It was like a scene of devastation at our factory today when 1st thing this morning we had some cast iron fireplaces delivered which were promptly unloaded by the forklift and john was back on his way to our suppliers to relaod his van with all the other things we need to dispatch this week.
After that little job had been done we had a load of Oak Mantels some made to measure that have been done whilst i have been on holiday arrive that were also unloaded and stacked away with customers names on to be despatched this week.
Friday we have all the Pine Bedfords and Worcester mantels arriving that have been made too and this is really just in time as i have let stocks drop a little low whilst i have been away.
Just to top it off all the extra Stoves we have ordered to increase our stock levels are arriving too this week and will be stacked in new Factory awaiting dispatch.
Luckily for us we have use of this building till the sale is completed otherwise i have no idea where i would have put it all.
Along with the Limestone Mantels that are due any day now we are really full of stock ready in time for the “Heating Season”.
All office work is now up to date with all the weeks routes planned and it is a very busy week so i only have Sundays customers to ring tomorrow regarding the Souths 3 delivery runs and then all is complete.
Thats not bad at all two days to catch up im pleased with that but i did cheat again and come in early this morning before the phone starts ringing it does give me a chance to get things sorted.
Im out delivering Fireplaces and Stoves around Birmingham tomorrow as there are too many for Stuarts Friday Run to the South west and South Wales.
So im back around lunchtime so untill thenm you will get the Lovely Rhian answering phone.
Posts Tagged ‘Surrounds’
Crates of Fireplaces and Wooden Surrounds Arrive
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010Are your Fireplace timber mantels antique waxed
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010The pine timber mantels we manufacture here at Castfireplaces our finished with our own secret recipe even more guarded than the secrect of Coca Cola.
Now that would be funny if it was true but we do have a lot of people asking us how we get such a great finish to our surrounds and whether it is something they can buy to achieve the same results from a diy shop.
What we use to achieve such a greta finish is a product called Van Dyke Crystals which is mixed to a certain stength to make a waterbased stain and is not avail;able to buy in B and Q etc.
Water base i hear some of you cry will that no raise the grain, well yes but it is wire wooled back again before applying wax.
Now the method we use is 1 or 2 coats of Van Dyke stain to create base stain (left to Dry) then use Morells Med Brown Wax which also contains a pigment to give it the top coat.
Normally one well applied coat of wax is enough then it is left to dry for 20 minutes to allow the wax to soak in then polished with polishing brush and then buffed with lint free cloths.
This finish we find suits our Fireplace Mantels and Surrounds perfectly and is the perfect hand waxed finish.
We will be adding Stain and Wax Kits to our online shop so our customers can achieve the same results on other things like skirting boards and doors etc to match the Fireplace Surround.
So in the meantime if you need any stain just let us know and we will be more than happy to post it to you.
Where has this week gone in my world of Fireplaces
Friday, February 5th, 2010Well i can not believe it is Friday again it has been none stop all week which started with our new Fireplace Website going live on monday and with the few hiccups we had that was most of Tuesday and Wednesday gone, Thursday was gone too fast and today i have been delivering in York and Nottingham whilst Stu has been on Bristol Gloucs and Birmingham run.
We have loaded vans for this Sundays london runs and im now sat in my office at 8.30 pm writing this blog after finishing all the delivery notes.
Time always flys when you are busy but this week has been a blur.
Had an early evening visit from Adam our Rep bringing me some more images we have done with various arched and tiled inserts with a variety of different surrounds we have made all these will start to be added next week so again i have a busy week without even starting our day to day running of the business.
Thank god im off Saturday for a little break with my son Jaiden and a few of my mates to watch Forest,also we are meeting Adam there for a beer too and im sure a few of the other Fireplace Lads it really makes a good day out.
So not much will happen to our website over the weekend but keep your eyes out next week for some new categories and many many new Fireplaces and even a few Stoves
Timber arriving for our Wooden Fireplace Surrounds
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009Somebody in our office namely me decided it would be a good idea to order a lorry load of wood for our Timber Surrounds so we can make the Pine and Oak Mantels we manufacture cheaper for our customers to buy we are not cutting back on quality just cheaper timber price for buying in Bulk.
This at the time seemed a very good idea so a good friend of mine who is a timber importer ordered a “couple of packs” as he called it. I had forgotten how big and how much timber there is in these packs until he asked me where it was going when it arrives on Monday.
Needless to say my forward planning is now in overdrive and thanks to the people next door to us who make furniture frames it is now being stored in there timber racks until we can process it.
All our Timber Surrounds we make are made in Solid Pine and Solid Oak so you can rest assured they are made from the best timber and hand finished in a waxed or oiled patina which suits the wood they are made from and we really think they are some of the best quality to be found in any shop on the high street or online.
As we have said before we can custom make any size surround and alter any dimensions to suit a particular fireplace or Chimney Breast.
There are not many firms who offer this service so why put up with a standard size Mantel when for very little extra you can have one made to measure.
So if your not sure with any sizes don’t hesitate to give us a ring I am sure there is something we can sort out for you
Made to measure fireplace timber mantels
Thursday, July 16th, 2009Ever since we had our last post about Made to Measure Fireplace Surrounds we have seen an increase in orders for such products.
Stuart and Darren who make most of these surrounds have been kept quite busy making bespoke mantels and Daz said to me it makes a nice change having to do odd sizes and different dimensions (I am sure he would much rather build a Sauna in our showroom like he suggested).
Because we manufacture ourselves the vast majority of the Surrounds we sell means that we can offer these bespoke mantels at prices that are not too expensive in relation to our standard items.
Some of the work we have one this week include an Oak Brompton Mantel with no rebate so it fits flush to the wall when fitting around a wood burning stove.
We have also made a made to measure Worcester Pine Mantel which will be used to fit around an existing arched fireplace that the customer already had and wanted to use in their house renovation.
These are just a couple of examples of what we can do at Cast and Pine so if you do see one of our mantels and it isn’t the right size for you just contact us and we can always make you a bespoke surround at prices that are unbelievable.
We will be adding a simple print off Easy measuring form so you can just fill in dimensions and email it us back so then we can easily manufacture your new surround to your sizes.
Right off to get my gun I’m going shooting this afternoon so if you need any help the lovely Rhian is here to help you.
Wessington and Triple Bow Modern Fireplace Surrounds
Thursday, May 28th, 2009The last of the new Modern Fireplace Surrounds we sell are being listed on our website and they are the Following
The Wessington Chamfered Mantel
The Triple Bow Mantel
Both are made from Oak Veneered MDF which is basically thin strips of oak timber which has then been glued to man made Fibre Board. They are very stable and you will get no movement at all in MDF.
We offer both of our veneered surrounds in two finishes view photographs below
Light Natural Finish (as shown on Triple Bow)
Dark Oak Finish (as shown on Wessington)
Both these mantel are of similar size and have a shelf width of 48†and are suitable for use with our smaller arched inserts and the Granite panel sets.
The Wessington is chamfered mantel so as you can see from the photo the legs are chamfered to form a feature you do not normally find on fireplace surrounds and to complete this surround it has an 8 ¾†bowed shelf.
The Triple Bow is as it’s described three small tiers form the inner edge of this surround and the frieze panel has a slight bow to it making a distinctive feature to this surround.
Both will be available to buy from our website over the next few days as we finish adding them so take a look at the samples below and order a new Modern fireplace for your home.
Triple Bow Light Oak Finish
Wessington Dark Oak Finish