The latest fad in home décor, at least one of them, seems to be adding on a conservatory. It's a great idea in many ways, especially for growing families or people who need more room. They can also be helpful to double as a study or a leisure room. One problem with conservatories is that they are hard to keep cool in summer, and they can be a big heat sink in winter as well, due to all of their windows.
If you want to use your conservatory all year round (not just in Autumn and Spring) then you need to figure out the best ways to insulate, or heat and cool your conservatory without it necessarily costing you an arm and leg to do so. Air conditioning is great in summer, if you can afford not only to install it but also to have it running all summer long. Heating can also be a real nightmare during winter, and you can end up spending a lot of extra money during winter through the extra heating.
One of the best things you can do is to install decent conservatory blinds in your conservatory, so that you can conserve energy.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Cheap Conservatories
When totaling the cost you will have to pay for adding on a conservatory to your home it is important to remember all the additional costs you will incur aside from the actual building materials and any labour in building it.
One important thing is that you will need to install either lots of fans, or an air conditioner to help keep you cool during the summer, and additional heating installed to use during winter. Aside from these two items you also will need to have adequate window treatments installed too. Depending on the type of blinds you choose to install, this expense may either be one of your bigger expenses or not. You can always buy the blinds and then install them yourself if you are able to and you have the needed abilities and know how, but that may not always be practical of possible. It is, however a great way to cut back your conservatory building costs.
Don't think you can get away without hanging blinds as you will soon find that you do indeed need them in order to make your conservatory usable. They are also helpful in keeping bright sunlight off furniture, which is another important reason for installing them pretty much right away.
One important thing is that you will need to install either lots of fans, or an air conditioner to help keep you cool during the summer, and additional heating installed to use during winter. Aside from these two items you also will need to have adequate window treatments installed too. Depending on the type of blinds you choose to install, this expense may either be one of your bigger expenses or not. You can always buy the blinds and then install them yourself if you are able to and you have the needed abilities and know how, but that may not always be practical of possible. It is, however a great way to cut back your conservatory building costs.
Don't think you can get away without hanging blinds as you will soon find that you do indeed need them in order to make your conservatory usable. They are also helpful in keeping bright sunlight off furniture, which is another important reason for installing them pretty much right away.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Cutting Conservatory Costs
If you are looking at cutting back on costs with your conservatory one thing you may want to consider is installing your own conservatory blinds. If you are an average handyman and you have a drill and other basic tools it should be a fairly simple procedure for you providing the blinds themselves are easy to install, such as roller blinds. Of course installing ceiling blinds is usually a matter for the professionals, but even installing your window blinds around the conservatory will help cut back costs.
You can buy either custom made blinds, or blinds that are standard sized. It is cheaper if you plan your conservatory with standard sized windows, as that makes it easy and cheap to choose your conservatory blinds.
Even if you think your windows are custom sized, it still is a good idea to quickly measure them up before you actually make your purchase of blinds. If you end up purchasing the wrong sized blinds because you didn't measure your windows properly, you might end up having to keep those blinds and re order new ones, as many shops won't give you a total refund if it is your mistake.
You can often buy blind kits, that include all the things needed to hang your blinds, making it a fairly straightforward process for the average DIY enthusiast.
You can buy either custom made blinds, or blinds that are standard sized. It is cheaper if you plan your conservatory with standard sized windows, as that makes it easy and cheap to choose your conservatory blinds.
Even if you think your windows are custom sized, it still is a good idea to quickly measure them up before you actually make your purchase of blinds. If you end up purchasing the wrong sized blinds because you didn't measure your windows properly, you might end up having to keep those blinds and re order new ones, as many shops won't give you a total refund if it is your mistake.
You can often buy blind kits, that include all the things needed to hang your blinds, making it a fairly straightforward process for the average DIY enthusiast.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Preparation for Hanging Conservatory Blinds
While this may sound like very basic advice to most people, I have seen situations where this hasn't been followed thus making the whole job of hanging blinds so much more time-consuming and complicated.
