Good afternoon and ive had rather a nice day today and bunked the morning of work to go and visit Tony from our suppliers at the new factory unit they have purchased in Colwick.
I have dealt with Tony and Mike his brother for many years now and we have all been friends since, anyway Tony has been telling me stories about the new unit he has bought in Colwick around the same time we purchased our site in Langley Mill.
So today i have made the time to go and visit our fantastic suppliers new home for all the fireplace and stoves stock.
They are moving in stages and the manufacturing unit which makes Hearths and Brick Chambers is due to move in June this year followed by the office and warehousing the following year.
So an hour spent having a guided tour of their new home and a nice cuppa with some chocolate biscuits i bought them im glad i made the effort to go.
So i have been back in the office this afternoon planning this weekends fireplace delivery runs and have put website work on hold for another week when will i ever learn to make promises about adding new things there is always something else to do.
Fireplace Suppliers moving home
April 26th, 2012Brompton Limestone Mantels are back in stock
April 25th, 2012Hooray yesterday and today we have taken delivery of loads of limestone mantels and im pleased to say we are fully stocked again of all sizes and styles of all the fireplace mantels we offer.
We did have a shortage of certain sizes and ran out of 42″ mantels in both Corbel and Brompton designs, these stocks have been replenished just in time as we are delivering two of them to the North West tomorrow.
Our order was delayed due to the fact they decided to wait and fill a 40ft container delaying the lead times of around 3-4 weeks making us run short on all items and completely run out of certain items.
Anyway problem solved we know have everything back in stock in limestone mantels and are again able to offer our quick turn around on these items.
So if you wish to order a limestone fireplace package we do have them all in stock ready to go and have relisted all our items on our website to show them back in stock.
I must say it was a joy today unloading them in the rain and i was soaked by the time we had finished unloading them, they have now been restacked into our storage areas and are again stacked to the roof awaiting new homes.
False Chimney Breast to fit Victorian Style Fireplace
April 24th, 2012A customer contacted us yesterday regarding fitting a cast iron fireplace and as to whether the Pembroke Fireplace can be used on a flat wall for electric use.
Im afraid the answer is NO all our cast fireplaces are designed to have a cast iron back on that needs to go into the fireplace chamber as they are designed to be a working fireplace.
The only option is to open up your chimney breast to the dimensions required or construct a false chimney breast from studwork and plasterboard to the required sizes.
If you do have a flat wall you can not get the depth required to house a cast iron fireplace the false chimney breast option is the best idea.
It only needs to be around 7″ deep to house most of the cast iron fireplaces we offer then you can fit it with an electric fire or the new bioethanol fires we arrriving shortly.
This will then allow the fireplace to be fitted to the front of the chimney breast and the back fitted inside the false studwork it will make a far better feature this way creating a chimney breast it looks more authentic than just fitting on a flat wall.
If you do not wish to go to so much work there are alternatives in our Modern Fireplaces Section where you can choose fireplaces that will work on a flat wall but they are not as traditional looking as the victorian style fireplaces.
If in doubt please contact us and we can advise you what will work.
Fireplace Website back to normal again
April 23rd, 2012Following on from the small problem we had on our Fireplace website this weekend im pleased to say this has been solved and all our images have been redone so customers can navigate the website easily again.
We have added a few new products to test everything out and im pleased to say its all working correctly again today, we have added in our back office new measures which help our website operate better and these will also help our google listings.
So down to new products we have added a host of bioethanol fires which and just need to add prices and images before this is going live which will be done for the end of the week.
Other product ranges are also planned and with the new back office working correctly its simpler and quicker to add them with even more choice options for our customers to view which with the amount of products we have to add is greatly needed.
So i have a busy week ahead in the office adding new items and variations of different fireplaces we currently offer and once i have added then i will tell you all exaclty what we have been doing.
Just one more job to do tonight and thats raise an invoice for one of Steves delivery drops tomorrow in Walsall then im done for the evening.
Fireplace images go walk about on Castfireplaces website
April 22nd, 2012Good evening and a tale of woe from this weekend we have been adding various new features to our website admin back office and have somehow managed to alter the fireplace images on our website.
When i mean altered i actulally mean all the category images have gone and been replaced by a question mark, i think its something simple and we were working on it Friday to restore everything but ran outof time.
We have sorted out 90 % of the problem because we could not add new images to our new fireplace items we have added but now thats sorted and we just have to reinstate the front page photos.
Strangely enough it has not had an effect on our customers ordering fireplaces as once past the category photos everything else is running fine so with the text still displayed it has been ok and customers have been ok to order.
So both vans are back after long days and Stuart managed to work his way round the Marathon traffic and at one stage had runners on the opposite side of the road too him.
Right off out with the dogs and we have another busy week next week with office and showroom work planned it seems there is no rest again shouldn’t really moan ive had the whole weekend off.
London Marathon and Castfireplaces Delivery
April 21st, 2012So again tomorrow is the large race in London known as the London Marathon which causes road closures in and around London and as is typical is where we need to be delivering fireplaces.
We have a drop in SE15 and then onto Bow in East London which takes us directly across the route of the 2012 London Marathon.
