A CR Smith Conservatory Earth Hour

The WWF’s Earth Hour event was a great success, with millions of people across the world turning off the lights for an hour in a mass demonstration to show their support in the fight against climate change.

I was at a party in a friend’s conservatory when we plunged ourselves into darkness for the hour between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday March 28. We had such fun with the lights off we never realised the hour passed and carried on in darkness for the rest of the evening.

At the party we were discussing what we do in our lives to be green, when someone commented that it was contradictory to hold a ‘green’ protest in a conservatory. There are many people that hold a misplaced view that conservatories eat up energy and are difficult to heat – modern, CR Smith conservatories are simply not like that.

Conservatories are built on the ground so a lot of heat can escape quite easily if there isn’t a strong insulation system. All CR Smith conservatories have fully insulated floors and walls and Argon gas filled double-glazed units in the windows. We use 60mm thick insulation which is strapped to the inner skin of the brick with a 50mm cavity. Beneath the floor, 80mm for concrete floors and 100mm for a suspended timber floor, Damp Proof Membrane (DPM) is laid to eliminate rising damp. A minimum gap of 150mm is then left to allow air circulation throughout. All of this ensures that heat cannot escape easily in a CR Smith conservatory.

Satisfied CR Smith Customers - Step Back in Time

Steven and Nicola Russell loved their Victorian style sash windows which were an original feature of the property. Unfortunately for the Russell’s, they had also inherited another feature of the era – a freezing cold living room.

“We might as well have had the windows wide open for all the good they did,” recalls Mr Russell, “it was so cold and as a result and we hardly ever used the room which was a pity because it’s one of the nicest rooms in the house.”

After getting a number of quotes Mr Russell, from Dunfermline, found CR Smith couldn’t be beaten on price or quality and more importantly their authentic looking Lorimer sash and case window range matched the property perfectly.

“Our main concern was getting the style of the windows right,” said Steven, “but the CR Smith Lorimer sash and case style is beautiful.” The Russell’s were particularly pleased with the joinery work carried out in their home. “The wood that CR Smith used matched really well with the original woodwork else where in the house,” said Mr Russell, “I was so pleased with the attention they paid to small details.”

The Russell household has also become quieter due to the improved soundproofing offered by their new installation but the biggest difference has been the warmth in their front room. “The difference is just unbelievable,” said Steven, “it’s so much warmer and no doubt we’ll notice the difference when the bills come through.”

Mr Russell was impressed by the service from CR Smith and even more so by their investigative skills. “I wasn’t entirely sure how old the original windows were,” said Steven, “I was discussing it with the joiners and not long after they came through with a piece of newspaper they had found behind the panel – it was advertising a shell shock cure for World War One soldiers!”

With their old windows firmly resigned to the history books, the Russell’s can now get on with enjoying their spacious living room frostbite free.