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Posts Tagged ‘freeze-thaw<’
 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 Handyman Services on Aug 10
 London's old buildings are notorious for letting too much hot air escape! London´s notorious autumn winds can make living in an older house or flat pretty uncomfortable – and more than a little chilly. Although draughts can get into your home through doors, letter boxes, cat flaps and even key holes, windows provide the most noticeable access to the cold breeze as it whistles through gaps between the window and its frame, and your curtains sway in time with each new gust of wind.
Rather than just snuggle up underneath a blanket and turn the thermostat up, draught proofing your windows is a cost-effective way of being comfortable when the winds begin to howl. It can also save you money on heating bills, which in turn makes its own small contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. You can seek the assistance of a local handyman in London (as two pairs of hands are always better than one) or you can attempt this job yourself.
Depending on your type of window, you should find a suitable insulating tape at your local DIY store. Normally coming as a roll of self-adhesive foam rubber, strips should be placed on the frames of outward opening windows so that the window compresses the foam when it is closed and forms a seal. Care must be taken to ensure that the foam is not too thick, or the window will not close. The same principal applies to old-fashioned sash windows, although this is a much tougher job to manage alone, and it is recommended that your local London handyman gives you a “hand” with draught proofing sash windows.
Single glazed windows that do not open but somehow manage to let draughts in, can be secondary glazed by the application of window film. Although the primary function of window film is to add privacy to your home and create an attractive appearance, it can also provide a barrier to draughts. There is also secondary glazing film available in selected DIY stores, which is applied with self-adhesive tape and then shrunk to fit with a hair-dryer. Glazing film however, is incredibly easy to a) fit incorrectly and b) damage once applied, so is only suitable as a short-term fix.
If you have draughts coming through double glazing installations, it is quite possible that a seal within one of the units is broken. In this case, it would be better to consult with a local window fitter in London to obtain a replacement seal rather than installing any of the substitutes on the market which may not have been specifically designed to be effective on your type of window units.
Most window draught proofing jobs can be done from inside, but if you have a London handyman helping you out, ask him or her to check the exterior masonry (if it is accessible!). What you or they are looking for is gaps between the window frame and surrounding masonry. These gaps can allow draughts to enter the building and, if big enough, will also permit rain water to accumulate – which will eventually rot your window frames – or worse still, damage your brickwork through the freeze-thaw process.
Your London handyman will be able to offer a quote to repoint areas of your external masonry which are damaged, and you can use the Mr Skill “Post-a-Job” facility to compare their estimate of the work required against other London handymen quotes from tradesmen featured in our Tradesmen´s Directory.
Tags: CO2 emissions, draught proofing, energy efficiency, Energy Saving Trust, environment, find a handyman in London, freeze-thaw, Home Maintenance, Insulation, masonry, mortar, repointing, save money, Window & Door Fitting, window film, windows
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Although we are in the midst of a London summer, now is the time to plan forward and deal with any damaged brickwork or repointing that is required on your property to prevent erosion during the wind and rain of the autumn and freeze-thaw effect during the winter.
Replacing Damaged Bricks
 Replacing a damaged brick is a quite straightforward job – in fact the hardest part can be to find a replacement that matches the bricks surrounding it. Often, a chat with your local builder can prove fruitful in the pursuit of a suitable brick or two, or an old trick – depending on the condition of the brick – is to remove it, reverse it and mortar it back into the wall. It can save you a little money if the brick is generally sound, and will save you the trouble of finding a brick similar in style and colour to the rest of the wall. We have prepared a simple Project Advice item on replacing damaged bricks which you can access by clicking > here < or a simple job such as this, is one that the highly rated builders in our tradesmen’s directory can resolve in just a few hours.
Repointing Brickwork
Repointing your brickwork is a job that requires a little more dedication. Although this can be quite a therapeutic occupation over the course of several weekends, in order to completely repoint the side of a house you will need scaffolding, a selection of specialist tools, quite a lot of safety equipment and be fairly confident that you can use a trowel consistently over the duration of the job. This is not a job to be done up a ladder when inadequately prepared on a Sunday morning, and except for the very ambitious DIY-er, (for whom we have prepared a Project Advice item) this is a job for which it would be far better to employ the services of a local builder. Even though the cost of using a recommended tradesman to repoint your brickwork will be more than doing it yourself, the final effect will be worthwhile and add value to your property as well as giving it a much nicer appearance.
Painting Your Brickwork
Depending on your personal preferences, you may like to leave the finished job just as it is, or now paint the wall(s) of your house with a paint that further protects the property against the elements. A good tradesman will be able to offer professional advice on which product is most suitable for your property, depending on factors such as orientation, protection from neighbouring properties or trees and environmental considerations – e.g. if you live opposite a council depot and find you get a lot of salt or chemical corrosion during periods of heavy gritting activity.
