On Friday last week we spent most of the day photographing new Limestone and Timber Mantel packages for our website.
These are all products that we will be featuring when we get 5 minutes to list them.
We have two new oak timber surrounds and two new limestone surrounds that we have put together as packages with various arched and tiled fireplaces to offer them for sale at discounted prices.
we have also taken a lot more photos of one of our best selling timber mantels the Pine Large Corbel which is infact a Jig fireplace that we have stocked for years.This will now be sold agin with a selection of arched and tiled fireplaces and will compliment our already large range.
We are also in the process of finalising a deal which will see a good deal more Multifuel Stoves join our range of Tiger and Firefox stoves.
I have also taken delivery of brand new gallery brochures and am pleased to tell you the Firefox 12 Stove now has a boiler option capable of heating up to 8 radiators as well as a good room size anyway more of that tomorrow when we do full feature on new stove items.
So keep on reading our articles sedction to see what great new items Castfireplaces has to offer
Archive for October, 2009
Two more Limestone fireplaces join our every growing range
Saturday, October 31st, 2009Largest Timber Fireplace Surround we have ever made
Friday, October 30th, 2009We have today finished the largest timber surround we have ever made it is based on the Worcester Pine mantel and has an opening size 54 inches wide and 50 inches high.
The customer rang us after reading one of our articles as to whether we could make such a surround to fit around this opening shown below.
The customer emailed me this after me questioning opening sizes were right
Yes it’s a very big opening. We’ve just discovered an original Cotswold stone fire chamber behind a plasterboard wall in our house and had it opened up and a stove put in (see attached picture).
The opening is big, but needs finishing off somehow so we are thinking about using a pine surround.
So have a look at the photo they sent me
As you can see something does need to be done to hide some of the rugged stone work and Mr Cottingham has requested the mantel to be unfinished so they can match it too some existing polished timber they have.
This mantel is around 60 inches high with the mantel on so it is quite a strange looking item but im 100% sure when fitted in place on the customers chimney breast it will finish of what will be a great looking fireplace.
After Mr Cottingham has fitted it I will ask him if he can send us a photo of the finished item so we can add this to this article for you to compare.
Don’t forget we offer a full made to measure service for any timber mantel whether it be in MDF Pine Oak or any timber you fancy so please email or ring us for a quote for our great bespoke service
Fireplace shops we are quicker, cheaper and can get it fitted before you too
Thursday, October 29th, 2009If I order a fireplace today will I get it delivered and fitted before Christmas I was asked today now I know time is going pretty quick but the lady in question had been told by some shop in Derby that to get fitting and delivery before the big day in December they had to order by Friday and it would be fitted 21st December.
I spoke to our fitter who fits all of our fireplaces and stoves in the local surrounding areas and he said 1st week in December so not only will they have it fitted they also saved over £320 on the same Gallery fireplace package.
So this shows you how much savings there are to be found shopping online and the shops saying online products are inferior and we do not offer a good service well let me tell them.
Not only can we supply it cheaper than you, quicker than you we can also have it fitted before you so before you shout about internet firms having no customer service take a leaf out of our book we really are the best online.
So after I had told her this about the fitting an order was then placed for a Granite Panel and Brompton Limestone Package which is being delivered last week in November.
So I know time is flying and we are really busy and fitting dates are filling quickly but there is no reason to panic yet there should still be some pre Christmas fitting dates still available in first weeks of November but it is best to book fitter now while you have time to get things sorted out.
We do deliver right up till the last weeks in December so if you do manage to get a late fitting date we keep so much stuff in stock we are sure to be able to deliver before then.
Jig Fireplaces soon to be sold on our website again
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Well I’m exhausted today I have been at the factory since 8.30 am this morning except for nipping back to the office for an hour in between our deliveries of fireplaces today.
As is normal for this time of year it is two box vanloads that arrive to us weekly so they have all been unloaded and we have some more arriving Thursday that were not in stock in time so that will be three loads this week, thank heavens for the new forklift my back would be in two it does make our job easier loading limestone crates and Multi fuel stoves without having to struggle to lift them on the van.
Delivering them is the easy part if you have the right men and the right things to do the job its all in the handling method.
So in the morning I am off to Jig early doors to fetch a van full of goods we are taking into stock from them too.
On our website we will be offering a selected range of jig fireplaces that we will be retailing at better prices than our competitors.
