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Posts Tagged ‘electricity<’
Posted in Electrical Work on May 02
Sometimes, the electricity supply to our homes is irregular, and this could cause a dip or a surge in the supply to an appliance. Fortunately, the design of our domestic plugs includes built-in protection in the form of a fuse-breaker. This clever gadget protects the appliance while it’s operating – a heavy power surge will result in a blown fuse, thus preventing damage and possibly even fire. 
Replacing the fuse is not a difficult task provided you have a basic knowledge of, and a healthy respect for electricity! To do this job yourself, you will need the correct-sized screw driver, pliers and of course, the replacement fuse. Check that the new fuse is suitably matched – amperage rating – to the old fuse. If this is all sounding a bit intimidating, why not find an electrician right here on Mr-Skill.
Start with safety first – isolate the circuit breaker on the mains board for the wall plugs that you plan to work on. Now you can safely remove the plug from the socket and take off its cover using your screw driver. Some plug covers are a clip-tight fit, and will need to be carefully prised open.
Look for the small glass tube inside the plug and remove the blown fuse from its cradle using the pliers. Blown ones will have a burnt or smudged appearance. Insert the new fuse into the cradle, checking to see that it is of the correct rating.
Recommendation: if your plugs are very old, you should consider getting an electrical quote to upgrade them all.
Clip or screw the plug cover firmly back in position. You are now ready to test the new fuse, so place the plug in the socket and switch on the circuit breaker on the mains board. Now switch on the appliance to check that everything is working as it should.
One of our London electricians recommends that you don’t take unnecessary risks with potentially faulty plugs. If after changing the fuse, the plug still does not work seek professional assistance instead.
Tags: circuit breaker, electrical fire, electrical quote, electricity, find an electrician, fuse, london electrician, mains board, pliers, plug, power, power surge, safety, screw driver, socket
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Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Apr 10
A decent space to complete your carpentry projects is a bonus, that’s for sure. We are of course assuming that you are handy, interested and have sufficient spare room in your garage. Converting that space into a carpentry workshop will quickly pay for itself too.
Apart from all those jobs that you can turn out for your own household, imagine the potential work from your neighbourhood. Talk about a paying hobby – plus, you’ll be the envy of all your friends, who will wish “they could be that good with their hands too”. In next to no time, you could be registering on Mr-Skill yourself, so that others can get a carpenter quote from you.
Things You Should Do First 
We are of course assuming that you already have the range of tools and equipment that you will need. An empty garage would be an added bonus. Next, check with your local authority in case their zoning rules are problematic. Find an electrician to safely wire up your new workspace – you can choose one from Mr-Skill.
Before diving in, check with other people who have already done what you plan to do. There are plenty of online forums, and most people will be happy to advise you, so all you have to do is find a carpenter chat room.
Planning 
- Once you have decided to get going, begin by arranging the available space to accommodate all your tools. Remember to allow for bigger static items such as a table saw or bench press. Everything must be set out for ease of use, and it goes without saying that your carpentry shop should be neat and tidy at the end of each work session. Be prepared as the Boy Scouts always say!
- Position a sturdy work-table in the centre of the space. Build upper storage cupboards for holding tools, and put up lots of shelving for oils, solvents and glues.
- Once you have set up your workshop, get quotes from licensed electricians. You may need to convert your power feed to a three-phase supply to cater for all the machines.
You are just about ready to open shop now. One last word from one of our regular London carpenters on Mr-Skill. He advises that you to check rules and regulations thoroughly with your local authority, before you spend a penny!
Tags: carpenter quote, carpenters, cupboards, electrician, electricity, find a carpenter, forums, garage, glues, heavy duty, local authority, london carpenters, paint, power, shelves, shop, tools, workshop
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Posted in Electrical Work on Apr 02
Children and teenagers are tomorrow’s people. It is with their safety in mind that we present some straightforward safety tips in your bathroom and kitchen.
