Archive for September, 2009
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
I have been out delivering Fireplaces this morning to Hampshire, Salisbury, London and Bedfordshire and I returned back at 2.30 pm to meet a customer at the workshop who wanted to swap some Tiles as he wasn’t sure about the colour of the tiles and wanted another set.
He came from Shepshed, which is only 25 miles from our factory, and I met him there and showed him alternatives, which he went away with another set saying how pleased he was with our service.
I saw another two customers and we had one appointment who did not appear and my builder mate who collected the stove right on time said I looked tired I replied its your fault making me work later on a Sunday. He smiled and gave me a pat on the back and said go home and get to bed (I wish I could).
So when I Got back to the office and had this email I could not believe it
Mark Adams.
Hi
I recently purchased a Firefox stove from you which was burning within 3 hours of delivery.
We are very pleased with it and more importantly we were very impressed that it arrived when you said it would and that it was delivered right to the Hearth!
Thank you for your reliability.
Jenny
Now that is from Mrs Briggs in Salisbury who we delivered the stove to this morning at 9am they even had it fitted and running before id even got to drop number 5 in Harpenden at 12.30.
They must have unpacked it and started the minute I left the house I have never had anybody reply saying they had it working before I had even got home.
Emails and comments like that always make us feel special that we have done our best and we have delivered yet again a great service word of mouth is one of our best forms of advertising and certainly the cheapest so we want you to be happy with the goods and service we offer if not please inform us and we can do something about it and we take all comments whether good or bad very seriously.
Tags: Factory, firefox 8, Fireplace, Fireplaces, Fitted, Multi Fuel, Stoves, Tiles
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Saturday, September 19th, 2009
I have taken the day off today and left Rhian in charge of the business as me and my two kids Melissa and Jaiden have been to watch Forest play. It was Jaidens 1st Football match as he is only four but we lost so it was a little disappointing but what can you do.
My lovely wife has coped really well answering the phones and taking fireplace and stove orders all day and when I returned at 7pm there was a pile of orders for me to add to our delivery schedule.
I am out delivering to London in the morning and have three appointments booked in at our showroom in the afternoon and a collection of a Tiger Plus Stove from a local builder who has had probably 20 in the last year he always collects and is a really funny man too so we always have a laugh funnily enough he has no internet contact and always has me post out brochures and price lists for our stoves out to his customers at least once a week.
I am sure he is on a mission to turn the whole of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire into solid fuel users I have my suspicions he owns a coal merchant or log business too.
Sales of solid fuel stoves have really risen in the last few weeks and we have now doubled the amount of stoves we keep in stock to ensure we can keep on top of all our orders over the next few months so if you do require a multi fuel stove or fireplace take a look at our website I am sure we have some of the hottest offers to be found on any website or indeed in any high street shop
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Friday, September 18th, 2009
Fridays at Cast Fireplaces are always busy days we have one of our delivery vans loaded which is my run this weekend and the other van as I am writing this at 6.30 pm is still working its way back to the factory from Sunny Devon via it seems every village on the way home.
The great British roads have again added two and half hours on today’s delivery time but what can you do.
He rang me at 15 minutes ago to tell me he was in Burton and had 1 more to do in Loughborough then we will start all over again on Sunday.
I do have all the fireplaces ready to lad straight on Stus van so we will be home in no time.
The antique Pembroke fireplace has been black leaded today and I must say it was hard work as it was bare cast iron it kept absorbing the grate polish like a sponge I dint want to black undercoat it with heat temp paint as I don’t want to get rid of the pitting marks the customer wants.
I am not 100% sure if I like the finish on it I suppose being used to blacking the fireplace I like to see them perfect when ive done them but it is a long time ago since I black leaded shot blasted grey cast iron anyway im sure we used to mix it with white spirits so it soaked in easily but I did this raw as the customer also wants it slightly patchy so it can rust too.
I am sure they will be very pleased with the final product when it gets delivered next week as soon as our Website updates are in place I will post photo as and tell you more about it then.
We are still having technical problems with our website doing want we want it to do that’s why these updates are taking there time but in the end it will be well worth it and that is why our website article section is slow to load.
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Thursday, September 17th, 2009
Today I have had the delivery from hell to do normally we do not struggle with deliveries and we always say we can take the fireplace into any room of your choice and wherever you want it.
Well today I have been to Preston and Liverpool delivering and came to my 3rd drop of the morning to be told its going up stairs my heart sank when I heard it was the top floor looking up at these beautiful Victorian terrace houses.
Not one to be mardy I grabbed the cast iron and marched up 48 stairs yes I counted them on the fourth time up just to remind me what hard work it was and continued with the rest of the fireplace bits inc the granite hearth.