I know Richard there rep is keen to have us sell Jig Fireplace items as he has been to our factory and showroom and commented on how professional we are and how having our own dedicated delivery service is like buying it from a local shop.
We have also had quite a few display items put onto display in our showroom so our customers can choose between Jig and Gallery Fireplaces.
We used to sell a lot of Jig fireplaces but over the years have concentrated on Gallery items but we are having a whole section dedicated to just there items so that will be going live soon so in the meantime if you do want a Jig or Carron Fireplace or stove let me know we have sold a Celtic Full Polish and Somerset Mantel to a Mr Marshall from Finchley in London which is being delivered to him Sunday.
Also another quick note I can’t believe it is the 1st November on Saturday where has the last few months gone.
Stoves and Fireplaces are selling as quick as we can get them in stock
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009We have had another load of stoves arrive today and we have loads of fireplace stock arriving tommorow which is a good job as our granite hearth levels are really low as we do not have enough gas hearths in to complete this weeks orders so im glad its all arriving tomorrow even though it means a hard day packing and stacking all the stuff away.
We are also having a delivery of jura stone longford mantels that have sold very well over the last 4 weeks since they have been on the front page of our website in featured items and we have purchased all the stock our suppliers have.
We have a photo session planned on Friday when we have lots of new photos to take of various fireplaces with new Limestone and Timber mantels that we will put straight on to the new formatted website which i am slowly finishing off whilst running our business but i do have Thursday and Friday planned this week for nothing else except trying to finish this little job or to be honest mammoth task will perhaps load up quick screen shot so you can have a preview befor it goes live.
Anyway it is now 10.30 so im of to bed as i have really busy day.
Late Night viewing and Collection of our Fireplaces and Stoves
Monday, October 26th, 2009As a lot of our website visitors know we do late night viewings at our showroom in Langley Mill and tonight we have had a customer come and view a Firefox 5 Stove and then take this item home with him in his car. Earlier today a customer drove from Northampton to view and went home with a Firefox 8 Stove
I have also done an out of hours delivery in Derby of another Firefox 5 so I am now sat in my office writing this article before I switch pc off.
It has been local delivery day today and I have been to Heanor to drop off Pembroke Full Polish package and then back to the workshop for a building contract company from Slough who came to collect a Coronet and Brompton package so I have had a busy little day running round delivering and arranging collections.
I have done some price alterations later this afternoon on our website update so another few days doing that and it will be ready to go live I could do with starting to work nights too to get it all done.
We normally try and finish for 8 pm but its now 9.30pm and I still have a couple more invoices to do before I switch off and open up a tin of Jupiter beer that Nina brought me when I got to work this morning I had this comment from her
Hi Mark,
We had a great trip to the UK, it was an easy to find meeting point and it was indeed lovely to see you as well.
We arrived late at home (11 pm Belgian time).
Thanks Mark, see you later.
Regards, Nina
I thought I worked late sometimes but it’s all in a days work here at castfireplaces
Right I am off to get a beer now then walk the dog.
Can i use Electric Fire with Back Boiler Fireplace
Sunday, October 25th, 2009Well I am glad to be back home today even with the clocks going back and the end of British summertime I am still tired.
Our last drop of the day was to Nina as I said yesterday and we had a beer and a good catch up she had also come with one of her friends and we met at the Fruiterers Arms in Swanley Kent a nice little local pub near the motorway.
All the locals found it amusing two women driving from Belgium to collect fireplaces but they made us feel very welcome.
Thanks again Nina for the Jupiter beer you bring me I will try one later on and I was surprised you said Stella here was different to Belgian Stella.
Anyway enough of my jolly when I returned back to the office Rhian had left me a number to ring for a Scotsman who wants an electric insert in the Jubilee and Brompton Package simple enough I thought till I rang him.
It turns out he has gas back boiler fitted and wants to be able to remove this fireplace to service the boiler once a year through the hole where his old gas fire used to sit.
Now this presents a problem as the jubilee has an attached cast iron back which can’t be removed without removing fireplace which is a large job to service boiler.
After putting phone down to try and work out an option for it I thought about unbolting back etc but I still don’t think you would have enough room.
So I rang our fitter to pick his brains then eureka why not use a fascia plate with slot in electric fire I know it’s not the jubilee but with the Brompton would look good.
