Do you provide free quotes?

Yes, if you want we can give you an estimate or a quote if we have enough detail, just email us at info@empatlka.com some rough dimensions and a sketch and ideally some pictures of the area you have in mind and you will get a quote very quickly by email. If you are happy with the estimate then we can come and visit you when it suits you and talk in detail.

How reliable are your carpenters?

We are very reliable, stick to start times and days agreed, we do what we say we will do, we turn up on time every day in order not disrupt your schedule. And we are there throughout the job, not disappearing for one day to do something else.

Do you provide drawings?

Yes once we receive your deposit, we provide you with a hand drawn from scratch 3D computer scale drawing precise to the millimetre for you to check how it looks and to see if you are happy with the dimensions. If you like you can make any changes until the drawing is perfect.

How do I know you will do a good job?

Before I buy anything I read reviews so I suggest you do the same, we have over 100 independent testimonials on the internet. Please have a look at our testimonial page to see what our clients say about us

You call or email us, we asses your needs and give you an estimate or quote, then we arrange a time to come round and visit you, ask you more questions in detail to find out exactly what you would like, listen very carefully to your ideas and offer design ideas and solutions to best use your space and needs. We go away, email you a final quote. Once you decide to go ahead, we take a small deposit, then send you the drawings, once you have agreed the drawing we can book your place in the diary and we agree a start date. We then turn up with the materials and tools and build your units, then once built we paint them or oil them. Then once we are totally finished and you are delighted, only then do you pay us the balance, lastly if you feel testimonials have helped you choose us, please help us keep them fresh and leave us a testimonial here: https://plus.google.com/101927655300158702077/about?hl=en&review=1

Are you going to make a big mess in our house?

We understand that your home is precious and we do everything we can to make sure we leave it in the state we found it. All our materials are cut to size by a specialist cutting company before being delivered to your home, so minimal cutting is required onsite, even then we cover and protect the floors, cover your furniture with plastic sheets, use dust extractors connected directly to power tools, we even use a fine dust and chemical extractor for really sensitive areas, this is well over the top but we like to do the very best we can and offer the best service, and when the work is all finished we take all our rubbish away and give your place a clean.

What materials and finishes do you offer?

Our units are built of quality Medite FSC certified MDF wood then painted, or made of wood veneer we can oil or use matt water based clear varnish, and also melamine coated wood as typically found in kitchen units. We are also pioneering research in alternative healthier eco friendlier materials, we are the first UK fitted furniture company to use UK sourced strawboard which is totally natural and bound with no glues at all to make our bespoke furniture, we can build your units out of formaldehyde free MDF too, we also use recycled plastic sheeting for decorative purposes with lighting behind and recycled glass as well as many other sustainable materials and finishes to find out more please see our eco page.

Do you paint the units and what colours do you offer?

Yes, we use the best quality professional waterbased DULUX and Farrow and Ball eggshell semi matt white paint . If you would like the eco option using more natural paints please see our environment page. We mostly use white but can paint any colour you like (If you would like to paint your fitted furniture we can offer you free advice).

Do you spray the units and do high gloss?

We can arrange to spray the doors and outside visible parts and make the internal carcass of a white or other colour melamine coated laminate.

Are your charges transparent?

All charges are stated in advance in the final quote, you know what you will pay from the start, everything is listed in the quote. Only handles are optional and to be supplied by you or us, also parking is extra, so they are priced separately. All of which is clearly stated in your quote.

Does your service represent value?

For the quality of service we offer from beginning to end we offer outstanding value, we take great pride in producing only the best bespoke furniture that you will be proud to own for years to come, we offer a 2 year guarantee on our work, we are endorsed by various independent certification bodies, we take customer service very seriously, we understand that there is more to producing furniture than wood and screws, your total satisfaction is our number one priority, but don’t take our word for us see what our clients say.

How flexible are you once the work has started if something needs changing?

Our craftsmen all speak good English and have a great deal of skill and will do everything they can if you feel that something needs adapting, for example you change your mind about how many shelves you want, or the spacing between them, then if it is possible we will do what we can to please you, either free of charge or at extra cost depending on what it is.

Can you fix stuff in my home?

Yes if you need anything fixing in your home while we are there making your fitted furniture, if we can do it we will help you out. I like to offer a service that I would like to use myself so for such things as hanging pictures, fixing doors that don’t close and generally anything wood related tell us when we come to measure up for your fitted furniture.

Do you use real wood?

We use real wood veneers or plastic laminates that look like wood but not generally solid wood, we work with close associates who use solid wood, just ask us for contacts.

We don’t do bathrooms but if we are already working in your house doing other fitted furniture, we will consider any storage you would like for your bathroom.

I have sockets where I want my fitted furniture how will you deal with this?

If you have an electrical, phone or TV areal socket that is ok as we can cut a hole in the back so you can still access them, we can move electrical sockets around if they haven’t got far to go. Phone sockets we can more if there is enough spare wire.

Do you make kitchens?

No we don’t make kitchens but sometimes can make units that go in your kitchen such as a bookcase.

The sustainability of recycled plastic board as a material for fitted furniture.

Home » Blog » The sustainability of recycled plastic board as a material for fitted furniture.

Tristan Titeux’s Pioneering Journey to find the most sustainable eco-friendly materials to design and build Empatika’s bespoke Fitted Furniture.