Simply stated, before you start to fit your new blinds in your conservatory please make sure you have all of the power-tools and other tools you will need on hand, in the conservatory. Also, check your blind kits and make sure that all of the screws, bracket, cords and other items are included. It is best to do this at the very start of the job, before you even start on the job.
Once you start the task, it's good to allot as much time as you can to finishing it up, and not have it drag on too long. Of course, that's not always possible as everyone leads very busy lives, I'm sure. But I have found that if you leave your tools, or odds and ends that go with the blind kits laying around the floor or the conservatory for too long, soon you'll end up misplacing things, and small pieces of the kit or some of your tools will inevitably go missing. So, the best thing to do is to start your job then see it through as quickly as you can.
If you have to take a break in-between finishing it, I'd recommend that you gather up all the items and set them aside in a corner or somewhere out of the main thoroughfare. That's far better than leaving tools, and pieces of your blinds scattered all over the conservatory.
Simply stated, before you start to fit your new blinds in your conservatory please make sure you have all of the power-tools and other tools you will need on hand, in the conservatory. Also, check your blind kits and make sure that all of the screws, bracket, cords and other items are included. It is best to do this at the very start of the job, before you even start on the job.
Once you start the task, it's good to allot as much time as you can to finishing it up, and not have it drag on too long. Of course, that's not always possible as everyone leads very busy lives, I'm sure. But I have found that if you leave your tools, or odds and ends that go with the blind kits laying around the floor or the conservatory for too long, soon you'll end up misplacing things, and small pieces of the kit or some of your tools will inevitably go missing. So, the best thing to do is to start your job then see it through as quickly as you can.
If you have to take a break in-between finishing it, I'd recommend that you gather up all the items and set them aside in a corner or somewhere out of the main thoroughfare. That's far better than leaving tools, and pieces of your blinds scattered all over the conservatory.
Mounting Conservatory Blinds
Mounting your new conservatory blinds on wood is perhaps the simplest of all. Your kit should already have come with screws, and all you need is a screwdriver to screw the blinds into the wood. Of course you need a level to make sure that the blind is hanging straight, unless you are sure of your eye and the top of the windows that you are mounting the blind on.
It does get a bit more difficult if you're having to mount the blinds on a metal or plastic frame, or if you have to drill into cement. While a bit more difficult, it is still fairly easy if you have the right tools and pieces to use. Make sure you have toggle bolts if you're planning on attaching the blinds to plastic framework, and for attaching to the metal frame you will need metal screws. As these aren't usually included with the blind kits, you'll have to come up with them yourself so if you don't have them in your tool kits already then you may need to make a quick trip to the local home depot to pick them up.
Same thing applies with attaching the blind to a cement surface. For this, you'll need a power drill and you'll have to make sure you have anchors for the screws.
Once you have the right type of screws and accessories, it should be pretty simple to get those blinds up! Not to nag on this point, but do make sure you have everything you need for the project before you start, and then go ahead and have fun hanging your conservatory blinds.
It does get a bit more difficult if you're having to mount the blinds on a metal or plastic frame, or if you have to drill into cement. While a bit more difficult, it is still fairly easy if you have the right tools and pieces to use. Make sure you have toggle bolts if you're planning on attaching the blinds to plastic framework, and for attaching to the metal frame you will need metal screws. As these aren't usually included with the blind kits, you'll have to come up with them yourself so if you don't have them in your tool kits already then you may need to make a quick trip to the local home depot to pick them up.
Same thing applies with attaching the blind to a cement surface. For this, you'll need a power drill and you'll have to make sure you have anchors for the screws.
Once you have the right type of screws and accessories, it should be pretty simple to get those blinds up! Not to nag on this point, but do make sure you have everything you need for the project before you start, and then go ahead and have fun hanging your conservatory blinds.
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