Caution: If you have any faulty electrical equipment or appliances, rather find an electrician to check for problems. Fiddling with gadgets ourselves is all fine and dandy, but just think about the consequences of getting it wrong. Electricians take several years to qualify, and there’s a good reason for this – they have to learn a lot, and then put their knowledge into practice throughout their working lives.
Child Safety
Be sure to dry your children thoroughly after bathing or showering, and before they approach anything electrical in the house. Water and electricity are a lethal combination. Teach your kids to keep drinks far away from any electrical appliances. It’s also a good habit to teach your youngsters to switch off appliances at the wall socket, whenever they are not in use.
Keep electrical appliance cords out of the reach of your children too, particularly for hot gadgets such as kettles, irons and hair dryers. And, never keep a charger plugged in without connecting to the actual appliance – kids love to explore and may regard a dangling cable as a tasty item to put in their mouths!
Kitchen Safety 
One recipe never to be followed is water and electricity…this combination will prove stunning, and may even turn out fatal. When you plan your new kitchen, ensure that sockets and switches are located a safe distance from water sources such as the sink. If you are thinking of a quote for electrical work, make sure the drawings include safe distances between water outlets and plugs or switches.
One of our London Electricians suggests you make sure your heavy-duty appliances such as washing machines or dishwashers connect through a fusible-link switch. This should be above the worktop surface, so that you can switch on or off quickly in emergencies.
Some Definite No-Goes
- Never use any electrical equipment or switch with wet hands.
- Don’t wrap power cables around an iron or a kettle while still warm or hot
- Always unplug an appliance from the wall socket when cleaning it.
- Unplug irons and kettles when filling them with water.
- If bread sticks in your toaster, don’t stick metal objects inside the toasting compartment to dislodge the bread. Switch off all kitchen appliances when not in use.
Tags: appliance, bathroom, children, cord, dishwahers, electrical safety, electricity, equipment, find an electrician, hot, kettle, kitchen, lethal, london electricians, power cable, quote for electrical work, safety, sink, switch, washing machines, water, wet
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Posted in General Building on Feb 20
Before you even think about removing an interior brick wall, you first need to determine whether or not it’s load bearing. This is especially important when working with an older building. Sometimes homes were extended in the past, in a way that outside walls ended up inside houses.
 The only way to determine this is to get up in the ceiling and determine what is resting on the wall. Sometimes you’ll find rafters pressing down, and at other times planks supporting boilers. If you can’t run your finger all the way along the wall you must arrange a survey before proceeding.
While you’re up there, check for water pipes and electricity cables entering the wall through the ceiling, as these may travel a distance to reach their destination. Have an electrician isolate and terminate these (and any others that may reach a wall-switch from the floor below. You may legally disconnect a water supply pipe yourself.
Perhaps at this stage you have already decided that you need to Find a London Building Firm instead? No worries, simply click on this link to receive a Builder’s Quote. Here’s what you still need to do, to prepare in advance for the day the builder arrives.
 Remove everything from the surplus wall that you might conceivably use again
- Barricade off the immediate area with sheets of plastic
- Clear everything from inside the space, including semi-fixtures like draperies and light fittings.
- Invest in a heavy-duty drop-sheet to protect the floor.
- Resolve to be reasonable about the dust and dirt about to disturb you.
While any London Building Firm on Mr-Skill will do their best to contain the mess, the bottom line is that demolition is a dirty business. Ask yourself a simple question before you let the builders in – “Is this really necessary in the first place?” On the other hand, the results may be well worthwhile.
Tags: barricade, boiler, brick, builder’s quote, ceiling, demolish, dirt, disconnect, dropsheet, dust, electrician, electricity, find a builder, inside, interior, internal, isolate, load, load bearing, london building, masonry, mess, pipe, plank, plastic, rafter, remove, rest, sheet, solid, Survey, switch, truss, wall, water, waterpipe
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Posted in Kitchen Fitting on Dec 19
London Kitchen Fitters are an astute lot, and the first thing they’ll ask when invited to quote is usually, have you got a plug for it? That’s because if they find you don’t, then they’ll have to come back a second time when they’ve already quoted a set price. Here’s how you might be able to go about the job yourself. If you don’t want to though, you can always Find a Kitchen Fitter on Mr-Skill right here.
