It’s snowed, it’s been windy as hell, it’s chucked it down with rain, it’s been sunny and it’s been mild. The weather this week has been rather dramatic at times. It affected travel and it affected window and door companies all over the place and meant installation teams had to down tools and seek the warmth of their vans. So whilst you’re sat keeping warm this Saturday, it’s time to take a look back at the stories covered on DGB this week.
Last week I wrote a post which talked about the rather spluttering start our industry seems to be having at the moment. I also included a little poll to try and gauge the general feeling of others out there. It was nothing scientific and was only a snapshot poll, but the initial results were rather telling.Summary
This week began with my reporting on some figures via a poll from the week before. This was the news that of those who took part last week, more than half said business was either slower than this time last year, or downright terrible! There were of course a healthy chunk saying business was about at the same level or even better, but what these results showed that the economic outlook remains unbalanced, uneven and totally unpredictable right now.
You may have seen last week a couple of teasers from me about a new online magazine feature on DGB called Design. I buried a small teaser at the bottom of the home page at the start of last week, then put out a preview page later on in the week. Well, after working on the idea and getting to grips with how it will work, it’s time to talk about it properly and explain how everyone can get involved with it.Summary
On Tuesday I got to write about something which I’m very excited about, and something I think could be great for the industry too. This was Design, a brand new online magazine feature which I had been teasing the previous week. I thought it was the right time to tell everyone exactly what it was, how it would work, how people and companies could get involved and why in fact I was doing it at all. If all goes to plan, it will go live on Monday!
Dean (@bigwindowfitter) and myself were talking the other day, mostly about work and bits and bats about installation companies. We got onto the subject of presentation and how it important it was if you are an installation business, even if you’re a fitter or labourer. So, that got me thinking about this post. The most important things to consider if you’re an installation company in the window and door industry.Summary
Wednesday’s post can be credited to Dean (@bigwindowfitter) as he gave me the idea! We were talking the previous week about fitters in general, when the conversation drifted to issues that installers need to consider if they are going to run the business well. Hence the subject of Wednesday’s post. So I reckon I owe Dean at least a beer ;-)
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.Summary
Next up was my views and opinions on what I think is going to be the next niche to explode into a full grown market, the lantern roof sector. It was sparked by Ultraframe releasing their new offering in this market, the UltraSky. When you look at some of the players involved in this new market place, there really is going to be a battle on to try and win the most market share.
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.Summary
Last but not least, Friday’s post was a product vs product post, something which I had not done in quite a while, so I thought I’d better put that right! The sliders vs bi-folds question had been something I have been thinking about, ever since Paul Ogle from Olsen UK and I had a chat about the better uses of sliders, especially in more high-end, one-off self builds. It proved a good post to do as it got a few comments and a ton of retweets on social media.
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