Latest Blog posts from Conservatories.tv

DIY Conservatories & the Green Deal

ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss GMT

Green Tax on Conservatories a red tape Nightmare? Anyone thinking of installing a new DIY Conservatory may want to move fast. If they want to wait until 2014 they may find a mass of red tape or maybe that should be ‘green’ red tape, be wrapped over their DIY conservatory project along with having to pay hundreds of pounds extra.

Under plans currently being discussed by the coalition Government, a homeowner wanting to install a conservatory from 2014 may have to invest in energy efficient projects within their home. To show their home is energy efficient. To install a new conservatory may require special planning permission that will be granted on the proviso that the house has been fully insulated.

Potentially a property owner will need to have their home inspected by some bureaucrat to make sure that double glazed windows have been fitted, sufficient loft insulation and cavity wall insulation, where possible.

Why is this occurring? This scheme is all part of the green deal which aims to insulate all homes with the next 20 years.

This policy was embraced by Chris Huhne the late minister for Energy Change prior to being forced to resign – for perverting the course of justice in February 2012 over a speeding offence. The aim of Mr Huhne’s 2011 energy act is to achieve a large scale reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide(CO2) given off by buildings. This whirlwind of legislation comes off the back of the 2008 climate change act which taken out by Tony Blair and his last government. The act which is the only one of its kind in the world commits the UK to cutting its CO2 emissions within 40 years by an amazing 80%.

Mr Huhne stated in his forward to the green deal summary proposals that ‘Under the Green Deal, bill payers will be able to get energy efficiency improvements without having to front up the cash. Instead, businesses will provide the capital, getting their money back via the energy bill. At the heart of the offer is a simple rule: estimated savings on bills will always equal or exceed the cost of the work’.

Interestingly later within the same proposal this is said ‘However, actual cash savings cannot be guaranteed by government since no-one except individuals and businesses themselves can control how much energy they actually consume in their own property’. And that is the crux of the matter the government are unable to verify any cash saving to the consumer.

Although the DECC does state elsewhere ‘Lower income and vulnerable households may not save money through energy efficiency because many do not have the heating turned on long enough to heat their homes sufficiently, so increased efficiency may mean they will enjoy warmer homes rather than cash savings’. The homeowner then, can presumably relax in a warmer home and take solace in the fact that through no choice of his own higher energy bills are helping reduce climate change- supposedly. A typical scenario involving the installation of A DIY conservatory, would involve a property assessment by an accredited advisor, who will make a recommendation for any insulation improvements. It is unclear at this stage who would visit the property when a DIY conservatory is proposed. Or weather the home owner doing the work themselves could self regulate, by working to the green deals code of practice.

Should the homeowner have insufficient monies to finance the up front cost, they can agree to take out a green deal finance loan. This loan would be secured against the properties energy bills. And its current occupier would then service the loan. The provider of the green deal receives there payment directly from the energy supplier. The consumer will pay the energy/finance company on their monthly bills. John Armstrong Director of www.conservatories.tv said ‘A choice of how to spend your money is being denied to every home owner. You could be forced to take out a loan for energy efficiency measures that lamentably, will have a miniscule effect on global CO2 emissions. Maybe if the government choose to give reward, rather than fine homeowner’s, people would then choose where to put their money.’ So it may really be a legitimate case of there never been a better time to buy a DIY conservatory

A DIY Conservatory can add £9240 to your homes value

ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss GMT

It's official a DIY Conservatory can add £9240 in value to your home,according to the HSBC annual Home Improvement Survey.The survey warns that many big DIY projects are failing to add as much value to homes as a year ago and may even devalue the price of your home.

The HSBC survey found that a loft conversion would boost a properties value by £16,152 significantly less than the £20,876 that estate agents estimated in 2011.

Part of the problem is that most building materials are rapidly increasing it price.The typical loft conversion cost varies from £20,000 to £30,000 and that the average gain of £16,152 could leave many home owners with a loss.

Peter Dockar, head of mortgages at HSBC, said: 'Homeowners should think carefully about the type and extent of any home improvement works they are planning. Those which enhance quality of life while retaining broad appeal should be favoured over more individually-styled alterations.'

So it's good to know that a DIY conservatory dovetails quiet nicely with Mr Dockar's comments.A DIY conservatory can be bought from as little as £1750 from us and the conservatory will have both a strong life style impact and give the home owner a nice boost in the value of their home.

Go here for a personalised DIY Conservatory quote

or here for instant DIY Conservatory prices

DIY Conservatories

ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss GMT

DIY Conservatories

My very first experince of very cheap DIY conservatories was around 1990.I remember it very clearly because it made my shudder,literally.At the time I was working at UPVC window fabricator.A few months before I got my shudder,I'd sold an old guy,(everone looks old to a 21 year old),some UPVC woodgrain bay pole,woodgrain UPVC transom section and woodgrain bead.

At the time he bought the sections, he did tell me that he was very experinced at making DIY conservatories, having made several before.I went to my then boss to ask how much to charge.My boss knew every price in his head of every UPVC section we bought and he obliged with calculator like rapidity.

'What he want to do with these sections?' He asked

'DIY conservatories,his an expert' I replied

'Is it for the Conservatory roof?' he asked

'Yes,his making his own roof' I replied innocently

MY boss, who was an engineer stormed out of the office and confronted our now astounded customer.

'You do realise, that you'll have to sign a disclaimer saying we don't reccomend theses sections for use on DIY conservatories' my boss said

'Er yes' the man replied.

So the deal was done and he paid his money.My boss walked away superoisuly muttering 'he will be back, mark my words'.

Yes, bosse's are often right and sure enough the man returned about 3 months later on a hot July day.

'I've built a few DIY conservatories but yours is different....it's making a funny noise and moving...' he muttered sheepishly.