• Decide where you want the under counter freezer to go. Everything is modular these days – if you have a modern kitchen  most freezers will fit into the space behind a cupboard door. Make sure you allow an inch of free-space all around when measuring. That’s for air circulation, and to get your hands in to pull it out again for cleaning.
• Have the power supply installed. This is usually on the wall behind the freezer which should have sufficient cable length supplied. Don’t get clever with electricity though. Find an Electrician to do the job.
• Purchase your under counter freezer. Base your decision on three factors. These are appearance, energy efficiency and usable capacity. Does it have a drain for when you decide to defrost it, and finally, is the electric cable going to be long enough?
• Prepare for installation. The electrician may have removed the cupboard door and any shelves. If not, then now’s the time to do so. HINT The door and shelf make useful spares. Keep them, don’t chuck them away.
 • Inspect the under counter freezer. Unwrap your new appliance carefully and check for any damage. Plug it in to see if it starts up, then turn it off again and unplug it. Remove it from the packaging completely, and set it down near the opening where you can make sure that it’s perfectly level.
• Now finally install it. Plug in the appliance again, and gently slide it into the cavity taking care not to snag the cable as it goes in. Then turn it on. That’s all folks. You did it yourself. Congratulations!
Now that sounds easy, doesn’t it? But sometimes the cavity is too small or the kitchen floor uneven. When that happens there’s no need to despair. That’s because you can get Incredible Kitchen Fitting Quotes right here, and not pay a penny for them either.
Tags: air circulation, appearance, appliance, cable, capacity, cavity, door, drain, electrician, electricity, energy, find a kitchen fitter, freezer, install, kitchen, kitchen fitting quote, level, london kitchen fitter, modular, package, plug, power, remove, shelf, shelves, space, supply, turn on, under counter, undercounter
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Posted in Electrical Work on Oct 11
I was chatting to an old friend of mine the other day, a London Electrician, and we got around to the cost of electricity. That’s not just the increasing bill you pay of course, it’s also the hot air you generate that adds to global warming.  A fair amount of what electricity costs the world comes down to carelessness and stupidity, and owning inefficient electrical equipment too.
It’s no longer good enough to Find an Electrician to install an efficient solid plate electric hob these days; you also have to use it properly. For if you do not, then the savings the clerk told you about could just as well go up as hot air.
• Use fairly heavy-duty cookware that retains the heat as opposed to warming up the kitchen. Forget about buying boxed pot and pan sets – these are actually rubbish although they may be acceptable in China still.
• Buy quality pots and pans sold separately so you can choose ones that fit the hob plates accurately. They may be slightly larger than required, but never smaller unless you want to cook the handles and your hands. Ensure the bottoms are exactly flat by placing them on a sheet of glass – uneven bottoms equal poor hear transfer.
•  As soon as the product starts to cook turn down the setting so you just sustain the rate. This ensures more tender food that shouldn’t stick. Keep the lid on to optimise the use of energy.
• Turn the electricity off a short time before the food is cooked and let the accumulated heat complete the job, then let it rest for a few moments longer before you serve it. You’ll be surprised how much tastier food is when not blasted on high heat, and how your electricity bill comes down.
Getting Electrical Quotes on Mr-Skill to install new cooking equipment is only half the energy conservation battle won. You also have to use it properly to maximise its contribution, which is why we provide this information as a service. Good luck and long service from your new cooking hob.
