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Bronze Casements has recently featured at the Homebuilding & Renovating Show at Olympia, London. With over 20,000 visitors it was a very busy time for all.
Over the past months there have been growth within the Bronze Casement division and the new members of the team have risen to the challenge of working in such a diverse and interesting industry.
We recently featured at the Grand Designs Show at the London Excel. This has been a favourite choice for the Design Team here at Vale as the atmosphere is always lively and there are lots of people in attendance. Indeed there were over 101,000 visitors to the Grand Designs show so as can be imagined, it’s a very busy time for all!
Ever had the problem of how to clean and maintain those hard to reach windows? We’ve had clients who’ve come to us with this conundrum. For example in Town Houses, dormer windows and over the gable end of a building.
Stone damage not only looks unsightly, but may also seriously affect the performance of your bronze windows. The cause of stone damage may be due to a variety of problems.
Grand Designs London returns to Excel this springtime, we can expect over 100,000 visitors to view over 500 stands during the 9 day show. Bronze Casements have booked their annual slot in the Grand Build area of the exhibition hall. After the success of last year’s dual stand, with Vale Interiors (conservatory furniture) and Bronze Casements (metal windows) exhibiting in tandem under the Vale Garden Houses banner, we are now returning as simply Bronze Casements for this year’s show.
Architectural Bronze Casements can be incorporated into various types of window openings including those made of stone, brick and timber. It is possible to fit directly into the existing substrate but sometimes work is required where timber has rotted or masonry has been damaged. Our surveyors can advise on what remedial action may be required, and are able to draw on expertise from associated tradesmen if necessary.
Whilst many of our metal windows and doors are produced for New Build projects where you are working to new and plumb reveals and windows are of a regular shape. However, we also have a great deal of experience working with older properties and heritage type work where we are trusted to replace and re-instate appropriate fenestration in often difficult situations. This is typically where the window openings are out of square, may be have complex arcs or curves, or are of a non-standard construction. It may also be on buildings where windows are particularly difficult to access.
Each of our bespoke metal windows is made to a manufacturing tolerance of +/- 2mm. Therefore measuring windows correctly is paramount.
A good number of our clients who are practically minded or have a good builder working on their project are confident to supply dimensions for us to manufacture their metal windows. We will also provide full fitting instructions in order that they can be installed without any hiccups.
Jules Adams
Mark Bland, Ken Lipsham, Andy Simpson, Martin Gibbins – Project Designers
Martin Hawkins, Martin Kinnersley – Site Project Managers
Howard – CAD Technician
Sharon B.J. – Project Team Co-ordinator
Earlier this year Architectural Bronze Casements began working on an interesting and exciting renovation project located in Upper West Side New York. 266 West End Avenue was the former home of Hollywood’s outrageous Mae West, a vaudeville performer, playwright, Broadway sensation, movie star and an independent woman who became an icon simply by being herself.
Architectural Bronze Casements exhibited this year at the Great Yorkshire Show for the first time.
The great Yorkshire Show is the country’s leading agricultural event and is held in Harrogate from Tuesday 13th to Thursday 15th July. This year it saw an impressive 125,000 visitors attend.
Architectural Bronze Casements provide a number of decorative features which can be selected to help you personalise your metal windows to suit your tastes and the style of the property. We offer various different configurations of handles, stays and back plates that are ideal for renovation projects yet are equally appropriate in a more contemporary build. Our focus is to work with the client to ensure the metalwork compliments their project, maintaining the style and enhancing the aesthetics of the building.
Roch Castle is located in Pembrokeshire, Wales and dates back to the second half of the 13th century. The castle was badly damaged by Cromwell’s troops in the 17th Century and has since been in a gradual state of decline. In September 2008 the Retreats Group Trust brought Roch Castle and in February 2009, it awarded the contract for its restoration and refurbishment to Welsh Heritage Construction.
Earlier in the year we were approached by an Architect working on the restoration of Ordsall Hall, a magnificent building dating back over 820 years. The hall had played an important part in the lives of people in Salford but had understandably become a little tired over the years as it’s many uses changed from originally a cherished family home, through various incarnations as a working men’s club, a church hall and most recently as a local history museum and community centre.
We have finally booked the last of the shows we will exhibit our metal windows at in 2010.
True to our product, we have recently returned from the Listed Property Show which was held at Olympia end of February. The show was a huge success for Vale as numbers attending were considerably higher than previous years and we were also very surprised by the quality enquiries – from those replacing just a couple of aging windows, to total refurbishments.
Planes, trains and automobiles and don’t forget the ferry.
January was such an exciting month for Bronze Casements. Despite the change in VAT rate, it was a great month for UK sales which included seeing some fabulous new build projects that we have been working on finally being given the go ahead. The highlights being two architecturally brilliant designs, one inspired by Arts and Crafts and the other replicating the Elizabethan period – both of which we can’t wait to see progress.
2009 has been a busy year for the Bronze Team here at Vale Garden Houses, culminating in a frantic December as clients raced to order their bronze windows in order maximise the 2.5% reduced VAT rate before the end of year changeover .
Bronze (Copper & Tin) has been known to man for over 5000 years and the ‘Bronze Age’ when it’s use was confined to items which were valued highly by man at that time. Typical usage would probably have been for items such as spearheads and jewellery.
With people becoming increasingly aware of the potential impact of their actions on the carbon footprint, both manufacturers and clients are considering their effect on our environment when making choices. This was certainly the case when Vale Garden Houses were initially researching and designing out Traditional Bronze Windows over 14 years ago.
Vale Garden Houses is a well established family run business which has been designing and building traditional conservatories, orangeries and roof lights for over 27 years.
Several years ago, when finding it problematic sourcing suitable traditional metal windows for use within our structures, we took the decision to design and make our own metal windows.
