A new conservatory in Cornwall, where do I begin?

If one wants a conservatory, an orangery, a sunroom, a garden room, a plant house (a posh, traditional greenhouse) a summerhouse, a porch, a pool house or whatever it might be called, how do I go about it?

Well these days many would do some initial research on the ‘net, gosh, that’s what you are doing right now!

Next, should you engage an architect? Well, you can guess what an architect would say, for some; a few, that may be the right decision. If you have a large budget, and find the right one, then yes. For the vast majority, a conservatory specialist, such as Philip Whear Windows & Conservatories, Poole, Redruth is the way to go.

An architect might design one or two a year, we produce over a hundred unique designs. We have completed over eight hundred in mid/West Cornwall in over twenty plus years. We know what works both aesthetically and technically, including the endless options giving value for money decisions, a functional ‘all year round’ room, and a beautiful addition which enhances your property in both value and lifestyle.

However, be aware, before inviting a designer/sales person to your home to design your dream, ask them what their background and experience is! You could end up talking to someone who was selling double glazing last month & washing machines for ten years before that!
Good luck.

Philip Whear Windows & Conservatories
01209 215759

Wilson Way, Pool, Redruth,
Cornwall TR15 3RT

Philip Whear & Trevelyan Kernow - Green Deal Blog

Hi there blog readers Philip Whear here.. I had an interesting conversation with Mr Kernow our lottery winning customer with regards to the new government Green Deal and the call went something like this

P. Whear Good morning how is the purchase of the flats going?

T. Kernow Well, solicitors, don’t we all love them? They make it as complicated as possible, take as long as possible & then charge as much as possible! From your point, I want pretty well want what we last discussed. However I’m calling about this Green Deal thing, I’ve heard bits and pieces and it sounds too good to be true, can you explain what it’s all about?

P. Whear I’ll try, but there’s a lot that is still unclear. The gist of it is, if a property is thermally inefficient, & money is being wasted on lost heat, improvements can be made to reduce heat loss and the savings can pay off a loan which has been made to pay for the work!

T. Kernow Oh, free home improvements then! So it is too good to be true! What sort of things are included then?

P. Whear Well it’s a long list, including: glazing, boilers, heating controls, wall insulation, loft insulation, floor insulation, cylinder & pipe insulation, heat recovery installation, solar & PV panels

T. Kernow Ok, I get the picture, so how on Earth does the money saved cover the finance company’s profit & pay back the capital?

P. Whear An extremely good question, personally I reckon it would on loft insulation if you didn’t have any, but the rest I have many doubts about.

T. Kernow How long & how much are these loans for?

P. Whear £10,000 is the figure generally bandied about, and twenty five years maximum.

T. Kernow A boiler and most windows won’t last that long and how is it paid back?

P. Whear I agree. It is paid back via your electricity bills.

T. Kernow So your new free gas boiler is paid back on your electricity bills, which are inflated to cover the finance, so you use less gas & the same amount of electricity, which cost more per unit to pay off the boiler, offset by the lower gas bills? Well that all makes sense!

P. Whear I think you’ve got the idea, if I’ve understood it correctly myself.

T. Kernow What happens when you sell the property then?

P. Whear The debt remains with the house, so the new owners pay the higher than normal electricity bills for say the next twenty years to pay off the boiler that’s due for replacement again in say half  that time? However it’s possible that I’ve misunderstood some of this.

T. Kernow Who’s going to buy a house with that sort of arrangement then?

P. Whear Well, I understand there are concerns over that.

T. Kernow Well Philip, I think it’s ‘Watch this space’ & see if the government develop this lot into a workable scheme. At the moment it all seems a bit half baked!

P. Whear Well, here’s a quote from Greg Barker UK Minister of State for Energy & Climate Change:

“The Green Deal will be quite simply Britain’s most ambitious home improvement programme ever”

T. Kernow On that note I’ll say thanks for the information, its all clear as mud, I’ll talk to you again soon, bye.

Click here to read what the Guardian Newspaper published this morning 26th Jan 2013 about the Green Deal, once you read make sure you click the comments link as I thought they were very interesting!!!!

