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Once you have decided to go ahead and get on with a project, one of the greatest frustrations to making a good start is not having a decent measuring device. Whether its woodwork, metalwork, tiling, building or even planting out the garden, accurate measuring forms the vital start point. And, as our Alf says – he’s one of our regular London tilers – “if you get it wrong from the outset, imagine how you’ll be feeling when all is said and done!”
Traditional Tape Measures 
This is what most of us buy as a basic start up. But today, there’s such a wide selection, with literally hundreds of variations to choose from. Practicality suggests that you purchase one that is easy to read and use. Here at Mr-Skill, we concluded that a 3 meter-long flexible metal tape measure – with a 13mm wide blade – makes a useful tool. Oh, and make sure it has a yellow backing with clear black numbering in centimetres and inches, as well as a blade lock and a smooth retracting mechanism. Of course, you could find a carpenter right here and leave the calculations to them too!
We have all used tape measures that threaten to slice our fingertips off when we reel them in! A smaller belt tape should suffice for most project work. Bigger projects, such as built-in cupboards for example, may benefit from an 8 meter tape with a 19mm or wider blade. However Alf simply cannot do without his long-standing 300mm long steel rule. With the measurements etched on the stainless steel face, this one is in it for the long haul.
Callipers
A 200mm basic vernier calliper finished in stainless steel is very useful when cutting mortises or tenons, where accuracy is paramount. This measure is also handy for fitting butt hinges, when you need to measure the thickness of the leaf, and you cannot do so accurately with a tape or rule. Don’t forget to have a set-square available to check for perfect right angles when needed. 
Keeping it Simple
These days, there are all sorts of clever gadgets that allegedly make our working lives simpler. Electronic room measurers for example – they cost a fortune and by the time you have figured out how the infernal device actually works, the batteries have gone flat and you could have long since finished the job using a conventional measure. If this all seems code to you, rather get a general building quote here on Mr Skill. That way, you can sit back and relax while the professionals work out the detail and do the measuring. As our Alf always says, “life is too short for hassles!”
Tags: blade, Building, built-in-cupboards, calculations, calliper, Carpentry, electronic, find a carpenter, get a general building quote, london tiler, measuring, professional, project, right angles, set square, stainless steel, steel rule, tape measure, tiling, woodwork
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery, General Building, Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Oct 21
Funny, isn’t it, how fashions keep on going round and round. All that’s as true of building materials as it is of clothes. The difference is that your home is going to have to wear its finishes for far longer than you are going to hang on to your hat. For this reason it’s best to know what you are looking for before you get your Tiling Quotes.
 Did I mention that I went to school with a London Tiler? Well he wasn’t a tiler then, but he did become one good enough to successfully start his own flooring firm. This was the advice he gave when asked:
• Stick to natural materials wherever possible. This is because they are timeless and you can always find an acceptable replacement, even if a tile breaks after fifty years.
• Travertine is often beautifully marked and coloured having been paid down by rivers over centuries, and is soft and easy to work with. In the fancy shops it is also called onyx and alabaster.
• Limestone is another sedimentary rock primarily white or light coloured, but also tinted by small impurities. It is often used in commercial developments where the varying thicknesses are an architectural asset.
• Slate is traditionally used for flooring, although new techniques have seen it applied to walls too. It is extremely durable making it ideal for outside use. However quality is unpredictably varied.
•  Marble is valued for its mirror finish after polishing, and has been used for cladding buildings for thousands of years. It is probably the most expensive of all the options, and the most copied by ceramic tile manufacturers.
• Sandstone provides an attractive varied finish on feature walls, although good effect is often only achieved by hand-sorting tiles. It is brittle and unsuitable for floors.
Now that you have made a choice why not Find a Tiler on Mr-Skill right away? You will have range of choices when you shop through us. You may even expect savings of up to 30% on labour against normal rates thanks to our buying power.
