On our new blog section we'll be putting up opinions, industry news expert advice, tips and more affecting customers and the windows & door industry. Have any comments or feedback? Please do let us know.
As the cold winter weather firmly sets in, making sure your home stays warm and comfortable becomes a top priority. If you live in Liverpool and Merseyside, where the winters can be quite brisk to say the least, taking measures now to insulate your windows, conservatories, and doors can make a real difference in keeping the cold at bay.
In today’s blog post, we'll look at practical tips and tricks to help you maintain a warm and inviting home during the upcoming colder months.
Read moreWith such a wide range of choice available for new windows, in our latest blog post today we’ll go through some of the options available to you.
Here at Vision Home Improvements, our extensive collection of bespoke window options is designed to cater to your every need and style preference. We take pride in providing a diverse range of windows, each built to the highest standards of quality, energy efficiency, and durability.
Read moreWhen it comes to enhancing the look and functionality your property, few additions can match the charm and utility of a well-designed porch area. A porch is not just an extension; it's a versatile space that offers multiple benefits, from providing an extra layer of security to enhancing the look of your home and matching the style.
In this blog post, we'll explore a number of advantages of having a porch and how you can seamlessly integrate it into your home's architectural style.
Read moreThe security of our home is important to every home owner. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by investing in secure, robust doors for your house. Among the various options available, Rock Doors have emerged as a popular choice, offering unmatched security and a range of advantages over traditional doors. In this article, we'll explore the remarkable features of Rockdoors and why you should consider them for improving your home security.
Rockdoors are renowned for their exceptional security features, making them an ideal choice for property owners seeking the very highest levels of protection for their house. Here are some key security aspects that set Rockdoors apart:
Read moreWith the summer temperature here in the UK showing no signs of cooling down, staying cool whilst indoors becomes essential for comfort and well-being. As The Home Office Life report, significant amount of workers are now working either full-time or in hybrid home-working roles, meaning keeping cool in your home is more important than ever.
While air conditioning is a popular but very expensive for UK residents outside of an office environment, there are alternative methods to beat the heat without relying on it. In this blog post, we'll explore some creative ways to stay cool indoors during hot summer days. These ideas will help you maintain a comfortable home while reducing your energy consumption and embracing a somewhat more sustainable approach.
Read moreAfter what seems like an incredibly long winter - spring is finally here and with it comes the perfect opportunity to freshen up your home with some deep cleaning. Spring cleaning is an age-old tradition that allows you to declutter, organize, and clean the dirt and grime that has built up over the long winter months. Not only will this help to make your home look and smell better, but it can also improve your overall wellbeing by reducing stress and improving the air quality in your home.
In our latest blog post, we will provide you with some tips and tricks for spring cleaning your house to help turn it into a clean and organised oasis.
Read moreIf you want to create more space in your home, there are several options to choose. There’s the traditional loft conversion and the building extension if you have the space and a larger budget. Then there’s the possibility of adding a conservatory.
Each has its merits and a lot will depend on what you want to achieve. Here we look at why installing a new conservatory is an amazing option and can help transform any garden space and home for the better.
Read moreInstalling full-size windows and large doors can help create a space that is open to the natural world outside. These ‘glass walls’ are amazing for areas like garden-facing rooms and the good news is there are several options to choose from.
Here we look at the difference between French, sliding and bi-fold doors and which may be the best option for your home.
Read moreThe one thing most of us are worrying about this winter is the cost of energy and how we can afford to heat our homes.
If you’re struggling with your bills and wondering whether you should even put the heating on, you’re not alone. With the average bill for a medium-sized house rising to about £2,500, it’s still a major increase that will affect many people over the next few months. Not only that, there’s yet another expected rise to come in April.
The good news is there is some help for struggling households, including the Energy Bills Support Scheme. This provides eligible domestic properties in England, Scotland and Wales with a £400 discount on their bills over this winter.
Here’s our quick guide to what the payment schedule looks like and how it is going to be paid.
Read moreMany people are likely to face household utility bills totalling £2,500 over the next year and there seems to be little evidence that prices will come back down anytime soon. While there is support through a £400 grant from the government, many families are going to still struggle over the winter.
If you’re frantically trying to think of ways to reduce your energy consumption, you’re certainly not alone. Here we look at some simple things you can do as the days get colder.
Some of these may seem quite obvious but if you live in a busy household and have kids you’ll already know how difficult it can be to keep those spiralling costs down.
Read moreYour roofline may look like a simple section of your home, with a gutter and some pipe attached to the edge. But, in actual fact, the roofline of any domestic dwelling has several important parts that help it function and be stable.
Fascias are a type of board that is mounted to the point where the roof meets the outer walls of the house. This section is actually what we call the “roofline” of a home. It’s the outer part of the roof that carries the gutter.
Fascia board is typically made using unpliable types of PVC. It’s a lightweight but strong board that runs along the lower edge of the roof. It’s job is to support the lower edge of the bottom row of tiles on your roof, but it also supports the guttering on your roofline.