Now check out what the Telegraph said on the 25th Jan.

Even the Green websites themselves have this to say Business Green

Humm well all I can say is "watch this space"

The End (for the moment)

Mr Trevelyan Kernow - Second Blog

Philip Whear here... Happy New Year to everyone,

 

Well, I’m a little late in getting this out, but it’s that time of year!

 

Since my last blog, I have visited several of the properties that Trevelyan Kernow is considering   purchasing in Falmouth, Penzance, Helston, and Newquay.  All of which, he feels, need an amount of renovation or upgrading. 

His funds are now available and he is looking forward to his future business in property. Thankfully he is talking about quality improvements not just making ‘a quick buck’; he has also realized he needs to manage the works rather than ‘get stuck in’ himself.
 

We met at our showroom and factory facility on Wilson Way,Pool Industrial Estate TR15 3RT (if you would like to visit,) and the conversation went something like this:
 

T Kernow:  ‘Good Morning……………we’ve put in an offer on the flats in Falmouth which I think will be accepted. So we’ll be needing vertical sliding sash windows on the road side, casement windows on the rest, with one tilt and turn for a Fire Escape - and I think we’ll push the boat out and open up the lounge with a much wider hole for a set of those zig- zag doors. That will really make that top flat something special!’

P. Whear:  ‘Yes, they are usually referred to as Bi Folding Doors, like those over there at the end of the showroom. You will probably  need planning permission and Building Regulations approval, which in turn will require structural engineer’s  calculations, all of which we can arrange. We can supply doors up to a metre wide - so a four door, four metre wide opening would seem about right.’

T. Kernow: ‘A ‘one stop shop’ then; that makes life easier than getting too many people involved. Whilst we’re at it, I think we’ll replace the old railings outside on the Balcony with one or another of your Glass Balustrading range.’

P. Whear: ‘That would really make the most of the views. For the best effect we’ve got the completely frameless system, which looks very high tech with little visible structure. The more you spend, the less you see! Or there is 316 Marine grade stainless steel, or alloy, in any colour, with posts. These are available with or without handrails.’

T. Kernow: ‘Oh, and the front door, I’m wondering whether a hardwood one would be better than uPVC   The door is a rather wide Georgian style with one of those  massive  semi-circular fanlights over it.’

P. Whear: ‘Personally I would go for Hardwood, as we can make a replica of the door and fanlight while incorporating modern door security and weathering performance technology.  This would help retain the character of what is a nice looking front elevation but give you a better performing entrance doorway. ‘

T. Kernow: ‘Right then, as this is an up- market project, we’ll go with that as well.’

P. Whear: ‘I’d be grateful for some photos of what will be a pretty impressive finished job – assuming you place the order with us, of course!’

T. Kernow: ‘If it all happens and you do a nice job, and I’ve every confidence you will, you can take as many photos as you like!’

P. Whear:  ‘Thanks, I’ll quote in the main for uPVC or PVCu, it’s the same thing really. So, you want vertical sliding sash windows with painted Sage green frames and white sashes; central surface or Astragal glazing bars; run through horns; ‘tilt to clean’ facility and opening restrictors. You also want casement windows, again in uPVC, all colour matched and painted Sage green, as discussed on site to comply with all the Building Regulations for energy ratings, fire escape windows and safety glass as required. The Bi- Folding doors are to be colour matched to the same Sage green as the windows, with doors opening - probably - one door to the left and three to the right. For your development, in an exposed location with fantastic views, these doors will be Commercial Aluminium as their weathering capability is far better, they are a slimmer profile and the opening sashes can be bigger than in uPVC.  A custom made hardwood front door, with a fanlight over, in a colour-matched Sage green frame with white opening sash. Oh, I nearly forgot, you also want two pairs of green uPVC French Doors in the other flats; one with a Juliet Balcony in glass. Which type do you want for the top floor balustrading?’

T. Kernow: ‘The self-supporting one, but with a stainless steel tubular handrail on it, I think.’

P. Whear:  ‘Great, I’ll put that quotation together for you in the next couple of days.