Whilst checking over your brickwork, it is a good idea to keep an eye out for any signs of subsidence. Normally, vertical cracks will appear in the brickwork in corners of the wall or surrounding windows and doors. If you feel that there is a possibility that your property is suffering the effects of subsidence, minor problems can be cured by crack stitching and replastering. If in doubt, speak with one of the local builders featured in our tradesmen´s directory.
Whatever level of work you plan to undertake on your property, now is the time to put your good intentions into practise. These tasks are much harder to perform when the weather changes and you will be glad that when the winds blow and the rain falls, your property will be draught-proof and dry.
Tags: brickwork, builder, Construction, crack stitching, doors and windows, freeze-thaw, Home Maintenance, mortar, Painting, replastering, repointing, subsidence, tradesman, Tradesmen´s Directory
Posted in Dealing With The Four Seasons | Comments Off
Posted in Building A-Z on Jul 27
As any good builder will advise you, the “Freeze-Thaw” process is responsible for much of the damage caused to masonry and brickwork during periods of inclement weather. Most masonry – bricks, concrete blocks, stone and mortar – has small holes in its composition. These holes fill with water when it rains which freezes as the weather gets colder.
 Frozen water expands as it turns to ice and exerts pressure on these weak spots within the masonry causing them to crack a little. As the ice thaws, and the water runs away, it leaves a larger hole which again fills with water when it rains. If this rainwater freezes once more, it makes the crack a little bigger, and the process continues until such time as the face of the brick falls away or you discover water seeping through the joints in your masonry. There are a series of remedies that can be undertaken with the help of your local builder when you witness this happening.
A good builder will recommend that individual damaged bricks are simply replaced and that cracked mortar can either be repointed or, in extreme circumstances, the local builder would suggest crack stitching. Once the surface of the wall is sound, it is advisable to employ the services of a local tradesman to repaint the wall with a sealing paint which adds further protection against the elements.
This process of freeze-thaw can also cause long term damage to paving, drainage systems and garden walls, so if you see small cracks appearing in any of these items around your home, it is best to consult with one of the highly rated tradesmen that appear in our tradesmen´s directory.
Tags: brickwork, builder, Construction, crack stitching, drains, freeze-thaw, Home Maintenance, Kerb Appeal, masonry, Painting, paving, repointing
Posted in Building A-Z | Comments Off
 Although bricks are built to last, sometimes, due to the freeze-thaw process or other damage to masonry, cracks will appear or bricks begin to crumble and it is time to replace old bricks with new. When the task involves just one or two bricks it is a job that a skilled handyman can do themselves, however if there are a whole series of bricks to be replaced, it is better to use the services of one of the recommended builders listed in our tradesmen´s directory, in case the problem affecting the bricks is more severe that simply aging.
In order to do this job yourself, you will need a masonry drill, club hammer and chisel, and some sand, cement and hydrated lime to replace the mortar you will be removing. For health and safety purposes you should wear goggles and gloves whilst doing this job, and place a dust sheet below the area in which you will be working. If you are considering replacing bricks above shoulder height, it is advisable that you hire some scaffolding rather than attempt to use a masonry drill up a ladder. Most of these items can be acquired from a local DIY centre but, if in doubt, it is always better to ask a local builder for assistance.
The first step is to remove the damaged brick, and the simplest means of doing this is to drill several holes of around 100mm into the brick and the mortar surrounding it. Then, using a club hammer and sharp chisel, chop out the brick. Care should be taken in corners and around adjoining bricks to ensure that a clean hole is created and no damage occurs to neighbouring bricks. You should dust out any loose mortar or brick dust and then hose to wet the area where the new brick is going to be inserted.
To mix your mortar, you need 3 parts building (sharp) sand to 1 part cement and, in order to make the mortar less likely to crack, ¼ part hydrated lime. Mix with a little water until you have a firm paste (similar to marzipan) and spread a smooth layer of mortar along the bottom and sides of the hole you have just made. Before inserting the brick, soak it in a bucket of water. This will prevent the brick drawing moisture from the mortar which could result in it cracking once set. Place a layer of mortar on the top and sides of the brick and manoeuvre it into place.
As you place the brick into the hole, excess mortar should protrude from the joints around the brick. If it does not, not enough mortar has been used and you need to remove the brick and apply extra mortar. Once the brick is in place and level, scrape away any excess mortar with a trowel and use it to fill any voids in the joints. Once the mortar is tightly packed in, let it rest for 15 minutes and then use the trowel to point the mortar and leave a nice finish.
Tags: brickwork, builder, Construction, freeze-thaw, Home Maintenance, masonry, mortar, renovate, repointing, Tradesmen´s Directory
Posted in Bricklaying, General Building | 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.