Without a fascia board, you’d need another way to support both of these sections, which is why it’s so important to have well-maintained fascia board on your home.
Read moreYour doors and windows are the first line of defence that your home has against cold weather. Even in the summer months, the weather can turn so quickly here in the UK. It’s almost like we have a few days of summer, rather than a few months!
Energy is expensive, that’s a fact. The 54% price increase wasn’t something that anyone could reasonably prepare for, and it’s left a number of homeowners and renters scrambling to figure out how to keep the costs down when there’s no company to switch to with a lower price.
The first part of your home you should make more efficient is your doors and windows. Sure, there are plenty of low temperature tricks and tips, but at this point, surely you’ve tried them all? There’s only so many blankets in the cupboard, and the end of summer is quickly approaching.
Read moreSince the huge energy price hike back in April, many households are concerned about being about to afford their future energy bills. Everywhere you look, there are no good deals. Even switching suppliers has become pointless because no one can offer cheap energy deals anymore.
There are a number of Government schemes designed to support households that are struggling to pay their bills. They all have different criteria, which we will outline for you here so that you can be made aware of any potential help you could apply for.
Read moreThe warmer weather is upon us here in the UK, which usually pushes homeowners towards thinking about new additions to their property. One of these is a conservatory, a small extension added to the front or back of a house that has glass panes for the walls and door. Of course, there are plenty of variations on the design and size of a conservatory, but some may require planning permission.
Read moreAs the weather starts to warm up and the sun is hiding behind the clouds less often, we start to open up our homes. We entertain more, have guests over for snacks and a chat, and bask in the light that finally starts to heat up the dreary chill of the UK.
Residences of this fair isle will agree that there’s only so much sun you can bring into your home with the act of opening a window. Leaving your door open isn’t safe, especially if you have children or animals. Instead of sticking with the small amount of light that your house gains from the Spring sunshine, consider making some changes to your home’s construction or features.
Read moreAs with any major financial change, there’s a fair bit of misinformation surrounding the energy price hike that will start on April 1st this year. Headlines use click-bait titles that tell the general public that their energy bills will be raised up by almost £700, but that isn’t quite the truth.
The actual rise is 54%, which means that your bill will be going up by a substantial amount, but not everyone is going to see a huge increase. It all depends on how much energy you’re currently using in your home and what you will be paying for it as of April 1st. All energy companies are raising their prices, so it has been advised that there’s no point in switching to another energy company because you’ll lose the protection that your current one offers you.
Read moreAre you a homeowner who wants to install new trim in your living room but aren’t sure of how to go about doing it? In this guide, we cover everything the beginner needs to know about installing trim or baseboard, even on a large scale!
Read moreFor first-time buyers that are taking their first steps onto the property ladder, we’re sure that you’re feeling nervous about picking your new property. As an inexperienced buyer, there’s a lot that you can miss, but our quick guide should help with the basics.
Real estate agents with good reviews
If you know any friends or family who have purchased property in your idea area, ask them for recommendations. Remember that social media is a powerful and free tool.
As the Coronavirus continues sweeping across the world, the impact on the economy is becoming increasingly obvious. The housing market has, without a doubt, been affected. Many first-time buyers have struggled to get on the housing ladder, which is difficult enough without house prices rising and landlords requesting more rent.
As we glide into 2022, there are some predictions about the price of houses and the cost of rent. Predictions, however, are just that. In the current climate, it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going to happen to the housing sector. We can only hope that things will start to even out again and prices will eventually fall.
Read moreAs the cold sets in more and more each day, every renter and homeowner around is scrambling to find ways to reduce their energy bills and make their home more comfortable for a long British winter. Here in the UK, we often see cold and icy weather lasting until March, sometimes April. Snow is always expected at some point, though no one is ever really certain when.
Read moreAs the pandemic continued month after month, we all saw a steady but noticeable rise in the price of houses. This affected homes for sale and for rent, with property prices hitting highs that we haven’t seen in years. Areas where renting had always been inexpensive were suddenly seeing homes asking for up to £100 more than other renters were paying in the area, while other locations saw worse figures.
Buying a house became almost inaccessible during the pandemic. Many estate agents weren’t allowing physical tours of homes, which left potential buyers trying to view houses online with limited success. There’s only so much information you can get from a house without being inside it, after all.
Read moreHome DIY projects don’t need to be huge, expensive renovations to make a big impact on how your house looks. DIY can be amazingly fun for all the family, and even the kids can get involved in the smaller projects that don’t involve anything sharp or electrical.
To get you started with some home DIY during these colder months, here are five easy DIY projects that anyone can do.
Read moreWhen you’re finally ready to move out of your current rental home, getting your deposit back can be an extremely stressful situation.
As a renter, you probably haven’t made any major alterations to any part of the property, but you may have hung shelves, picture frames, there may be some damage that goes beyond simple wear and tear.