Im sure runners do not want to be hampered by a large fireplace delivery van even though it would be good advertising for us on TV.
So Stuart has the job today ofskirting around the road closures as he looks to take an alternative route and looking on the map the A2 and the Blackwall tuneel approach look the favourite.
So it may make us a little later for our afternoon delivery slots it depends on how the traffic goes and how well Stu navigates round there is very little we can do he will just have to go with it and see.
So im sure he will be very pleased to see you on Sunday even if he is running late he really is the most friendly person you could wish to meet even if hes had a bad day and is behind time.
Why the fireplace dictates the décor of your room
April 20th, 2012When you’re planning to redecorate a room, you tend to think you have a blank canvas. If you’re keeping the same carpet or flooring, this may limit you, but otherwise, you’ll tend to think you have no restrictions in terms of your options.
However, this might not be the case. Stop and think. Is there any permanent feature in the room which needs to be borne in mind? Specifically, do you have a fireplace?
Perhaps you’ve seen a beautiful rug in a shop and have progressed from there to thinking what colour you could repaint the room. With a blue rug, you might opt for mushroom coloured paint. This is fine, but what colour is your fireplace? If it is a stone colour, as many are, the mushroom colour will be not too dissimilar and you probably don’t want that.
A fireplace is a feature. You want it to stand out. If you’re not planning on replacing the fireplace itself, choose contrasting or complementary colours for your walls that will help it remain the focal point in the room. If you have a fireplace, it’s more important to make the most of that than to have some specific shade of paint which you fancy. Play to the room’s strengths and let your fireplace dictate your décor to some degree.
Your new house may have cheap fuel
April 19th, 2012Moving into a new house, you will doubtless find that you have many different renovation plans and you might not know where to start. If you’re unfortunate, you’ll carry out one job and only find that you’ve made an error of judgement when there is a knock-on effect from the next. Although the two tasks may have seemed entirely separate, it’s funny how different elements of your home impact on each other.
One unlikely link exists between your garden and your living room. If you’ve bought a house to do up, the fireplace might need replacing, but before you decide on a fuel source, take a look at your garden. Are there any trees that are in need of attention?
Many rundown houses have overgrown gardens, but even a well-kept home will often have overly large trees. Homeowners don’t seem to notice trees until they reach a size where they cannot be tackled without professional help. Cutting down or even just topping a large tree will create a lot of light in your garden and will also provide a good deal of wood.
Gas and electric fires are economical, clean and easy to operate, but they don’t have the romantic appeal of a real fire. Furthermore, if you have a large supply of wood already on your property, you might find you have several years’ worth of fuel.
Why a fire is perfect for spring
April 18th, 2012As the weather warms up, your fireplace seems to become less significant. We tend to associate fires with the depths of winter; a strong heat source to cut through the coldest weather. However, these days fires are perhaps more useful when the weather is a little less predictable.
The fire comes into its own when you need a burst of heat. At this time of year, it’s inefficient to have the central heating on every day, but it still might be very cold in the evenings. The weather is unpredictable and while people might be out in shorts and T-shirts one day, there’s still a chance of colder weather and even frosts.
On cold evenings, a fire is a great thing to have, particularly if you have a gas or electric fire which can be switched on and off at will. Rather than spending a fortune heating the entire house, you can instead just heat the room you’re in for the few hours you’re there. It is rarely so cold at night that you will need anything more than that while you sleep.
Invest in a fireplace. As well as being beautiful, they also make the temperature a lot more comfortable on cold spring days.
Bio Ethanol Fireplaces to be added to our range at Castfireplaces
April 17th, 2012So we are going to have a range of bio ethanol fireplaces for sale on our website and are currently in the process of adding these items we will of course be having a couple of models on display at our showroom for our customers to come and view.
The range we are having are contemporary and feature glass and brushed steel which offer a modern look to a fireplace, we are going to offer freestanding and wall mounted bio ethanol fires and these will be on our website very soon
Bio ethanol fireplaces offer the following features
The hypnotic dancing real flame is consistent and fully controllable. A gentler and more elegant flame pattern than that of a woodburner or gas fireplace. The reflections of the flames on the glass and stainless steel are particularly attractive.
Flueless – all of our bio-ethanol fireplaces are completely flueless and require no chimney whatsoever due to the ultra clean burning nature of the bio-ethanol fuel. The fire can be used in any room of the house or outside.
At the heart of the fire is the stainless steel removable combustion block. A solid dual-layer block, far superior to most bio-ethanol fires on the market and having been tested to meet strict German regulations.
Once poured into the combustion block, the fuel soaks away into a special material which acts like a sophisticated wick, only releasing the optimum amount of fuel as required. This allows a very efficient, constant and long burn time, fully controllable with a variable-rate sliding closure mechanism. A single fill can burn for up to 5 hours.
So as you would expect we will also be selling the fuel too and have this on order to arrive next week we also have nearly ready a range of ethanol fires to fit our current casts and the display model is currently being shipped from Germany for us to try in our showroom prior to ordering ill let you all know more when it arrives