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Catching up with time

Wow, where has the time gone, Hurricane Katia blew herself out, Janette completed her Power Walk on the Great North Run in September, 2hrs 58mins 9secs and together with her friend Jackie they expect to close donations on behalf of the RNLI at Christmas with £950 plus, please feel free to add a donation at: http://www.justgiving.com/Janette-Sibley, £1000 – 1200 will kit out a crew member.

Summer, where was it, but Autumn came early and stayed for so long, now here we are, still mild in November, tidying up sorting out those final niggles in the garden before winter. Remember to check those fences for rot and stability, do they need a new coat of preservative, a replacement post, panel or will a spur get you through the season. Were there so many leaves to collect in your garden that a new compost bin is needed or perhaps a screen to hide the debris?
Take a look at our online shop and if your in the area, SG2 7EG then why not pop in to see us and visit our shop.

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Autumn is Blowing in Fast

Hello everybody, it’s been mayhem here, just as the summer orders were trailing off they picked up again – a pleasant surprise and we have recently won the Stevenage Homes Property Contract to carry out fencing/fencing repairs to the council’s tenants.

Well, with the summer holidays over the staff are chatting about the autumn the spring and what to plant in their gardens. Perhaps it is time to look again at our trellis and planters:

With the addition of spring bulbs, maybe a small evergreen shrub or climber and winter pansies above there could be colour in the garden, or close to the house etc. for those dark cold months.

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Thoughts From Our Side of the Fence

>We all know or like to believe that the customer is always right but just sometimes it would be helpful if customers listened to us rather than jump down the phone and try to throttle us. I am sure we all know the feelings of:

1.) “What do you mean you do not do evening or week-end calls, we work Monday to Friday?” – hmm, companies who can offer these facilities are usually ‘one-man’ bands or large nationals, it costs a great deal of money to employ a person to work out of normal office hours and those charges would greatly inflate our prices.

2.) “Don’t try to fob me off with bad weather.” – hmm, well it is very likely we cannot come out to the domestic situation if rain is bucketing down, heavy snow is falling or the fog is so thick we cannot see to fetch and carry. In the domestic situation, heavy rain or thick snow can turn a garden into a quagmire, resulting not only in the erectors slipping and sliding about but in also wreaking havoc on the garden, ploughing up plants etc, where in the dry an erector could step around. The customer would, we are sure be more upset having to replace garden plants etc, at their expense.

3.) “What do you mean he’s late because of a puncture, he’s probably overslept, or you’re trying to slot in another job before mine.” – hmm, oh dear, the sad reality is that we stand to lose custom by not fulfilling our duties and putting in additional jobs will not gain the custom lost by a dissatisfied customer.

4.) “You told me approximately 5 weeks and now it is six.” Our time-scale usually covers holidays but occasionally it may take us a few more days than expected to schedule the work dates and of course sickness is the perennial thorn that cannot be anticipated.

5.) “You need to sort out your IT, everybody should carry, not just a mobile phone but a blackberry, a tablet, a laptop and be available to customers.” Hmm, I expect people like British Gas can do this but they are a national company, we are happy to deal with customers in the office or through the shop, by telephone or e-mail but again costs to the customer would be accelerated to pay for all these IT gadgets, not to mention the service bills that would be generated.

6.) “You did a job for me and now the wood is warped, split, shrunk and I expect you to change it.” The sad reality of working with natural substances like wood is we have no means of measuring its life expectancy, in the case of wood it can warp, split, change colour, seep resin and all of this is beyond our control.

Jarrett Fencing timber materials are preservative treated, unless specified otherwise. Timbe is a natural organic material and will contain knots and sap, the timber may well swell, shrink and or, warp which can cause splitting to occur; this is to be expected and M F Jarrett & Sons, T/a jarrett Fencing cannot be held liable and or, responsible to exchange goods or refund monies in this event.

This meets with British Standard: ENISO9000; 1722 parts: 4, 5, 6, 7 and 14 – No. 3470.