The highlight of this trip was carrying a Kingston Marble surround that I had unboxed on the pavement also upstairs too by the time I had finished I was pouring with sweat and my legs felt like jelly. Now I would say I am quite strong but this nearly killed me and Mrs Hanley even brought me an orange drink, which was very welcome.
So as you can see we do deliver the fireplace anywhere you want it but please inform us if it is upstairs so we can add extra time onto our route for unloading we do not charge extra for this fantastic delivery service of ours so why would you shop anywhere else no body else offers this service and would be surprised if anybody else was mad enough thank god the delivery in Huyton after that went into his garage im not joking I was still shaking when I arrived there and delivered yet another stone fireplace. Really must ring gallery to see if they can make them out of paper mache it would be far easier for us here.
Ooh forgot to say thanks again to Mrs Hanley for my £10 tip I am out to dinner tonight with my wife and will have nice bottle of wine with it then ill forget all about the steps.
Tags: delivery, Fireplace, Fireplaces, Service
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Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
Today we have collected the Pembroke Fireplace from the shot blasters that we are making look old for a customer all the nice matt black paint has been removed and we are now down to a grey clean cast iron base.
It looks very strange looking at this item as we are used to seeing them all blacked up ready to go out I must say though it does look more distressed now, the grit they have used to remove paint and some white under coat type material is quite coarse and has pitted the cast iron of the fireplace.
All I have to do now to complete this “antique” process is to black it up with some black lead grate polish I even have an old tube of the original zebo grate polish which you cant but anymore there all eco friendly these days and I must say not as easy to use or is that me being nostalgic.
This little project I have taken on for our customer and also for me I am interested to see how it will turn out and what the customer thinks of the finished article.
So in a sad way I am looking forward to getting back to the factory tomorrow and in between loading the large van for this Fridays Devon Run (that’s 3 time in 3 weeks god it’s a long drive) I will be polishing this fireplace to give it the traditional look.
Can you imagine going into a fireplace showroom and asking for this service you would have more chance winning the lottery we have always been different here at Cast Fireplaces and always try to please our customers in whatever way we can.
Must remember to take camera tomorrow to photo it before I black it up will post photos in later Article showing before and after pictures.
Right off to fill my log store as my mate has just dropped me half a trailer of logs of he had spare he couldn’t fit in his shed.
Thanks that saved me a few pounds no doubt ill pay it back in the pub but hey that’s what friends are for.
Tags: Black Lead, Cast Iron, Combination, Fireplace, Fireplaces, Pemborke
Posted in Cast Iron Fireplaces | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Why do we charge for delivery of our fireplaces when other companies do free delivery was a question I was asked today (which after I had explained he ordered fireplace set).
Well the answer is nothing is ever free, other companies add the delivery price into the price of the item and then call it free delivery.
We operate things differently on our website we do charge for our own personal delivery service and the rates start from £15 for our fireplace sets.
We do this on a postcode system as all our items are delivered by our own vehicles basically the further you are away from us the more expensive it becomes.
Most of the country is a standard charge of £50, which has been held for 5 years at this price even with the cost of diesel and van insurance going through the roof so im sure you will find it exceptional value.
Our prices shown on our postcode finder on our Delivery Page are correct so you can always check delivery price before order.
We have always had customer collection from us here at Cast Fireplaces and this is one of the main reasons we don’t hide delivery cost in our prices why should someone collecting from us pay for an item with delivery price included its just not right.
Don’t forget if you do have your items delivered by us we deliver them in our own sign written vans with uniformed driver and will bring the goods into your house and deliver into whichever room you require.
All this is done with a unique one-hour time delivery slot and we deliver to London and the south on a Sunday so you do not even have to take the day off work.
The rest of the UK also benefits from our one hour timed personal delivery service and we can arrange for early morning deliveries before you go to work.
So ask yourself this why say free delivery when its built into the price anyway and why charge somebody the same rate to someone who lives in Southampton to someone who lives 5 miles from us that is why we operate the way we do its fair to all our customers and they get a better service shopping at Cast Fireplaces take a look at our Comments page to see what our previous customer have said about us
Tags: Coments, delivery, Fireplace, Fireplaces, Free Delivery
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Monday, September 14th, 2009
Hello we have had a busy day today with items arriving the Jig rep has again been to see us and bring our samples of the new items we are going to be offering on our website and I must say they look fantastic.
He has also dropped off a batch load of surrounds we have bought at an incredible price so watch out for those in our bargain sections very shortly.
Richard the Jig rep again remarked at how many Fireplaces we keep in stock and remarked that all the companies he has been too he has never seen so much in stock anywhere else apart from the trade suppliers they deal with he also commented on the forklift that I was driving and restacking items when he arrived at our factory.
