and it got me thinking.

A few years ago I would have agreed with Ross, and in many respects, if you were designing an ideal window industry from scratch then I’m sure most people wouldn’t start with the phrase:

‘Hey, let’s promise to go back and fix any potential fault for the next 10 years!’

However, I’ve been thinking about this for a few days, and have decided that companies who offer and manage 10 year guarantees correctly can use it to their commercial advantage.  And, I believe it should be allocated as a marketing cost on the profit and loss account (assuming your company analyses management accounts).

Just imagine you’re a salesman for a moment…..

You go visit Mr & Mrs Jones and they purchased uPVC windows and doors from your company 9 years ago.  They now need a conservatory and have invited you in to quote.

Since the windows were installed there’s been a couple of issues.  One of the doors was not locking correctly after six months, and last year one of the sealed units broke down.  Your company fixed the lock promptly (the door just needed toe and heeling a bit) and they also replaced the sealed unit recently and didn’t charge the customer for replacing it.

Tell me this, do you think you would have a good chance of selling the conservatory?

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Posted in Conservatories, Double Glazing | 10 Comments »

My Ultraframe Veranda Conservatory

Friday, August 27th, 2010

A few months ago I wrote about replacing my conservatory with one of Ultraframe’s new Veranda style conservatories.  Well, you know how it is when you’re trying to get builders back to finish work, especially as you’re the company owner as you get put on the backburner.

Anyway, we’ve had the conservatory complete for a few weeks now, and I have to say we’re really delighted with the transformation from the old conservatory we used to have.

Here’s a few pictures we’ve had taken:

(Use these pictures on your website and I’ll sue you!)

I do feel that this style of conservatory will take off in the market place, and we’ve added a page to our website for promoting them.  We opted for aluminium frames but to be honest I think this style of conservatory is equally suited to uPVC, especially when you consider the cost and leadtime for aluminium.  In fact, the one thing my wife was disappointed with was the handles on the bi-folding doors which are a bit old fashioned, and I can’t get my head around the thick black gaskets, compared to the more modern looking uPVC systems on the market these days.

I’d like to thank Ultraframe for supplying the conservatory to me efficiently, and also Custom Glass for doing me a deal on the glass.  The oak doors were supplied by the joinery shop in Kendal which is a sister company of one of my dealers Planet South Lakes.

If you have any questions about the conservatory, or wish to add your thoughts please do so.

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Posted in Conservatories, Conservatory | 9 Comments »

This has got to be a joke….hasn’t it?

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

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Posted in Conservatories | 13 Comments »

Biltmore replica conservatory installation from Tanglewood Conservatories

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

In June 2008 I interviewed Alan Stein of Tanglewood Conservatories on this site, and have kept my eye on the progress of his company ever since.

Tanglewood design and build upmarket glass conservatories for the American market with an attention to detail that is quite remarkable.  They have recently produced two videos which I highly recommend you watch.

The first video shows how Tanglewood designed and built a conservatory in Arkansas which is a replica of a conservatory on the Biltmore Estate in Nashville, North Carolina.  This video shows how Alan oversees the careful and detailed manufacture of the copper clad, hardwood conservatory with massive curved, arched beams and mahogany finials.

The second video shows the erection of this bespoke structure:

It is humbling to see how a company can produce a building of such quality and to witness how much pride in their work displayed by Alan and his staff.  I do hope to go and visit Tanglewood Conservatories at some time in the future to see the team in action.

In the meantime, it’s back to the real world…

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Posted in Conservatories, Conservatory, Renegade Conservatory Guy | 11 Comments »

Did we make the right conservatory choice?

Monday, April 5th, 2010

The first stage of replacing our conservatory at home starts this week.

This is the existing conservatory which didn’t look too bad when we had Rosewood coloured windows, but when we replaced our windows with cream foiled windows last summer, it’s now not in keeping:

T-Shape-Conservatory

This week the builder begins pulling it down and starting the new baseworks.  Believe it or not, but the old conservatory will be loaded on to a van and delivered to Costa Blanca.  My Dad thinks it will look fantastic on his Spanish villa.  It’ll be interesting to see whether it is usable in the Spanish summer!!

Anyway, I feel I must apologise about the garden.  Spending all my time on the laptop doesn’t leave a lot of time for getting my fingers dirty or visiting the local garden centre.  However, as part of the conservatory installation, we’re also revamping the garden.  The blue tarpaulin actually covers an area where we’re intending putting some sort of water feature.  We’re going to put Indian slate flags right up to the new conservatory, and raise the level (at the moment we step down into the existing conservatory).