When our customers’ shout and scream at us in indignation about their rights we all become a trifle frayed and put out, none of us retain the initial enthusiasm and trust that was engendered at the time of the estimate. Please be assured that Jarrett Fencing does not intend to cause distress and frustration to its customers, we always aim to work to our scheduled times and dates but dealing with the environment and being mere humans we may not always maintain the high standards we all would like.

Please be assured Jarrett Fencing will always strive to fulfil customer’s orders to time and we will endeavour to keep our customers informed of the latest position of their order. Fortunately, by far the majority of our customers prove to be a friendly and taolerant bunch who make doing business a pleasure.

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Ideas and uses for Jarrett Fencing Trellis

Historically trellis was used as a framework to grow an assortment of vines and flowering climbers on. The word trellis derives from the French word treillage, meaning a latticework for supporting vines.

These days trellis is used in a number of different ways, e.g. to provide screening or a windbreak, to divide an area, as well as other structural and visual functions within a garden. Why not take a look at Jarrett Fencing’s great range of trellis, whether added to the existing fence, as a view through panel or placed above a panel it can offer support to larger plants and climbers, or be an ornamental backdrop.
With modern gardens, ever diminishing in size, the trellis becomes a firm favourite for growing cucumbers, peas, beans, tomatoes and aubergines and getting these vegetables off the ground will produce a better crop; it also protects them from insects that are in the soil. Having the fruits above ground also prevents them from rotting, by not resting on poorly drained or wet soil.
In addition, of course, the ever popular use of trellis with an arbour and, or gate to give a welcome to visitors or, consider how trellis can bring further dimension to your garden.

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Making the Best Use of Your Garden and Home as A Living space

As house, prices soared over the past twenty years how many of you had to settle for a house that only looked sizable when the doors were taken off their hinges. Many households now struggle for living space, it can lead to friction, arguments, and general discourse among the occupants, but a positive means to resolving this issue is to consider the space you have outside in the garden. Thanks to the choice of Summerhouses, cabins ,and sheds we can offer there is bound to be a solution to at least some of your discourse, be it for an office, a quiet or workroom, an office, family gatherings, a play area or for storage.

Take a look at Jarrett Fencing’s range of summerhouses, cabins, and sheds and consider how they might work for you, not forgetting that with an additional glazed room you can enjoy the wildlife in your garden all year round.
Whilst we cannot guarantee to remove your household discourse your decision in selecting the right product may well help; why not discuss your requirements and reasons for choice with our estimators.
If you live within 20 miles of Stevenage our estimators will be happy to come and visit you on site otherwise why not ring or e-mail us about utilising your garden space to best effect; we can also offer bespoke services if required.

Why not browse our extensive website and see all that we have to offer.

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Fencing and Boundary Issues

Every so often, customers asking fencing questions on the position, height, way of facing and boundary issues approach us; recently a lady called to ask if her neighbour was in the right by facing the raw fence panels to her land and the attractive smooth side to their own. An Internet resource provided by Jon Maynard Boundaries Ltd gives excellent advice in these matters and in this case:

There is no law that says the smooth side of the fence should face the neighbour.

If your neighbour pays for a fence that he erects on his own land (even if he builds the fence so that the outer face of it, as seen from his land, runs along the boundary) then he is entitled to choose the style and colour of the fence, as well as whether he places the smooth side of the fence to face in towards his own house or out to face your house.

Did you know there is no obligation in law to fence the boundaries of one’s land, except for Safety and there are specific laws relating to the railways, mines and quarries, Highways and animals but do take note that a conveyance deed or a transfer deed may include a covenant requiring the purchaser to fence the land and for him or his successors in title to forever maintain the fence.

A wise householder will fence his land, either for the protection of his own children, or, to prevent his pet animals from straying.

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Improving and Redefining Your Garden

At long last we have had some rain, not a lot but it made me think, did you know we can assist in maintaining moisture in the ground by supplying you with quality Ornamental Bark; which also suppresses weeds, and our quality Soil conditioner to not only top dress the lawn but to improve the soil by breaking up clay and improving moisture retention.

When it comes to Landscaping we can supply railway sleepers, log boards, bollard timbers and edging rolls to define and improve borders, surround ponds, create raised beds etc.

Of course the garden may still benefit by screening with our panels and have you seen our composter and bin stores: