Further to our article on Pilkington’s new energiKare glass on 10/12/07:

There follows a ten-step guide, to help you make some simple changes to your home and implement more energy efficient practices, to reduce your CO2 output. (Courtesy of the Energy Savings Trust and Pilkington Glass)

1. When replacing windows, look for those carrying the Energy Saving Trust’s Energy Saving Recommended logo along with the Pilkington energiKare™ branding ; assuring you of high levels of energy efficiency, with a quality name you know and trust.

2. Install cavity wall insulation. It’s clean, cheap and easy to do and could reduce CO2 emissions by 750kg and slash 15% off heating bills.

3. Install 270mm thick loft insulation. A home with no current insulation could save up to £110 a year on heating bills and 1 tonne of CO2 per year.

4. Turning the thermostat down by 1°C, could cut heating bills by up to 10 percent and save around £40 per year.

5. Use energy saving light bulbs; just one can save £100 over the lifetime of the bulb - and they last around 10 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.

6. Upgrade to a new energy efficient condensing boiler, which could convert up to 90% of its fuel into heat.

7. Washing at 300C rather than 400C can save approximately 40% on energy consumption.

8. Don’t leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily.

9. Always wait for a full load and use the economy programme on appliances, such as washing machines and dishwashers.

10. In the winter close curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.

Pilkington energiKareTM is suitable for use in any external windows of a house and is widely available from local and national window companies.

Web: http://www.pilkington.co.uk/energikare

Tel: (01744) 692 000

With five family members working within the company, Griffin Glasshouses can truly claim to be a family business; they have been designing made to measure glasshouses and greenhouses of distinction, since the early 1960s, so you can be reassured by their wealth of experience and expertise.

To see these wonderful glasshouses first hand, visit their stand at this year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – 8th to 13th July.

You will find Griffin Glasshouses at stand C46, where they will be launching their new glazing bar and new shape cap on their Victorian style lean-to glasshouses.

The new glazing bar is a hollow section with a profile similar to the old wooden bars; the channel has been left on the inside, so that shading or insulation can be attached directly to the bar; also the new style capping complements the bar and adds to the aesthetics of Victorian style structures.

Featured here is a Lean to Offset Ridge glasshouse with porch, 35° pitch roof , 2.6m x 8.3m.

Offset ridge glasshouses are usually against a high wall, but can also be freestanding; they are attached to the wall using a valley gutter, which is wide enough to walk in, for ease of maintenance.

Web: http://www.griffinglasshouses.com

Tel: 01962 77251272512

CANTIFIX the award winning specialists in glass structures, now offer a superb range of products, along with comprehensive advice, and a help guide, from it’s easy to navigate on-line shop.

Whether you are looking for folding doors, sliding doors, hinged doors, windows, glass roofs or glass floors, a visit to their new website will both inspire and inform you.

The featured glass floor has been engineered to allow people to walk and stand on it.
These floors are both practical and stylish and permit light to be transferred between floors in your home, without restricting the floor space.
The glass floor is available in either clear, sandblasted or low iron glass.

In a world where we are now conscious of the effects we all have on the environment, CANTIFIX promise to offset the carbon emissions from the conversion of the raw materials that are used to produce your order.

On placement of the order online, CANTIFIX then estimates the CO2 emissions involved and make a payment on the purchaser’s behalf, to the Climate Care charity.

Web: http://www.cantifixonline.com

Building on its success as the market leader in Germany, MyHammer means to revolutionise the UK trade services market and has now launched its interactive website, which aims to take the hassle out of home improvement, for consumers.

From putting up shelves to fitting a whole new kitchen, MyHammer offers a one-stop-shop for any home improvement job.

Through its approval process, users are assured in the knowledge that all tradesmen’s qualifications are verified, and the customer feedback mechanism provides further reassurance, when selecting the right tradesman for the job.

Since the new portal encourages full transparency within the sector, it can lead to savings of up to 30%, compared to traditional methods of appointing tradesmen.

The free, easy to use portal puts consumers in touch with a broader range of tradesmen and grows the quantity of work available to tradesmen for tender.

