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Posts Tagged ‘gutter<’
Did you know that the roots of trees can sometimes spread to 2½ times a tree’s height, and that the moisture they draw out from clayey soil can cause the earth to heave? Miss the point of this and plant a tree close by your house, and you’re inviting cracking and subsidence. Rather Find a Landscaper on Mr-Skill who knows what they are talking about.
 If you have heaving clay, and like to garden around your your house then the following may prove useful:
- Avoid the problem in the first place by NOT planting strongly-growing trees like poplars, oaks and willows near to buildings. Plant shy-growing flowering shrubs instead. These may not get tall enough to foul your gutters either.
- If you inherit a tree that’s not grown too big already, then you could try what some London Gardeners still call pollarding. This involves pruning it back annually to keep it smaller. Remember, there’s a ratio between tree height and the spread of roots.
- Don’t leap out of the starting blocks and get a Gardener Quote to chop a tree down the moment you spot subsidence.
 Trees take a long time to grow, and the problem could be the clay itself. An alternative could be to cut the roots back, and see whether this helps first.
- If all else fails and you are forced to cut down a tree, then seek advice from your local council first, because it might be listed and require permission to remove. Chop down deciduous trees in wintertime when the sap is low. You’ll find the job far easier when there are no leaves.
Chopping down a tree sometimes seems like an attack on nature, and the birds that nest there. Don’t try to do the job yourself because tree-felling is definitely dangerous. Use a Gardener on Mr-Skill instead. And finally, please do plant a suitable replacement tree further down the garden.
Tags: Building, chop, chop down, clay, crack, dangerous, earth, fell, find a landscaper, flower, Garden, gardener quote, ground, grow, gutter, heave, height, house, london gardeners, oak, plant, pollard, poplar, prune, ratio, root, shrub, shy, small, soil, spread, subsidence, tall, tree, vigorous, wall, willow, winter
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping | Comments Off
With winter upon us – and a freezing one at that – many people across the United Kingdom are experiencing problems with their guttering. These can include gutters filled with ice collapsing, and nowhere for water to go when the thaw comes. Is it possible to prevent this? Well, we can’t prevent a blizzard, but we can Find a Roofer to take preventative action for us.
 These are some of the things worth considering when you are busy getting Roofing Quotes.
• When snow gathers on a roof it should thaw gradually without causing problems. But, if you have heat build-up above your ceiling then it might melt all at once, blocking gutters that then freeze up. Two things to do. Check your ceiling insulation, and make there’s provision for any heat to escape.
• Ensure the water entering your gutters can flow smoothly through the down-pipes. This means cleaning them thoroughly twice a year (before and after winter) and testing them from time to time.
• Matt, my London Roofing friend swears by heat tape you can stick along the gutter. Personally, I don’t feel that this is necessary provided you keep them clear.
 • Snow guards can provide an extra line of defence, especially if you live up in the north, and they can help keep the gutters clear in summertime too. In fact, I strongly recommend them.
Hopefully you did this already and your gutters won’t come crashing down from the weight of ice this winter. Please do be careful about venturing on the roof yourself to clear excessive snow. It’s just not worth taking risks.
And that’s where Mr-Skill comes in. Did you know that you can Find a Gutter Man right here who’ll clear your blocked gutters promptly, as long as it’s not actually snowing? All our trades come highly recommended too, and rated by our customers. What’s more, you pay nothing for our services.
Tags: blizzard, ceiling, clean, clear, collapsing, down pipe, find a roofer, freeze, freezing, gutter, gutterman, heat, heat tape, ice, insulate, london roofing, melt, roofer, roofing quote, snow guard, test, thaw, ventilate, water, winter
Posted in Roofing, Gutters & Drainage | Comments Off
Gutters are important. They keep the rainwater away from windows and foundations, and generally protect our homes. A well-laid line of guttering makes a design statement too. All the more reason to follow these simple steps, and keep our gutters in good shape:
 Keep Them Clean. Remove accumulated leaves from your gutters at the beginning of every rainy season to prevent moss developing that leads to stoppages. While you’re up there, give them a wipe-down too. If you don’t have a ladder long enough, you can Find a Roofer right here.
- Check the Downpipes. An overflowing gutter is the sign of a blocked downpipe. Sometimes you can clear it by pushing down a garden hose turned on full blast. If not, you will need a length of stout wire to work around the bend.
- Straighten Sagging Gutters. Gutters are supported by a line of brackets that are set to the correct slope. When a gutter sags, it may either need clipping back into the bracket, or the bracket may need to be re-attached.
 Waterproof Leaking Joints. If a gutter joint starts leaking it’s often simpler to re-seal the joint, than to take the whole run down. Clean the affected area scrupulously, before attaching a piece of membrane with a water-proofing medium across the joint.
Is this the first time that you visited Mr-Skill? If so then welcome to our website! Our service extends to introducing tradespeople of all kinds to customers, from London Roofers to Carpenters in Scotland. Oh, and by the way it’s absolutely free to all our customers too. How’s that for a brilliant idea.
