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Posts Tagged ‘bath<’
The mains pipe that connects your home to the water utility supply should always have a functional shutoff valve. Since this stopcock is normally located outside your property, it is subject to the elements and can rust over time. Mr-Skill says that the last thing you need when there is an urgent requirement to close off the water supply is a non-functioning tap! All water-main pipes are either 1-inch or ¾-inch, so you should check before you order a replacement shutoff valve. 
One of our regular London plumbers warns that this is a moderately difficult task, because you don’t know what you are going to encounter when you get going. He insists that this is a job best left to the experts, so perhaps rather find a plumber and leave the guesswork out of it. Mr-Skill has a number of pre-screened members just waiting to be at your service. That said, it certainly does not hurt to know where your shutoff valve is, so that you can check its condition from time to time.
Why Maintain or Replace?
Actually, there could be a number of valid reasons for wanting to shut off your water supply:
- The Hot Water Heater has developed problems and needs to be repaired
- Any one of the plumbing joints in your home could be weak and leaking
- The toilet is overflowing and does not switch off when the cistern is full
- There will be times when you need to shut off the water to replace a hand basin, sink or even a bath
- You hear a dripping sound on one of your ceilings, which, on checking, turns out to be a leaking pipe in the roof
When any of the above problems present, get a plumbing quote right here on Mr-Skill. Always remember that there is a good reason why it takes so long for a plumber to qualify. If it were that easy to fix plumbing problems, you can bet a penny to a pound that most of us would be instant DIY plumbers!
Tags: bath, cistern, DIY, find a plumber, fix it, handiman, Home Maintenance, leaking, london plumber, mains, plumber, plumbing quote, plumbing.joints, repair, shut-off, tank, toilet, valve, water, water heater
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas, Project Advice | Comments Off
Mr-Skill tells us that his mother got him started on odd jobs around their home from a very early age. He’s not complaining because, as you can see, he went on to great things when it came to introducing tradespeople with skills to customers with needs! One job you can consider doing yourself is the straightforward matter of changing a showerhead. Of course, it may not be that easy if you are unsure of your way around bathroom fittings, so if this describes you, rather find a bathroom fitter right here.
Have these Handy: 
- Plumber’s tape or thread
- Decent wrench or large pliers
- New showerhead
It’s as Easy as 1, 2, 3…
There are many showerheads to select from, and replacing the old one should not take more than a few minutes. Using the wrench or pliers, remove the old unit by twisting it counter-clockwise until it detaches from the feed pipe. Now, apply two layers of plumber’s tape to the screw thread you are about to attach your new unit to.
Interlude – if the above manoeuvre has left you somewhat perplexed, search right here on Mr-Skill and get a bathroom fitting quote.
Nearly there…
Installing your new unit is the exact reverse of removing the old one. First, apply some masking tape around the tightening flange of the shiny new showerhead. This will prevent any scratches or damage as you tighten up. Turn the new head clockwise, first by hand and then finally tighten with the wrench or pliers. It should be a tight fit to prevent leaks, but don’t make the mistake of over-tightening or you may end up stripping the thread!
Spare a Thought 
One of Mr-Skill’s many London bathroom fitters says that bathing is still quite popular in our climate. And you’ll be spoiled for choices because these days you can install anything from high-powered jet sprays to multi units, and even massaging heads – they are available for both bath and shower too. Don’t forget that hot cuppa tea to celebrate your success on the job!
Tags: bath, bathroom fitting quote, celebrate, cup of tea, find a bathroom fitter, fitter, jet spray, jets, london bathroom fitter, massage, pipe, pliers, plumber, plumbers tape, screw, shower, showerhead, tighten, twisting, wrench
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
Apart from the annoying noise a constantly dripping tape makes, just knowing that you are wasting water is incentive enough to fix the problem. The longer you leave it, the worse the problem becomes because each time you close the offending tap that bit tighter, you are actually stressing the washer further. To some, even changing a tap washer is not something they feel comfortable with. If that describes you then it’s time to find a plumber here on Mr-Skill. 
Replacing the Washer
Provided you follow a few simple checks, replacing washers is one of the easier jobs around the home. First, make sure you have the correct size replacement – taps come in standard sizes so having a handy pack of assorted washers makes good sense. You will also need some screwdrivers and a wrench. Here’s what you do:
- Isolate the water supply to the dripping tap, and then open the tap to drain it.
- Carefully prise off the plastic cover on the tap handle. Now use the correct screwdriver to loosen the screw at the tap head.
- Remove the tap head using a wrench, having covered the chrome parts with protective masking tape.
- This should reveal the damaged or worn washer, which you must remove and renew with a similar product.
- Refit the tap head and holding screw, not forgetting the plastic tap cover.
- Time to switch on the water supply.
