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Posts Tagged ‘fix<’
It’s that time of the year again, hopefully warm sunny days and lawns that seem to grow as you look at them. And when your grass needs cutting, there’s nothing worse than a stubborn mower that is intent on wrecking your plans to trim your garden. Or maybe you’re the laid back type and prefer to find a gardening service to keep your lawns in trim. 
In actual fact, petrol mowers are pretty simple and quite reliable devices, provided you attend to basic maintenance from time to time. When things go wrong it’s usually an indication of neglect. And that can lead to quite some frustration when you are trying to get going. Troubleshooting is not really that difficult if you know what to look for.
What You’ll Need
- Canister of clean petrol (correct grade)
- Spark plug with the recommended gap set
- New filters
- Screwdriver set
- Correct grade of oil
If you are not mechanically minded, then get a gardening quote here on Mr-Skill and let the experts attend to your mower for you.
Clean Fuel 
Petrol can deteriorate if left for long periods in your mower’s tank. And, being a two-stroke motor means that your oil to fuel mix ratio must be exactly right – check with your local mower supplier. Oil is heavier than petrol and will settle if left standing, so it needs to be properly mixed before use. Carefully check the fuel lines of your mower too.
Oiling the Throttle Cable
Keep the throttle cable oiled for a smoother operating lawn mower.
High Tension Lead and Plug
Inspect the cable connection to the top of the spark plug, and replace it if it is old or frayed. It must engage tightly. After removing the lead, unscrew the plug for inspection. Look for pitting or blackening at the spark face, as this generally indicates a poor mix or an old plug. You should replace the plug at least once a year.
Carburettor Filters
Open this for regular inspection and filter replacement. Dirty filters can stifle the engine and result in irregular performance.
Last Word of Advice
Here on Mr-Skill, we have a number of fine London gardeners, and they’re always prepared to offer advice: When storing your mower for the winter months, give it a clean and check it over as described above. Don’t forget to empty the fuel tank and preferably cover you mower before storing it away for winter. This way, both you and your mower will be ready for action next summer!
Tags: cable, engine, filters, find a gardening service, fix, fuel, fuel line, garden tools, gardening service quote, grass cutting, lawn mower, lead, london gardener, maintenance, mower, oil-to-fuel ratio, petrol lawn mower, repair, spark plug, throttle, trim
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping | Comments Off
There’s nothing quite as irritating as water hammering in pipes, especially when you’re trying to sleep and someone gets up to use the loo. Unfortunately water is one of those things that has its own mind. There are however ways that you can control it,  and you may not even need to Find a Plumber if you read further.
When you turn off a water tap that’s under pressure (usually the cold one), the water suddenly stops flowing as it comes up against the valve. It pushes back against the water that’s still on its way. The result’s a slight collision between opposing forces.
The energy that’s released transmits to the pipes themselves, which respond by reverberating. Normally, you don’t hear the slight sound that results. However, when the pipes are hanging loose they bang about, and that’s the noise we call a water hammer. There are two ways to sort the problem out. Fix it completely, or manage it.
- Solve the problem at its source – Obtain a Plumbing Quote on Mr-Skill to install a water
 hammer arrestor. This is in effect a shock-absorber that absorbs the impact and eliminates the root cause. The picture above is of arrestors attached to dish-washer inlet pipes. London Plumbers often install these in older homes, where loose pipes are bricked up behind rendering.
- Eliminate the consequences – Take a look at the picture opposite. It’s typical of what you might find when you look. Can you see how many pipes are hanging loose? What an opportunity for a water hammer. Your most likely culprit though is an unsupported run of pipe across the ceiling. Find it, secure it, solve the problem.
These water hammer solutions come to you with the compliments of Mr-Skill, the website where you find the perfect solution to every home repair. Don’t take a chance and hire an unknown trades person off the street. We personally investigate the ones we recommend.
Tags: arrestor, bang, control, find, find a plumber, fix, hammer, knock, london plumbers, loose, pipe, plumbing quote, pressure, reverberate, secure, solve, transmit, water, water hammer
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | 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 Plastering & Drywall on Sep 27
A visit to a Victorian building such as a Shopping Arcade or City Hall evokes admiration for the skill of plasterers of yesteryear. Embossed ceilings, covings and wall mouldings are all examples of a forgotten craft, and we doubt you’d Find a Plasterer to match them anywhere in the United Kingdom these days.
 Thanks to the modern magic of fibrous and even plastic imitations though, it is still possible to replicate their art, and here’s how you go about doing so.
