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Posts Tagged ‘drill<’
Mr-Skill often baulks at situations requiring him to drill holes through tiles, simply because it is such a risky task. The alternatives are to use contact adhesive or two-sided tape, neither of which are ideal in the long term. Fred is one of our regular London tilers, and he advises that drilling through tiles is quite straightforward once you know what to do.
Your Choice
Essentially, there are two safe methods of making holes through your tiles. Well, you could add a third if you decide to rather find a tiler and leave the problem to them! The first method is to locate your holes precisely on the grout line that separates one tile from the other. The other way is more nerve-racking, because it involves drilling through the tile-face itself.
A somewhat nervous Mr-Skill says that before you choose one of these two options, make sure you have a spare tile to replace the broken or cracked one should things go wrong. Nothing is more eye-catching than looking at a broken or cracked tile, or having to use a mismatched replacement one.
Decision Time
Should you find that you have no back-up spares, you need to choose between using the grout line, and drilling through your lovely tiles. You could of course elect to get a tiling quote to sort the problem, but that could prove quite expensive when all you need is a couple of holes!
Enter Fred Again!
Fred is against using grout lines for drilling holes, and that is because you have limited space in which to work, and grout is not the ideal medium to hold a plug and screw either. He goes on to say, “Imagine the consequences of the bit jamming in the grout line as you drill. Rather mark up your holes as desired on the tile face itself. Then, you need to test to see that the tiles you plan to drill through don’t have air space where they attach to the wall. A simple tap with your knuckle will soon confirm if there are any hollow gaps to be avoided.” Thanks for the tips, Fred!
Easy Does It
Once your holes are marked (and checked), stick two pieces of magic tape over each marked hole in the form of a cross. This is to stop the tile from crazing as you drill. Gently tap a pointed punch to create a small guide hole for you to drill out further with a new masonry bit. Now drill slowly and make your hole to the desired depth. Once you have drilled through the tile – you should feel this happen – you can safely use the hammer function on your power tool.
Tags: adhesive, cracked tile, depth, drill, drilling, find a tiler, grout, guide, hammer, hole, london tiler, plug, power tool, replacement tile, safety, screw, spare, tap, tile, tiling quote
Posted in Project Advice, Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
Mr-Skill loves animals, and is particularly fond of cats. These independent animals are prone to coming and going as they please, so installing a cat flap is the least you can do to make your pussy happy – besides, it saves you having to get up and do the honours for Kitty in the middle of the night! Talk about leading a charmed life! One of our London window and door fitters says that cat doors are so popular in the big city environment that he does plenty of installations in both wooden and glass doors. 
Job Difficulty
Assuming you are a practical and handy-type of person, then this project should not prove too difficult. However if you are not so useful with your hands, rather get a window and door fitting quote here on Mr-Skill.
How it Works
Most of our interior doors are the hollow core type these days, and comprise of two wood veneers held in place by the actual door framework. This creates a hollow centre effectively, and this is where you should position the cat flap.
What You’ll Need
- A pussy cat (to supervise)
- A cat door (one your cat will fit through)
- Drill and bits
- Jig saw
- Inch-thick board for the surround
- Table saw
- Wood screws and a driver
Installation
Mark the new opening using the template supplied with the cat door, and cut the correct opening size on one side of your hollow core door. Do this by drilling a hole on each corner to accommodate the jig saw blade. Now drill the corresponding holes on the thin veneer of the other side of your door – again cut a straight line between the drill holes.
Finishing Off
Check the gap between the two-cut out faces of your hollow core door. Using your table saw, cut strips of wood to fit this gap exactly (in other words, along the length). Now cut the surround board into two equal pieces to fit the cat flap width, and the other two to fit the flap height – as in top and bottom, left and right.
You should now be ready to place the cut boards into the door framework, to bridge the gaps in the hollow core door – it should mirror the cat flap exactly. Next, secure the surround trim using half-inch screws, running two screws from each side of the hollow core door.
