Insights

We get hundreds of questions each and every year from customers asking what they need to look for when buying new windows and how to go about getting the best deal.

If you have noticed a rotten frame, an increase in condensation, or a sharp rise in heating bills you may well require new window installation but with so many different products on the market, how do you know which window to choose?

Here are some of the most important things to think about when picking your new windows.

Number 1: What window type do you want?

Windows come in all shapes and sizes and whilst the type of property you live in will narrow down your options you will still need to a decide between a raft of different windows types.

From traditional sliding sash windows updated with the latest in smooth operating technology and the latest energy efficient features to the classic casement window or a timeless French window, you have a lot to think about.

Consider the aesthetic that you want to achieve with your property, and how your window will be used and go from there. If energy efficiency, durability, and functionality are your primary concerns, casement windows will set you up nicely for decades to come but it may be that your property would look better with a more traditional looking French or sash window, especially if you live in a period home.

To learn more about the different window designs that are available, contact your local double glazing East Kilbride window installation company today.

Number 2: What is your budget?

You can get perfectly solid efficient double glazed windows at a pretty affordable price these days but if you are looking for a custom design, triple glazing, or a more complex window type, you will have to pay slightly more for the privilege.

In order to avoid disappointment it is a good plan to work out what your budget is for your new windows at the very start of your search and go from there. In order to get the best price, get a quote from 2 or 3 respected installers in your area.

Number 3: What warranty does the window come with?

The longer the installation warranty you get with your new windows the better. The warranty that you get with double glazed windows between manufacturers and installers but as a rule of thumb you should look for windows where the glass at least is covered for as close to 20 years as possible. Bear in mind that the installation warranty is not the same as the manufacturer’s warranty so make sure to find out the length of both and exactly what is included before committing.

Number 4: What is their energy efficiency

Windows come with a U-Value, the measurement used to determine an objects energy efficiency. Look for products with as low a U-Value as possible, meaning that as little heat as possible is able to escape from your home during the winter months.

Any window you install should be A-rated for energy efficiency.

Number 5: What type of glazing do you need?

Double, right? Well, not necessarily. Modern double glazing is excellent in terms of security, energy efficiency, and noise reduction, but there is now a new kid on the block in triple glazing that offers an additional boost in each of these key areas.

Whichever option you end up choosing, look for windows that feature an Argon gas filling between the panes of glass within the frame, adding an additional level of insulation and improving efficiency rates by over 5%.

Number 6: Do you need to have your windows retrofit or fully replaced?

Window installation takes two different forms, retrofitting and full frame replacement. Retrofitting involves the removal of only the glass within a window frame whilst full frame replacement, as you probably guess, includes removal of the frame itself.

Retrofitting can be attractive to some as it allows them to keep the frame that fits in with the aesthetic of their property and avoid seeking a similar replacement. The problem is that frames are integral to preventing draughts and water leaks and failing to replace them along with the glass can lead to an increase in these two issues.

With so many frame colours and designs out there now, your best decision is probably to replace the entire unit at the same time as failing to do so will only lead to you spending more in the long term. It is a lot more difficult, sometimes impossible for an installer to replace a frame after new glass has been installed than it is to replace the unit completely.

Heating and hot water are fundamental components of a safe and comfortable home life. It is all too easy to take these things for granted but they will soon have your attention if you go to turn them on and your boiler won’t fire up.

There is nothing worse than coming home of a cold winter’s day, going to turn on the radiators and discovering you have no heat. The easiest way to get your boiler back up and running again is to call in a qualified Gas Safe boiler engineer to resolve the issues, but they can take several days to arrive during the winter due to high demand and there are a few simply and safe things that you can try that might resolve your problems.

Read on to learn more about the common causes of a boiler not firing up as well as a few simple tips and tricks that could fix them in an instant.

Lack of power

Many people don’t realise that gas boilers are actually reliant on electricity to fire up and you might actually have a problem with your electricity rather than your boiler.

From a tripped fuse to a complete power cut in your area, there are many potential reasons for a lack of electricity that could be preventing your boiler from firing.

Before you call a local Gas engineer, try to diagnose the issue by checking to see if you have power in the rest of your home and checking the fuse box to see if the circuit powering your boiler has tripped. If this is indeed the case, simply flipping the switch on the fuse box itself will have your boiler working again in no time, limiting disruption and saving you a huge amount of time and stress.