Anyway options explained he thanked me very much as two other firms he had contacted just said no it couldn’t be done and offered no solution.
So here at castfireplaces when faced with tricky questions or customers requiring strange items we don’t just say no we have a look at alternatives to solve the problem so he has now gone to show his wife what we have suggested and said he will ring me in the Morning to place order so hopefully with a little bit of work others can’t be bothered to do we have picked up another order.
Fireplace delivery on Sunday to Miss Loncke from Belgium
Saturday, October 24th, 2009Today has been a strange day I thought I was going to watch Forest at Crystal Palace but one of my mates was ill so we didn’t go so in the end I have been working and really it’s a good job too because it has been busy.
We have had four different lots of people come to view fireplaces today at our showroom and have taken orders of all of them I’m sure its not my charm just free honest correct advice and a price that can’t be beaten that’s all.
I am out delivering again in the morning and my last drop of the day is in Crawley to a Miss Nina Loncke from Belgium.
Nina has been buying fireplaces from us for years and runs an antiques shop and has 3 of our fireplaces on display she used to drive up to Derbyshire to collect them and stop overnight but now she catches the ferry in the morning and we meet her at a pub have a quick drink and then load her van.
This has worked very well and over the years she has become our biggest customer everything she buys has to be black leaded for her as Belgium customers she tells me prefer it that way she also says there not to keen in knots in pine mantels so we do go through them and choose the least knotty.
So it’s a nice finish for me tomorrow to catch up with Nina buy her a drink and have a chat before we head of to different parts.
This time she has ordered two Lytton and Large Corbel Packages and one Northmoor Black Tiled Fireplace package im not sure why but she never has hearths.
The best part of the trip is she always brings me a box of Belgian beer, which is gorgeous, and I know Sunday evening after we have come in from night out ill crack one open and have a drink.
Customers Collect Stoves and we collect Fireplace Customer
Friday, October 23rd, 2009Another very busy day here at Cast fireplaces has seen two customers collecting Firefox 5 Stoves again one from Breaston in Nottingham which is fairly local but the other customer Mr Lawson was from Street in Somerset who called in on his way back from Congleton to collect.
Both customers were amazed at the amount of stock we keep and were very happy to take the stoves away after viewing them in our showroom.
Another customer this morning we collected from Heanor to bring him to our showroom as he does not have a car and was going to walk.
I said give me 5 minutes and I will come and pick you up to save your legs and he gave me some directions where to collect him from.
On the way back in the van we were chatting about the internet and how strange it was he found us searching on google for fireplaces and was surprised to find a shop 2 miles from his house offering the Pembroke Full Polish Fireplace Package at a price that he confirmed was the cheapest online and was amazed we were so close.
Fifteen minutes later he was on his way back home after declining a lift back he had ordered his new fireplace and its being delivered on Monday for him how is that for service.
So all in all another set of happy customers and Rhian has been hard at work in the office too, I am off again tomorrow watching football and then delivering in London on Sunday so if you do ring the office this weekend the lovely Rhian will look after you. Off for a beer now I deserve it.
Extra Hour in bed this weekend before we deliver our Fireplaces and Stoves
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009Hi there just sat at my office desk at 7.30pm ringing round to confirm the final delivery runs for Fireplaces and Stoves this Sunday when it struck me the clocks go back so what seemed like an early start at 5am is not so bad now.
We have also had some good news today that the website update is all ready and under final testing before so next week I have to finally tweak the sections and add a all our new products after photo session on Friday so fingers crossed it will go live around the 1st week of November.
I do have full access to this update and believe me it looks fantastic and the simple shopping experience is fantastic I just can’t wait for it all to happen.
I have had a very busy day today and have not stopped since 8am this morning when I left home to go to the factory to sort out large delivery of Multi Fuel Stoves which was well timed as I had just loaded yesterday the last Firefox 5 Stove we had in stock onto our van for North Wales and Cheshire Run.
As luck would have it Rhian rang me at 4.30 pm and added another Firefox 5 to tomorrows delivery in Winsford which we can do on the way to Stockport. It is now balanced on strapped down on the top of some limestone mantels that we are delivering so the van is fully loaded.
Ok I’m off to take the dog a walk and shut down pc for the evening as I’m shattered today it is always the same in Winter long hard days but that’s what we do here at Cast Fireplaces we never lower our standards no matter how busy we are.