Good Going
If you have made it this far without any hassles, Mr-Skill would like to invite you on board so that others can find their window and door fitters to install their cat flaps! Now pop the kettle on and make yourself a nice brew! Don’t forget a sprig of catnip for pussy!
Tags: bit, board, difficulty, drill, find a window and door fitter, hollow core door, installation, installing, jig saw, job, london window and door fitter, project, screw driver, screws, surround, table saw, template, veneer, window and door fitting quote, wood screws
Posted in Window & Door Fitting | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on Aug 06
Drill and Bit Tips
Just about every householder owns a drill, and how very useful is this power tool. Before the invention of the portable electric drill, cutting holes was a laborious exercise that involved using a hand tool such as auger. If the drill itself is important, then the bits that perform the task are vital too, so choosing the correct size and the right bit for the material you’re working with is essential.
Horses for Courses
The material you plan to drill through will indicate which bit you should use for the job.  Twist bits are the most commonly used for most drilling, while steel bits are relatively cheap and suitable for use on softer woods. At the other end of the spectrum we use cobalt-tipped bits for drilling holes in harder metals, such as stainless steel. Get advice from your local hardware store, or better still find a handyman here on Mr-Skill, and get all your drilling work done expertly with minimum fuss.
Understanding Your Options
Use a brad point bit for boring through wood as it deals effectively with stubborn chips as you drill through. For larger holes in wood – say from a half-inch diameter upwards – you should use a spade bit when drilling timber. Always consult your drill maker’s manual for guidelines on drilling through various different materials. Just like any other power tool, drills come in many different choices in terms of quality and performance. Certain drilling jobs may prove challenging for your particular drilling tool, and the manufacturer may impose torque limitations, which in turn could limit the use of some bits.
Correct Drilling Action 
One of our London handymen says that it’s all in the action when operating your drill, and that the slow and steady approach always wins the day. Apart from being potentially dangerous, pushing a drill to its limits is neither good for the tool nor the operator, whereas working in unison will achieve the objective without major stress. Most drills have variable speed settings and a normal drilling function as well as an impact, or hammer setting. More sophisticated equipment usually features a reverse switch for extracting the bit from the drilled hole. Another handy tip is to make sure that your drill is properly straight when in use – otherwise your hole may end up skew.
Last But Not Least
When loading a bit to the chuck, make sure that it is correctly gripped and don’t over-tighten or you may have problems removing the bit when you’re finished. Don’t forget that Mr-Skill has many pre-screened experts ready to assist your every need – get your handyman quote right here!
Tags: chuck, drill, drill bits, drill holes, drill speed, electric drill, expert, find a handyman, handyman, handyman services quote, impact, london handyman, material, metal, power drill, safety, stainless steel, tool, wood, wood chips
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Posted in Kitchen Fitting on Mar 12
By replacing your kitchen cupboard door handles and knobs on your drawers, you are cosmetically modernising your kitchen for very little outlay or effort. Start off by selecting a design that appeals to you, and makes an appropriate statement in your “new” kitchen. The range is really quite staggering, and  there are even London kitchen fitting shops specialising in knobs, handles and knockers too.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to positioning handles and knobs, so you can do almost as you please. Remember though, the cupboard door action needs to be practical, so it would be of little use placing your handles at the bottom of the base-unit door. This is one of those jobs where you will find that if it looks right, it probably is.
That said, the rule of thumb is to mount handles towards the top left or right corner of the under-counter doors. This obviates the need to bend too low when opening them. Conversely, fix wall unit handles to the bottom left or right of the doors. When it comes to mounting knobs on drawers, use the two-thirds, one-third principal. Mark the middle of the drawer and position the knob two-thirds of the way up a deep drawer face (or the middle of a shallow drawer).
If everything looks right, mark all your drill points on the doors and drawers using a template so that all the holes are aligned.  Then start drilling with a smaller sized drill-bit to avoid splitting the timber. After that, you can finish drilling with the correctly sized bit. Keep in mind that the new handles and knobs should cover any existing holes or blemishes. Go ahead and fit the handles and knobs.
