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Posts Tagged ‘Find a Builder in London<’
 With no sign of an Indian Summer this year, it looks as if autumn is well and truly upon us and time to prepare the home against the ravages of winter. Mr Skill has prepared a checklist below of the most common jobs that need to be done around your property at this time of year to ensure that, when the spring arrives, your home is still in good condition and you do not have to make costly repairs.
Dealing with the 4 Seasons
The October Checklist
Draught Proofing
 One of the biggest and most expensive wastes of resources this winter will be the heat that escapes through your un-draught proofed windows and doors. As well as wasting around £25.00 per year in lost heat, once you have properly insulated your doors and windows, you will be able to turn the thermostat down a degree or two and safe another £50.00 over the winter months.
You can get free quotes from handymen in London for draught proofing your doors and windows through our Tradesmen´s Directory, or tackle the job yourself with a little help from the Mr Skill Project Advice section.
Replacement Doors and Windows
 If doors and windows themselves are in a poor state of repair, it may be time to consider replacing them. Typical tell-tale signs are when doors and windows stick or squeak when you try to open or close them, and installing new doors and windows can add to the kerb appeal of your property as well as saving you money by being more energy efficient.
We have a number of highly rated local window fitters in London listed in our Tradesmen´s Directory, or you may choose to install a replacement window yourself with assistance from Mr Skill´s Project Advice pages.
Central Heating Systems
 An inefficient central heating system will cost you money throughout the next six to none months and potentially have its life span reduced if rust deposits and air-locks hinder the flow of water and induce pump failure. Flushing your central heating system is the best way of improving your central heating system´s performance, but it may only be necessary to bleed your radiators to ensure your house remains warm throughout the coming months.
It is a busy time of year for companies providing gas fitting services in London, so it is recommended that you use the “Post-a-Job” facility at the top of each page to get plumbers quotes from heating engineers in London.
Trees
 If you have trees in you garden, it is the right time of year to prune them back and remove any weak branches that may fall during high winds and heavy rain. As well as the safety aspect of not having great weights of wood crashing through your car windscreen or damaging you patio furniture, pruning your trees in autumn will allow more light to enter your home, potentially saving you money on lighting. Local gardeners in London would also suggest that the dead and decaying would is not just thrown away, but used to make stumperies for your garden´s wildlife.
Walls
 You should do a regular inspection of the walls surrounding your home – garden walls and the brickwork of the property itself – to check for cracks and damaged bricks which may suffer from the freeze-thaw effect over the winter. Our “Post-a-Job” facility will enable you to get quotes from bricklayers in London should you need to replace damaged bricks or repoint your brickwork. If the weather is kind in your area over the next couple of weeks, you may also want to consider re-painting the exterior of your property – but only once you have read our blog about “What the Exterior Colour of Your Home Says About You”!
Guttering and Roofs
 It is also the time of year to clean and repair guttering on roofs, garages and conservatories. Gutters can easily be blocked at any time of year by leaves, moss, feathers, dirt and other rubbish which has blown into them and the guttering runs can age prematurely when water fails to flow away. Whilst you are up the ladder, it is also a good opportunity to check for damaged or displaced roofing tiles which will allow the rain in and potentially cause a damp problem. A good selection of local roofers in London is available in our Tradesmen´s Directory should you find that you roof could benefit from a professional´s opinion.
Tags: brickwork, Central Heating, doors and windows, energy efficiency, Find a Bricklayer in London, Find a Builder in London, Find a Gardener in London, find a handyman in London, Find a Plumber in London, Find a Roofer in London, freeze-thaw, Guttering, Guttering & Drainage, Home Improvements, Home Maintenance, Insulation, Kerb Appeal, tradesman, windows
Posted in Dealing With The Four Seasons | Comments Off
Posted in Building A-Z on Oct 06
Most DIY enthusiasts, handymen and builders in London will have a case full of different drill bits to cope with different drilling tasks. Wood drill bits, metal drill bits and masonry drill bits are the three most common, and inasmuch as many people appreciate that the drill bits are manufactured for specific tasks, not a lot of people know why drill bits are designed the way they are and how best to use them.
Drilling Wood
 Almost any drill bit can be used for drilling a hole in a soft wood, but the “lip and spur” drill bit is best to use. It has a centring point which keeps the drill bit steady against the wood (the “spur”) whilst the raised corners of the drill bit cut through fibres within the grain of the wood cleanly – before the inner parts of the cutting edges plane off the base of the hole. Also ideal for drilling through soft plastics, the “lip and spur” is usually used in sizes from 3mm (1/8th inch) to 16mm (5/8th inch).
