Building Services

Symm’s Top Tips for Property Extensions

 Symm’s Top Tips for Property Extensions

With the current unpredictable property market in the UK, many homeowners are improving what they have rather than sell.

Investing in their existing property can not only make the living space more appropriate to their needs, but it may also increase its future sale potential.

One area that is proving very popular is to add an extension – but where to start?

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Read more about : Building Services, UK Wide Property

The Future’s Bright, the Future’s Orangery

 The Future’s Bright, the Future’s Orangery

With the trend for people improving not moving, more properties are undertaking full makeovers including extensions.

A stylish way to extend, and one that is fast replacing the garden room or conservatory, is to add an orangery to a property to create a light filled room with an interesting story.

Garden room specialist Westbury Conservatories has seen a dramatic increase of requests over the last year from clients looking for a romantic, nostalgic solution to their expanding family needs.

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Read more about : Building Services, Conservatories, Gazebos

Barratt Introduces School-Finder Service For Parents

Barratt Introduces School-Finder Service For Parents

Some 32 per cent of prospective homebuyers say that proximity to a good school is an important factor when buying a new property, according to customer research from Barratt Homes.

So now Britain’s leading housebuilder has teamed-up with the Good Schools Guide to give parents who are looking for a new home the opportunity to research the best schools in the catchment area at the same time.

Visitors to Barratt Homes website simply enter a location, postcode or the name of the development in which they are interested and then have the option of asking for more information on nearby schools.

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Read more about : Building Services, UK Wide Property, Web Sites

Lifetime/Sustainable Homes & Help At Hand

Lifetime Homes – Sustainable Homes & Help At Hand

Features of home automation systems such as the Comfort Intelligent Home System from Cytech Europe, can provide a major input to the Lifetime Homes Standard, as well as to Assistive Living and the homebuilding industry’s targets for Sustainable Homes, in line with the new mandatory regulations.

Benefits offered by the Comfort System include: Interactive Voice Menu that can operate in any of nine languages allows Comfort to be controlled from any remote or home telephone. The real time status of the lights and appliances can be announced so you can check before switching anything on or off. Reminder Messages and Voice Announcements Triggered by Events: Comfort can be set to play back recorded reminder messages on talking keypads, or the telephone to remind the user to take medicine, for example, as a wake-up call, or to warn if any motion is detected in the home. Dial Out to Alert Carers: Comfort dials out to carers or family members, if there is no activity in the home for a longer than usual period of time. The carer can talk to the person in the house via any of the keypads. An emergency button on the keypad can force a dial out to the carer or family member. Conditional Logic Programming; Comfort’s extensive Logic Programming capabilities allow conditions to be tested up in order to determine the actions to be taken; for example, after dark, and the doorbell is pressed, switch on outside lights and play an announcement, or greeting message on the door station, and announce on the keypad that a visitor is at the door. Intercom: Comfort’s talking keypads communicate with other keypads around the home and with the door station. Home Security: The range of Comfort door stations including those with a camera, let the person at home speak with the visitor and also see them before opening the door. The door can be opened via any phone or keypad in the house. Heating, Lighting, Appliances, Curtains, Blinds can all be monitored and controlled by Comfort to help with energy-saving, home security and convenience.

For further information visit:

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Read more about : Building Services, Burglar Alarms, Home Automation, Intercom Systems, Security Services

Self-Build Is On the Up

 Self-Build Is On the Up

House prices are starting to rise, private sector building applications are significantly up, plots of land are selling quickly.

All good news for The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show, on at the NEC from 18th to 21st March, and the biggest self build and renovation consumer event in the UK, attracting over 40,000 visitors each year.

“There is definitely a growing optimism amongst the self-build community,” said Jason Orme, Editor of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine. “House prices have increased, particularly in the South East, and houses are selling faster, releasing the capital many homeowners need to finance their building project.”

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Read more about : Building Services, DIY Advice, Home Interiors, Shows and Events

Geoff Collier’s New Brass Collections Website

 Geoff Collier’s New Brass Collections Website

Geoff Collier has developed a selection of striking brass pieces, ideal for either traditional or contemporary interiors.

The new brass collections website showcases their ‘Period lighting’ and ‘Shell’ Collections, which offer the consumer a selection of specialist items to suit a variety of interior looks and tastes.

The Exclusive Lighting Collection is a varied range of products including table lamps, Floor lamps, Ceiling lights and Wall lights, all produced from in-house designs and original patterns, dating from the early 19th century onwards.

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Read more about : Building Services, Home Interiors, Home Lighting, Ornaments, Table Lamps

The National Self Build & Renovation Show, 26-28 February

 The National Self Build & Renovation Show, 26-28 February

Whether you’re building a home from scratch, doing some serious home improvements, converting renovating an old property to create a stylish new home, The National Self Build & Renovation Show (February 26 – 28th) at Lydiard Fields, Swindon is a must!

Each day, the Show has four theatres hosting seminars from more than 25 specialists; live demos featuring installations of hardwood flooring,
wood-burning stoves, insulated brick-slip cladding, and living roofs.

Walking workshops through the self build education zone and over 250 companies showcasing their products; plus and one-to-one appointments with over 20 industry experts and professionals.

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Read more about : Building Services, DIY Advice, Shows and Events

New Dremel 4000 Multi Tool Is Most Powerful Yet.

New Dremel 4000 Multi Tool Is Most Powerful Yet.

December sees the introduction of one of the most highly powered multi-tools on the market – the Dremel 4000.

Capable of handling a very broad range of projects with increased ease, its 175watt motor and unique new attachments, make it the most powerful and versatile rotary tool ever launched by Dremel featuring: The Dremel 4000 has full variable speed control of between 5,000 – 35,000 rpm giving it the widest speed range. There is a separate on/off switch with integrated collet lock-out function, so there is no accidental activation of the collet lock. A new nose cap that is specifically designed for better pencil grip, a hanger ball, plus superb ergonomics and soft grip for better handling. Electronic feedback control offers consistent power, as it senses workloads and adjusts to maintain tool speed. Replaceable motor brushes extend motor life and a larger fan motor keeps the tool cool.

Compared to the current 400 Series Digital, the new Dremel 4000 has no less than six major benefits:

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Read more about : Building Services, DIY Advice

Ayrton Bespoke’s High Quality Windows and Doors

 Ayrton Bespoke’s High Quality Windows and Doors

Finding the right windows and doors for any period property can be a bit of a nightmare and also very expensive. Happily Ayrton Bespoke offers the perfect solution and can reproduce any style you need at a price you can afford.

Ayrton Bespoke has gained a reputation for creating period designed, high quality timber windows and doors for the homeowner and trade markets.

This reputation is based on three principles: professional design, outstanding craftsmanship and exceptional value.

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Read more about : Building Services, Windows

Silver Lining on Heating Costs with EcoGlaze

 Silver Lining on Heating Costs with EcoGlaze

The enthusiasm of pensioners Elisabeth and Peter Hey, when you ask them about secondary glazing is based on recent experiences, and the knowledge that their monthly fuel bills have dropped significantly.

Elisabeth said: “We noticed our energy bills go through the roof, when our energy provider disbanded a tariff that was introduced specifically for older people and put us on a standard rate.

“It more than tripled overnight from around £80 per month and we decided we had to look at ways of reducing these hefty bills,”

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Read more about : Building Services, DIY & Building, Windows