Last Chance To Get One Over the Taxman

There’s still time, just about, to get your home improvements project planned, quoted and sorted before VAT rises. With the help of WindowQuoter, you can get a head start straight away.

On New Year’s Day, the Treasury will raise the basic rate of VAT back to 17.5%, from the 15% it has stayed at since November 2008.

Whilst the change in cost of small-to-medium purchases is going to be fairly small and unlikely to cause too much heartache, some home improvements can represent a large outlay, and you could save hundreds of pounds.

If you start your project today, your supplier can make savings on parts and materials – so you don’t necessarily have to have completed the entire project before New Year in order to reduce your costs significantly.

You’ll need to get moving quickly, though – and the quickest way to get started on your home improvement project is to get a quote from our network of Quoter websites.

Our sites will help you find guide prices on a wide range of projects, including for glazing, paving, fitted kitchens, bedrooms or bathrooms or even larger projects such as garage conversions or loft conversions.

And after getting your guide price we offer to help you find three local suppliers from out trusted network to perform a site survey and give you a firm quotation – which will be valid for 6 months and comes with no obligation.

But don’t wait around – this really is your last chance to get a project completed before the new year comes in, bringing the new VAT rate with it. Give WindowQuoter a go today and start saving money straight away.

A home improvement company has asked me to leave feedback - how do I do that?

One of your recommended companies has contacted me and asked me to leave some feedback on their services. How do I do this? I can't remember my original login details?

Home Improvement Quotes is committed to providing homeowners with as much information as possible so when you first use our online service, if you later speak with our customer advisors and take up our offer to find you a maximum of three companies to give you a written quote, we then email you a set of login details so you can go online and view the contact details, download deposit protection certificates and even view feedback from other homeowners on those companies we're recommending.

You can also leave your feedback for the benefit of future homeowners as well as helping us constantly monitor the companies we're recommending.

If you've lost or deleted your login details, then it's really easy to still access your online area and leave feedback.

Just go to our 'Quoter family website - homeimprovementquotes.co.uk

Then from the 'About Us' tab, select 'Home Owner Login Area' and click on 'Customer Log In'. You'll be asked for your email and password. Providing you use the email address you gave at the time of confirming your details with our sales advisors, you'll be able to use the 'forgot my password' feature - we'll email you your password again.

Many thanks for your participation.

photo credit: hashir

Don't use a Staple Gun when hanging Christmas lights up outside

Sounds obvious enough doesn't it, but judging by the number of old staples around our fascias, someone didn't heed the warnings about using staple guns to fix exterior Christmas lights to their house.

Staple guns are notorious for piercing plastic covering and shorting the exposed wires within. We don't want any fires do we? We don't want hours spent looking for the point of the short to fix it either, nor do we want anybody getting electrocuted.

Just a quick tip ahead of the weekend.

photo credit: lovepurple

VAT back on the rise

As of January 1st 2010, the standard rate of VAT will be returning to 17.5%. If you want to take advantage of the reduced rate, and potentially save hundreds of pounds on your upcoming home improvements project, you should be thinking about getting started as soon as possible.

In November 2008, the government reduced the standard rate of VAT to 15% in an effort to stimulate economic growth. This has always been billed as a temporary measure, and it’s due to come to an end in under two months.

If you’re thinking about having home improvements done, and want to take advantage of the lower rate of VAT, which could potentially save you hundreds of pounds over waiting until next year, then you really need to be getting a move on planning your project now.

Using one of our Quoter sites, you can get a free instant guide price for all manner of Home Improvements, and to help you get started quickly, we’ll offer to help you get in contact with up to three local home improvements suppliers who can come round and give you a firm quotation.

Our service is easy, fast, and free for homeowners. But don’t just take our word for it – One recent WindowQuoter customer contacted us to say “I was impressed with the speed in which all 3 [window companies] made initial contact. I would recommend WindowQuoter and will use Home Improvement Quotes again in the future. Thank you.”

Get started today with a free, instant, online quote from WindowQuoter.co.uk

Don’t wait for Winter, Get Your Heating Sorted Now.

As Autumn draws in, if you haven’t already then now is a good time to get your home’s heating system checked over by a professional. In fact, if you’ve got some form of heating cover, then check your policy as these sometimes include a free annual health check of your homes central heating and hot water systems.