 For wider holes, spade or paddle bits are recommended. These are flat-headed drill bits with a centring point and two cutters which are equipped with spurs to enable a cleaner cutting edge.
Augur wood drill bits are made with a spur, single cutting edge and a “flute” for removing waste from the drilled hole and are particularly useful for drilling deep holes in wooden surfaces.
 Drilling Metal
There are many different types of drill bits for drilling through metal, and your choice of bit should depend on the type of metal you are drilling through (steel, stainless steel or aluminium for example) and the size of hole that you wish to make. The larger the hole, the more friction will be created and the hotter the drill bit will become leading to overheating and damage to the drill bit. Most power drill handbooks provided recommended drilling speeds for drilling through metal and you can also refer to Mr Skill´s Project Advice article on “How to Drill Through Metal” and our “Drill Speed Chart”.
The cheaper metal drill bits are made from high carbon steel, but lose their cutting edge quickly if allowed to overheat. Therefore, most builders in London have a preference for “high speed steel” which can be used to drill through metal, hardwood and most other materials at higher speeds. Although being more brittle than “high speed steel”, drill bits made from cobalt steel alloys hold their hardness at much higher temperatures, whilst tungsten carbide drill bits are the toughest of the lot. Due to its expense, tungsten carbide – and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) – is most commonly used on the tips of metal cutting drill bits.
Coatings are frequently used on metal cutting drill bits to provide heat resistance and increase lubricity. The most common are black oxide and titanium nitrate, which can extend the life of a drill bit three or four times, although the benefits or titanium aluminium nitride and titanium carbon nitride are worth the expense if you do a lot of drilling through metals such as stainless steel and nickel alloys.
Drilling Masonry
 Masonry bits are usually used with a hammer drill by builders in London. The bit is both hammered and rotated into the masonry – the hammering breaks up the masonry at the drill bit tip, whilst the rotating flutes of the drill bit body carry away the dust. Rotating the bit brings the cutting edges in contact with a fresh portion of the hole with every hammer blow.
 Masonry bits of the style shown are commonly available in diameters from 5mm (¼ inch) to 40mm (1½ inches). For larger diameters, core bits are used. Masonry bits up to 1000mm (39 inches) long can be used with hand-portable power tools, and are very effective for installing wiring and plumbing.
This is only a selection of the most common drill bits used in home improvement. If you require any further information on specialist drilling tools, please consult one of the highly rated builders in London featured in our Tradesmen´s Directory.
Tags: aluminium, builder, drill, drill bits, drill speeds, drilling masonry, drilling metal, drilling wood, Find a Builder in London, find a handyman in London, General Builders, hammer, Handyman Services, masonry, Plumbing, power drills, stainless steel, steel, wiring
Posted in Building A-Z | Comments Off
 Before starting to drill a hole, you will need to centre punch the surface of the metal to provide a start for the drill bit, preventing it from slipping or skating across the metal pipe or plate, and ensuring accuracy. Mark the metal where you want to drill, and then line up the point of your centring tool – hitting it firmly with a hammer to produce a small round indentation. If you are drilling through thin metal you may need to place something behind it to prevent creating too large a dent, or if drilling into a metal pipe, tap lightly and start your pilot hole with the smallest drill size you have available.
To start your hole, it is best to start with a pilot hole – a narrower bore in the metal than what is required, and then change up to a larger size drill bit. If you have a power drill that is not particularly powerful or are drilling through metal that requires a slower drilling speed, you may also want to make an intermediate sized hole – for example 4mm > 8mm > 12mm.
 It is essential to keep the drill bit as sharp as possible or else there is the chance that it will overheat and damage the bit beyond repair. For the same reason lubrication may be required – especially if drilling a hole deeper than the width of the bit (and always on stainless steel). Speed is another factor to consider. If you drill too fast, you will over heat the drill and the metal edging of your hole. If you drill too slowly, you will not get a clean edge on your hole and although sharp edges and burrs can be filed down once the job is complete, they are a safety hazard whilst you continue to drill.
Manufacturers of variable speed power drills will usually include a guide to drill speeds with the tool´s instruction book and, although it is always recommended to follow the manufacturer´s instructions, should you not have access to one, please click here to access Mr Skill´s Guide to Drill Speeds. If you do not have a variable speed drill, or one which operates faster than the speed you wish to drill at, intermittently release the trigger and give the RPM of the drill a chance to slow down.
Safety Advice
When drilling metal you should always wear goggles and keep a good grip on your drill. Do not use a drill if it has a frayed electrical cable or when working near water. Wear gloves wherever possible and remove metals shavings with a soft brush and then wipe down the area with a disposable cloth.
If you do not have adequate tools for the job or have allowed your drill bits to become blunt or damaged, do not attempt drilling through metal. Instead get quotes from builders in London through our “Post-a-Job” facility at the top of each page and stay safe!
Tags: drill, drill bits, drill speeds, Find a Builder in London, gloves, goggles, hammer, metal, power drills, project advice, safety recommendations, stainless steel
Posted in Electrical Work, General Building, Handyman Services, Kitchen Fitting, Locksmith | Comments Off
Posted in Building A-Z on Oct 06
When drilling metals, it is always advisable to follow the instructions included in the manufacturer´s instruction book. If you have mislaid it or one was not supplied with your variable speed drill, please use the table below as a guide. The speeds in this guide are based on “high speed drill” bits and should be adjusted accordingly for cobalt steel alloys and titanium carbon nitride tipped drill bits.
For the best information on power tools and how to use them, speak with one of the highly rated local builders in London featured in our Tradesmen´s Directory.
Tags: drill, drill bits, drilling speeds, Find a Builder in London, power drills, Tradesmen´s Directory
Posted in Building A-Z | Comments Off
 Whether you are a builder, a carpenter or a decorator, this show is for you!
With more than 300 exhibitors, The National Home Improvement Show is the UK’s largest event for tradesmen in London and people looking to add space and value to their home. It offers the best in home improvement, design and space-saving advice from Real Homes experts, including TV personalities Julia Kendell (presenter of DIY SOS on BBC1 and 60-Minute Makeover), Matt James (Channel Four’s The City Gardener) and Michael Holmes (Editor-in-Chief of Real Homes magazine and presenter of Five’s “I Own Britain’s Best Home”).
The exhibition starts this Friday (1st October) and runs until Sunday. Tickets are £8.00 in advance or £12.00 on the door and further details about the event can be found on www.improveyourhomeshow.co.uk
Tags: bathroom, builder, Decorating & Interior Design, exhibition, Find a Builder in London, find a carpenter in London, find a decorator, find a handyman in London, Home Improvements, interior decoration, Painting, tradesman
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery, Electrical Work, General Building, Kitchen Fitting, Painting & Decorating | Comments Off
Posted in Building A-Z on Sep 29
 Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) were introduced in October 2008 to help improve the energy efficiency of buildings and even though the Home Information Packs (HIPS) are no longer a requirement, anybody selling or renting a home or commercial premises needs to produce an EPC certificate by law. Energy Performance Certificates provide ‘A’ to ‘G’ ratings for the building, with ‘A’ being the most energy efficient and ‘G’ being the least efficient. They are produced by independently accredited energy assessors who are usually attached to a surveyor´s office or estate agents, and are required when “a building has a roof and walls and uses energy to condition an indoor climate”. This means it has heating, air conditioning or mechanical ventilation. For example, a garden shed would not need an EPC if it doesn’t have any heating.
Builders in London marketing off-plan construction projects have to provide a Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA) to potential purchasers with a full energy performance certificate on completion and if a building is made up of separate units, each with its own heating system, each unit will need an EPC.
The only exceptions from this legal requirement are-
- Places of worship
- Temporary buildings with an expected lifespan of less than 2 years
- Buildings with appropriate permissions for demolition and re-development
- Stand alone buildings of less than 50m2 of useful floor area
- Non-residential buildings that do not use energy to condition the indoor climate – such as barns or car parks.
If you have not yet seen an Energy Performance Certificate, please click on this link – Example Energy Performance Certificate (pdf file 118Kb) – or ask your local builder in London on how you can save energy and save money at the same time.
Mr-Skill.co.uk also has a series of blogs that may be of interest to you including details on:-
Energy Efficient Windows
Draught Proofing
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Vampire Power
Tags: builder, compact fluorescent light bulb, Construction, draught proofing, energy, energy efficiency, Energy Performance Certificates, energy saving, Find a Builder in London, heating, Home Information Packs, London builder, roof, vampire power, ventilation, wall, windows
Posted in Building A-Z | Comments Off
Posted in General Building on Sep 27
 A loophole in the new Part L Building Regulations which come into force on Friday (1st October) is being exploited by London builders. Local Authorities are reporting that London builders are registering their intention to start work on a site before the revised Part L (2010) regulations take effect, effectively giving them a period of twelve months before they have to start work on the project and, once started, allowing the building to comply with Part L (2006) regulations – saving approximately £2.000 on the difference in building standards.