- Fully open the tap you’ve just worked on and quickly close it again. Repeat a couple of times so as to let the new washer bed in correctly.
- Check for leaks, but there should be no further dripping.
Advisory: If your tap shows any sign of leaks it could indicate that you have old plumbing needing replacing. Mr-Skill has a number of member plumbers who would be happy to provide you with a plumbing quote.
Last Word
Sidney has been a plumber for ever, and changing a tap washer is something he could do in his sleep with both hands tied behind his back. Sid, one of our regular London plumbers, says it isn’t that easy if you encounter older plumbing with stubborn taps that don’t seem to want to let you change the washer that they’re covering. One false move and you could damage the bath or basin, not to mention the surrounding tiles. Where on earth will you find that replacement tile to match the one you’ve just chipped or cracked? Mission impossible springs to mind!
Tags: assorted washers, basin, bath, close, drip, dripping tap, find a plumber, isolate mains, leaking tap, leaks, london plumber, masking tape, open, plumbing quote, screw drivers, standard size, tap washer, tile, water, wrench
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
Posted in General Building on Mar 26
Apart from looking very nice, a new bathroom can play a significant role when it comes to selling your home and achieving a good price. Bathrooms are not that difficult to spruce up either, so long as you plan carefully, and have all your ducks in a row.
First, decide if you need to find a general builder to do the job for you. Then, you should set a budget by listing everything that you have to buy. This should include all the sanitary ware such as new toilet and cistern, hand basin and cabinet, bath and shower cubicle, tiles, and a wall cabinet with mirror. Don’t forget tap fittings, extractor fans and a new combination light and ceiling heater. Towel rails, as well as other finishing touches can come later once everything else is finished.
Planning
- Draw up a copy of your new bathroom layout, and work out a budget too.
- Choose your new bathroom fittings from your preferred dealer. Remember to agree a delivery date before paying.
- Decide when you are going to start the job and warn the general household.
- Unless you have two bathrooms, allow for the time your bathroom will be out of commission.
Project Advice
- Make sure you have everything you need, including tools and safety gear.
- Isolate the water supply to the bathroom under renovation.
- Remove old bathroom tiles and fittings.
- Make good with any repairs needed to the subfloor and walls – fill plaster cracks for example and attend to any damp. If you discover things you did not expect, consider getting a general building quote instead.
- Prepare and repaint any wall area that you are not planning to tile, making sure the paint is suitable for bathroom use.
- You’re now ready to install your new tiles and fittings – imagine your new bathroom looking like this!
Oswald is a wild old sage – he’s one of our favourite London general builders. He has been refitting bathrooms for longer than most of us would guess, and he says that provided you are reasonably handy, renovating your bathroom yourself is possible. One word of caution though…once you have started it’s all about commitment. So plan the event carefully before starting!
Tags: add value, bath, bathroom refit, bathrrom renovation, cabinet, ceiling heater, ceiling light, damp, equipment, extractor fan, find a general builder, fittings, floor, general building quote, handbasin, London general builder, new bathroom, Plumbing, renovate bathroom, sanitary ware, shower, subfloor, tiles, toilet, tools
Posted in General Building | Comments Off
The last components that are fitted when assembling modern baths are the front panels themselves. These clip easily into place, and clip out easily too in order to provide access to drains and pipes. Because bath sizes are standardised these days, it follows that it is equally easy to replace an existing panel on a modern bath.
 This represents a superbly simple way to add new panache and style and colour to existing bathrooms for a fraction of the cost of refits, and you don’t necessarily require Bathroom Fitting Quotes before you start. In fact, the biggest task is often selecting the right bath panel from the range of options.
We recommend that you resist the urge to install anything that is capable of absorbing water, whether this spills over the bath-rim, or is present in the form of humidity or steam. This puts paid to romantic ideas of natural wood unfortunately. Speak to any London Bathroom Fitter and you should always receive the same consistent message – stick to fibreglass or plastic, or there is no guarantee.
Fortunately these modern materials come in all kinds of finishes and colours, and being mouldable are available in different profiles too. You will have to shop around if buying directly from the manufacturers though.  Moulds are expensive meaning that each factory offers a strictly limited range.
As you shop around you are bound to be impressed by the huge variety of designs available, especially if searching on the internet. Mr-Skill’s advice is to keep things simple unless you have a farmhouse bathroom. Light colours and less intrusive designs work best in smaller spaces.
Although is possible to replace a bath panel yourself, you may prefer to Find a Bathroom Fitter on Mr-Skill instead. That’s because you could find it difficult working on your knees in cramped spaces, and you could also end up damaging the material as well. If you choose your panel wisely though, then you should inevitably be enthralled by the stunningly refreshed effect. Isn’t it nice to know that some home improvement projects are so easy?
