An ingenious, ultra cheap survey tool, for surveying and measuring Bay windows and Conservatory bows

Some surveyors don’t like surveying Bay Windows. Over the years I have seen quite a few surveyors struggle with the measuring of replacement like for like bay windows and just recently a surveyor friend of mine asked me for some advice on surveying bays, which prompted me to tell you about the methods that I have used successfully and in particular one ingenious, very cheap piece of equipment that has been invaluable to me successfully surveying bay windows, along with many other uses for this simple piece of kit in the surveying and inspection process.

Are you making the most of your sales opportunities in the current climate? – Part 3

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Here we go the final part 3 of the article where it all makes sense

The answer really is quite simple………….

It might sound a bit blasé, but the answer really is that simple!……. You have to use the markets leading user-friendly conservatory and orangery sales, survey and ordering software.

Gone are the days where potential customers will spend 10, 20, 30, maybe 40k or more based on a simple lined sketch drawn on the back of a cigarette packet. With more and more customers using the internet they have become more knowledgeable about the designs they desire and the price range of that design. The majority of customers know that 3D design imagery is available and will expect to see you using it as a fundamental part of the service you provide and if you don’t provide that professional service, another company will and what’s more they’ll win the sale!

Can you really afford not to use an industry leading, result proven, software package and leave other companies to sweep up the business that’s out there?  Especially when the very precious leads, you’ve worked so hard to get fail to be converted into sales. I don’t think so!

Take a look at the short introduction video clip below

Happy days are here again ! A brand new Trade Show has been launched

Over the years in the double glazing industry one thing I have really looked forward to and enjoyed was the annual day out with colleagues at the industry trade shows in the NEC Birmingham such as Glassex and then Interbuild.

Without doubt in the early years Glassex was the best trade show around and you could get a preview of the latest industry innovations coupled with meeting people who have the same enthusiasm for the industry. It was without doubt a good day out, where you could see new products, meet suppliers and build business relations with companies. Sad times for us all, when it shrank, year on year and eventually died a death.

A small amount of double glazing exhibitors then showed at Interbuild which was more of a   construction show than a double glazing exhibition. It was like as if they had nowhere else to exhibit their products. The double glazing side of the exhibition was quite limited with not that many   exhibiters attending. At Interbuild you could see all the things you were interested in an hour or so, whereas back in the day you could spend all day in Glassex and still not cover it all.

As I said happy days are here again! A brand new Trade Show has been launched..

Are you making the most of your sales opportunities in the current climate? – Part 2

In Part 1 of this article I talked about the 10 things you would like to improve in your sales business.

Following on, Part 2 will help you reduce those costly, frustrating, profit draining parts of your sales business that I know you will not be happy with. I’m not trying to tell you how to suck eggs, but I’ve always found it helps to get a little reminder to jog the old grey matter into seeing what you may be missing and how you can improve certain areas.

Quite often, when you are in a high pressure environment with lots going on it is difficult to see what to do for the best. We sometimes loose our way a little, I know it happens to me at times and it can be a breath of fresh air when someone looks from outside the goldfish bowl with a unpressurised  view and gives us some pointers. I’m the first one to thank them for showing me things I couldn’t see for looking. Even if you only pick up on one thing it will have been worth while listening.

I’ll bet the top ten reductions you would like to see in your business are…

Are you making the most of your sales opportunities in the current climate? – Part 1

If you’re not you should be! ………… What’s more you can, quite easily!

This article isn’t about the different sales techniques you use. It’s about the tools you must have to do the job.

You wouldn’t send a bricklayer out to lay bricks without a trowel!,  or an electrician out to change a plug socket without a screwdriver,  So why send your sales representatives out on a lead that’s already cost you a lot of money, without the tools he needs to successfully convert your valuable lead into a sale? It just wouldn’t make sense.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could improve ten important things in your sales business?

You’re going to be pleased when I explain what tools you need and how that will dramatically increase your sales success…… I’ve split this article into 3 parts so let’s have look at what you need to ensure higher volume profitable sales results.

 Part 1.  Ten improvements you would like to see in your sales business are:-

Are you aware the regulations for the responsibility of sewers and lateral drains are changing on 1 October 2011.

The Government has decided that from October 2011 water and sewage companies should take over around 200,000 kilometres of private sewers and drains across England and Wales

Why did they change the regulations?

How have the regulations changed?

What affect will the changes have on Home owners, Conservatories, Orangeries and extensions.

(I have tried to outline the basic regulations and effects they may have, but if you are unsure of anything contact your local authority)

Why did they change the regulations?

The Government believes that transferring responsibility will provide the fairest, simplest and most efficient way to tackle problems faced by many householders.

