Prime Aspect Windows

For many, the ideal home should be bathed in sunlight, with windows allowing that sunlight to creep in and give that room the warm glow we all love. However, it’s entirely possible that, due to the design of your home, you’re not going to get much sunlight. This may be due to window size, placement and type, or furniture placement, or just having the windows closed by curtains or blinds. Either way, getting some more natural light in your home has two big advantages: it’ll save you some cash on the electricity bill and you’ll get a healthy dose of Vitamin D from the Sun’s rays.

Some quick ways to get some light in can involve: Using mirrors (avoid using angled mirrors that can concentrate the light beam)

Repainting the house in lighter colours (light surfaces reflect light and heat better than dark surfaces)

Moving furniture around the house (thereby making sure blocked light can get in, or moving beds and sofas closer to the light source)

Replace heavy curtains with lighter designs that allow some light to soak in (For areas like bedrooms, stick to heavy curtains for privacy and to avoid getting woken up in the morning)

However, it’s fair to say that these options are fairly limiting (or exhausting, as repainting an entire house is), so if these don’t work, it’s time to consider more drastic measures: For example, replacing doors and windows (For example, the door leading to your patio can be replaced by a glass door, or old windows can be replaced with more heat-efficient, clearer designs).

You could also make more room for windows (Many old homes have very small windows, since glass used to be a lot more brittle and translucent a long time ago), usually by knocking down parts of the wall. You’ll likely need planning permission for this and any extensions you want to do.

Another option, though expensive and time-consuming to build, is a skylight, or a window on the roof. Many large commercial buildings use these to make the interior sections of the building more livable, as well as allowing cold air into the building in an otherwise stifling environment. While it may be inconvenient to build, skylights can give even the drabbest building some life and vibrancy.

The UK is unique for its can-do approach to home renovation and DIY: 300,000 homes in the country receive renovations or extensions every year. But what are the unique challenges you face when you’re looking at renovating or extending a much older property than the usual British home, built in the last 50 years or so? Many old homes have weathered the ravages of time quite gracefully, but a home that hasn’t been touched up will still be marred by things like cracks in the walls, creaky floorboards, room plans that aren’t popular anymore (like a downstairs bathroom or a small kitchen), broken or unsafe heating and electrical systems, and so on. Ideally, a full survey of the house should be conducted to determine what needs replacing or strengthening, as well as to determine how much it’ll all cost and whether it’ll be worth doing if you want to sell the property later on. There’s also the fact that old houses are more appealing for their antiquated stylings, and renovations should focus on preserving or rebuilding parts of the house that are aesthetically pleasing, rather than filling the house with modern-looking furniture that clashes. Replacing windows and outside doors is a must: old doors and windows may be easy to break into as the locks are simpler, and they’ll let in cold draughts in winter. Particularly old properties may have very cloudy-looking and bumpy glass.

What To Look Out For

One of the most common home improvement plans is the bathroom refit. Out of all the rooms in your home, the décor and set-up of your bathroom gets old and rusty the fastest, due to the presence of water, steam and hygiene products scattered everywhere contributing to mould build-up, gradual degradation of sealant and other unpleasantness. As a result, bathroom renovations and refits are a popular choice for new homeowners. But where do you start?

Planning

Planning out your first moves with a professional designer or architect can save you a lot of headaches later on. On your own, you can end up setting unrealistic time and expense goals which will stall the actual building process: and the last thing you want as the occupant is not having any way to wash or relieve yourself, since bathroom renovations can take a week or two. It may cost some upfront cash to hire a designer, but any plans you draft up on your own may cost more than theirs and delay the completion of the refit.

Plumbing

New plumbing is an expensive alteration to your home: Even if it’s just for our bathroom, new piping can cost up to 5000 pounds when all is said and done. Using your old pipes, provided they’re not rusty, leaking and they’re where they should be, will save you a lot of money.

Toiletries

Many homeowners want to get rid of their toilet. Perhaps it’s due to looking old and outdated, but a lot of homeowners don’t realise that making your toilet look good can be as simple as replacing the lid and seat. When you do this, it reduces the time you have no access to a toilet and will save you a lot of money that would be used to redirect the toilet.

Storage

Ideally you want all your bathroom supplies stored in your bathroom, but fitting shelves and other storage units can cost a pretty penny. Consider checking out the flea markets, resellers of second-hand furniture and discounted furniture over having shelving installed: not only will it usually be cheaper than installing shelves, they’re easy to replace if they begin to rot from the dampness that occurs in a bathroom.