We’ll also be replacing the back door – the previous occupants used to have a cat so we’ve boarded up where a catflap used to be.  If you didn’t read my previous post on this subject, we’re putting an Ultraframe Veranda conservatory in its place like this:

ultraframe-veranda

The new conservatory will be around the same width as the old one, but we’re only projecting around 3m to the bifolding doors so we’ll have a smaller living space.  However, we feel that with this new design with the bifolding doors across the front, we’ll be encouraged to step out into the garden area more than we do now.  The overall template with the overhanging section will be quite similar.

We’re also replacing the internal aluminium patio doors with some nice oak french doors, so the finished look should be very similar to the Ultraframe picture.  Once, we’ve pulled the conservatory down, and got the new base in place I’ll take another picture, and then I’ll show the completed product which should be in 2-3 months.  It’ll be 6 weeks from now before we get the conservatory from Ultraframe due to the fact that they haven’t fully launched this product yet.

I hope you agree that we’ve chosen the right design for our home, because we’ve ordered it now and its too late to change our minds!

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Posted in Conservatories | 24 Comments »

Conservatory market to disappear within 5 years

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

I find during bank holiday periods I find myself thinking about the bigger picture, rather than the day-to-day challenges which normally keep me occupied during a working week.

So, today I’ve been thinking of the long term future for the conservatory industry and I was shocked at what I found:

There will be no conservatory industry in 2015!

This might be difficult to believe, but let’s look at the facts. Over the last few years there has been less and less interest in conservatories by homeowners. Just type the word ‘conservatories’ into Google Trends and you will see a depressing graph:

google trends conservatories

The number of units sold has declined from 270,000 in 2004 to only around 106,000 to be installed this year. This means that the market is decreasing by 20,000 units per year. As the market continues to decline by 20,000 units per year then there is only around 5 years left before the conservatory market disappears entirely!!!

So what should you do if you run a conservatory company?

My best advice is to start looking for alternative products to sell, such as garage doors, kitchens and driveways. The sooner your conservatory company exits this market place the better, as you will have first mover advantage. I would also be tempted to stop selling windows and doors, and seek to find other home improvement products. For example, I understand there is massive potential in the solar panel business as homeowners seek to reduce their gas bills.

To help you with this transition, Conservatory Outlet dealers will be happy to deal with the diminishing number of conservatory enquiries your business may still receive from your existing customer base.  All you need to do is recommend to your customers that they visit www.ConservatoryOutlet.co.uk and we will take over from that point, leaving you the time to divert to selling other products.  Thank you.

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Posted in Conservatories, Conservatory, Funny Stories | 18 Comments »

Conservatories as Heating Appliances

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

While my other half was watching Titanic (again) last night, I spent the evening googling relevant industry terms in the news section.  I often do this when I’m bored.

And, I stumbled across this:

solar_chimney_001

OK, it’s probably not the best looking conservatory I’ve seen, but the glass section running up the wall is a ’solar chimney’.  The idea is to use a conservatory in Autumn and Winter as a heating appliance for the home.  This idea has been developed by theEnergyCrowd and according to their website:

In theEnergyCrowd’s test installation, warm air from the conservatory rises through a glazed chimney and, in winter and autumn months, is drawn down into the house, via an insulated tube in the loft space. Cold air from the house is vented into the conservatory.

The construction of the passive solar collection system is as much a secondary glazing project as a renewable energy installation. As most secondary glazing installers also construct conservatories this solar energy capture system would provide an ideal added value product for installers who were diversifying by addressing the green energy market.

I realise that this is very much in its early stages, and the pilot conservatory and solar chimney is not aesthetically pleasing, but could this be the answer to a declining conservatory market, whilst at the same time help people cut their energy bills and carbon footprints?

For more information visit: http://www.theenergycrowd.com/

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Posted in Conservatories, Environmental Issues | 8 Comments »

Conservatories have gone out of fashion

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

The conservatory market peaked in 2004 with around 270,000 conservatories installed in the UK (or so I’ve been reliably informed).  Since then there has been a massive decline in sales with just over 100,000 conservatories expected to be installed this year.

So, the conservatory market is now nearly one third of the size it was at its peak.

Considering there’s still plenty of homes with space for a conservatory I’ve been wondering why the decline has been so steep.  Obviously, there’s been problems in the housing market, a decline in construction, a worldwide recession, problems for consumers getting credit and so on, but I don’t feel these factors fully explain why people have stopped buying conservatories in the volumes they used to.

