‘Slick sashes sell houses’ and will give you the edge when competing for projects, says Ade
Windows, entrance doors and especially garden doors – can clinch a house sale even before the customer sees the property from the kerbside. And as well as adding that all important initial visual impact on new and refurb’ development projects, having a good working knowledge of just what is possible with windows and doors can help you to secure a deal on extensions and other refurbs.
The style of the property can be made or broken by the choice of frame and glass. Adding Georgian bars into sash windows on a former council house does not make it a period property!
Usually, a glance around at surrounding properties will give you an idea of the local architectural style – if indeed there is one. And even if standard casement windows are the prevailing style, this can be picked up by adding colour to the frames of the property. Around half of the windows that we produce at our factory are now coloured either as a foil (offering a textured woodgrain finish in ‘natural’ timber or any colour you like); or simply painted during the manufacturing process of the frame. A simple and subtle cream or pale green, for example, can tone and blend new frames in, whether they are manufactured in uPVC or aluminium.
Residential entrance doors – front doors – offer so many opportunities to add style and performance to any home and the choice has never been more comprehensive. Everyone knows what a composite door is but there is a huge choice of styles and door types. Colours are so important for making a big statement for either lifting the property or if preferred, merging it into the neighbourhood. Wonderful, bespoke glass panels can also be chosen to personalise a property, and matching side panels add a luxurious touch if space allows.
The thickness of the door is now crucial – for maximum thermal and security performance, choose a 70mm door as a minimum. Add luxurious door furniture – letterboxes, knockers, door pulls – and combine them with upgraded hardware – the sharp SNAP! of a bolt turning into place always impresses – and the look of the door, followed by its touch and ‘heft’ when the customer opens and closes the door (let them do it!) – will stop them in their tracks.
On to the garden and again some product awareness and thought in this area can close the sale on a new or refurbished property, or a project. Offering the prospective punter your views on why you chose French/sliding/bi-folding/slide ‘n’ fold doors into the garden can stir their imagination into wonderful, leisurely parties with friends on the beautifully constructed patio that you’ve also laid, even if the British weather seldom allows such things.
There has never been so much choice with garden doors: the good old sliding patio has a slimmer frame than ever and offers the best uninterrupted views when open or especially when closed, whilst bi-folds are now slicker than ever in their operation and perfect if the requirement is for a big wide maximum opening. And then there is the slide ‘n’ fold, which uses free-sliding individual panels to create openings anywhere along the track, and the fully opened experience of the bi—fold on the odd occasion it’s stopped raining long enough to allow it.
There have never been so many options for windows and doors and the best advice I can give is to call your friendly fabricator and ask them for a tour of all the options that they can offer – everyone will be different in the detail – and get a stack of marketing materials to help you present the dream to customers.
For further information on Quickslide visit https://www.quickslide.co.uk/windows/sash-windows/