Tags: brittle, Building, colour, durable, easy, effect, expensive, fashion, find a floor contractor, floor, light, limestone, london tiler, marble, mark, natural, outside, polish, replace, sandstone, sedement, slate, soft, thick, tile, tiling quotes, travertine, vary, wall, white, work
Posted in Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Apr 14
What will the bathroom of this summer turn out to be? For what will Bath Fitters in London be quoting this time? Will it be for virginal white victorian bathtubs on four heavy legs  again? Oh, how yesterday-ish, the modern dreamers say. Today is about light, brightness and the illusion of space. Perhaps you do not agree. Perhaps I do not either. Nevertheless, let us at least listen to what they are trying to tell us. We might learn something too.
Perhaps one should rather Find a Bath Fitter to create a symphony of reflective mirrors, granite tops and white cabinetry. Across a broad mosaic floor, a shower could accommodate a pair of lovers easily. And everywhere bright, glorious light filtering naturally through the ceiling with a glimpse of plants through a window beyond?
Perhaps not. Perhaps a bathroom is a more serious place where we go to do our business. No time for lingering here. Just teutonic space efficiency – modern white fittings offset by sober dark wood cabinets.
 Maybe a bathroom is a lover’s tryst. An open wet room where no secrets hide. An extension to the bedroom where more exciting things await. Why hide your charms behind closed doors, some people say.
Personally, I think that a bathroom should be an extension of the outside environment. A private garden or a view across the Bay of Capri – such as the one designed by an architectural genius to the right. No matter how little I can afford, I should still like to be able to lie back in a bath and connect with nature.
I for one am going to Get Bathroom Fitter Quotes the instant that I win the Lotto. How about you? Will you be doing that too? In the meantime happy dreaming, for of such small things are the sweetest dreams made.
Tags: bath fitter london, bath fitter quote, bath fitting london, bath fitting quote, bathroom, bathroom fitter london, bathroom fitter quote, bathroom fitting london, bathroom fitting quote, bright, cabinet, ceiling, charm, dark, design, efficient, environmnent, find a bath fitter, find a bathroom fitter, Garden, granite, light, lover, mirror, mosaic, secret, serious, shower, space, style, summer, victorian, view, wet, wetroom, white, window
Posted in Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Dec 29
Often we move into new or previously occupied homes because they are the closest to perfect that we can find within restrictions. At that time we are full of ideas of things that we need to change – like fixing those awful tiles in the family bathroom? Of course because we are creatures of habit we seldom do what we set out to do, with the net result that we often end up accepting second best.
 This New Year, why don’t you do something different by resolving to find a tiler on Mr-Skill to finally sort out that awful tiling job for you. These are the things you may need to discuss with them:
o Do you need a complete bathroom makeover, or just new tiles and tile fittings to spruce things up? The important thing to remember here is that it is seldom possible to replace baths, sinks and toilets without damaging tiles, making it sensible (if you can afford it) to do a complete job at the time.
o What size tiles do you need? Large tiles may make a room look more spacious, smaller tiles make it look friendlier and cosier too. Rectangular tiles with the longer side set horizontally make a space look wider, turn them around and the room is suddenly taller instead.
 o Colours are important because they set the ambience for a room. Blues and greens seem cooler on a hot summer day, but are cold and unfriendly on a winter morning. For this reason, many homeowners prefer to go for neutral, lighter colours and then accent these with seasonally adjusted colourful towels.
o Is a trim line necessary? While these may look good in a shopping centre or grand hotel bathroom, they can easily double the cost of tiles and end up as an over-statement. For this reason Advanced Tilers London often recommend a simple under-stated line instead, just to divide the vertical space and make it homely.
Are you feeling inspired now? Are you in a mood to fix that awful tiling job you inherited? Before the moment passes, why not get tiler quotes on Mr-Skill and start your New Year off on the right foot too.