If a power failure does occur, many boilers will automatically lock to protect any damage from occurring. If this happens you will need to reset the boiler. Check the product guide or contact the manufacturer for details on how to do this.

Frozen pipe

There are many pipes connected to a boiler system, carrying hot water around the premises, that can freeze if the boiler is not turned on regularly during the winter months.

One of these, the condensate pipe, is responsible for draining wastewater away from the boiler, and unlike most of the pipes in your heating system is usually located on the outside of the property.

This makes it much more likely to freeze and should this happen your boiler will sense the problem and refuse to turn on as a result. If you suspect that a frozen pipe may be the cause of your boiler problems try and listen out for any gurgling noises, or check the screen on the boiler itself for an error code.

Faulty/reset thermostat

Sometimes, boiler issues are far less serious than you might think. It is natural for your mind to jump to the worst possible conclusion when your heating doesn’t activate at the time that it should but this could simply be due to a thermostat malfunction that can easily be remedied.

If you recently had a power cut, for example, your thermostat may have reverted to factory settings and lost your pre-set heating schedule. Simply reprogramming the system, whilst a bit of a pain, will save you the embarrassment of calling out an engineer only for them to find a perfectly working boiler.

If your boiler does work, but you find it turns off before your home is at a comfortable temperature, despite the thermostat being set to a relatively high temperature, the location of the thermostat may be the issue.

If your thermostat is located close to a source of heat, or in a room that is naturally warmer than the rest of the property, it will turn off your boiler earlier than you would wish as the temperature nearby is already at the level you have set.

To fix this, set the thermostat slightly higher, or consider arranging to have it re-located. In rare instances, the thermostat may be measuring temperature incorrectly and a reset may be required. If this doesn’t work, calling in the professionals is probably your only option.

Lack of pressure

Boilers require a certain level of pressure in order to be able to fire up and will experience operational issues if the pressure falls too low. If this is the cause of your problems it will be relatively easy to identify as boilers come fitted with a pressure gauge that will indicate a sudden drop.

If you do indeed have too low pressure, a boiler repressurise may fix the problem, or, if the pressure is too high, a radiator bleed could help.

Many of us take for granted our human rights without ever knowing exactly what they are, but when the time comes where your rights are violated, you need the right legal representation to ensure justice is served.

Step forward the human rights law firm. These are people who have committed their careers to protecting the human rights of their clients, ensuring that organisations and public sector groups are held to account for any systematic discrimination, and conducting research into current and historic breaches of our rights and freedoms.

But what exactly is it that these highly qualified experts do on a day-to-day basis? This article will look at human rights law, and those who practice it, in a little more detail, giving you all the information that you need if you are looking for a human rights lawyer, or simply want to know what your rights are?

What is human rights law?

Human rights law, unsurprisingly, covers issues relating to the fundamental human rights, first set out in EU law and being written into UK legislation via the Human Rights Act 1998.

These rights cover human dignity, equality, and civil rights and anyone who fails to uphold the rights and freedoms of others is subject to prosecution.

Just some of the common issues dealt with by a human rights lawyer include freedom of speech, living conditions for those in poverty, immigration rights, privacy violations, LGBTQ+ rights and much more besides.

Human rights lawyers will fight extremely hard to protect the rights of their clients no matter their age, race, gender, or social background.

What is the job of a human rights lawyer?

Human rights lawyers have the task of upholding and enforcing human rights law and ensuring that anyone whose rights have been breached gets the justice that they deserve.

As with any other area of law this requires a huge amount of skill and case law research, particularly when two rights potentially conflict, such as cases involving freedom of expression claims against the right to privacy.

Human rights lawyers must have a broad understanding of the law as a whole as well as specialising in human rights in particular, and many specialise even further, focussing on abuses against certain groups such as those with a mental or physical disability, staff that have been unfairly let go, refugees, and more.

No branch of law requires a more varied understanding of each different type of law than human rights and civil liberties.

When they take on a case, it is the task of a human rights lawyer to gather the facts of the case, examine the evidence, and produce the strongest possible case on behalf of their client. If it reaches that stage they will present this case in court, but often lawyers will decide, in consultation with their client to make an agreement outside of the courtroom with the opposing party.

There is a huge amount of research that goes into being a successful human rights lawyer. In order for a lawyer to represent their client in the best possible way they must not only be an expert on all the details of the case itself, but also have an extensive grasp of all the relevant case law and precedent that may give them the edge.