You might think it’s a little early to be thinking about burst pipes, but after a long period of relatively little use during the summer, now is the perfect time to have your home’s heating system checked over.

And if the very worst was discovered and you needed a new boiler, then you’ve a few weeks to get that sorted rather than taking the first one offered because you’re huddled up like Eskimos.

As well as checking the correct burning operation of your boiler, they’ll also inspect flues for blockages. Blockages that could lead to a deathly build up of the colourless, tasteless, odourless carbon monoxide.

And if you’re planning on using additional heating appliances, then these should also be checked – it’s probably a few months past they were stored away in the garage or shed. Check pipe connectors and their seals for signs of wear and replace if necessary. Check ignitors work correctly and safety guards aren’t damaged or loose. Check wiring and plugs for signs of fraying or broken plastic.

And once winter is here, don’t leave any portable heating appliances, whether they be electric, gas or liquid fuelled, on overnight. During the Winter months, house fires caused by heating appliances shoot up in numbers, very often with fatal or near death results for the occupants.

Tips:

• Always use a Corgi registered plumber or heating engineer to check and gas central heating.


• Check the exterior of flues for signs of obvious blockage – bird nests or rubbish piled up around the flu will stop deadly gases escaping.


• Get a carbon monoxide alarm fitted – just like a smoke alarm, they save lives.


• Check your carbon monoxide and smoke alarm batteries regularly.


• If you use wood or coal stoves, have the chimney checked and swept if required.


• Check your home heating cover policy – you may qualify for a free annual inspection!


• Don’t leave it till Winter to discover you need a heating engineer. They’ll be too busy to attend straightaway and you’ll be very cold indeed.


• Check your elderly neighbours OK. A few minutes checking timing clocks and smoke alarm batteries can make all the difference.


• Follow the safety instructions on all portable appliances and never leave them on overnight whilst your asleep.

PHOTO FEATURE: Sociable Kitchens

In many homes, the kitchen is becoming one of the most important rooms, so it’s no surprise that today’s kitchens focus on sleek designs and stylish materials, whilst emphasising a spacious and ‘open’ feel.

Pictures for this month’s photo feature are from Kitchen Co-Ordination Ltd, a design and installation company who work around the London area.)

For an instant online fitted kitchen quote, visit KitchenQuoter.co.uk.

Throughout human history, sharing food has been central to our social lives. From the earliest cave dwellers to the modern restaurant goers, we’ve always used food as the perfect excuse to get together with friends and family and share good times.

In modern times we’ve started taking this one step further, though, and begun sharing not just the food, but the cooking too. Ever more common is the kitchen-diner, the open plan house, or even just the kitchen hatch. We don’t just cook food and serve it, we share the cooking as well.

One way to achieve this balance is using an island as a seating area, so you won’t miss out on any of the conversation while you’re preparing dinner for family or friends – and parents can also use it to spend more time with their children over breakfast or homework.

Not everything about a chic kitchen has to be black, white, silver and shiny! Don’t be afraid to incorporate a modern kitchen into your style of home – they can be perfectly mixed with natural wood floors and wicker furniture.

Bespoke kitchens not only make use of every little nook-and-cranny, but also keep the overall design as sleek as possible. Walls and ceilings flow into one another when kept the same colour and appliances, such as microwaves, add to the smooth finish if integrated into cupboard space

To find out more and get a free, instant online quote for your fitted kitchen project, visit KitchenQuoter.co.uk today

Thinking of Upgrading or installing your Windows?

(not that type of Windows!)

If you're thinking of upgrading your Windows or installing Windows in your home, then we have the answer - online.

Forget costly call-centers or premium rate phone lines, we can offer you an instant online quote for replacement windows and doors, double glazing and conservatories & porches etc from the comfort of your own computer.

Visit Window Quoter today. Our clever website lets you enter your own measurements, select the style of window and openers etc you'd like and then works out a price based on current UK averages there and then. Use it as often as you like, whenever you like.

And if you're looking to improve other areas in your home, then visit our Home Improvement Quotes website which has details, information and links to the entire 'Quoter family of websites, all offering instant online quotes.

P.S Apparently, it's also Windows 7 (Microsoft's computer operating system) launch day today.

photo credit: rgarcia