• Start with something relatively simple like decoration around a door frame or a ceiling rose, and make sure that if you use a ladder, it will be secure and safe. If in any doubt at all, have someone hold the ladder for you.
• Purchase your moulding from your local hardware store. Before you do so, get all the answers that you need. Buy the adhesive the moulding manufacturer recommends, and do not skimp by choosing a cheap alternative instead.
• Have a friend hold the moulding in place back home, and move it around until you are satisfied about where it should go. Mark a pencil line all around the perimeter of the moulding so you know where to attach it later.
•  If the moulding is made of lightweight polystyrene or plastic then you may get away with simply gluing it in place (possibly temporarily secured with tiny nails or painters tape). If not, then you will need to create some type of elementary formwork to hold in position until the glue dries. If this sounds too complicated, perhaps you should Request a Plasterer Quote on Mr-Skill instead?
• Apply the adhesive to the moulding in a rippled manner to the density the instructions specify, and press it into place within the pencil line you drew. The secret is to get it right first time, and not to fiddle with it afterwards. Tidy up the adhesive when it is fully dry, and you are ready to decorate!
We have London Plasterers on Mr-Skill (and in all other areas too) who are on standby, and waiting to fit mouldings for you should you prefer. Our unique method of combining rated craftsmen with internal competition, is your assurance of best value for money anywhere.
Tags: adhesive, ceiling, coving, decorate, door, emboss, fibrous, find a plasterer, fit, fix, glue, line, london plasterer, moulding, nail, pencil, place, plasterer, plasterer quote, plastic, press, ripple, rose, skill, tape, victorian, wall
Posted in Plastering & Drywall | Comments Off
From time to time there are improvements to the design of windows that both improve their thermal qualities, and make bold aesthetic statements too. If you are living in an older home and are facing high heating bills, then it could be time to consider an upgrade. Of course it’s possible to do  the job yourself if you live downstairs, and have all the time in the world too. If not, here’s a brief description of the process that professional London Window Fitting Services like to follow.
o Measure for the replacement window carefully. Get this wrong and you could end up with an expensive contribution to the Council scrapheap.
o Make sure that the window you order is glazed from the inside for added security and ease of fitment, particularly if you will be working upstairs.
o When the new window arrives and the weather is appropriate, remove the old one carefully, taking care not to damage the surrounds in any way.
o Bed in the outer window cill, making sure that it is level, well sealed against rain and drafts, and firmly fixed.
o Secure the frame on all four sides, again making sure that everything is absolutely square, level and plumb. Fit wedges as necessary and screw firmly into place.
o  Glaze the window, and test that everything works correctly. If you get Window Fitting Quotes on Mr-Skill instead then this should hardly an issue, but insist on testing everything anyway. If you encounter a problem, loosen off the securing screws around the frame and adjust until the out-of-square problem disappears. Re-tighten everything.
o Complete the job by weatherproofing with silicone all round the frame outside.
If the thought of sealing off an upstairs window while standing on a long ladder puts you off, then why not Find a Window Fitter on our website instead. We monitor our tradespeople carefully for quality, and the competitive environment within which they work could also get you up to 30% off the going rate. How’s that for a good idea?
Tags: adjust, aesthetic, appearance, bed, careful, cill, damage, downstairs, find a window fitter, fitment, fix, frame, glaze, heating, inside, ladder, level, level.seal, london window fitting services, loose, measure, outside, plumb, process, proof, replace, screw, seal, secure, security, silicone, sill, square, surround, thermal, tight, upgrade, upstairs, weathermremove, wedge, window, window fitting quote(s)
Posted in Window & Door Fitting | Comments Off
Posted in General Building on Jun 14
Summer is a great time to get out in the garden, light the barbeque and prune the roses. Perhaps one could also hop into the car and brave the traffic all the way down to Brighton?  But summer is also the right time to Find a Builder to catch up on the outdoor jobs while it’s not raining.
o Start with the roof and any chimneys first. Are the tiles or sheets still in good position and held tightly down? Check the flashing too, and double check for any signs of leaks by looking up at upstairs ceilings. And the gutters? Are they nice and clear too?
o Check the openings into buildings next – by this I mean the windows and the doors. Are they closing tightly and are all the locks and other fastenings working correctly too. This is not just about weatherproofing either. It’s about keeping burglars out as well.
o Go all the way around the house checking that the rainwater is still draining away nicely. Look for cracks in rendering and signs of damp rising up the walls. Go inside too,  moving furniture away from internal walls. Any signs of damp? You need to get a Building Quote before things get worse.
o A Builder in London I got chatting too the other day while waiting for a train back home remarked that gates and fences are like our teeth. By that he meant that some of us neglect them both until they start to give us trouble, at which point they cost a lot of money to repair.