Now if that all seems too hard or you simply don’t have the expertise to install your cabinet handles and knobs, why not find a kitchen fitter on Mr-Skill. If you are going to do the job yourself, don’t forget to wear the right safety gear in the form of gloves and goggles, and make sure you have all the right tools handy.
Remember that Mr-Skill has an array of professionals on board, when you are ready to receive your Kitchen Fitting Quotes.
Tags: bottom, cabinet, centre, choice, cupboard, design, drawer, drill, drill bit, fit, handle, install, kitchen, Kitchen Fitting, kitchen fitting quotes, knob, left, london kitchen fitting, mark, middle, modernise, practical, range, right, rule, template, top
Posted in Kitchen Fitting | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on Feb 20
It’s surprising how many enquiries we receive about attaching things to walls. While this is the perfect job for a Handyman, it’s quite simple to do yourself. That’s provided you have the right equipment and safety gear. Should you decide to have a go, then these are the seven main things to watch out for.
Safety Tip
 A London Handyman will always have a strong ladder, an assistant and a modern electric drill to help him do his work. If you don’t have the same, please don’t even try to do the job.
- Always use a sharp masonry drill bit that’s slightly undersized for the wall plug you’re installing. You can always make it larger afterwards, but you cannot make it smaller.
- Before you drill, consider what might lurk inside the wall. Never drill directly opposite an electric box, or in line with a water pipe. Remember to check outside the house too.
- Re-check your measurements carefully before you drill. If the item you are fitting has more than one attaching point, fit a single one initially. Then you can level it and mark the other points.
- Make sure the drill is at right angles to the wall before you press the switch. Are you wearing safety goggles? Drill bits occasionally do snap.
 Have a friend hold a vacuum cleaner extension pipe in position to suck the dust up before it covers everything.
- Drill through the plaster on the standard setting before you switch to impact. Never force an electric tool. Use it in ten second bursts and do not let it overheat.
- When you are finished, lay the drill down somewhere safe, and unplug it from the wall.
Do you think that you could do the job yourself and avoid the cost of Handyman Quotes? Many people do.
Many others prefer to Find a Handyman on Mr-Skill instead, and get on with other more important things in their lives.
Tags: accessory, assistant, attach, bit, brick, careful, check, drill, dust, electric, equipment, find a handyman, glasses, goggle, handyman quotes, impact, ladder, level, london handyman, masonry, pipe, plaster, plug, right angle, safety, shelf, switch, television, vacuum, wall
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Posted in Kitchen Fitting on Jan 23
Granite has become popular in kitchens for a variety of reasons. These include heat resistance, easy cleaning and the stunning look that granite adds. If you need to drill a hole, have the right tools and know what you are doing,  you might not need to find a kitchen fitter to do this for you. If the answer’s NO to any of these questions though, you’d be wise to seek professional assistance here.
• Think about things carefully for a while because you can’t un-drill a hole. Visualise using it afterwards, by way of a dry run.
• After measuring and re-measuring several times put a cross of heavy-duty paper masking tape where the hole must go. Measure once more, and mark the tape with a clear black dot.
• Place a BRAND NEW masonry bit in your electric drill and tighten it. If you think this is a false economy compare the cost with buying a new work top.
• Put on your SAFETY GLASSES. Position the drill bit on the black dot and begin drilling slowly  off-impact. Make sure you drill perpendicularly, and don’t over-work the power tool. Many london kitchen fitters release the bit from time-to-time to avoid dust build-up.
• NEVER FORCE a power tool. Let it do the work. And whatever else you do, take your time and keep your mind on what you’re doing. If you need a bigger hole you can use a cookie cutter bit.
If you don’t have the time for things like this or are otherwise unsure, why not get kitchen fitting quotes on Mr-Skill instead? As customer you pay NOT A PENNY for this service. Moreover, you could also find out what other people think about a particular kitchen fitter you could be interested in. We have many customers who agree this is a great idea!