Once the job is posted on MyHammer, consumers can sit back, relax and wait for the quotes to come to them. They can get on with their busy lives, receiving handy alerts with each quote.

Free from geographical constraints, tradesmen can bid for the jobs they want to work on, leaving consumers to choose the best tradesman for the job, whether that choice is based on price, qualifications, customer feedback rating, or how quickly they can get the job done.

In addition, skilled tradesmen no longer have to rely on localised recommendation, as their MyHammer customer rating provides effective endorsement on a national scale.

Tradesmen also benefit from greater control over their inventory and workflow - depending how busy they are, they may choose to boost their level of work by travelling further or reduce quotes to increase volume of work.

Web: http://www.myhammer.co.uk

Stairflight Ltd has been established in the UK for over 10 years, specialising in the manufacture and supply of exclusive contemporary staircases, from standard to spiral and bespoke designs.

Typically a new home interior would have a white pine staircase with traditional wooden spindles.

Now however, Stairflight offer a distinctive new system, where the staircase is completely open and appears to hang from the wall, allowing more light and space in your room.

They produce any design of staircase to the highest quality, in all types of materials from natural and special woods through to granite, marble, stainless steel and even acrylic glass.

Featured here is the spectacular Stairflight AAA 066 - a twin flight of ash stairs with glass panels.
Priced from £15,000.

Stairflight Ltd is the main partner in the United Kingdom for Kenngott Stairs – a leading European staircase manufacturer.

The company also offers:

Mobiloro Italian quality modular stairs to fit any scenario.

Acrylic glass and stainless steel canopies.

Balustrades that provide stainless steel rods or glass panels, in place of the conventional wooden spindles plus options for lights; easily fitted by tradesmen or proficient DIY enthusiasts.

Web: http://www.stairflightltd.com

Tel: 01590 676911

Architect Your Home, are leading suppliers of architectural services for the homeowner market in the UK.

They have recently conducted a survey of over 500 respondents, which revealed that aspiring homeowners are now actively investing in their homes to avoid the ‘dead money’ involved with moving.

Hugo Tugman, architectural expert and founder of Architect Your Home commenting on the results, said:

‘As the price of bricks and mortar has soared, homeowners in their thousands have caught on to some simple maths:

If you move, stamp duty, legal fees, moving costs and estate agency charges can all add up to an eye-watering five-figure sum – and that’s before you’ve shelled out to get the new home redecorated to your taste.

However, if you spend that money on your current home, you can provide extra space and transform it.

Unlike all those cheques we write when we move home, builders’ bills don’t represent “dead money” - plan wisely and you can increase your home’s value by much more than you spend.’

Some of the other results revealed:

• More than a third (35%) of UK homeowners are bankrolling their renovations to the tune of between £20-40k.
  ·
  Homeowners are investing up to one fifth of the value of their homes into renovation projects.
  ·
  Today’s homeowners are aware of the importance of the design in the whole process, with 46% of those questioned, stating that the quality of the design work has the biggest impact on the success of a renovation project

Architect Your Home operates nationwide with a network of more than 46 architects and has developed a unique pay-as-you-go service that makes architectural design accessible to all home improvement projects, regardless of their size, complexity or budget.

Web: http://www.architect-yourhome.com

Tel: (0800) 849 8505

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre is to host its second Self Build & Renovation Show at the Renovation Centre, just off Junction 16 of the M4 next month, (Thursday 6th – Sunday 9th March 2008).

The show is offering a unique practical learning experience for anyone interested in building their dream home.

With a shortage of the right kind of affordable homes and uncertainty in the existing property market, ‘doing it yourself’, whether self building or renovating, to create a home that is compatible with individual lifestyles’ is becoming more appealing and is a very realistic option for many people looking to get on, or move up, the property ladder.