All the items were swiftly unloaded from his van and placed into stock ready to photograph so they can go on our website.
I am going to set aside a day next week when I photo all these new items we have so you can see them all and purchase them on our website.
On returning to the office today I had a call from our website company for me to ring re website update we currently have running it looks like our site may need some major alteration to make it work how we want it too.
So they are now underway with that after agreeing costs and I have been forwarded test page and new admin section to test out and list items to see how it runs and after an hour or two I must say I’m impressed with the new features we have coming not just easier for our customers but I can then look at items and sales patterns at a push of a button to say im excited is an understatement so expect more on this matter the closer going live date gets.
Right off to walk the dog and have an hour out busy day again tomorrow more thing s to move and more goods arriving Wednesday along with loading vans.
Tags: Fireplace, Fireplaces, JIG, New, stock
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Sunday, September 13th, 2009
We have today answered strange Questions here at cast fireplaces I should have rolled over this morning and had another hours sleep to prepare me for answering them but I was out delivering and was up at 5am.
When I first opened up emails this afternoon I was pleased to see two orders from our website and promptly dealt with them and arranged delivery one was 1 mile from where I had been today in Hornchurch Essex but what can you do about that.
I just looked at the question that said do we sell Fireplaces? Now with our website name being www.castfireplaces.co.uk it does suggest we may sell fireplaces so I emailed them back enquiring what they were after.
The next email was a simple fitting query and the third one I read made me burst out laughing it asked whether the cast iron fireplaces we sell can be damaged a little bit to make them look more antique now that is a strange question to ask but to be honest I think I know where they are coming from.
When we were at Derwentside we used to distress (our technical name for rough up) furniture to make it look older than it really was we have been known to use a chain to distress table tops and belt sanders to add wear to Butchers blocks, now I have never attempted to do this to cast iron as it is very brittle so I suggested we could have the fireplace shot blasted and then just black leaded so it’s a little pitted and not as smooth as the ones we do supply.
With this news she was thrilled and ordered a Pembroke Fireplace to be shot blasted and black-leaded and even suggested to polish it sparingly so they could see some bare cast through it so they could get some rust spots.
So off its going tomorrow to our local shot blast to have it grit blasted which is the coarsest you can do im not sure how this is going to turn out I have had original fireplaces bead blasted to remove paint but nothing this severe anyway I will keep you informed of how things turn out.
So if you do have a strange question just email it to us there can’t be that many left that we have not heard off it certainly keeps us on our toes
Tags: antique, Black Lead, Cast Iron, distressed, firplace, shot blasted
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Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Hello to you all I have been off today and Rhian has been in the office answering emails and taking orders I have been to watch Forest play Sheffield Wednesday which was a 1-1 draw.
Anyway back to our little fireplace world I am convinced the world has gone Stove mad again and the amount of Solid Fuel Fireplaces we have sold this week has been crazy so much for our thinking gas sales are on the rise again this week has seen nothing but solid fuel use fireplaces with a few gas fireplace sets thrown in too.
We do have to monitor sales patterns to make sure we keep enough items in stock and are in contact with our suppliers to see which items to stock and which Fireplaces we intend to sell over the next few months.
All this forward planning we bulk order items to ensure we remain one if not the most competitive on or offline for all your gallery fireplace needs.
I am out delivering to London in the morning but I have the easy run and will be back in time for out three customer appointments we have booked in to view tomorrow we really do work 7 days a week and will arrange viewing by appointment to suit our customers please contact us to arrange viewing
Tags: Fireplace, Fireplaces, Gallery, solid fuel, Stoves
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Friday, September 11th, 2009
After a long day delivering Fireplaces today I was back on time thanks to trusty sat nav to meet 3pm appointment that had come all the way from Workington in Cumbria to collect Tiger Plus Stove from us that he had seen in his local fireplace shop at £485.
We sell this model at £325 so he would have made a big saving. After viewing the stoves we keep on display in our showroom he changed his mind and had a Firefox 8 Multi Fuel Stove which is very similar in size but has a higher output.
He said he just preferred this stove and enquired whether amongst the large pile of stoves we have whether we had it in stock.
Of Course the answer was yes and the Flue and stove were promptly loaded into his car and away he went with measurements for the Oak Lincoln we sell to measure that up too with his chimneybreast.
That is the beauty of visiting our showroom and factory we do keep lots of choice in stock so customers can view a good selection of the Gallery range of fireplaces.
Rhian has been busy in the office too answering emails and calls and confirming delivery times for this weekends deliveries.
Ok I’m off now back to the factory to finish loading the last of the goods that need to go on the forklift has come in handy today loading up an Asquith Limestone mantel I never forget how heavy they are, a lovely mantel but they are back breaking.
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