Tags: absorb, access, bath, bathroom, bathroom fitting quotes, clip, colour, component, cost, cramp, damage, design, drain, fibreglass, find a bathroom fitter, finish, fit, guarantee, humidity, install, intrusive, light, london bathroom fitter, material, mould, option, panel, pipe, plastic, refit, replace, simple, size, spill, steam, style, variety, water, wood
Posted in Painting & Decorating | Comments Off
Its amazing how many homes there are across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom where the beauty of their bathrooms are spoilt by a grotty run of silicone sealer around the edges of the bath. To make things worse, some cowboys even add silicone on top of silicone,  until the effect looks really dreadful.
No Bathroom Fitter in London associated with Mr-Skill (or any others located elsewhere for that matter) would dream of doing anything as unprofessional as that. If they did, we would delete them from our system with a single click of our system administrator’s mighty mouse.
Here’s how you could expect the job to be done, if you decided to Find a Bathroom Fitter Here.
o Cut away carefully behind the old silicone on both sides with a sharp Stanley knife, taking care not to scratch the surface of the bath if it’s one of those new ones that scratch so easily. Peel as much of the silicone away as you possibly can. If it is really grotty behind it, you may like to use disposable gloves to protect your skin.
o  Clean the area thoroughly with a good disinfectant soap, and dry it well with paper towel.
o Pop down to your local hardware shop and buy some proprietary silicone remover, a tube of mould resistant silicone, and a caulking gun. While you are there, study the instructions on the silicone tube, to find out how to neutralize it when its job is done, and what safety precautions to take when working with it too.
o Using the silicone remover, strip every vestige of remaining silicone around the bath, and tidy things up generally. Now’s the time to attend to any grouting that might need cleaning off and tidying up too.
o Obtain a roll of the thinnest “sellotape” that you can find, and mask off around where you want the new silicone to go. Take your time here, because this is what will make the final difference.
I’ll continue in the next blog. Meantime, anytime you need to Get Bathroom Fitters Quotes to do a complete bathroom upgrade instead, we have some really good ones listed on this website.
Tags: bath, bathroom, bathroom fitters london, bathroom fitters quotes, blade, careful, caulk, clean, cut, effect, find a bathroom fitter, glove, grout, gun, hardware, knife, mould, peel, remover, seal, sellotape, silicone, spoil, strip, surface, tidy, tube, wash
Posted in Other Craftsman Services | Comments Off
Posted in General Building on Jun 30
Bathroom design seems to go around every few years and then eventually finish off where it started, at least in terms of colours. Not so many years ago black  sanitary ware was all the rage before designers returned to white again. I was at a home decorating show last week where once again black bathroom fittings seemed back in vogue. I wonder why.
o Could it be that manufacturers are trying new tactics to get us to start all over again in our bathrooms? I’ve heard that sales are down all over Britain because of the recession. I sometimes wonder what happens to the old fittings that were once the source of so much pride and joy. Perhaps next time I get a Building Quote I should insist on a trade-in on my old bath? Knowing builders like I do, I suspect I already know the answer.
o I believe I may have already mentioned a Builder in London that I know well. His theory is that we have become restless in our materialistic world and are forever searching for new kicks. I know that car  designers tweak shapes to make last year’s model dated. Do they cause the need for change, or do we already want it, I wonder.
o My personal opinion is that if as a species we do not keep moving forward then we shall stagnate. We know this intuitively and that is why we keep reinventing things and looking up new recipes. This may be all fine and dandy, but to be honest, I am not a fan of black bathrooms. So I shall sit this round out at least, and right now have no need to Find a Builder.
Are you thinking of a new bathroom though? At Mr-Skill we list builders that we recommend in just about every United Kingdom town. Our service costs the consumer nothing and we do not mark prices up. A perfect bathroom of any colour that you choose depends upon a competent builder. Find yours here.
Tags: bath, bathroom, black, builder, builder london, building quote, change, colour, competent, date, design, fashion, find, find a builder, fitter, fitting, manufacturer, rage, recession, recommend, sale, tactic, trick, vogue, white
Posted in General Building | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on May 24
Surprisingly enough, removing and replacing a bath is technically quite straightforward provided there are no added complications. If things go well for you, then you may not even  need to Find a Bath Fitter to do the work for you. Make sure you know what you are about though, because water does have a habit of flowing downstairs and ruining floors and carpets.
o Remove the inspection panel in front of the bath. If it un-clips then good luck to you. If it is made of brick you could well be faced with a lengthy and messy job. Once again think smart – is this the job for you?
o Obtain a replacement bath (and fittings) that exactly replicates the old one in terms of all dimensions. Your old bath is attached to the fabric of the house in three ways, namely on stands, with pipes and drains, and along the back and sides with grout and sealer. Work carefully in all three instances, and avoid problems down the line.
