Extending Your Home With A Beautiful Bespoke Sunroom

For some, a sunroom is a luxury that they can ill-afford. Others believe that it’s an unnecessary purchase but these individuals have no real idea what a sunroom can really do. Although a bespoke sunroom is an aesthetically pleasing addition to the home, you’re not spending all the money on mere appearances. The most obvious benefit to having a sunroom is the additional space it provides. However, it’s also a multi-function room which offers a range of entertainment options for the whole family. A bespoke sunroom will add value to your home and it will enable you to get the most of the scant UK sun we treated to.

Clearly, if you’re planning on building a sunroom, space is the major issue. But why choose a sunroom above other extensions? Experts say that a sunroom is one of the easiest and hassle-free extensions you can add to your home. It’s not all that difficult to receive planning permission so long as you stay within the basic requirements outlined by your local council. A sunroom is also far less expensive than other options. In fact, you can even purchase your own DIY kit that allows you to build a sunroom of a considerable size for less. However, it’s recommended that you use professional contractors for best results.

Ask yourself: How much of the sun do I really take in? Most people are busy at work during daylight hours and are too busy socialising or recovering at home from a tiring week during their days off to really enjoy the sun. And it’s not like there is a huge amount of sun to soak up in the first place! With a sunroom, you can relax at home and get all the joys of being out in the sun at the same time. You can even connect the sunroom to your home heating system to enjoy your new extension in the winter. Best of all, a bespoke sunroom can be created in your image. Choose a design depending on what you intend using it for.

Then there is the small matter of increasing the value of your home. With a sunroom, you can enjoy numerous benefits in the knowledge that a substantial chunk of your investment will be recouped if you choose to sell. Research on the property market suggests that more than 50% of a sunroom’s cost will be added to the value of your home. In other words, if you spend £14,000 on the sunroom, it will add at least £7,000 and probably more than £10,000 to the value of your property.

With all the above advantages, there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason not to build a sunroom if you can afford it. Those who like being out in the sunshine but don’t have the time will love what a sunroom can do for them. If you have a growing family, a sunroom can give you the peace and quiet you crave. And if you intend on selling the house one day, a sunroom will add value to your home so expect to get the majority of your investment back. 

Making Your Home Unique With Bifold Doors

Bifold doors can add something new to your home. They have the ability to fold in or out depending on which style you prefer. They are the ultimate savers of space and have a level of convenience that you simply don’t get from regular doors which only open one way and take up a lot of space when they are open.

Bifold doors are typically used for small spaces such as a laundry room or closet but larger models are available to divide rooms. These type of doors are usually hung from tracks located overhead and are suspended by rollers. There is normally a handle or other object which enables you to close the door panels together. You can then move the folded door to the sides which allows you complete access to the area located behind the door.

You can purchase exterior or interior bifold doors and both are incredibly flexible and simple to use. Thanks to the basic tracking system along the panels, even children will have no problem using these doors. It should be noted that if you’re purchasing exterior bifold doors, make sure that the material is designed to stand up to the harsh British weather conditions we are sure to face at various times throughout the year. All exterior bifold doors must meet certain regulations pertaining to insulation, safety and weather rating. Reputable manufacturers of bifold doors routinely test for thermal performance and water penetration resistance.

In general, bifold doors come in pairs with doors that fold to one side or else there are four doors that are split in the middle and have two doors folding back on opposite sides. It’s important to note that the term ‘bifold’ is not specific to two or four doors. Rather, it’s a loosely used term with bifold doors often manufactured to produce an odd number of doors. If you purchase an odd number of bifold doors, you can simply used a swing door.

The flexibility of bifold doors enable you to open them slightly, halfway or all the way. It really depends on the amount of space you need in the home. This gives them a significant advantage over traditional doors. With exterior bifold doors, you can also shine natural light upon a room as well as easily connecting the inside with the outside. You can have your bifold doors custom made to suit your needs. You will probably notice that a lot of restaurants use bifold doors to add space and elegance to their establishment.

What can be done with bifold doors is limited only by your imagination. You have a virtually limitless choice of colours, designs and textures. In general, bifold doors come in aluminium or timber and you can glaze them with laminated glass if you choose. There are a host of high quality bifold door manufacturers that can help you make your home unique. If you’ve ever wanted a home that stands out from all others, bifold doors can help you achieve this. 