Landlords will look at absolutely everything in the property, but with only the pictures from the inventory document to compare it all against, you have a chance to repair the property.
Read moreLantern roofs can make wonderful additions to a conservatory. They’re a unique and eye-catching alternative to standard flat conservatory roofs, giving homeowners more options to make their extension a true part of their home.
A roof lantern, or lantern style roof, refers to a set of glass panels installed into a flat roof that are elevated above the roof itself. These panels created a pitched shape. Their name likely comes from the obvious lantern-like style of the roof lantern. If you were to cut a glass lantern in half, it would more or less look like roof lanterns do.
Read moreThe weather is heating up quick here in the UK and though restrictions are still in place, there’s nothing stopping you from relaxing in your conservatory and enjoying the sunshine.
That is, until the extension on your home becomes so unbearably hot that you’re almost certain that you’re baking in an oven. The reason this happens isn’t terribly common knowledge. Those of us with conservatories seem to just wave off any concerns because it’s how the room has always been. But there is a way to keep your conservatory cooler and it starts by understanding why it’s getting so hot in the first place.
Think about your conservatory at home. An open space, likely several large windows and a glass ceiling, or potentially an almost entirely glass structure... All those windows let in an enormous amount of natural light during the day. With that light, comes heat from the sun. With no way for the heat to escape the room, it just keeps raising the temperature until it becomes an unbearable hot box and there’s no way to use the room.
Read moreHome improvement projects can be wonderful investments and boredom cures. For a small project, like re-painting the master bedroom of your home or building a make-shift garden bar, you’ll spend little money and have plenty of fun designing. Larger projects, such as kitchen or bathroom renovation, are great options if you’re looking to add more value to your home without building an extension.
What we mean by this is make your garden into a space that is functional for you and the other residents of your home.
Read moreThe company Rockdoor has been around for over two decades, developing innovative door designs that are the strength of the door industry. They make all of their composite doors in their facility in Lancashire, paying special attention to each one of their products throughout the entire manufacturing process. Rockdoor don’t cut corners to create their stunning and unique doors.
Rockdoor, as a company name, may make you envision plain doors that have little detail – but we assure you that this couldn’t be further from the truth. As approved installers of Rockdoors in the Liverpool area, we have had the privilege of bringing the Rockdoor name to a number of residences.
As such, here are a few benefits that come with utilising doors from the Rockdoor brand:
Read moreIt’s been over a year since COVID-19 was labelled a global pandemic. A year is a lot of time for homeowners to spend mostly in their homes, with the occasional group of people being asked to go back to work throughout the time that has passed, and the few careers out there that cannot be worked from home.
With all that time in the same four walls, everything begins to look a bit drab. The home improvement industry has boomed a little during the reign of the Corona Virus, with a large percentage of homeowners deciding to do some home renovation or start a new home design project during this past year.
Read moreTo start off this post, we’ve put together a short list of purchases that we believe are good investments if you’re planning on cleaning your conservatory yourself, rather than hiring a professional conservatory cleaner to do it for you.
Read moreFinally sick of staring at the same off-white coloured walls you’ve had in your bathroom since forever? You’re certainly not the first homeowner to realise that something needs to be done about the monotone and boring aesthetic of an untouched household bathroom. Renovating a room, however, is a huge step, so here are four things to consider before you start knocking down any walls:
We all get distracted by anything pretty and shiny that we come across in a homeware or hardware store, but just because you like it doesn’t mean that it will work with the rest of the bathroom you’re planning. When shopping, always keep a firm image of the bathroom you want in your mind and keep a list of colours, fixture types, and accents that you know work with the overall theme that you’re going for.
Read moreIt’s not something that we think about much. When a lightbulb blows in our home or just stops turning on, we head out to the nearest supermarket and buy the most inexpensive replacement we can find. We always tell ourselves that we’ll replace that bulb with a better one next time we remember to, but we never do.
Instead, we forget all about that bulb until it’s time to replace it again. It won’t be anytime soon; most average lightbulbs can keep glowing for a few hundred to a couple thousand hours. Depending on the placement of that bulb, you might need to switch it out again this year or in a couple years.
But you will be buying another one sooner than you would buy a second LED bulb. Let’s assume, for the sake of this argument, that you’re buying typical, off-the-shelf incandescent lightbulbs.
Read moreThese are a wide range of different conservatory types available, here are some of the options available to you:
Vision Home Improvements has a vast array of door solutions for your home. Each of these doors hold their own unique features, which come with wonderful benefits, and may suit a number of dwellings.
A stylish door solution with plenty of styles, Elitis doors are available as entrance, French, composite doors, and more. Our highlight for this section is the stable door from Elitis: A door created to give your space a more authentic and rustic farmhouse feel.
Read moreSnow has already fallen several times this year, and it doesn’t look like the weather will be warming up any time soon. This is, without a doubt, one of the most expensive times of year for energy bills. There’s only so much thick jumpers and blankets can do to stave off the cold chill in the air, particularly if you and your family live in a home with thin walls and high ceilings.