Tags: bill, bottom, careless, cook, cookware, cost, electricial quote, electricity, energy, find an electrician, flat, glass, global warming, heat, heavy, hob, increasing, kitchen, level, lid, london electrician, pan, plate, pot, rest, saving, size, solid, stupid, tasty, tender, transfer, use, waste
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We’re all becoming a bit more green-minded these days, as energy prices soar and global warming starts to take effect. The devices that we use to heat our water are especially important, because the heat-exchange process is so energy-intensive. I’ve even heard of increasing sales in shops of de-scaling kits for electric kettles.  But how many of us spare a thought for our closed-circuit hot water systems, or consider getting Plumbing Quotes on Mr-Skill to descale them.
The root cause of the problem lies in the impurities in the water that we heat, and the damage caused by chemical contamination in different regions. In all cases there is a gradual build-up of harmful scale, as the by-products of calcium carbonate and black iron oxide begin to take effect.
The twin results of these two types of contamination are lowered thermal efficiency, and rust that corrodes the pressure tank until the system is no longer safe. This comes down to unnecessary expenditure of two kinds – higher electricity bills and eventually expensive hot water system replacements.
The same contaminated water finds its way through pipes to taps and sinks. As it does so, it gradually blocks the pipes the same way as cholesterol does to our arteries. Its final act of vengeance is when it  causes irreversible stains to expensive bathroom tiles and showers. By then of course the damage is largely done.
If you hear kettling noises in the roof space, spot scale build-up or find it necessary to turn up the boiler thermostat, then it’s definitely time to Find a London Plumbing Expert or someone nearer to advise. There are many techniques these days to repel the effects of scale, and the savings can be quite significant.
You can Find a Plumber on Mr-Skill that we’ve rated personally, and when they quote they’ll know that they’re being compared too. They’ll also know that in the unlikely case of problems you’ll be talking directly to us about them. Who said you can’t find quality anymore these days.
Tags: calcium, chemical, contamination, corrosion, cost, damage, descale, electricity, exchange, find a london plumbing expert, find a plumber, global warming, green, hot, impurity, oxide, pipe, plumbing quotes, rust, scale, shower, sink, tap, thermal, thermostat, tile, water
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
Posted in Electrical Work on Sep 26
The United Kingdom government added Part P to the Electrical Regulations in 2005, with the intention of eliminating cowboy installers and discouraging dangerous work by homeowners who lacked essential skills. The intention was to give local Councils improved oversight over what was happening, and to eliminate potentially lethal situations. This was one of the drivers behind the establishment of Mr-Skill. We want to help people Find an Electrician who is properly registered, and whose work should be readily approved by the local Council too.
 Failure to comply with Part P can have the following serious implications for United Kingdom householders:
• Accidental death through electric shock …
• Permanent disability through electric shock …
• An electrical fire not covered by home insurance …
• Impediments to the sale of a property …
• A fine not exceeding £50,000 …
We encourage our readers to consider carefully whether these are not sufficient reasons in themselves to get Electrician Quotes instead.
While we do not discourage all DIY Electrical Work by competent and capable people, we decided to list the Do’s and Dont’s that apply to this. This is because we would like to see less than the 10 deaths, 750 serious injuries and 12,500 fires caused by faulty amateur electrical work in the United Kingdom every year. In considering the lists of permitted and outlawed amateur Electrical Work that follow, please bear in mind that the scope applies to dwellings, outbuildings of any kind including garden sheds, and common areas of communal space too.
 Work falling Within the Scope of Part P
New or rewired installations, circuits, fuse boards, sockets, lighting points, and power showers. Supply to outbuildings and installations therein. Under floor heating, pool pumps, garden lighting, and generators.
Work falling Outside the Scope of Part P
Connecting an appliance to an existing circuit. Replacing damaged single-circuit wiring, single outlets and single light fittings. Fitting a storage heater to an existing adjacent connection point, and replacing an immersion heater.
We encourage all our customers to comply with these regulations for their health and safety’s sake, and not to take on electrical work with which they are unfamiliar. We list rated London Electricians and their counterparts in virtually every United Kingdom town, whose quality services are also up to 30% less than prevailing rates. It’s just not worth taking chances with electricity and lives.