Adding Value To Your Home With New Windows

If you’re still living in a home with single pane windows or else your existing double glazing is extremely old, you’re losing money in more ways than one. Assuming you have single pane windows in every room in the home, around 60% of the heat produced by the house is escaping through these windows. It’s also a good idea to look upon new double glazing windows as an investment. Not only will they make your home more desirable and likely to sell, they may add a few thousand pounds to the asking price. You don’t necessarily need triple glazed windows because they don’t offer much of an improvement over double glazing and they cost far more.

Even if you have no interest in selling your home, installing double glazing windows will reduce the amount of heat that escapes your home by at least 25%. Double glazing is so effective because the two sheets of glass have a layer of air in between them which aids insulation. This gap between the glass can also be filled with Argon or Krypton, both of which are more effective than air. Argon is the better value for money option.

And it’s this energy efficiency that you can use as a major selling point for your home. Families with double glazing in all rooms can expect to save around £200 a year on the energy bill. Then there is the small point of doing your bit to reduce carbon emissions. Choose windows with a low-emissivity coating as this is the best insulator. This coating allows heat to come in from the outside but prevents heat from escaping the room. You should also take care to choose the correct material for the window frame. Although one frame may be more energy efficient than another, you have to choose a material that suits the home. A house that looks stylish with wooden frames should not have aluminium frames that make the home look ghastly. It may seem like a minor point but most prospective buyers will be immediately turned off a home if it looks ugly from the outside.

Also, new double glazing will improve the security of the home, another huge selling point. Which would you rather buy: A house with old windows that look like they could be penetrated by a teenage hoodlum or a place with sturdy windows which look extremely tough to bypass? No homeowner in their right mind will choose a house that can be broken into easily. Several weeks or months could pass by before they get settled and have the opportunity to get in new windows themselves. If you take care of this problem, your chances of selling the home dramatically increase.

There is no doubt that new double glazing windows add a significant amount of value to your home as well as making it look more attractive. Homes with new windows will always sell faster than those with old single pane windows that allow energy to escape. And if you don’t sell the home, at least you benefit from all the advantages that new double glazing offers. 

Changing Your Home With New Doors

In the latest episode of increasing the value of your home without spending thousands of pounds, we show you the importance of having new doors. Even if you’re just looking to spruce up your home, installing a new set of doors could work wonders. Perhaps you have just moved in and notice that all the houses in your area have the same type of doors. If you are an extrovert and enjoy standing out, it’s only natural that you would want to change. Likewise, you may just find the existing doors extremely dull and downright ugly. Here are a few tips on changing your door that don’t break the bank as well as information on the importance of composite doors.

If you have just moved into a home, it’s imperative that you change the locks even if you don’t want to install a new door. Bear in mind that the previous homeowner may have a spare set of keys on their person or else one of their friends has a set. Indeed, even home builders are known to hand out a set of keys to contractors. The bottom line is that you don’t want strangers potentially having access to your home. Rather than change all the locks, remove the locks and take them to a hardware store where they can be re-keyed.

If you can’t afford to install new doors, there is always the possibility of making some changes to your existing doors. The most obvious alteration is a coat of fresh new paint which can really transform your doors. Other inexpensive ways to spruce up your doors include buying new doorknobs, brass letterboxes and a house number made from stainless steel. You could purchase all three for around £70 a door.

The ultimate solution is of course to get in brand new doors. It’s recommended that you choose composite doors because they are the heaviest, thickest and most impenetrable doors on the market. They are not that much more expensive than standard doors and come in billions of different design/colour combinations. If every single home on the planet had composite doors on the front and back of the house, there is every possibility that no two doors would look exactly the same.

Composite doors look fresh and colourful and are a massive deterrent to criminals in the area. These doors are known as the toughest to break down because of their sheer weight and thickness. Composite doors are made from several different materials and are designed to be as energy efficient as possible. Significantly less heat escapes from homes with composite doors than from those without which is great news for families during the winter.

Although most homeowners like to make major changes inside their home, they can’t afford to neglect the exterior also. Whether you choose to add a few new touches to existing doors or install composite doors, it’s essential that you don’t allow your home to have nasty and tacky front and back doors. Doors add to the look of home as much as anything else you can view from the outside.