Tags: ambience, bath, bathroom, change tiles, cold, color, colour, find a tiler, fittings, horizontal, kitchen, large, line, makeover, new, re-tile, rectangular, retile, sink, size, small, tiler quotes, tilers london, tiles, tiling, toilet, trim, vertical, warm
Posted in Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Nov 30
 One of the easiest ways to improve the appearance of a home without going overboard is to change floor finishes. This is because at the same time you can add new texture, fresh modern colours and make everything smell new again. Modern favourites are tiles, carpets and laminate flooring. The secret is to choose the right one for the right application.
You first need to take a good, hard objective look at each room in terms of the lifestyle of the occupant(s), and whether these are tidy people too. Light coloured carpets are great for creating a sense of spaciousness, but what happens when somebody walks by with dirty shoes? Damp is yet another problem. Wet feet can ruin carpets, some  bathroom tiles are slippery as glass when wet. The answer, as in all things, is to plan and then act holistically, and in terms of what is possible too.
o Laminate Flooring looks clean and aesthetically pleasing but can be dangerously slippery when wet. If water regularly penetrates through joints that are not properly sealed with silicone, you could literally end up with a floating floor. Remember this, when you compare tiler quotes for this kind of finish.
o Floor Tiles are often an optimum solution for a busy area. However, they also chip and crack quite readily. It is important to make sure that a few spares are included in the price when you are  ready to find a tiler in London especially.
o Carpets are the most popular home flooring finish in the United Kingdom, and are well suited to the weather too, provided there is a porch outside the front and back door to leave muddy shoes and boots. They are also quick and easy to install, and can last for many years, subject to good quality and a decent underlay.
Some floor finish salespersons like to close a deal on the basis that anybody can lay tiles or laminated flooring, or else fit a carpet perfectly themselves. Because a badly finished floor is so off-putting to a potential buyer, it can be far wiser to find a tiler or other floor installation technician on Mr-Skill and make sure you get a decent job that lasts for as long as you choose to live in your home.
Tags: carpet, chip, crack, damp, dirt, find a tiler, floor, laminate, lifestyle, occupant, quality, right application, shoes, slip, slippery, strip, tile, tiler quotes, tilers london, underlay, water, wet, wood, wood effect
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Resilient flooring (usually vinyl, cork or linoleum) has come a long way since the days of vinyl asbestos and brittle sheet vinyl flooring too. These days, resilient flooring adds an attractive, hardwearing softer-feeling finish to almost any type of  floor. In fact, many households prefer these finishes to brittle ceramic tiles.
Their biggest advantages include providing hygienic, cleanable attractive and comfortable floors to virtually any room in the home. While owners may install some of these finishes themselves, others, especially sheet linoleum indicate that you should rather find a handyman to do the job for you instead. Even experienced handymen in London measure twice before laying these.
Types of Resilient Floors
o Artificial wooden strips laid over resilient plastic
o Tiles in various materials
o Sheet goods – you will need handymen quotes here.
Methods of Laying Different Resilient Floors
o Glued down
o Loose laid (taped at seams)
o Floating (interlocking planks)
o Self-Adhesive Tiles
Resilient flooring prices have been rising regularly because the materials often come from non-sustainable resources. Before you try to do the job yourself, why not first get a few quotes from Mr-Skill? That way, you are guaranteed a good job commensurate with what the materials cost.
Tags: cork, find a handyman, floating, glue, handyman quotes, handymen london, intrelocking planks, lino, linoleum, loose laid, resilient flooring, self-adhesive, sheet, sheet goods, sheet linoleum, softer, strip floors, tiles, vinyl, vinyl adbestos, wood strips, wooden strips
Posted in Handyman Services, Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
 Should you be the proud parent of young children or have elderly and infirm relatives living in your home, corner guards are a great way to protect them against injury in a fall and save your property from being damaged at the same time. Corner guards have been present in hospitals and schools for some time, but are now being designed for the home market and can be used in many different applications.Once upon a time, corner guards would have been purely practical items which you would have acquired from a handyman in London, but now they can be integrated into your interior design and available from London decorators, and even tilers working on flooring jobs in London will recommended corner guards in certain circumstances.