The move, which includes the registration of thousands of plots – including many without planning permission – has been condemned by Andrew Warren, director of the Association for the Conservation of Energy. He said “This undermines work on improving the energy standard of new homes in England. I do wonder if Andrew Stunell (the Lib-Dem minister in charge of Building Regulations) knows what is going on.”
This haste to register takes advantage of the “transitional arrangements” that bridges the change in regulations. These arrangements were less generous when Part L 2006 was introduced; then builders in London had to comply with the new version if work had not started on site before it took effect. This time around, builders in London are expected to save millions of pounds in building costs.
Note: Local Authority Building Control, which advises council inspectors, had stuck to the 2006 interpretation, but changed its mind after thousands of plots were registered with the NHBC.
For details of the new 2010 regulations and how they affect Ventilation (Part F) and Conservation of Fuel and Power (Parts L1a / L1b), please visit the Mr. Skill guide to Building Regulations.
Tags: builder, Building Control, building regulations, Building Regulations Part F, Building Regulations Part L, conservation, Construction, energy efficiency, Find a Builder in London, General Builders, London builder, planning permission, ventilation
Posted in General Building | Comments Off
 As reported in many trade journals, the Health and Safety Executive and the Building Control Alliance have signed an agreement to work more closely to improve health and safety standards on construction sites. The arrangement means that the HSE and building control professionals will co-operate to help and support each other by providing health and safety advice to on-site builders in London.
Philip White, HSE’s chief inspector of construction, was quoted as saying “Today’s agreement does not change a duty holder’s responsibility to protect workers health and safety, but has created another opportunity to get potentially life-saving advice to those responsible for health and safety standards on construction sites.” Meanwhile Diane Marshall, group head of building control at NHBC, was equally as gushing -“Building Control professionals are ideally placed to raise awareness of health and safety issues on construction sites during the course of their inspections. This agreement creates a mechanism for Building Control professionals to discharge their professional duty of care in a simple and straightforward manner by working closely with our HSE colleagues.”
However, builders in London, although keen to make any health and safety improvements in their industry were not so enthusiastic about the proposals. Commenting in the online builder.co.uk magazine, Colin McNeil wrote –
“Great, another feather in the cap for the great and good who govern Building Control, when was the last time that any of these people went on site? So as a Building Control Surveyor you are supposed to have good technical knowledge of Structures and structural stability, have a intimate knowledge of fire safety and means of escape, thermal performance and CO2 emissions and access into and around buildings for people with disabilities, a comprehensive knowledge of damp protection and prevention of water ingress, methods of preventing sound transfer, drainage systems and knowledge of staircases and guardings. Together with a good knowledge of boiler systems and building services generally, Then there are the requirements to check planning conditions etc all this for the generous salary of about £30000 to £35000 a year. (sic)”
It does seem to be that building control surveyors already have enough on their plates, and with three new sets of building regulations coming into force this week will find it difficult to integrate health and safety regulations into their already overloaded schedules. Maybe Mr White and Ms Marshall should get their patent leather shoes out of their ivory towers and have a look at what actually goes on at ground level.
Tags: builder, Building Control, building regulations, CO2 emissions, Construction, Construction Safety, damp proofing, drainage system, Find a Builder in London, General Builders, health, Health & Safety Executive, safety standards, thermal performance
Posted in General Building, Handyman Services | Comments Off
 Depending on which source of history you choose to quote from, the phrase “Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics” is either attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, Mark Twain or Leonard H Courtney (later president of the Royal Statistical Society), but as far as builders in London are concerned, there seems to be no accurate guide to what contractors get paid these days.
A report by Hays Construction which is quoted on the builder.co.uk web site, states that average pay in London has decreased by 8% with almost one in five companies reducing the pay of their staff, whereas Construction News Insight produced their own report showing a 0.4% pay increase amongst London builders.
Writing in Construction News, former Bank of England monetary policy committee member David Blanchflower said: “The official UK construction employment data remain a puzzle. It may well be that many of the construction jobs were held by workers from Eastern Europe who have now returned home. Many of these workers were not covered in the official counts and if so then the decline in employment may well be understated.”