I reckon that chap standing with me on a railway platform had exactly the right idea. We need to keep a hand on homes and fix the little things before they become expensive. Summer is the best time to do this while it’s still nice and warm. Unless, that is, you feel like stopping gaps while the winter rains fall down on you. I just thought I’d mention it, to keep you nice and warm and dry.
Tags: builder, builder london, Building, building quotes, burglar, ceiling, check, chimney, correct, damp, door, drain, expensive, fastening, find a builder, fix, flashing, Garden, hand, home, inside, inspect, job, leak, lock, opening, outdoor, position, rain, rainwater, render, roof, sheet, summer, tight, tile, wall, weather, work
Posted in General Building | Comments Off
Posted in Locksmith on May 26
Locksmithing is an ancient art that goes back to earliest days when a locking device was often a wooden bar slotted inside a bedroom door. These days of course the art of  locking has become a science in many regards, and the days of using a metal pick are largely history.
There are a number of reasons for this. One is the increasing cleverness of thieves for whom the average mechanical lock is a cake walk. Another is our increasing obsession with electronics and high technology, which sometimes leads us to spend more than we ought.
There are several reasons why you might need to Find a Locksmith on Mr-Skill, and often urgently too.
o Losing a key is something that we all do from time to time, and naturally at the most inconvenient moments. The scariest is when we drop one into a drain in the street – out of reach but there for everyone to see. When this happens there is no time to Get Locksmith Quotes. We need our key retrieved, or a new one supplied urgently.
o Another common reason is when a lock suddenly fails to operate. This could be owing to a mechanical one jamming up, or an irritating piece of electronics suddenly failing.  We stand outside our front door, or our office or our car feeling helpless and hopelessly aggrieved. Many a Locksmith in London has been called out at two in the morning, fixed the problem and then had his overtime rate challenged. I cry foul – the labourer is worthy of their hire, just like the good book says.
o Finally there are the irritating moments when a key breaks off in a lock, and we realize that we should have done something about it as we watched it weakening. If you have a key halfway cracked through or that keeps on bending, my advice as a locksmith is – fix it now.
I say thank heavens for good locksmiths even though I try to be one myself. We may be overlooked at Christmastide, but we like to think we do our jobs well. Remember us when you need us.
Tags: call out, callout, car, crisis, device, electronic, emergency, fail, find a locksmith, fix, home, jam, key, lock, locksmith, locksmith london, locksmith quotes, lose, mechanical, new, office, pick, repair, replace, retrieve, urgent
Posted in Locksmith | Comments Off
Posted in Plastering & Drywall on Jan 21
 Dry Wall gets its name from the fact that you don’t need wet cement materials to build it, which makes it ideal for internal walls that might need rearranging later. In modern buildings it is also used as an inner skin because of the way it facilitates the installation of services without the need for chopping bricks. It is capable of providing a superb final finish in the right hands too. Sounds like the perfect solution, doesn’t it? If you need a Plastering Quote for Dry Wall work contact Mr-Skill
Dry Walling is not quite perfect though. The sheets are fitted over a wooden framework in the same way ceilings are made. That means a lot of air space behind a brittle surface. If your teenager comes home awash with hormones and kicks a hole in it, how do you effect a repair when the filler just  keeps disappearing into the space behind the panel? Or, on a lighter note, how do you fill a space where a light switch once was that you just moved? You may not need to find a plasterer. That’s because a small repair is actually dead simple when you follow these 3 easy steps.
1) Trace a rectangle on the wall around the damaged area. Cut carefully though the outer surface using a sharp knife before cutting through with a keyhole saw. Use the down stroke only to avoid disturbing the surrounding material.
2) Attach one or more battens inside the opening with glue and screws and allow to fully dry. Then glue a  neatly fitting patch onto the batten with glue like no more nails.
3) The next day (no sooner please) cover the patch and immediate surrounding area with a suitable filler and, when dry, finish off with light grit paper on an orbital sander. Paint, stand back and feel good about what you just achieved.
We do not recommend that you try a large repair yourself. This is because a bad patch can mar a home and even bring the value down. Play it safe. Find a Dry Wall expert on Mr Skill and get Plastering Quotes from them.