• This year’s show offers visitors:
  Lots of instructive seminars; product demonstrations, and presentations.
• Visitors can get to grips with a selection of the newest technical gadgets, professional tools and accessories from leading suppliers, including Festool, ITW and Skil.
• Sample the latest in kitchen cooking ranges and appliances from AGA and Britannia.
• Learn about finding land, arranging finance and buying materials from self build and renovation experts.
• Book one-to-one sessions with CAD designers and take part in practical skills workshops in plastering, bricklaying and tiling, with Trade Skills 4U.
• There will also be an exclusive launch of ‘Tommy’s House by Potton Homes; a new eco-friendly timber frame package range, inspired by Tommy Walsh’s eco house, which he built for £60,000 in 60 days.

The Self Build & Renovation Show will run between Thursday 6th and Sunday 9th March, at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon. Entry cost £10 per adult, or £15 per couple.

Buildstore Ltd has kindly arranged a generous ½ price ticket discount for UK Home Ideas readers, who are invited to log on to the website to book their tickets and enter this code - SBMUKH005, for the discount, on any of the four days of the Show.

Web: http://www.mykindofhome.co.uk/show

Tel: (01506) 409 616

With colder winter nights and mornings now upon us, many people are boosting their home heating to keep warm, which means that their energy bills and carbon footprint will go up!

Easy and cost effective advice is available from B&Q on how to make your home more energy efficient and lower your bills and your impact on the environment this winter.

Why not consider Solar Panels, which can deliver supplementary hot water directly into your existing hot water cylinder, or integrated with your combi boiler system to help cut your fuel bills – saving you money as well as reducing the effects of global warming.

It’s hard to believe sometimes, but there really is more than enough sun in Britain to support solar heating solutions; they only need solar radiation to work; though performance is improved in direct sunlight.

B&Q are offering a choice of solar panel kits, which are available supply only or supply and fit - for example:

The Solartwin Panel Kit featured here - supply only from £2698 and £3698.00 installed.

RM Solar Two Panel Combi Konverter Kit installed £4998.00.

Surveys for Solar Panel Kits are available at only £25.

More information is available in stores or online at:

Web: http://www.diy.com

Tel: (0845) 8500175

Following the success of Pilkington Activ™ and Pilkington Activ™ Blue, the maker of the world’s first self-cleaning glass has extended its range to include another product, specifically designed to help keep conservatories clean and cool all year round.

Pilkington Activ™ Neutral is a revolutionary new double-coated glass that combines dual-action, self-cleaning properties with solar control performance and is perfect for use in glass extensions and conservatory roofs and windows.

As the name suggests, Pilkington Activ™ Neutral is neutral in colour and particularly suitable for conservatories, glass extensions, skylights and large French doors, to allow natural uninterrupted views of surrounding gardens.

The new Neutral glass uses advanced solar control technology, which helps prevent conservatories becoming unbearably hot in the summer; the interior surface is covered in a thin layer of solar control coating, which reduces the amount of heat entering a room by reflecting the heat back outside.(Prevents around 60 per cent of solar heat from entering a conservatory).

The exterior surface of Pilkington Activ™ Neutral is covered in a microscopically thin dual-action coating, which reacts with UV rays to breakdown and loosen organic dirt (e.g. finger prints, tree sap, bird droppings and pollen) from the surface of the glass; this effectively encourages rainwater to sheet down the surface of the glass without forming droplets, washing away the broken down dirt and any loose particles.

The new glass is available now throughout the UK, at a price premium of around 15-20 per cent over the fully-installed cost of standard PVC-U windows.

Web: http://www.pilkington.com/selfcleaningglass

Tel: (01744) 692 000

Haddonstone - a world-renowned manufacturer of cast stone garden ornaments and architectural features - can also provide spectacular cast stonework for use
inside almost any home.

The extensive range of architectural features, including half columns, balustrading and cladding can be used to enhance any design scheme, whether contemporary, classical or traditional:

As illustrated here, Haddonstone can provide the cast stonework for stunning orangeries.

A Haddonstone ornament, for example a planter or statue, can add the finishing touch to any room.

Cladding is ideal for a contemporary scheme.

A stone fireplace makes a perfect focal point.

Columns and entablature can create a dramatic interior effect.

For more inspirational ideas for your home interior, why not request a Haddonstone’s 200-page catalogue, on CD-ROM?

Web: http://www.haddonstone.co.uk

Tel: (01604) 770711