Thankfully, being energy efficient doesn’t mean that you need to turn your heating off and keep it off. No, there are plenty of other ways to reduce your energy bill and your carbon footprint without being able to see your breath each time you exhale.
Read moreWe would like to wish all our customers a 'Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year’ lets hope 2021 is a better year than 2020 and hopefully see life getting back to normal!
We are closed from the 19th December 2020 to the 4th January 2021.
We'll be back at 8am on January 4th! Have a great Christmas and New Year!
Read moreThe chill is definitely setting in this year, and with plenty more weeks of winter ahead of us, all households have started considering their energy bills and what the cold will do to their homes. Winter is a wonderful time of year, the holidays fill the streets and people’s living rooms with lights, casting the glow of different winter traditions across every neighbourhood.
But it also comes with higher energy bills, cold drafts that seems to come from nowhere, and a lot of worry for any children, vulnerable people, or pets that we have at home.
Read moreVision Home Improvements only uses Homeline brand fascias and soffits when installing any of our roofline solutions because they have been providing quality roofing packages for many years.
All of the products that we use from Homeline are fully accredited, each has a quality guarantee that has never failed to put the minds of our clients at rest. At Vision, we understand that replacing parts of your roof can be quite stressful, but we like to believe that we can soothe away those worries before the installation process even begins.
Read moreOlder properties, such as heritage houses, can suffer from window damage. This damage usually occurs over a long period of time, unless the window fittings were particularly poorly done – then the damage can happen sooner.
But back on the subject of heritage houses: the houses are associated with suffering from extreme drafts, being very cold throughout the year, or even having issues with damp and mould of various kinds. These associations come from ineffective window glazing (we find that many older houses still use single glazing for their windows), and/or from badly fitted windows.
Read moreBudget decorating is needed now more than ever. With a potential second national lockdown brewing on the horizon, and the economy still trying to drag itself back up from the first one, money is tight.
But it’s the holiday season and nothing feels right until furniture has been moved around and the house has been redecorated to look fresh for the colder months of the year. With your bank card under lock and key until further notice, how can you add some holiday spirit to your home?
We’ve done the research so that you can sit back, relax, and let your creative mind take over while you read our guide on decorating your house on a budget.
Read moreThe conservatory is a great conversation piece for any home; they’re bright, spacious, and very unique to each homeowner. As an extension of the home, a conservatory usually has a lot of thought put into it. No homeowner just hires the first company they come across to smack together an extension and whack it on the end of their home where there’s space. There’s a lot of planning involved. Which is why it can be quite stressful when homeowners notice that their conservatory needs repairing or updating.
Even if your current conservatory roof isn’t at the end of its lifetime, there are still plenty of good reasons to change your roof to a newer one. Modern housing solutions are always evolving, which means that there are constantly more options out there than there were when you first built your extension.
Read moreOur team at Vision Home Improvements is always looking for the next best thing to help homeowners improve their surroundings and take their home design to the next level. Home design doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming, especially when you have experts on your side who can offer advise and guidance when it comes to the next improvement you want to make.
Gallery composite doors are stunning products that knock timber doors out of the park. A Gallery door is thicker than the traditional timer door, usually by about 30%, which will provide better strength and structure to your doorway area, as well as better thermal performance.
You won’t need to give up your preferred wooden style either! Gallery doors are available in a range of colours, as well as wood grain effect styles. Unlike many other doors, Gallery doors aren’t painted after they go through their skin process. Instead, the colour is a part of that process, so the paint won’t get chipped or scratched.
Read moreWhen you’re considering an extension for your property, you’ll hear a lot of terms being thrown around and you’ll read even more. Some of these, like “conservatory”, you will be familiar with. But you might not be as familiar with the uses of an “orangery” beyond a logical guess that it’s probably a place for oranges to grow.
Well, you wouldn’t be wrong. An orangery was once a room that was dedicated to growing orange trees. Other fruit trees could (and would) be grown in this building, which was extremely fashionable to have between the 17th and 19th centuries. They were essentially a greenhouse that would be built as an extension to the property and allowed plants to grow in warmth during the colder seasons.
Read moreConsidering adding bi-fold doors to your property? We can certainly see why! Bi-fold doors add more character to a home, and they enable homeowners to take advantage of the natural lighting around their property. The following information will outline the benefits of installing bi-fold doors, as well as the types of bi-fold doors that are most popular with homeowners.
Bi-fold doors are usually made of aluminium or timber. This means that you can have a lightweight door or a heavier, more natural door. Whichever you choose, the structure of the door will still be perfectly sound. The main difference is the aesthetic, but we’ll go further into the types of bi-fold door that are available later.