Flooring and Walls

Flooring and wall choices is largely personal preference, but there are better options depending on your circumstances. Tiles are easier to clean and less vulnerable to rot, but are more expensive than wood flooring. Wood can also be cheaply sourced from scrapped furniture and imparts a more homely atmosphere to your home than cold, drab tiles can. It depends largely on if you value the looks of your bathroom over the price of maintaining it.

Over the past few years, a new type of front door has been rising in popularity among many households in the UK - composite doors. Here, we will look at the composition, benefits, and advantages of composite doors, and discover why most homeowners prefer these doors over any other and finally helping to answer – What is a composite door.

What are Composite Doors Made Of?

Composite doors are made from various materials that are selected for their unique beneficial properties. This type of door is constructed taking into account the common flaws in doors made of singular material. As a result, composite doors provide superior strength, high security, excellent thermal efficiency, and easy maintenance.

Unlike singular material doors, composite front doors have high resistance to abrasion and weathering, and will not be affected by seasonal changes. Because of its quality build, a composite door will not fade or discolour. Another advantage is the long lasting nature of composite doors, lasting for at least 35 years without requiring any maintenance beyond an occasional wipe-clean with a damp cloth. Composite doors do not require repainting either.

How are Composite Doors Made?

A composite door consists primarily of the following: a 70mm PVCu outer frame, composite PVC sub-frame, and hardwood inner frame. The outer frame is reinforced with galvanized steel. The PVC sub-frame ensures stability, while the inner frame is designed for torsional rigidity.

Benefits of Composite Doors

There are many different front door types that you can install in your home, but nothing can come close to the quality and security standards that composite doors boast of. There are plenty of reasons why most people prefer this type of door.

The blend of materials used to make a composite door ensures great strength, attractive design, high level of security, and durability. Its core typically contains wood, eco-friendly insulating materials, and additional layers—all of which are protected by a weather-resistant outer skin. Perhaps the only trade-off with choosing a composite door is that prices can be slightly higher than conventional UPVC doors. However, this added cost is definitely outweighed by the tons of benefits composite doors provide.

For window fitting and double glazing repairs in Darlington and the surrounding areas, call our prime aspect windows at Windows Darlington on 01325357040. 

A door is a moving mechanism used to block off, and allow access to, an entrance to or within an enclosed space, such as a building, room or vehicle. Doors normally consist of one or two solid panels, with or without windows, that swing on hinges horizontally. These hinges are attached to the door's edge but there are also doors that slide, fold or spin. The main purpose of a door is to control physical access.

There are many different standard door sizes available in the UK and understanding the measurements can often become quite confusing. Prime Aspect Windows offer a core selection of the most common door sizes from stock and if you have a non-standard size requirement, bespoke sizes can be ordered for many of our door ranges.

Let's discuss about the following types of doors:

1. Panel Doors:

This is a catch-all term that refers to the standard single-leaf door used in most homes as exterior and interior doors. A range of options is available depending on how many glass panels your require.

2. French Doors:

This term usually refers to a pair of glazed doors that are hinged at each side and meet in the middle. They create a very large space to move in and out of when they are open, which makes them great for opening out onto gardens and patios. Traditionally, French Doors have multiple glass panels, called ‘lites’.

3. Sliding Doors:

The difference between these and French Doors is that Sliding Doors slide one panel over the other to open, whereas French Doors swing out. Both types can referred to as Patio Doors.

4. Bi-Folding Doors:

Another option for maximising the open space when the doors are open is the Bi-folding Door. As the name suggests, the panels are divided in two and connected by hinges. They are also known as Bifold Doors and Concertina Doors.

In this article we are going to talk about composite doors. Composite doors are made up of a variety of materials, including PVC, wood, insulating foam and Glass Reinforced Plastic. The combination of these materials results in a door that is very strong and secure.

There are many benefits of composite doors and they are of many types that you can install on your home. They are very durable and string in nature and very energy efficient too.  It doesn't wrap, shrink or rust and is virtually maintenance free. Because of the unique combination, the composite doors are probably the most secure in the market. They are also resistant to weathering and will not react to seasonal changes like a singular material door. Composite doors are also more energy efficient because they have a higher thermal resistance than wooden doors.

Composite doors are fast becoming the standard specification for quality new build developments and when renovating existing properties due to the long term benefits they provide reduction in heating, costs, improved security and noise reduction.