BHL have once again been approached by ITV1 to supply products for their 60 Minute Makeover show for the upcoming Petersham Episode.

60 Minute Makeover is ITV1′s daily interior design series and is hosted by a team of high profile designers including Colin & Justin, Richard Randall, Hannah Sandling, John Amabile and Linda Barker.

BHL were approached by ITV1 to supply Fireside products for the Petersham episode. Under the guidance of designer Derek Taylor the show will be broadcast on Friday 10th September 2010 at 2pm on ITV1.

Stay tuned for further details including the show highlights…

Bumford Heating Limited (the parent company of BHL) installed their first Central Heating System back in 1968, the year that astronauts first orbitted the moon and the year of Martin Luther King’s assasination.

Rewind a further 118 years to 1850 and the Elsecar branch of the South Yorkshire railway was opened. This single track line ran from Mexborough to Elsecar via Cortonwood, crossing the Dearne and Dove Canal by lifting bridge. The line was originally brought into use for the transport of mineral traffic buy also served the collieries, ironworks and other local businesses.

The line also found use due to its proximity to the Wentworth Woodhouse estate of the Earl Fitzwilliam. Earl Fitzwilliam ran private trains on the line from his own covered station at Elsecar, often running trains from Elsecar station to Doncaster races. The Earl even operated trains for the Prince of Wales (Later King Edward V11) during his stays at the Wentworth Woodhouse.

Eventually the line went out of use in 1984 when the Cortonwood Colliery ceased production, the section to Elsecar having closed some years earlier.

Today, manned by a team of commited and enthusiastic volunteers, Elsecar Heritage Railway (EHR) operates as a tourist attraction running trips on weekends and bank holidays. EHR is South Yorkshires only preserved line.

In the future Elsecar Heritage Railway plan to relay a further mile of track on the Elsecar branch to a new terminus adjacent to the retail park at Cortonwood in Barnsley.

The costs involved in running and maintaining EHR are tremendously expensive. The engines and rolling stock need constant maintenance. The costs of the coal alone for the steam engines is staggering.

Bumford Heating are proud supporters of local causes and heritage. When the opportunity arose to support EHR we donated plumbing fittings for use on the engines, as well as warehouse equipment such as shelving and pallett trucks. We have also donated £500 to help with the upkeep of the line.

You can find out more about Elsecar Heritage Railway on their website.

Bumford Heating are installers of quality central heating and renewable energy systems in Barnsley, Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster and throughout the whole of Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Humberside. Click here to book a free site survey and appointment with Bumford Heating

Today we launched a new look for the BHL website. We have refreshed the design and have made it easier to navigate and find the 75,000 plumbing products that we display. This is phase 1 of the launch, we have many new, exciting and interactive features to add to BHL which we plan to roll out within the coming weeks.

About the new design..

The website structure remains pretty much unchanged. We still have thousands of categories displaying everything from Boilers to Basins. The old site was in desperate need of a revamp. Feedback had suggested this and it was something that we had been thinking about for a while.

As I said the basics of the site remain the same (including our great range and low prices) but we have improved the shopping experience.

We have tidied up the website. The site has been growing and growing but has not had a tidy up session for a while. So we removed a lot of the clutter.

The website is wider. We decided that we no longer required three columns. So now the site only has two, meaning more room to see the products and a greater sense if space on the page.

Easier to find products. Because we offer so many products, finding what you are looking for can sometimes be a challenge. We have tried to address this by improving our Search facility. In addition to this we have tried to lessen the amount of clicks to your chosen destination by introducing a drop down menu and displaying deep categories. We have also put the most popular searches at the top of the page as well as a larger tag cloud at the page footer.

Resources. We have made it easier to access and find resources such as product data sheets and information videos as well as links to news and articles and relevant forum posts. It is also now easier for customers to leave product reviews and have their product questions displayed for other users.

Related Products. Many of our products wont work without another product, for example a radiator requires radiator valves. That is why we have improved access to related products and categories. This improvement coupled with our product reviews and ‘customers who bought, also bought’ will really help our customers product selection.

Points. Every product now displays the points that will be earned whenever a product is bought. Remember to login when next ordering to redeem your points and save money off future orders.

Social Media is an increasingly important part of our operation. It enables us to reach and connect with customers, industry proffesionals and students. Using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube allows us to discuss industry developments, new products, promotions and developments within BHL. Our new website design enables easier access and greater promotion of our social websites.

Please have a look around the site and let us know what you think. We hope that you like it. As I said at the beginning this is only the start. We hope to add new features in the coming weeks so keep your eyes peeled for future developments. You can see the revamped BHL website here.