My mission is to help improve your environment by showing you that the choices you make everyday have an impact and make a big difference in the world.

If we all make a difference to spend our money a little more carefully, we will live in a better more peaceful cleaner world. We want our children to look back and say, “they nearly made us all extinct, but they quickly got their act together at the last minute”.

My journey started in December 2010 when I decided to research and publish my findings of various materials that are available on the European and World market but specially the UK.

Following on from the past few months at looking into boards made from hemp and straw, this month I am looking at recycled plastic board which is a very good way of diverting your waste to landfill and making something aesthetic and useful out of it. Did you know that you can take old Bank of England notes and shred them and suspend them in plastic made of corrugated conservatory roofing material amongst other things to make beautiful see through sheets? They really come alive when you install lights shining through them.

Tables made with recycled plastic from Smile plastics with Bank Of England notes suspended inside. Designed by Tim Coutts

Three tables designed by Tim Coutts featuring recycled plastic from Smile Plastics.

Smile Plastics in Shrewsbury take the waste from your recycling box and municipal waste and turn it into all sorts of colourful boards, others include the Jazz board that comes out yellow and blue due to the yellow gas pipe and blue water board pipe offcuts that are ground and blended together.

The Blue and Yellow door is from the Jazz range made of Gass and Water Pipe off cuts. Toilets by AAZTEC[/caption] They also produce a board made of confiscated illicit CD’s that are crushed and dispersed in a pale blue polycarbonate material that they have recycled from blue, cold water drinks containers.

Here is the recycled plastic sheet made form crushed confiscated illicit CD’s. Tristan Titeux used this plastic as part of his Pioneering project named “Stram Straw” (after the name Stramit who make it) using straw in a way never used in fitted furniture before.

This is a beautiful sample of PET recycled plastic with grass inside it. A great material to use as a feature in fitted furniture with a light behind for example.

This incinerator is based in Stoke. UK Pic from: InPlaceOfFear[/caption] Recycling plastic in this way uses between 50 and 70% of the energy that would be used to create sheets from virgin material, which means that not only are you not pulling more oil out of the earth and all the consequences of that, and on top you are reusing a material and saving space and pollution in the landfill and the watercourses around it for miles or polluting the air with incinerators.

It is becoming increasingly expensive to take waste to landfill, with recycling rubbish you can get money form the waste instead of having to pay to throw it away, it now makes economic sense to do this, whereas before companies did not get any incentive for recycling their rubbish unless they where a really eco aware company who cared and understood the importance of caring for their environment.

” the by-products of oil we do have should be put to good use”

Plastic is not the best of materials, but we have it, plenty of it, so ignoring it and throwing it away

is not a good idea, it is best to reuse it and recycle it as much as possible until it is not possible anymore. I think we should not pump out anymore oil of course, but the by-products of oil we do have should be put to good use. Here is a great example of the kind of company that is doing things right, they are not taking not even recycling the plastic, but better reusing it as it is in the state it is, that is the ultimate in recycling! They are called Recycle Your Media and are the kind of company others from all sectors including furniture making should aspire to.

“the first plastic invented was an organic material derived from cellulose, if we could do it then, imagine the amazing materials we could make from plants now!”

The first man made plastic was invented by Alexander Parkes who demonstrated it in public for the first time at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London. This materials was called Parkesine and was an organic materials derived from cellulose. Years later in 1950 the world was using 5 million tonnes of plastic, this increased to 100 million tonnes in 2001. What a shame plastic was later made from oil instead of plant based material. But it seems we have to learn from our mistakes, hit rock bottom before coming back round again in a circle and realising that we need to use renewable plant based materials once again.

Alexander Parkes

Interesting plastic facts.

Packaging represents the largest single sector of plastics used in the UK and represents a 35% chunk, the next is building and construction which uses 23% so it is great plastics are being recycled into board that can be used in construction of houses and fitted furniture.

1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours. There are now around 50 different groups of plastics and hundreds of different varieties. All types of plastic are recyclable, unfortunately not all types are currently collected or recycled by most councils, I hope that this becomes a priority soon, then we will be able to have an even more spectacular variety of boards.

One tonne of plastics is equivalent of 20000 two litre drinks bottles.

The Amount of plastic waste generated annually in the UK is estimated to be nearly 3 million tonnes. 56% of that plastic is used in packaging, three quarters of which is from households. It is also estimated that only 7% of plastic is being recycled. This is one good reason to choose goods with less packaging such as that found in farmers markets and traditional markets made of recycled paper.

57% of litter found on beaches in 2003 was plastic.

According to a 2001 Environment Agency report, 80% of post-consumer plastic waste is sent to landfill, 8% is incinerated and only 7% is recycled.

If you are interested to know more about how we can help you can contact us at eco@empatlka.com

If I can do anything to help let me know.

Tristan Titeux,

3rd Novmber 2011 Follow me @TristanTiteux on Twitter

Join Empatika on Facebook.

Search Tristan Titeux in Google for other links.

The sustainability of recycled plastic board as a material for fitted furniture.

” the by-products of oil we do have should be put to good use”

“the first plastic invented was an organic material derived from cellulose, if we could do it then, imagine the amazing materials we could make from plants now!”

Alexander Parkes

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