Read moreThere are plenty of ways to turn your conservatory into a spectacular additional room. When you think of a conservatory, what image comes to your mind? A bright room, perhaps one with greenery, and comfortable furnishings? Many homeowners use their conservatory as a kind of sunroom or an extra sitting room, and although these are perfect ideas for a conservatory, there are many other ways to bring out the potential of your home.
Spare bedrooms are often turned into home gyms or home offices. With the help of Vision, change up your conservatory and leave your spare room as a guest bedroom.
Read moreWith the cold weather well and truly upon us, we would like to talk through one of the products we offer - the Guardian™ Warm Roof.
One of the most popular complaints we regularly hear from potential customers with a conservatory is that it's simply too cold to use during the winter months and conversely too hot to spend very long in, in summer.
Manufactured in the UK, the Guardian™ Warm Roof offers outstanding insulation and provides an aesthetically pleasing tiled roof finish that enables your conservatory to stay warm and cosy during the cold winter and cool during the hot summer months.
Read moreWith winter fast approaching it's the perfect time to consider updating those old tired looking windows and doors replacing them with energy efficient, cost-effective alternatives.
There are a lot of companies out there covering Liverpool and Merseyside, so why in particular should you choose us for your replacement windows, doors or conservatory installations?
With over 25 years experience Vision Home Improvements offer a wide product range built and installed by specialists whose knowledge and expertise in second to none.
Read moreWith summer well and truly over it's time to start preparing for the very worst of the British weather. The Express report we are heading for the coldest winter since 1963 so below are some simple ways to help you prepare your home and garden for potentially the coldest winter in Britain for almost 60 years!
1. Prepare your garden for the worst
Ensure any plants that are particularly vulnerable to cold weather are moved inside and ensure garden furniture is safely stored and that your rubbish and recycling bins are stored somewhere secure to avoid any potential damage to your property in high winds.
Timeless Windows> are a unique type of window that are crafted from PVC-U (or Poly Vinyl Chloride Un-plasticised but as that is a bit of a mouthful we'll stick with PVC-U!)
Timeless Windows are expertly designed to imitate the appearance of 19th century timber sash windows, boasting a more traditional appearance that is more in keeping with properties from this time period.
Period houses can often be associated with damp and cold due to aged, ill-fitting windows or old single glazing. A Timeless Window can look as striking as a genuine period window however offering compelling advantages over traditional timber windows - they will never need sanding or repainting and will never rot, split or swell. A simple wipe with a damp cloth will keep your windows looking their best for years to come.
Read moreThere are many options for your external doors to choose from available on the market today, so why should you choose a Rockdoor over any other type of door for your property?
Rockdoor offer a range of market leading composite exterior doors including Front Doors, Back Doors, French Doors and much more all completely bespoke to your requirements, ensuring the look of your new external door fits the aesthetic of your house perfectly.
Composite Rockdoors combine style, innovation and security offering something that is completely bespoke to your requirements, looks great but also crucially is the most secure door available on the market.
Read moreReplacing your old windows and doors can be an expensive process and one that you need to ensure you have picked the right installation company for the job.
That's why picking a FENSA registered window and door installer is vital to ensure that you are choosing a company who comply with all building regulations, that the new windows or doors are energy efficient and the work is registered with the local council.
Read moreWith household bills seeming to go up each year, it’s easy to see why you’d want to make savings where you can. Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to cut your energy usage and in turn save money on your bills.
An article for Open Access Government recently made some suggestions on how to go about this. Some of the measures suggested, such as getting double glazed windows in Liverpool or wherever you live, can have a relatively high up-front cost, but they are more than worth it in the long run.
In fact, the news provider suggested that by upgrading to double glazing from single glazing, you could save hundreds of pounds on your energy bills each year.
Read moreWe’re nearing the end of April now but since it was National Home Improvement Month we’re sure that there are many of you out there who have really gone all out with your interior design and renovation projects.
And we’re equally sure that there are just as many - if not more - of you out there who are keen to keep the momentum up and carry on improving your properties in May and well beyond.
If you’re thinking about having extensions done to your Liverpool property over the next few weeks and months, and you have a shared property boundary (known as a party wall) with a neighbour, what you absolutely must do is tell them if you want to carry out any building work near it or on it.
Read moreFans of Winnie The Pooh will be familiar with the character’s creator AA Milne, and could be interested in purchasing the home near where he wrote the legendary books based on the honey-loving bear.
However, they would need a cool £2.85 million to buy Hartfield Hall, located by the stream the Cambridge graduate frequently wrote about during the 1920s, the Daily Mail reported.
The five-bedroom country residence is situated in Sussex’s Ashdown Forest, a beautiful woodland area the author called Five Hundred Acre Wood in his books.
Read moreWith sun finally shining after months of cold weather and dark afternoons it's not surprising this has rejuvenated an interest in gardening for many Brits keen on adding some colour to their outdoor spaces.
With the recent batch of cold weather due to come to an end just in time for the Easter weekend, there are plenty of beautiful flowers that can be planted in your conservatory, giving you that warm summer feeling even when it is miserable and grey outside.
Read moreIf you’re thinking of carrying out some DIY work on your property this year, you may want to keep one eye on what can improve the value of your home.
Mortgage Introducer recently shared the findings of a survey by Post Office Money, which revealed that making certain changes to a property can boost its value by around £40,000.
This is based on its survey of homeowners who made improvements to their properties last year. The average starting value for the homes was £210,000, which climbed to £250,000 once the renovations were completed.
Read moreProperty values in the UK are in decline, with values having dropped by 0.8 per cent between December 2018 and January 2019.
According to the latest House Price Index from the Land Registry, the average property value in the UK stood at £228,147 earlier this year.
In England, it was £244,567, which is just over £3,000 more than it was in January 2018. This marginal 1.5 per cent annual growth rate is low compared with previous years’ and could be enough to motivate homeowners to make changes to their property.
Read moreAs any homeowner worth their salt will know, you certainly never rush to judgement when it comes to making a significant investment in windows and doors for your Liverpool house and other such products, you need to take your time, review as many different products as you can and go and see them in real life before you make a decision about what’s right for you and your property, otherwise you could find yourself wasting lots of money on something you don’t even like.
That’s why we’re so pleased to let you all know that you can come down to our open showroom in Knotty Ash in Liverpool to have a look at what we’ve got to offer our discerning customers.
Read moreThere are a number of reasons to consider adding a conservatory to your property. They can be a great way to extend your living space, as well as allowing you to enjoy your garden throughout the year.
But a recent article for Estate Agent News also noted that they can be one of the best ways to add value to your home, whether you’re planning to sell it or even rent it out.
The extra living space good-quality conservatories in Liverpool offer is one of the big plus points, so you need to ensure you don’t skimp and that you make sure this space is properly insulated to ensure heat doesn’t escape in the winter, as well as preventing it from getting too hot in the summer.
Read moreEvery couple argues, whether they’ve been together for six months or for most of their lives… but sometimes the sources of these arguments can, upon reflection, seem really rather trivial, wouldn’t you agree? Do you really want to spend your days fighting with your other half over the replacement roof for your Liverpool home, after all?
Interestingly, however, it seems that home improvements – and specifically, DIY – is a big source of contention for couples above a certain age. New research from SunLife Direct has just revealed that for couples over the age of 50, DIY, money and cleaning are the main sources of tension, followed by taking up too much room in bed and being lazy.
Of those asked, one in six couples admitted that the biggest issues they argue about were DIY and home improvements, with non-life products director at the company Simon Stanney saying that it’s perhaps unsurprising that DIY is so contentious, given that it takes time and money.
Read moreHaving the perfect home isn’t just about building an extension at your Liverpool property and sitting back to let it look after yourself – you’ve really got to make an ongoing effort to ensure that your home remains your castle. And because we lead such busy lives these days, this can sometimes become a little bit overwhelming and be a little on the tricky side to fit everything in.
Which is why you might want to check out Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix, a series of inspiring home makeovers by the tidying expert herself which aims to help you ditch the clutter at home and embrace joy at the same time. Best-selling author Ms Kondo actually launched her tidying consultancy when she was just a 19-year-old university student living in Tokyo. And now she’s world renowned, helping people all over the globe transform their cluttered little houses to create spaces of inspiration and serenity.
Read moreIf you’re planning to make your conservatory a more usable and pleasant space next year by investing in new conservatory roofs in Liverpool, you may also want to update some of the other design features.
Country Living recently shared the top garden design trends for 2019, as identified by the Society of Garden Designers, and a number of them will work well in conservatories as well as our outdoor spaces.
Among them is a desire for what Joe Perkins describes as “sculptural” plants. These are houseplants that add some drama and structure to a space.
Read moreWhile you may be considering extensions for your Liverpool home, for some homeownership alone is enough of a challenge. However, City Mayor Joe Anderson has launched a new scheme which he hopes will help more of Liverpool’s residents get on the housing ladder.
According to LBN Daily, the ‘ethical’ housing project, called Foundations, will aim to provide rent to buy housing options for low-income families. The scheme aims to create 10,000 new homes across Liverpool in the next decade with investment worth at least £1 billion.
The rent-to-buy scheme will mean that approved tenants will pay a reduced rate, allowing them to save up the money for a deposit to buy the property which they are renting.
Read moreWe all know that there are some interior design trends that we’d like to see consigned to the history books and never reinstated, and a new survey has revealed which things Brits most want to get rid of when it comes to home decor.
At the top of the list, probably unsurprisingly, is woodchip wallpaper. This was named as the worst interior trend by 30 per cent of those surveyed by Terry’s Fabrics, Ideal Home reported.
Not far behind were artex ceilings or walls, with 24 per cent of the vote, and carpeted bathrooms, which 23 per cent would like to banish.
Read moreChristmas can be a hectic time of year, but even more so if you’re scrambling to have home improve-ments, such as an extension, added to your Liverpool home to enjoy during the festivities. It’s a com-mon thought to have to ensure your home becomes ready to welcome family and friends over Christ-mas, and according to research from AA Financial Services, this year has seen a particular boom.
The Property Reporter explained how homeowners are changing the habit of waiting until the summer months to get large renovation projects done, with over 49 per cent planning a home improvement project to some degree.
While the majority of homeowners will be going for a smaller makeover, such as 41 per cent giving a room a lick of new paint, many had made plans to extend or renovate their kitchen. In fact, 12 per cent said they were looking to get their kitchen in shape by Christmas 2018.
Read moreIs there anything more exciting than taking the decision to have new extensions added to your Liverpool home? Any renovation project is a fun undertaking, particularly when the construction and building is finished and you get to have the fun of designing it yourself and really putting your stamp on it.
With a new year just around the corner, now’s the perfect time to take a look to see what interior design trends are likely to pop up in 2019 so you can make sure that all that lovely extra space at home is on trend, stylish and fashionable.
Luckily for us all, Refinery29 has taken it upon itself to have a quick chat with four interior experts to find out what they think will be big news in the world of home décor over the coming 12 months… and you’re sure to find a bit of inspiration in there somewhere.
Read moreIf you’re thinking of making some home improvements this autumn, you could do worse than to invest in new sash windows in Liverpool. Boosting your home security is always a good idea, but especially at this time of the year.
A recent article for About Manchester explained why installing modern windows will make it less likely that your home will be targeted by thieves.
It focused particularly on sash windows, noting that new sash windows offer a number of security benefits over their older counterparts, without compromising on style. For example, traditional sash windows can often have mechanical failures.
This can make them easier to open, as well as difficult to close, both of which can pose a security risk. Because they are typically single glazed, it is also much easier for a burglar to gain access to a property by smashing them.
Read moreFor most of us, upgrading our windows might involve a bit of upheaval, but generally, the work is complete within a few days and life can go back to normal. However, the same is not true if you are a member of the royal family.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to renovate their Kensington Palace apartment by replacing windows and repairing its roof, the newlyweds had to delay moving into the palatial apartment for several months.
The Daily Mail reported how the £1.4 million upgrade on Apartment 1 has come to an end, which means the couple can finally move into their marital home, after having tied the knot in May earlier this year.
Read moreOne in ten people move house after being burgled, new research has found. Property Reporter shared the findings of a survey by insurer Policy Expert, which revealed that many people feel unsafe in their home after being burgled.
The survey revealed that 12 per cent of those whose homes are targeted by thieves feel as though they can no longer stay there, while eight per cent did not feel as though they could be alone in the property any more.
What’s more, 32 per cent of those questioned suffered sleepless nights following a burglary. The findings show that burglary can have a significant impact on people’s health and wellbeing, far beyond the monetary value of any items that are stolen.
Read moreConservatories are typically reserved for summer use, allowing the sunlight of the summer months to flood through the room, brightening it up and warming up the space. However, it seems like such a waste to shut off an entire room for winter every year, when there are many ways you can still the make the most of your conservatory when the weather turns cold.
Of course, one of the most common reasons for avoiding the conservatory during winter is because they get incredibly cold, not being connected to the main central heating system.
However, there are a few simple ways you can heat it up that will make it a cosy, homely space all year round.
Read moreMany property owners are daunted by the prospect of replacing all the windows of their house, but sometimes installing new windows in their Liverpool home is necessary.
Here is a simple guide to help you work out when it is time to repair your windows and when you should take the jump and replace them all.
Read moreOfgem has taken action against some of the UK’s biggest energy suppliers over their complaints procedures, claiming they are leaving customers extremely unsatisfied.
The energy regulator has four compliance cases open regarding complaint handling by First Utility, Ovo Energy, ScottishPower and Utilita. What’s more, in response to Ofgem’s recent complaints handling survey, it has demanded 11 of the major energy providers improve their customer complaints’ process.
Its findings showed only 32 per cent of domestic customers are satisfied with how their grievance was dealt with.
Read moreWhatever kind of home improvement project you’re undertaking, whether it’s fitting aluminium windows in Liverpool or having a loft conversion carried out, you need to ensure that you have all the right paperwork.
Although this might not seem important to you, when you come to sell your property it could be.
Property Reporter recently highlighted some of the pitfalls homeowners fall into when it comes to making home improvements, and struggling to recoup the money they’ve spent when they sell and move on.
Read moreMake no mistake – deciding to have an extension added to your Liverpool home is a very big decision and not one to be entered into lightly. There’s an awful lot of research you need to do first so that you know you’re getting exactly what you want for your new conservatory or similar kind of building – so here are a few words of wisdom for us here at Vision Home Improvements to help you get off on the right foot.
First of all, you need to work out what you want to use this extra space for. Figure out exactly how much space you’ll actually have to play around with and come up with a basic design, deciding what your main priorities are for using the room. This will help you figure out certain styles and design additions, whether you want something with lots of period features or would prefer a more contemporary aesthetic.