In contrast to Mr Blanchflower´s words, the Office of National Statistics reported that for the year ended 31st March 2010, 234.000 jobs were lost in the construction industry. Maybe the Eastern Europeans could not make head or tail of the figures either!
Tags: builder, conditions, Construction, contractor, Find a Builder in London, London, pay, statistics
Posted in Bricklaying, Carpentry & Joinery, Electrical Work, General Building, Handyman Services, Painting & Decorating, Plastering & Drywall, Roofing, Gutters & Drainage | Comments Off
 If you are a long suffering parent, trying to get your kids to shower frequently (girls as well as boys in our experience!), you might find a solution to your problem amongst our inspirational shower options. Although many may look like you need an advanced physics degree in order to get your hair wet, these showers offer the ultimate in comfort, style and hygiene.
Modern shower cabins may closely resemble the appearance of the space shuttle, but for a healthy and luxurious “vertical bathing experience” there is nothing that comes close in personal hygiene. Many of these cabins double up as saunas with a high temperature steam generation facility to expedite blood circulation.
 Saunas also help to relax your body, improve blood circulation, eliminate fatigue and recover physical strength. For anybody who has breathing difficulties in your family, the shower cabin steam facility has a curative effect on asthma and bronchitis as well as easing rheumatism, rheumatic arthritis, and back pain. It helps you lose weight too!
The more advanced models have computerised LCD control panels to control the flow of water in the “rainfall” ceiling shower, production of steam, lighting, massaging jets, foot massager, ozone sterilisation system, sound system, telephone and the Whirlpool 96 model (pictured right) has an 8.4 inch television and four litre fridge!
 And it is not just shower cabins that can provide the ultimate showering experience. This exceptional shower from German manufacturer Kuhler (pictured right) is built into the entrance of an en-suite bathroom, so there is no excuse for forgetting to have that shower in the morning yourself – it is barely something you can walk past and ignore!
We have added a few more inspirational designs below to encourage your children to step into a world they may have never experienced before (a shower cabin – not a wash!). At around three grand per installation, you are going to spend a lot of money keeping your kids clean, but surely the little darlings are worth it?
For something a little more modest, you might like to try your hand at fitting your own shower units. We have a four part guide in our Project Advice section which covers how to install the drainage, how to connect the water supply, how to fit the shower tray and how to install the shower enclosure. If you do not fancy doing it yourself, why not ask one of the highly rated tradesmen in our Tradesmen´s Directory to email you with some tradesmen´s quotes. London is also the home for many good plumbers, builders, electricians and handymen, and you can alert them to your need for a new shower installation in our “Post-a-Job” facility at the top of each page.
Tags: Bath and Heating, bathroom, body jet shower, Building Regulations Part H, Building Regulations Part P, Central Heating, Electrical Work, Find a Builder in London, Find a Plumber in London, Find a Tiler in London, Find an Electrician in London, Handyman Services, Part P Approval, Plumbing, shower cabins, shower enclosure, shower tray, showers, water pipes, water pressure, water pump
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
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If doors and windows themselves are in a poor state of repair, it may be time to consider replacing them. Typical tell-tale signs are when doors and windows stick or squeak when you try to open or close them, and installing new doors and windows can add to the kerb appeal of your property as well as saving you money by being more energy efficient.
An inefficient central heating system will cost you money throughout the next six to none months and potentially have its life span reduced if rust deposits and air-locks hinder the flow of water and induce pump failure. Flushing your central heating system is the best way of improving your central heating system´s performance, but it may only be necessary to bleed your radiators to ensure your house remains warm throughout the coming months.
You should do a regular inspection of the walls surrounding your home – garden walls and the brickwork of the property itself – to check for cracks and damaged bricks which may suffer from the freeze-thaw effect over the winter. Our “Post-a-Job” facility will enable you to get quotes from bricklayers in London should you need to replace damaged bricks or repoint your brickwork. If the weather is kind in your area over the next couple of weeks, you may also want to consider re-painting the exterior of your property – but only once you have read our blog about “What the Exterior Colour of Your Home Says About You”!
It is also the time of year to clean and repair guttering on roofs, garages and conservatories. Gutters can easily be blocked at any time of year by leaves, moss, feathers, dirt and other rubbish which has blown into them and the guttering runs can age prematurely when water fails to flow away. Whilst you are up the ladder, it is also a good opportunity to check for damaged or displaced roofing tiles which will allow the rain in and potentially cause a damp problem. A good selection of local roofers in London is available in our Tradesmen´s Directory should you find that you roof could benefit from a professional´s opinion.