Tags: bit, disinfect, drill, eye protection, find a kitchen fitter, granite, heat, hole, impact, kitchen, kitchen fitting quotes, london kitchen fitter, mark, masonry, measure, perpendicular, safety, safety glasses, tape, think, tighten
Posted in Kitchen Fitting | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on Dec 22
Mr-Skill exists to help its UK customers find skilled and competent craftspeople working in just about every postcode. These skilled artisans pay us a modest fee for listing on our website, and to get access to enquiries. Our customers pay us nothing for the service.  And that’s the way it ought to be. That’s because customers are the people that keep the wheels of business moving.
When a customer posts an enquiry for work that’s needing doing, every related tradesperson on our lists gets to hear about it from us. When they quote directly back to customers, they know that theirs is not the only quote. What better incentive could there be to keep rates down? Moreover, we act as intermediaries in the unlikely event of a dispute arising.
Out of interest, the following jobs are currently out there waiting for Handyman Quotes:
- Clearing gutters and hanging up Christmas lights outside. Happy Noel!
- Attaching a television wall-mount and putting up a kitchen cupboard
 Drilling a hole in a concrete ceiling. This customer needs to Find a Handyman to put up a hammock.
- Putting up a roller blind and curtain rail. No further information given.
- Installing a washing machine. The customer needs hot and cold water and is on a tight budget.
- Assembling a plastic shed. That’s an unusual one we’ve not seen before!
We have all kinds of Handypeople available to do jobs like these. They range from London Handymen who sometimes have a trade but prefer variety, right through to traditional country lads who turn up on bicycles. Why not give our free service a try right now?
Tags: artisan, ceiling, christmas light, concrete, craft, curtain rail, customer, dispute, drill, find a handyman, gutter, hammock, handyman quotes, hole, job, kitchen cupboard, lad, light, london handymen, quote, rate, roller blind, shed, skill, television, trade, wall mount, washing machine, work
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Nov 08
Bedroom fitters seem to find it necessary to install cupboards from the wall to ceiling. While this makes sense in terms of managing the dust on top, customers often end up with storage space that looks more like the inside of a church steeple. The solution? Add a space below for storing shoes, or above for keeping what almost inevitably turns out to be junk.
 I personally don’t have much time for using the plastic shelf blocks that seem all the rage these days. That’s because they involve point contact and it’s difficult to get them aligned perfectly. Moreover, in these times of chipboard everything, an overloaded shelf can easily come crashing down.
The following is what Professional London Carpenters still prefer to do:
• Remove the cupboard doors for ease of access and to avoid straining hinges. Measure the internal depth of the cupboard from front to back at both left and right. While you’re at it, measure the cupboard internally from left to right too. Enter the information on a drawing, because in all the years of providing Carpentry Quotes I have seldom come across a cupboard that’s perfectly square.
• Ask the hardware store to cut a shelf to size and to cut battens to support it on the left and right too. Make sure they also supply half-a-dozen screws of the appropriate length.
•  Pre-drill the battens in the middle and towards either end. Fix the first one in the middle only and set it horizontal with a spirit level. Draw a pencil line along the bottom edge and fit the other two screws accordingly.
• Measure from the top or bottom of the cupboard to determine where the second batten should go. Screw it into place, again just using the middle hole. Test fit the shelf in place. It should be level and fit snugly so you can complete the installation and replace the doors. If not, you may need to make adjustments.
You could also save yourself a heap of trouble and get Highly Competitive Carpentry Quotes on Mr-Skill instead. We have carpenters at every UK postcode. They’re on standby to fit that shelf for you, and much more.
Tags: battem, bedroom, block, bottom, carpentry quotes, chipboard, complete, cupboard, cut, door, drill, dust, find a carpenter, fit, hinge, horizontal, length, london carpenters, measure, plastic, remove, replace, screw, shelf, shoe, size, snug, spirit level, square, storage, strain, support, test, top, vertical, weight
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
I never cease to be amazed at the variety of bathroom accessories available at hardware stores across the UK these days. Every one of these has at least one fixing hole – if I got that contract I doubt I’d ever look back. Many folk are nervous about drilling through ceramic tiles though, because the consequences of cracking one can be quite expensive.