Some human rights lawyers will only represent individuals who have had their rights violated but others, will hold companies and Government groups to account, ensuring that their policies and workplace environment conforms with all the relevant human rights obligations.

Companies will often even hire their own human rights lawyer on a consultation basis to review their practices and work place to determine that they are conforming and are not in danger of future legal repercussions.

How much does a human rights lawyer cost?

As human rights lawyers frequently represent those with a lower than average income they tend to charge less than leading criminal or corporate lawyers and do a significant amount of their work pro bono, without charging the client at all.

They will often charge more for their consultation work in order to have the funds available to take on the cases that matter the most to them and help individuals in their time of need. Many lawyers even operate other legal services such as overseeing personal injury claims to facilitate their human rights work.

This is where being a human rights lawyer does vary slightly from other strands of law. It is not the place for those whose sole motivation for law is to make money and those who do not have a passion to do good and to help those who need it most and have been through potentially traumatic events will not tend to last very long in the role.

Manned guarding is the term used to describe the role of professional security guards tasked with protecting property, people, or assets from the threat of criminal activity.

It refers to the physical presence of security officers as opposed to the remote monitoring of CCTV or alarm systems and is a service that can only be performed by fully licensed personnel and is monitored by a government department.

There are a wide range of situations in which manned guarding may be required with the exact duty of the security guards in the role depending on the needs of the client and the nature of the site.

With certain exceptions when discretion is key, manned security officers will be fully uniformed and act as a visible deterrent to criminals, with the incidents that don’t occur due to their presence just as beneficial as their ability to use their conflict management training to deal with incidents that do.

How does a manned guarding service operate?

Manned guarding can take a number of different forms, but in most situations will involve the stationing of a static security officer on the site. They may also be responsible for monitoring CCTV and your property’s alarm system and conducting regular patrols of the property, keeping an eye out for suspicious behaviour.

When you choose a security firm to provide you with security guards, make sure that they are fully SIA licensed or they may be operating illegally and you could pay the price.

You should also ensure that they are trained to operate a variety of different security technologies such as CCTV systems as this is an invaluable tool in the arsenal of any modern manned guarding service.

When it comes to deterring criminals from targeting your site, there are very few measures more effective than the presence of a highly visible uniformed security officer.

Who needs manned guarding services?

Anyone who has valuable assets to protect, or who requires protection themselves, and is at a genuine risk of being the victim of criminal activity could benefit from manned guarding services.

We currently have SIA licensed security officers in the field protecting:

• Retail stores
• Hotels
• Construction sites
• Void property
• Student accommodation
• Supermarkets
• Event venues
• Office blocks
• Celebrities
• High worth individuals
• And much more

Manned guarding at events

Any event with a significant number of attendees requires a manned guarding presence. Security guards will observe guests for suspicious behaviour, check tickets to ensure only authorised individuals can access the venue, control the crowd to avoid bottlenecks and overcrowding, and much more besides.

The nature of the manned guarding service that is required, will vary dramatically depending on the event in question. For example, at a business conference or political rally, the biggest threat to a smooth running event might be demonstrations and protesters looking to cause disruption whilst at a rival football match, keeping opposing supporters apart will be the key.

Trained security officers will work with the event planners and the venue itself to create a list of duties that they will perform during the event.

Responsibilities of security guards

The exact job of a security guard does vary from job to job but there are some duties that they perform on a regular basis.

These include:

Conducting patrols

Security officers will conduct regular patrols to ensure that the site they are stationed on remains secure and that there are no potential hazards that could pose problems. These patrols will incorporate inspections of key areas such as the perimeter of the site, potential entry points, and key areas deemed most likely to be targeted.

Monitoring CCTV

The modern security officer uses technology to be as effective as possible. CCTV is a great way to keep an eye across an entire site and is much more effective than even the most observant of security officer in this role. If an incident is detected the footage will be used to direct boots on the ground to the location in real time, allowing the situation to be deescalated as quickly as possible.

Customer Service

Security guards are often asked to perform some routine desk security duties as it is common for them to be stationed near the entrance to the property and the first person to greet customers or guests.

These duties can include giving directions to visitors and escorting people to their destination if deemed appropriate.

Conflict Resolution

All SIA licenced security guards must pass extensive conflict management training which they can use to de-escalate heated situations before they come to a head.

This is particularly useful when tasked with protecting an sporting venue where emotions are already running high and the chances of a confrontation are more significant. Their presence can also be reassuring to staff who know they are protected in the event of a disgruntled customer taking things too far.