I think the real reason is conservatories have gone out of fashion.

People are just not as excited by the idea of having a white uPVC conservatory any more.  Many people will have visited their friends and family who now have an aged, grubby conservatory which has not been maintained properly, and has cane furniture with faded cushions.

If you drive around the housing estates of the UK which were once fertile stomping grounds for conservatory companies, you will see many examples of badly designed and poorly maintained conservatories.  The world has moved on, consumers’ tastes have changed, and all these old conservatories screwed onto people’s homes are not a good advertisement for the current conservatory industry.  I’m sure this must be a major factor in reduced consumer demand.

The problem is most of the industry hasn’t adapted.  There has been very little innovation in conservatory design and specification on the whole, although I accept there are exceptions to the rule.  And, crucially, the leading conservatory suppliers in our industry have failed to alert today’s consumers to any improvements that have been made over the years – eg. new colours, high spec glass roofs etc.  I’m sure the average person in the street’s perception of a conservatory is very different to what can be achieved.

I honestly can’t see the volume in the conservatory market returning – ever!

The good news is those companies who offer something different to the conservatories we installed in the past will prosper.  Those who push new more contemporary designs and higher specifications will generate new (albeit smaller) markets for themselves.

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Posted in Conservatories | 38 Comments »

I’m replacing my conservatory at home

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

When I attended Glassex last year I was very impressed with the Ultraframe stand, and some of their new product developments.

I was particularly excited by the new Veranda system they had on display as a prototype, which they were suggesting was the first new conservatory design to be launched in the UK for years.

Anyway, I’ve decided to have one installed on my own home and this is the design I’m going for:

ultraframe-veranda

During last year I had my whole house re-rendered and installed cream Artisan uPVC windows, and repainted the render in a matching cream. 

But the existing T-Shape Rosewood conservatory now sticks out like a sore thumb.  Also, considering I work in the industry I didn’t really spec my own conservatory particularly well, the main problem being I didn’t put satisfactory heating in.

So, I’ve ordered the above conservatory system from Ultraframe and using aluminium bi-folding doors to the front and aluminium side frames.  We’re also going for the Sage Green colour, which I hope will blend nicely with cream coloured render.

I just love the idea that we’ll be able to open up the doors at the front, and sit out partially covered by the Veranda roof.  Even though we’ll be making the conservatory slightly smaller than the existing conservatory, I feel we’ll make better us of the area which will open up nicely to the garden.

So, if anybody is interested in buying a Rosewood T-Shape Conservatory 5m wide by 4.5m projection let me know.  It’s around 3 years old.  If not, I’ll stick it on eBay and hope for the best.

I’m also thinking of taking pictures of the build process and sharing my conservatory experience on here if people are interested.

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Posted in Conservatories | 28 Comments »

Will people please stop hassling me

Friday, March 5th, 2010

I’m finding these days that people from our industry are increasingly asking me to mention their products on this website, and to be honest it’s getting on my nerves.

My friend Jon Twigge, from RPS, is the latest person to try it on with me.  He sent me the following email:

Good morning,

Do you think u could make a renegade story out of this?

We are starting a drawing service for people who want single conservatory drawings done – maybe be they don’t want to commit to buying straight away, scared of computers or perhaps too hard up to shell out for the software.

What do you think?

Thanks,

jon

Well this is what Jon was wanting me to comment on:

Given how tough the commercial climate is at present, we’ve been thinking of ways to help you.

We are frequently asked to produce drawings for customers, which is something we didn’t do (until now!).

So, to help you win more business, we’ve created the RoofWright Drawing Service.

Not Yet a RoofWright User?

Don’t worry – if you don’t already use RoofWright, then try this – it’s inexpensive and will give you a taste of the quality of drawings from the World’s Favorite Conservatory Software.

Try it here:

http://www.roofwright.com/drawingservice/trade.htm

Existing Users

If you’re already a valued RoofWright user, this service could help you save time – and we might be able to get you out of a tight spot!

Full details are at:

http://www.roofwright.com/drawingservice/trade.htm

Well, Jon, I don’t think my readers like being sold to in this way. I appreciate it might be an exciting new development at your company, but it doesn’t mean you can take advantage of our friendship and my good nature.

Got it?!?

PS. Great idea though ;-)

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Posted in Blog Stories, Conservatories, Renegade Conservatory Guy | 9 Comments »

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