Corner Guards on Walls
 If you have ever had small children ride tricycles in your home, you will appreciate the value of corner guards. Corner guards can be installed on the sides of door openings or end partitions of walls to protect them from damage should your children not yet have mastered the art of steering. They are available in a number of materials (the corner guards, not the children) including clear plastic, moulded plastic, rubber, padded aluminium and stainless steel, and can be selected to compliment or contrast with your existing decor.
Corner guards can usually be purchased “off-the-shelf” from a hardware store in 90 degree or 135 degree angles, with a choice of lengths available to suit your personal circumstances. Similar materials are used in safety stair nosing, which can also be integrated with a grip on the horizontal plane to prevent slipping on carpeted or polished wooden stairs.
Corner Guards on Furniture
 Any sharp angle on furniture presents potential hazard to people tripping or falling, and corner guards can be used to prevent cuts or worse when kids bang their heads on tables or the corners of shelving units. They are also quite handy features to prevent adults getting a nasty bruise on the leg when walking into a corner, as sometimes happens. Fire surrounds are another area of the home which can be protected by corner guards, and although you cannot cushion your entire living environment, you can make your home as safe a place to live in as possible  by making use of corner guards at each opportunity.
Corner guards, stair nosing and table or fireplace protectors are not expensive to buy and reasonably simple to install. However, if you are in any doubt that you are able to fix them correctly, it is better to use to services of a tradesman in London to have these safety features secured firmly to ensure they perform as they were intended. A selection of local handymen in London is available through Mr Skill’s Tradesmen’s Directory, or you can alert local tradesmen in your area to your requirements by using the “Post-a-Job” facility at the top of the page.
Tags: carpet, children, corner units, Decorating & Interior Design, doors and windows, find a handyman in London, fireplaces, furniture, nosing, safety, safety guard, safety recommendations, Shelving, stairs, tables, Tradesmen´s Directory
Posted in General Building, Handyman Services, Painting & Decorating, Tiling & Flooring, Window & Door Fitting | Comments Off
 A patio area in your garden can add appeal and value to your home and is a relatively inexpensive improvement to the exterior of your property. More property owners are transforming areas of their gardens into luxurious extensions of their house – integrating outdoor kitchens, furnished seating areas, pizza ovens or barbeques and much more. You might wish to include a water feature to bring peace and tranquillity to a garden and, if this idea inspires you, you might like to speak with one of the garden landscapers in London featured in our Tradesmen’s Directory.
 During good weather, a back garden patio can become the heart and soul of a family. Spacious and attractive patios can provide the perfect sanctuary from the telephones, T.V.’s and computers that we are surrounded with each day and, inasmuch as the boom in patio construction is said to coincide with the concept that a house with a patio feature is more likely to sell than a similar one without, there is also a school of thought that suggests homeowners just want to enjoy their home more.
 Building your own patio is not particularly a difficult project – although you may wish to use the services of a local handyman in London for some of the more physical aspects of the job, and a second pair of hands is always welcome when trying to lay a patio by yourself. More advanced projects could integrate attractive lighting features and even a pool – if we ever get the weather to use it – or a gazebo under which you could entertain guests on warm summer evenings. Sometimes the most simplest designs are the most effective.
 If you feel that adding a new patio, or extending an existing one, is something you would like to consider, use our “Post-a-Job” facility at the top of the page to attract quotes from garden landscapers in London. If you fancy doing the job yourself but consider that a second pair of hands (or more) will make the job easier, our Tradesmen´s Directory now lists local handymen in London in the order of proximity to your postcode – so now you can arrange the services of a very local handyman in London.
Tags: add value to your property, building a water feature, Construction, find a handyman in London, Find a Landscape Gardener in London, garden lighting, Gardening & Landscaping, Handyman Services, home extension, Home Improvements, patio
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping, General Building, Handyman Services, Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
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