Its that time of year where we start to look back at all 2015 had to offer us. What we built. What we achieved. What we read. So to start that theme off, here is a look back at the ten most read posts here on DGB throughout the past 12 months.

This is a list of posts that have been published this year, not an all-time most read list. That is coming in another post a little later on! We’ll start at ten, then work our way to number one.

10.Fabricators Should Be Weeding Out The Deadwood

Cowboy installers. Quite easily the biggest plague our industry has to deal with day in day out. They have been almost the sole reason why our industry has been tarred with a brush that has seen the reputation of the industry languish at the bottom, along with MPs, banks and estate agents. Despite there being many high quality installation companies out there, the industry’s poor reputation always goes before them. So who should be taking the fight to the industry’s deadwood?

9. How Long Left For Silicone?

For many decades, silicone has been the material of choice for the sealing of windows and doors in the UK. It comes in many colours, it’s easy to apply providing the guy holding the gun knows what he’s doing, and it’s convenient. Yet silicone is easily one of the most inefficient products in the whole window and door installation process.

8. Open Sesame, The Rather Funky Door Lock

The world is desperately trying to produce a smart door lock that works, is easy to install, even easier to use and that looks good too. I have written in the past about smart locks from companies called Kevo and August. Both were early attempts at the technology and were on the fairly expensive side. However, a new player is on the market, another American company called Sesame. And it’s their crowdfunded project that could move this technology on further.

7. Window Energy Ratings Could Be Scrapped

Of all the stories we’re going to read about in the trade press over the coming weeks and months, it is this one which, if it comes to fruition, will have an enormous impact on every single stage of the chain in our industry. On page 96 of this month’s Glass Times there was an article from Phil Brown, European Technical Advisory Manager for Pilkington. In his piece, he writes about the European Commissions plans to introduce a Europe-wide, single energy ratings scheme. It made for interesting, and serious reading. I’m going to show you the most important snippets of the article, then give you my views. Spoiler, they’re not positive!

6. Terrible Double Glazing Sales Tactics Highlighted On Watchdog

I’m fairly sure that a good portion of the industry watched in horror on Thursday evening as BBC One’s Watchdog programme highlighted the very dodgy double glazing sales tactics of a salesman from a window and door company. I’m also fairly sure that it made for very cringe worthy TV. If you are a homeowner and not from the window and door industry, let me say this right now: not every company is like that!

5. Battle Of The Lantern Roofs

Eurocell have their Skypod, Atlas have their lantern roof and perhaps the biggest of them all, Ultraframe have joined the party with their UltraSky lantern roof. The battle of lantern roof products has really begun! In an attempt to diversify the product ranges of manufacturers and installers, roofing and system companies have set about creating a new product niche, designed to breathe life into the nation’s flat roofs. When a new glazed extension isn’t always a physical or financial option for homeowners, doing something with their previously ignored flat roofs might be. This is where the lantern roof comes in.

4. 5 Companies To Look Out For In 2015

Well, it’s the beginning of the first working week of the year. I know how excited you all are to be back in the office…not! Still, 2015 promises to be an exciting year in our industry, so I want to take a look at five companies which we should be keeping an eye on.

3. Sliding Doors vs Bi-Folding Doors: Which Is Better?

The industry really has run away with bi-folding doors over the past few years hasn’t it. They have become a must have product for hundreds of thousands of homeowners across the UK, in the attempt to open up a room fully or really make the most of the gardens. In the PVC, aluminium and timber worlds, there is a glut of choice of bi-fold door products, almost too much. Oddly, last year the bi-fold sector lost 7%, perhaps something not many of us saw coming. Still, the bi-fold market is a massive one, and will probably continue to grow long term. But lets not forget the humble sliding patio door, one of the products many homeowners have left behind in favour of this new modern folding option. So, which one is better?

2. The Top 1o Window Companies In The UK Window Industry

Ever wondered who the top 10 companies were in the UK window industry? Well, the recent Insight Data Window Industry Report has shed some light on that, as well as comparing those companies to their positions in the previous year. They in fact produced two sets of data; a top 3o list of companies based on turnover, and a top 30 list of companies based on net worth. Below are the top ten from each set of data.

1. The Average Cost Of A New Conservatory Is £5300…Apparently

The industry’s Twitter community is usually quiet on a Sunday afternoon, with just a few tweets going out either about football or what @NewBuildsNo1 has been cooking for dinner that day 😉

However, debate erupted after Ultraframe tweeted some research done by a company called Zopa which claimed that the average cost of a new conservatory was £5300. Yes, you read that right guys and girls, just a tad over the £5k mark. Now, as you can imagine, many of us raised an eyebrow at such a figure.

This list has been compiled according to the number of page views each of these stories has massed during 2015. The number one story of 2015 was ahead by a country mile, with that particular post racking up over three times the number of page views than the second placed story.

I’m happy with the content published on DGB this year. I considered 2014 to be a bit disappointing on the content front, so I have made a conscious effort all year to make sure that what I was putting out was to as high a standard as possible. Looking back, I think I achieved that. And moving forward into the New Year, I will aim to keep this standard up, if not improve it further, and hopefully work in some new features and ideas to keep DGB on the path of growth and expansion.

Later on this week I’ll be publishing my all-time most read list!

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