Tarmac Options For Your Home

Tarmac is one of the cheapest, yet effective ways of laying a new driveway or patio. However, it does need to be laid by professionals using specialist machinery, tools and materials of the highest quality. For this reason, it is most certainly not a DIY job. In our years in the business, we have seen low quality tarmac driveways that have been laid by inexperienced companies, and even the homeowners themselves. The result is a driveway that lasts for weeks, and at the most months. When you are investing in a new driveway for your home or business, you want it to last for decades.

Considerations Before Choosing A Tarmac Driveway

Here at Barton Bros. & Sons, we offer a range of different driveway finishes, and we can give you expert help if you are unsure which to choose for your property. There are a number of considerations to take into account before choosing tarmac driveways in Glasgow. For example, if you are going to be working on vehicles on your driveway, you may wish to choose an alternative to tarmac. Diesel and petrol spills can penetrate through tarmac and eat through to the layers underneath. Unfortunately, the process is irreversible and will result in unwanted holes in your driveway. Whilst patch repairs can be carried out to a certain extent, the look isn’t great.

Consider The Neighbourhood Too

Are there other properties on your road with tarmac driveways? If all of the other properties have paved driveways or landscaped gardens, your tarmac driveway may stick out like a sore thumb. However, if you live on a street where all driveways are tarmacked then your driveway will fit in perfectly. Think about kerb appeal. We offer paved driveways too at a great price, and would be delighted to provide you with a quote if you feel this option would be more suitable for you.

Choose The Perfect Style

We have been laying driveways in Glasgow for years, and specialise in tarmac driveways. We offer a number of finishes and aggregates, giving you the freedom to choose the tarmac driveway that best suits your needs and your personal taste. Why not give us a call today to find out more about our solutions, and how we can add value, kerb appeal and practical use to your property.

How To Prevent A Burst Pipe This Winter

As the summer months draw to a close, we’ll be gearing up to repairing scores of burst pipes across the region this winter. A burst pipe can cause significant damage to a property, especially if it occurs when you are away from home. However, there are ways you can prevent pipes from bursting and ruining your day.

Avoiding Frozen And Burst Pipes

There are many things you can do to prevent a burst pipe in the home, and it all comes down to a little maintenance and due diligence.

 ● Apply insulation to your pipes and water tank. You can pick up good quality lagging materials in your local DIY centre. We can also do this for you.
 ● Insulation should be applied to areas that get cold or where there is no heating. For example, your loft space can get very cold in the winter, and garages are also susceptible to the cold.
 ● Repair any faulty or dripping taps in your property. The smallest trickle or drip can cause your pipes to freeze. Make sure taps are turned off properly after each use.
 ● Do you know where your stopcock is? Most are found under the kitchen sink, and can be operated by turning the valve in a clockwise direction. If you do suffer a burst pipe, switching the water off will prevent water from pouring from the faulty pipe.
 ● Have your boiler serviced on a regular basis. This is also something our emergency plumbers Glasgow can assist with.
 ● If you have draughts entering your property in colder areas such as your loft or garage, try to insulate these areas to keep them warmer when the temperature outside drops.
 ● It can be a good idea, if you have one, to open the loft hatch to let warm air from below rise into the loft space.
 ● If you are going to be away from home, set the heating on a low setting, or ask a neighbour to check your property on a regular basis.

What To Do If A Pipe Freezes

If you suspect you do have a frozen pipe, there are things you can do to rectify the situation before the pipe bursts. First, turn off the water supply with the stopcock, and then attempt to thaw out the pipe with hot water bottles or a towel that has been soaked in hot water. You could also use a hairdryer, but never use any naked flames.

Call Us If You Experience A Burst Pipe

If all else fails, and you still experience a burst pipe, it’s time to call in our experts. As a leading emergency plumber in Glasgow, you can trust us to give you fast and professional service wherever you are in the region. We don’t charge a callout fee and our prices are fixed.

5 Questions To Ask Your Web Design For The Best Results

Deciding what you want from your website can be hard. Getting tangible results from your website can be even harder…

Sure, you could hire the best design team to design a beautiful website that looks great, but is it going to bring you in more profit - the reason you’re in business in the first place? When you’re running a business and reaching out to new customers online, you need to be sure that your website is going to give you the best return on investment.

So, how can you get the best from your designer, and total peace of mind that your website is going to do great things for your business? Here are 10 questions to ask your web designer - hopefully that will be us!

1. Do You Achieve Good Business Results?

Ask how the website designer has helped clients to achieve success online. This could be an increase in sales, or an increase in subscribers to a mailing list. Ask to see proof where possible.

2. How Much Do You Charge?

Whilst it might be tempting to choose the cheapest company, you might regret it in the long run. A good quality website designer will give you a fair charge, but also break down everything you are going to get for that price.

3. How Long Does Planning Take?

A lot of research and planning is involved before a website can be designed. We will sit down with our clients and ask them a lot of questions about their business so that we can build a really good design plan they will be happy with. Planning is everything, and so we set aside a few hours for this phase. It might sound like a lot, but it’s important to get your website right first time.

4. Will My Website Be Easy To Use?

Whether you want to ensure a good user experience, or you need to update your website yourself, ease of use is essential. When it comes to website design in West Lothian, we believe in building powerful and visually appealing websites that are easy to use, and which have a strong call to action. The result is happy visitors who are more likely to convert to customers.

5. How Is My Website Going To Help Me Achieve My Goals?

Whether you are looking to increase your orders, your newsletter subscribers or hit targets for a particular product, we work closely with you to ensure your website is tailored and primed to meet those goals. In addition to conversions, we look at ways to encourage repeat business and ways in which you can target other areas of your market - for example, through social media.

If you are looking for help with web design in West Lothian, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Get in touch with GLC Digital Marketing today to find out more.