Once this step has been completed, you should start getting in touch with professional builders and contractors and get a series of quotes – at least three or four – so that you can figure out how much certain work will cost and so you know you’re not going to get ripped off. While recommendations from friends are a good place to start, don’t forget to check out reviews online so you don’t find yourself caught out later down the line.
Read moreThe Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is calling on the government to provide more help for landlords who want to make energy efficiency improvements to their properties.
According to the organisation, there is far more that could be done to incentivise landlords to make changes that will boost the energy efficiency of their properties, thereby leading to lower bills for their tenants.
One of the things they’re calling for is for more energy efficiency improvements to be tax deductible. They argue that any improvements recommended on a property’s energy performance certificate (EPC) should be tax deductible.
Read moreWhen you think about getting new windows for your Liverpool home, you’re probably focusing on the aesthetics and energy efficiency more than on how this kind of change could improve your health.
However, new research has found that making some simple upgrades to your property could have a significant impact on your overall health, particularly among older people.
Writing for the Independent, Sarah Rodgers, a professor in epidemiology at Swansea University who was involved in the research project, explained that their aim was to explore the link between hospital admissions and the state of people’s properties.
Read moreNew windows for your Liverpool home could prove to be an effective cost-saving measure, as well as a profitable one.
Recent research has shown that a new boiler and central heating are the most profitable improvements that can be made to homes in the UK. Other changes that could improve the energy efficiency of a home were also popular, the survey showed.
Double glazing was one of the most popular projects, with 29 per cent of people saying they were considering installing it, while 28 per cent saying they were thinking of a new boiler or plumbing.
Read moreThis time of year is certainly a delightful one, with bright sunshine and warm sunny days welcoming us each time we leave the house. But as wonderful as the summer months are, they can also be a little bit on the noisier side when compared to winter, as people spend more time outside… and if you live in a busy residential area, you could soon start to feel as though your peace and quiet has all but disappeared.
But the good news is that you don’t have to carry on living like this and if you feel that it’s got to the point where the noise is starting to have an impact on your health and wellbeing, it’s definitely time to take action.
So what can you do to help reduce outside noise at home? Creating a barrier is a good idea as this will help to block out noise. Consider installing a solid fence or something like a masonry wall to truly deaden sound, although if you’d prefer something a bit more aesthetically pleasing trees or some hedgerow might be the way to go. Going for something evergreen if you want to go down the tree route is wise because this will provide you with noise protection all year round.
Read moreBig, beautiful bi-fold doors in your Liverpool home will probably be something you both agree on that you love - but if only all decisions were so easy when it comes to renovating! Every little detail needs to be chosen, and this isn’t so easy when both parties involved have strong opinions about different elements of the plan, whether that be the type of windows, or the overall plan down to something as tiny as the skirting board colour.
According to a new study carried out by Independent Network, home improvements are the cause of millions of fallouts between couples. Across the UK, 2,000 men and women were questioned for the research, with one in six of them admitting to having fallen out with their partner over home renovations and DIY.
Of the respondents, almost half of people asked said that carrying out improvements on their home was an extremely stressful time. One in five even said that either one or the other had not been happy or agreed to carry out work in the first place, with 16 per cent saying one of the main subjects of conflict was not agreeing on a budget to carry out the work.
Read moreIt can be easy to get complacent about your home security, but it’s important that you regularly review it to make sure that your property is always safe when you’re out and about.
The Lancashire Evening Post recently spoke to Anthony Neary, managing director of safe.co.uk, about what steps you can take to make sure your home is as secure and safe as possible.
One thing you should consider is replacing any old doors with newer, more secure options. Fitting Rockdoors in Liverpool, which are particularly hard wearing and secure, is just one thing to consider.
Read moreMaking a house a home is a big undertaking and there are all sorts of decorating and design ideas that you’ll need to think about in order to achieve your dream castle… but with so many products out there on the market, making decisions can be incredibly difficult – and it’s always worth researching everything properly so you know you’re getting exactly what you want and you won’t be wasting any money on something you won’t like in a few months’ time.
Your front door is certainly something you should think long and hard about before spending any money, particularly if you want to up sticks and move on in the near future. It’s all about making a good first impression and, apart from your front yard, the front door will be the first impression that anyone has of your home – and you want it to be a good one!
Read moreIf you’re about to embark on a big home improvement project like having new conservatories installed at your Liverpool home, you’re sure to want to get out of the house to escape the noise and dust, and to stop yourself from getting under the feet of your contractor as they try to sort out your property extension.
Should this sound like a familiar story, then you’re certainly in luck this month – the Three Festivals Tall Ships Regatta 2018 is coming back to Liverpool once again in May, with the magnificent fleet sailing from the city to Dublin and then on to Bordeaux in France in a seriously exciting race that takes the able seamen through the Irish and Celtic seas, as well as the Bay of Biscay...