'Would you please come and have a look?'

As it was local I said no problem,I'll follow you in the van.No need i'll take you and drop you back.His car was a brown Rolls Royce convertible that bit I remember well.We turned up to a very large detached house.

We went round the side and there was the mother of all DIY conservatories.The spirit of British ingenuity shone through.This 'expert had made the conservatory roof from our UPVC sections.When we went inside the very hot conservatory.You could immediatley see the problem and in fact hear the problem.

The Conservatory roof was making a kind of ticking noise,similar to the creaking noise sinking ships make in disaster films.What's more the roof was actually moving.The heat inside the conservatory had caused the woodgrain profiles to expand the co-efficent of expansion must have been massive.

'What should I do' he said

Very assertively I replied 'Did you make that lovely Rolls Royce that ticks like a fine watch'

The man looked at me and said 'It wasn't a good idea was it?'

'No' I replied I'd hate to see the effect a foot of snow would have on the roof,It would probably collapse'

By now The man's wife,who had been present all along spoke.

'I bloody well told you not to do it!'

'Now how much is it going to cost to have a proper Conservatory roof made?'

I went back with a large deposit for a brown aluminium conservatory roof .You couldn't get it in mahogany back then, only brown.

The motto of this story is that when you are planning your DIY conservatories project.Check the specification carefully.Conservatory roofs differ greatly even in the 21st century and if you choose wrong you could end up paying twice.

DIY Conservatory prices what to avoid

ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss GMT

DIY Conservatory Prices – what a minefield!

‘Well I’ll sell this DIY Conservatory for £1899 and I’ll make £200 profit not bad for a business ran from a kitchen table’ he laughed. This is what I heard when I visited a company selling DIY conservatories in December 2011 .Yes the individual does have a website and it looks ultra modern. But the reality is that if you get a DIY conservatory price from this firm this is what happens;

Firstly the ‘firm’ doesn’t manufacture anything. So they buy in your DIY conservatory. They start by faxing your sizes around a few, maybe up to eight, different trade conservatory manufacturers. This is done to get the lowest possible price. That may sound like good news and it is – for the firm ran from the Kitchen table but maybe not for you.

When I visited the firm mentioned above he waved ten DIY conservatory orders in my face and said

‘I like dealing with your firm, the quality is better but your £90 more expensive roughly than XXX can you match it?’

Now I can’t mention the name of XXX for legal reasons but I happened to know they are trading very close to the edge, as their behind with there NI and PAYE payments. Maybe they have three months before they cease to trade.

‘No I can’t match it. You know full well that the product from XXX is not a match on ours .You know what everyone is saying about them, are You sure they can even deliver the goods. Let alone give you a lasting guarantee.

‘Yeah I know but the saving to me is £900’

I was tempted to drop our price as January is a quiet month for DIY conservatories but I thought no we have a price for our product and he knows our Conservatory is better than XXX’s. So I wished him Merry Christmas and drove home.

On returning to work in January I get a phone call the first week back.

‘John can you make those Conservatories for me, the ones you quoted on’

I replied ‘Sure but why have you decided to buy off us’

‘Don’t you know? XXX have gone bust’.

I estimate that 70% firms selling DIY conservatories on the internet don’t make anything and buy in and sell on. I guess there’s nothing wrong with this business model but it can go wrong and badly.

As I mentioned above the company we are supplying is making around £200 profit on supplying a DIY conservatory. Is that enough? He seems to thinks it is. If anyone makes a claim against his 10 year guarantee would that £200 be enough to cover the claim? Possibly, but probably not.
Worse, and as happened in the case of the DIY conservatory manufacturer mentioned above they simply ceased to trade. If this happens your order could be left half made in their factory or delivered incomplete. And no way to get the missing parts.

It’s not impossible to buy your DIY conservatory from a company run from a Kitchen table or spare bedroom. But is it really worth taking that risk? I certainly wouldn’t.
As we go into 2012 the financial future is uncertain for a lot of companies. If your buying a DIY conservatory these are the top things I’d consider when parting with your money.

1) A Deposit guarantee make sure any deposit monies you pay are protected either use a credit card as the card issuer is jointly liable should your DIY conservatory not arrive.
2) The company you’re dealing with, unless they’ve been established for at least 7 years avoid .70% of all business failures occur within this time frame.
3) Get the Conservatory companies latest accounts from company’s house if they have lots of negative working capital. Avoid they are too exposed to credit and cash flow issues.
4) Buy from a manufacturing company, they can respond quickly to any problems that might occur.
5) Price get the best value for money you can and check the specification to make sure your buying the best you can.

By taking these 5 simple steps means you are protecting your cash and getting the best deal for a new DIY conservatory.

Conservatory quote

ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss GMT

Our DIY Conservatory site, www.conservatories.tv has been live since March 2004! over seven years ago years.Back then it used to host a load of conservatory films.Well more information films really which I made myself and frankly are not great.

We have manufactured upvc conservatories using the synseal system since 1996 and sold them supply only all over the UK, europe and even Japan.One thing totally different about a conservatory compared to a upvc window is the massive variation in sizes and styles.

In the early days we attempted to sell a modular range of conservatories or off the shelf sizes.That worked well but over the last few years we have seen a change in the conservatory market.It has polarised into the really cheap conservatory and bespoke or made to measure market.We also found that the amount of coloured conservatories being requested was really increasing along with cut outs and very technical requirements.

So our newly revamped website ( alot of links are broken or empty at the moment) allows the conservatory buyer to get a quick conservatory quote or detailed conservatory quote.You enter as many details as you have and we will contact you by email or phone with a bespoke quote.

Normally will get back to you within a few days or call you if require any further clarification.As a conservatory company we pride ourselves on being able to perform what other conservatory companies can't do.