And so they try alternatives like two-sided tape and contact glue. Unfortunately these never work properly because ceramic tiles are highly glazed. Worse still, the accessories come loose, and chip even more expensive fittings when they come crashing down. If you are handy you don’t need to Find a Bathroom Fitter – you just need the right tools and your brain switched on.
• When working above a drainage point like a washbasin or a toilet, insert the plug or lower the seat. Lay down a dust-sheet to make cleaning up afterwards easier too.
HINT – Ceramic tile and masonry dust can permanently stain moist grout, so make sure your work area is dry.
• Gently tap the tile where you intend to drill the hole with something metallic that’s also light. If you hear a hollow sound there’s airspace between the glue. London Bathroom  Fitting Firms train their staff to look for another fixing point when they find this, because tiles break easily over hollows.
• Make a clear mark on the tile where the hole must go with a laundry marker. Make a cross over it with transparent tape that does not have a shiny finish. Tap the tape gently and repeatedly with a new centre punch, until you have scored the ceramic finish beneath it.
• Drill through the hole using a specialist drill bit and an electric drill set off-hammer. Once you are through the glaze you can drill into the tile and wall more quickly. Tidy up the mess, wipe things clean, and you’re good to go!
Mr-Skill is a virtual market place where customers and skilled tradespeople meet. It’s free to the general public, and bids can be up to 30% below general market rates. Click on this link – get Cheap Bathroom Fitting Quotes for your postcode right now!
Tags: accesory, accessories, bathroom, bathroom fitting quotes, bit, break, ceramic, chip, clean, crack, drain, drill, dry, dust, find a bathroom fitter, fix, gently, glaze, glue, harware, hole, london bathroom fitting, mark, masonry, punch, sheet, tap, tape, tile, tool, wall, wipe
Posted in Handyman Services, Kitchen Fitting, Painting & Decorating | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Sep 24
Oftentimes the simplest things are the most enjoyable. Like a small child playing with a paper boat in a stream, or a couple walking hand-in-hand along a river bank. To me though, the gentle sound of a bamboo wind chime resonating gently in the garden is the best sound of all. The good news is that these delightful inventions are so easy to make, that there’s no need to Find a Joiner this time at all.
•  Obtain some lengths of bamboo from the hardware shop or garden centre. These need to be dry so that they resonate nicely, and be of different diameters too.
• Cut different lengths of bamboo from each source. There are two principles here. The diameter affects the depth of resonance or tone, while the length affects the pitch. Remember to ensure that there are no segments within the length you cut, or else the sound will not travel between the ends.
• Knock the lengths of bamboo together gently to check results. You can even tune them by adjusting lengths. Some pieces will work better against each other – these are the ones you need to juxtapose as some do at better London Joining Firms.
• Finish off your bamboo pieces with shaped lower ends like organ pipes. This is done by removing one-half of the last inch or so and tidying up. Some say this affects the pitch. Others like me just think it just looks better that way.
•  Drill holes through the top ends for the hanger-strings. Remember to make these parallel to the bottom detail, so that these all present the same by facing outwards. Attach the strings ensuring they are of the same length, and tie the ends together neatly before hanging the set in an appropriate place that will catch the wind.
• Obtain a spreader disc of an appropriate diameter, and notch it deeply to receive the hanger strings. Set this in place between the strings and hey-presto you have a wooden wind chime. Finally, secure the strings to the spreader disc with hot-melt glue.
How’s that for a bit of fun for a Sunday’s home entertainment. And you don’t need Carpenter Quotes either. Although Mr-Skill is a serious business that matches clients and skilled tradesmen, we also like to give good ideas away. You can decorate your bamboo wind pipes any way you want. Did you notice how easy it is to rearrange the pipes.
Tags: adjust, bamboo, build, carpenter quote, chime, cut, decorate, diameter, drill, easy, end, find a joiner, finish, Garden, garden centre, gentle, hand, hardware shop, juxtapose, knock, length, london joining firm, make, notch, pitch, resonance, resonate, segment, simple, spread, string, test, tone, tune, wind, wind chime
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
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