Category Archives: General

A lack of skills and labour shortages has been a hot topic in the construction industry for a while now and many in the window and door sector are talking about the knock-on consequences for our sector as well as on individual businesses. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors published the results of a survey late last year showing how the problem has been gradually worsening for the last five years. The report garnered national coverage in the Telegraph newspaper, bringing the issue to the fore as a major concern for both the industry and the wider economy.

But what is being done about the problem?

Some companies have committed to do their bit to help change.

On April 1^st new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards were introduced, meaning that around 400,000 homes across England and Wales may be rendered unlettable because they waste too much energy.  The new standards say that all commercial and residential rental properties must achieve a rating of Grade E on Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for any new lettings or lease renewals issued after this date.  Any residential properties on existing tenancies must become compliant by 1st April 2020, while commercial properties must meet them by 1^st April 2023.  

Hard to Heat

The revised legislation, originating from The Energy Act 2011, intends for all properties that are hard to heat -  whether through poor insulation, draughty or damp conditions -.

Spring is the time when many homeowners start their home improvement plans. Regardless of what the housing market is doing, people want homes they can be proud of and this often starts at the entrance.  Creating a grand entranceway to a home is becoming increasing popular and according to property experts they are now a “must” to add kerb appeal and style to a property.  Going beyond the extensive choice of composite door styles and colours available, many are painting their door frames to match the door to ‘make the door look bigger and more handsome’.

But, don’t forget about the humble back door!

Often a neglected part of the home, when creating a grand entrance at.

Whether you’re adding an extension or building a new home, linking the outside with the inside is highly desirable. Thanks to design and engineering innovation in the latest bi-fold and patio doors, huge spans of light are now achievable through larger, undisrupted panes of glass. But as beautiful as it is, having light flooding into your room all the time isn’t necessarily practical, so in parallel to the growth in bi-fold doors, more people are opting for blinds to complement their doors. Traditional blinds do a job, but in terms of operation, the headache of cleaning, and the cord safety aspect if you have small children or pets, they’re far from ideal. That’s why Profix is.

The home of Alcon Components Ltd has recently undergone a full office refurbishment, which included a window replacement programme carried out by Profix.  Alcon, established by engineer and sports car racer John Moore, has gone from making brakes for Audi Sport’s Group B Quattro rally cars to providing braking solutions for the top echelons of motorsports, all from their factory and HQ in Tamworth.   To better accommodate the growing team and to make use of their full office space, part of which was derelict, the company carried out a full refurbishment of the two-storey office building attached to their warehouse and factory.  This included the replacement of 42 windows with new, energy efficient PVC-U windows as.