o Isolate the hot and cold water supply before you start, fitting in-line taps if necessary. Disconnect the pipes from the taps, or cut them off if they are inaccessible as they usually are.  My mate who specialises in Bath Fitting in London always says leave as much pipe over as you possibly can because you never know what can happen next. While you are at it, remove the drains too.
o If you wish to leave the tiles intact then clear the grout and silicone away with a sharp metal scriber until you have a clear gap. You will need at least a quarter-inch of clear space when you loosen out the bath, so remove a row of tiles if necessary instead of cracking them.
o Obtain a length of chain, pass it through the drain hole and hold it in position with a bolt. Have an assistant hold this steady while you pull gently upwards on the taps. With a little effort the bath should come loose and you can remove it carefully from the room. Clean up the mess and have a cup of tea because you surely do deserve it.
That was not all that hard, was it? With a little more experience some people might even imagine your spouse got Bath Fitting Quotes on Mr-Skill. Perhaps she should still though?
Tags: bath, bath fitter london, bath fitter quote, bath fitting london, bath fitting quote, bathroom fitter london, bathroom fitter quote, bathroom fitting london, bathroom fitting quote, brick, budge, carpet, cold, cut, disconnect, drain, find a bath fitter, find a bathroom fitter, fitting, floor, grout, hot, inspection, isolate, lift, loose, loosen, panel, pipe, remove, replace, replacement, ruin, scribe, silicone, stand, tap, tile, water
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on May 24
If you are skilled at plumbing then the balance of the job is relatively simple now you have the old bath out, and you ought not necessarily need to Find a Bath Fitter.  Work gently and carefully as you go along. The last thing you need is a complaining partner and a deep scratch in your new pride and joy.
o Unpack the bath and inspect it carefully for any damage. Unwrap the fittings too, and familiarise yourself with their components and instructions.
o Assemble the bath before installing it. Begin by fitting the drain and overflow first. Attach the flexible piping to these making sure that everything is nice and watertight. A tip I leaned from Bath Fitting London Specialists is to use a bead of putty too, because no bath surface available today is ever completely true.
o  Next, install the taps and their flexible couplings. Use plenty of plumbers tape because it no easy job to re-tighten nuts here later. All done? Just give everything an extra tweak after the threads have settled down.
o Put the bath supports in place and have an assistant help you to position the new bath. After you have connected the drains and water pipes it is time to finally level up. Fill the bath with water to let it settle before you double check. Then drain it and make the last adjustments.
All that’s left over now before indulging in your first bath is to tidy up and seal the tiles, and clip the new front panel on. Sounds easy? It does in principle, although in practice things are often not the same. No warranties from Mr-Skill this time either. Our recommendation remains – get competitive Bath Fitting Quotes from us and you could be paying less that you expect for a job completed quickly, and guaranteed too. Doesn’t that sound like a much better idea?
Tags: adjust, assemple, bath, bath fitter london, bath fitter quote, bath fitting london, bath fitting quote, bathroom fitter london, bathroom fitter quote, bathroom fitting london, bathroom fitting quote, careful, check, coupling, drain, find a bath fitter, find a bathroom fitter, fit, flexible, inspect, level, nut, overflow, piping, plumb, plumbers tape, putty, scratch, skill, support, tap, tape, tight, unpack, unwrap, water, watertight
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Posted in Kitchen Fitting on May 09
In our busy sometimes hectic life we get used to things too easily. Like the petrol gauge dropping lower and the cookie jar  getting empty. Too soon we find that the lawn has become unkempt, and that the windows need cleaning too.
Pretty much the same applies to plumbing fittings in the bathroom (and in the kitchen too). Scale, which is a limestone deposit in the water builds up over time and can conceivably end up blocking pipers. It also builds up in our kettles and could cause a boiler element to overheat.
But that is not all. As scale builds up it covers the body residues we leave behind in baths and showers, and could cause a lung infection when it chips away and we inhale the myobacterium avium dust it hides. Do not panic, and do not use antibacterial sprays that kill the good bacteria that are our friends. Solve the problem in a natural way instead – that way you are unlikely to need Bathroom Fitter Quotes either.
o  Remove the tap heads and shower rose
o Fill an old pan with water and half a cup of vinegar and bring it to the boil. Do not inhale the fumes.
o Soak the shower rose and tap heads in the liquid for twenty minutes
o Rinse the fittings under cold running water and replace them. Repeat the process if the scale is deep, and diarise to do the job every three months.
Unless your hands are stiff and sore you should be able to do this job yourself. If not, then Mr-Skill would be delighted to Find a Bath Fitter to help do this for you. Then you could enjoy your shower in perfect safety.
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Posted in Kitchen Fitting | Comments Off
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