Tags: accident, amateur, appliance, approve, capable, circuit, competent, comply, dangerous, death, disability, discourage, dwelling, electrical, electrician quotes, electricity, find an electrician, fine, fire, immersion, implication, injuries, install, insurance, legal, lethal, light, london electricians, outbuilding, outlet, part p, register, regulalations, shed, shock, skill, wire
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The prospect of picking up a few pots of paint and some paint brushes down at the hardware store, and getting stuck into redecorating over the weekend is an attractive one. But plummeting off a ladder and being crowned by an open tin of paint is hardly such a good idea. 
If you can’t find someone to do a Painting Job in London for you (which is unlikely on Mr-Skill) then here are a few tips to keep you safe:
o Avoid wearing loose clothing of any kind, as this can get tangled in tools and ladders, and might cause a serious injury. The same goes for necklaces and bracelets too. While on the subject of clothing, remember to wear sensible shoes. Many an accident has been caused by beach thongs.
o Make sure that your ladder is in perfect condition, with no damaged steps or missing parts. If it doesn’t click firmly into position and stand steadily, don’t use it. Rather be safe and get some Painting Quotes instead.
o  Keep the floor area clear. More people have tripped and fallen this way than in any other. Create a rule and stick to it.
o Turn off the electricity main switch before you remove any cover plates, and seal off any open spaces around them with painter’s tape before you turn them on again. Don’t take chances here – it’s not all that unusual to find the internals of a switch lying loose inside the cover.
Now that you have had a chance to review the safety aspects outlined above, you may be more inclined to Find a Decorator. Should that be the case then you can locate one on Mr-Skill, where we cover almost every post code, and recommend our tradespeople personally. We wish you a safe day, and happy home decorating!
Tags: accident, bracelet, brush, clear, click, clothing, cover, decorate, electricity, fall, find a decorator, firm, hardware, injury, ladder, loose, necklace, paint, painting job in london, painting quotes, part, plate, pot, safe, shoe, shop, steady, step, store, switch, tape, thong, tin, tool, trip, weekend
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Posted in Electrical Work on Jul 11
 One of the most important things to understand about electricity is that it always follows the shortest route. If you are standing in bare feet on an un-insulated surface and touch a live wire, then the electricity in that wire will try to complete its cycle through your body, and could kill you.
Fortunately this happens less and less these days, thanks to the mandatory installation of earth leakage protection systems. These detect a sudden flow of electricity and trip a special breaker to stop this continuing. They are necessary in addition to dedicated circuit breakers, because these may be insufficient in themselves when the soil conditions are dry.
Electricity kills people every year in Britain, often because they were not covered by earth leakage protection. Here are several reasons that could cause this:
o Earth leakage protection not installed. This condition is not legal, and you must Find an Electrician if any doubt at all.
o  Earth leakage protection faulty. All devices get old and eventually fail. Make a habit of pressing the test switch on your distribution board at least once a month to make sure it trips the power instantly. If it does not, then you must consult an Electrician in London or wherever else you live urgently.
o Perhaps the greatest danger of all is where somebody has bypassed the earth leakage system on one or other circuit in the past because a piece of equipped kept tripping. This represents a potentially lethal threat. Again, if in any doubt at all you must get Electrical Quotes for a full inspection.
As we wrote this blog we realised just how easily neglect can creep up on all of us, and that this includes neglecting to arrange regular electrical safety inspections too. We have contractors serving just about every major postal code in the United Kingdom. We urge you to have your property electrically inspected regularly, so that you can enjoy the safer life at home that you deserve.
Tags: body, breaker, bypass, circuit, earth, electrician london, electrician quote, electricity, fail, fault, find an electrician, inspect, insulate, isolate, kill, leakage, lethal, live, neglect, old, protect, protection, regular, safe, short, test, trip, wire
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