Tags: batten, ceiling, cut, dry wall, dry walling, drywall, fill, filler, find a plasterer, fix, frame, glue, hole, internal, paint, partition, patch, plasterer london, plasterer quote, plastering job London, plastering quote, remove, repair, sand, screw, space, wall, wood
Posted in Plastering & Drywall | Comments Off
A Water Feature adds beauty to any home, and to any office too. A leak can be troublesome especially if the pond is indoors, and requires repair soon. Slight cracks are often within the skills of an amateur repair person – more serious ones  indicate a need to find a handyman to sort them out, because leaks get worse, not better. Before you start any repairs, allow the water level to drop gradually, but not enough to risk your precious fish and plants. When it stops, you have found at least one site of your leak.
Important Hint Be careful of using toxic materials that may harm fish and plants. If in any doubt, contact the manufacturer for advice.
Remove all plants and fish, and store these in buckets of water taken from the pond. Keep these in a cool place, and remember to keep feeding your friends. If they have to remain like that for several days, aerate the water by gently pouring it between buckets.
Locate the source of the leak and chisel out any loose pieces, widening it if necessary to provide room for a good key. Remove all dust, and paint the opened crack with several layers of bonding liquid.
Make up a rich mix of concrete or cement, moistened with the same bonding liquid instead of water. Work this carefully into the crack, using an old flat screwdriver to eliminate air pockets. Smooth off the surface of the fill and blend it into the surrounding area. Wait patiently until the following day.
 Depending on the circumstances, re-seal the entire water feature with one of the following products according to the manufacturer’s instructions:
o Acrylic waterproofing compounds come in different colours, are flexible and can bridge hairline cracks.
o Latex waterproofing compounds dry quickly. However, curing times must be respected before reintroducing water, plants and fish.
o Rubberised bituminous products are more effective on larger ponds. Curing times can be extensive making them less desirable for repairs.
o Flexible polyurethane sealants applied with a caulking gun are perfect for sealing around pipes and filling small cracks. Beware though, many of these can harm plants and especially fish.
Wash out your water feature when the sealing compound is dry and properly cured. Handymen London based believe that this is the perfect time to paint a pond inside as well. When ready you can return the water you removed, and re-house your plants and fish according to good practices that are beyond the scope of this advice.
Did you find this information sufficiently comprehensive? If not, perhaps it would be wiser to get handyman quotes on Mr-Skill.
Tags: acrylic, bitumen, bituminious, bonding liquid, cement, chisel, concrete, crack, find a handyman, fish, fix, handyman quotes, handymen london, latex, leak, open, paint, plants, poison, polyurethane, pond, pool, repair, rubberised, seal, toxic, wash, water, water feature, water proofing, waterproofing
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping, Handyman Services | 2 Comments »
Pipes run in walls because appliances attached to them are inside houses, and houses have walls. This is something that most of us are happy to forget about. That is, until a dreaded damp patch starts showing through a tile, or moisture starts coming through the paint. Then it is time to look for plumber quotes on  Mr-Skill, and time to manage costs as well. This is because you may be able to do part of the job yourself.
o Water pipes leak for one of three reasons. A coupling may have come loose, drilling could cause damage, or the piping may be rotten. Whatever the case may be, you still have to open up and find the problem. Opening up and making good is often the most expensive part, and if you are handy, this is where you could save money.
o The main difficulty with pipe leaks is that water travels along pipes and down cavities. Plumbers London wide bemoan the disappearance of metal pipes in favour of plastic ones because they can no longer trace them with a metal detector. If your home is an older one then it is still a good idea to rent a metal detector at your local hardware store and see if you can trace the run of pipe.
o After you have decided as best you can where the leak is coming from, it is time to make a hole in your favourite room. If you are dealing with a dry interior wall, avoid damaging tiles by opening up from the other side, perhaps in the  passage if you can. Your family may think that you have gone crazy – trust me though, closing up a piece of drywall is a lot easier than finding discontinued tiles to replace the ones you smashed.
o When you have exposed the leak, it is time to find a plumber on Mr-Skill. This is because the prospect of the leak starting all over again just after you have made good the wall is just to grisly to contemplate. If the pipe is otherwise in good condition, the plumber may just have to tighten up a joint, or fit a dresser coupling to replace a damaged piece of pipe.
You could save yourself a lot of money when you open up a path for a plumber in the way that I have just described. Make sure you know how to fix it too before you start. Otherwise, you may end up needing a second tradesman anyway.
Tags: coupling, damage, detector, dresser coupling, drywall, find a plumber, fix, joint, leak, meral, open up, pipe, plastic, Plumber Quotes, plumbers london, repair, replace, tighten
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
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