Householders were the owners of private sewers and lateral drains and were often unaware of their associated responsibilities and liabilities. Prior to 1^st October 2011 access issues and disputes could be common, where a private sewer or drain serves a number of properties, blockages and ongoing maintenance could see neighbours at loggerheads over who should pay when there was a blockage somewhere along shared private pipe work. It used to lead to neighbourly disputes and end up with someone paying to get a blockage removed when they didn’t necessarily cause it in the first place. The transfer will stop the financial threat of customers being hit with huge repair bills for sewers that sometimes aren’t even on their property and the costs shared by all home owners.

Conservatory and Orangery designs on an iPad screen

Several years ago I spent a lot of time training and setting up sales software for Conservatories, Orangeries and Window and Door sales forces. One of the things that became immediately apparent was that sales reps struggled with their customers to sit at ease and view a laptop screen and they struggled with the viewing angles and light issues on laptop screens and always seemed to be uncomfortably huddled together around the laptop.

Customers have to feel at ease with the sales environment and to overcome this was easy in showrooms

Install Conservatory Cavity trays and vertical dpc’s or not – The debate continiues

The Renegade Conservatory Guy who is a respected in the industry for his views, has recently taken interest in my cavity tray and vertical dpc articles and has asked the same basic questions to some of his readers, whether to fit them or not and is there a difference between the sales guys and the technical guys in their views on this issue? (Link to his article at bottom of page) I would like to thank him for his interest and his reader’s views, which range from quite sensible approaches to some that I found comical in content and humour.

In light of such diverse opinions I have decided to publish some more technical information which may or may not, help those who are unsure on the decision they need to make on guaranteeing a waterproof conservatory. (My original article links below)

Do you sell, survey and install cavity trays on Conservatories ? If you don’t sooner or later it will cost you.

Do all Conservatory and Orangery surveyors specify vertical dpc’s against the house walls on Conservatory and Orangery Installations

After many years surveying and managing installations across a very broad area of the country, I can categorically tell you if the house is face brick cavity construction, the only way you can guarantee 100% waterproof integrity of the conservatory is to fit cavity trays. If you don’t then the water ingress is always going to be a roll of the dice. “Some people may have rolled lucky sixes years, but you won’t keep winning on the roll of a dice forever”

It appears there are very varied opinions on whether or not cavity trays and vertical dpc’s are required in certain areas of the country or not. Some offer them as part of the sale. Some opinions are purely based on cost of sale. Some have said, they have never had a single leak in thousands of installations fitted without cavity trays, or vertical dpc’s. Then there were those who stated that they have installed in the Scottish Highlands and had no problems. Others will insist that their areas are classed as “sheltered areas”.

To clarify this point I have published a map that shows areas of wind driven rain and it appears to show only a very small proportion  of the UK as being a “sheltered area”

Do all Conservatory and Orangery surveyors specify vertical dpc’s against the house walls on Conservatory and Orangery Installations

I think it’s fair to say, that the  majority of good companies fit vertical dpc’s between the conservatory frames and the house wall, but there are some out there that don’t.

Over the years I have seen the costs of remedial works as a result of not fitting vertical dpc’s and the subsequent remedial efforts to rectify the associated damp ingress. I’ve been told by several installation companies lately that they do not fit vertical dpc’s where the conservatory frames meet the house wall.

“My advice is, always fit vertical dpc’s where any conservatory frames abut house walls, why take the chance of possible water ingress. The cost isn’t even worth mentioning in the grand scheme, as it is negligible”

You will all at some time seen damp ingress in the bottom corner of the frame at internal cill and ring beam levels, some people will try to attribute this to poor mastic seals. The fact of the matter is, that you should be able to dry fit a conservatory frame against a house wall installing correctly fitted vertical dpc’s without any water ingress taking place.

“They built houses and fitted timber frames without mastic for years using properly installed dpc’s as water barriers and didn’t have damp ingress problems, provided the dpc’s were correctly”

In this article I have tried to outline the importance of fitting vertical dpc’s where the conservatory frames abut the house wall and inserted a few diagrams to show successful dpc installation methods.

Are your conservatory customers going to be at risk of radon exposure?

Could your knowledge of how to protect your customers health from this hazard be used as part of the sale and survey procedures?  Should you take the appropriate cheap simple building procedures to reduce the potentially deadly health risk to your customers? Will it make you appear more professional in the customers eyes if you are seen to be looking after their health?

One report has suggested that people do not know or understand and appreciate the dangers of radon gas, which can cause lung cancer at certain levels and there is insufficient knowledge among professional builders and surveyors, resulting in a lack of expert help or advice being available to people who are considering having work done in affected areas.

Dr Michael Clark of the Health Protection agency basically said “We don’t want to alarm people. We all get an amount of radon gas in our homes but some homes in certain areas have higher levels and some relatively cheap, simple precautionary building procedures can significantly reduce the risk of exposure to Radon Gas”

What is Radon? ………..And how can you protect your customers health simply and cheaply?………..