Tags: attach, bend, bracket, care, clean, clip, dizzy, downpipe, find a roofer, foundation, gutter, Guttering, height, hose, infirm, joint, ladder, leak, leaves, london roofers, maintain, membrane, moss, overflow, rainwater, remove, roofing quote, safe, safety, sag, seal, slope, stoppage, straight, waterproof, wipe, wire
Posted in Roofing, Gutters & Drainage | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on Dec 22
Mr-Skill exists to help its UK customers find skilled and competent craftspeople working in just about every postcode. These skilled artisans pay us a modest fee for listing on our website, and to get access to enquiries. Our customers pay us nothing for the service.  And that’s the way it ought to be. That’s because customers are the people that keep the wheels of business moving.
When a customer posts an enquiry for work that’s needing doing, every related tradesperson on our lists gets to hear about it from us. When they quote directly back to customers, they know that theirs is not the only quote. What better incentive could there be to keep rates down? Moreover, we act as intermediaries in the unlikely event of a dispute arising.
Out of interest, the following jobs are currently out there waiting for Handyman Quotes:
- Clearing gutters and hanging up Christmas lights outside. Happy Noel!
- Attaching a television wall-mount and putting up a kitchen cupboard
 Drilling a hole in a concrete ceiling. This customer needs to Find a Handyman to put up a hammock.
- Putting up a roller blind and curtain rail. No further information given.
- Installing a washing machine. The customer needs hot and cold water and is on a tight budget.
- Assembling a plastic shed. That’s an unusual one we’ve not seen before!
We have all kinds of Handypeople available to do jobs like these. They range from London Handymen who sometimes have a trade but prefer variety, right through to traditional country lads who turn up on bicycles. Why not give our free service a try right now?
Tags: artisan, ceiling, christmas light, concrete, craft, curtain rail, customer, dispute, drill, find a handyman, gutter, hammock, handyman quotes, hole, job, kitchen cupboard, lad, light, london handymen, quote, rate, roller blind, shed, skill, television, trade, wall mount, washing machine, work
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Before you get a roofer in to repair your leaking gutters, it’s wise to know something on the subject. This will put you in a position to better understand the Gutter Quotes you get. That’s because gutters can be quite a complex subject every homeowner should understand.
 Gutter Types
- Traditional half-round gutters are common in UK homes and smaller commercial buildings, and make a classic under-statement.
- Square gutters provide a similar purpose and some regard them as more attractive. They have a slightly larger capacity and have become popular on conservatories for unrelated reasons.
- More ornate ogee gutters have an ornate look about them than make them perfect for older buildings. Their greater capacity makes them well-matched for old-fashioned higher roofs – this makes them popular with London Roofing Firms.
- Deep-flow gutters are similar in design to half-found ones, but with deeper profiles. They look best on larger building where they do not spoil appearances.
 Keeping Gutters Clear
No gutter works well when full of leaves, and clearing ones on upper stories can be downright dangerous. That’s why gutter covers are so popular these days when labour has become so expensive.
These handy devices clip on top of existing gutters where they allow the water to flow freely while keeping leaves at bay. When you fit yours you’ll wonder why you never installed one before, because they really are such a simple solution to blocked gutters.
Finding a decent Roofer these days is difficult, and it’s well-nigh impossible to climb onto a roof to make sure the work’s done properly. Mr-Skill offers a free service to homeowners in the UK to help them Find the Roofer that they really can rely on. Why not contact us today, and get your gutters sorted finally?
Tags: block, capacity, clip, cover, deep-flow, find a roofer, flow, free, gutter, gutter quotes, half-round, large, leaves, london roofing firms, ogee, profile, repair, roofer, solution, square, traditional, water
Posted in Roofing, Gutters & Drainage | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on Nov 16
I wish that I could to Find a Handyman on Mr-Skill for every weekend of the year. There are so many jobs waiting for me around the house, but the wife thinks that being busy keeps me fit and healthy. The more I say “we have the money” the more I’m told to get on with the work myself. So all that I can do is dream of what might otherwise have been.
First Weekend
 The first job every month would be to deal with water run-offs. I’d have the gutters and downpipes cleared out and wiped down nicely. Then we’d rod out the storm-water drains and get rid of all weeds together. What a pleasure. Come on rain.
The Second Weekend
No doubt the weather would hold off now that the drains were cleared, so the next job would be to sort out the garage. Not even a pair of London Handymen would know exactly where to put things, so I guess my participation would be unavoidable
Weekend Number Three
There’s never been three rain-free weekends in the UK since time began or so I’m told. This time I think the handyman could wipe all the interior woodwork down, and get rid of all that mould. I’d get on with  something else nearby, just to keep an eye on things, if you know what I mean?
The Fourth Weekend
By then, of course we’d be quite a team. I’d know the other person’s skills and start getting extra mileage from their Handyman Quote. There’s nothing quite like having an extra pair of hands around the house, especially when it comes to carrying things.
In practice this would never happen, and if it did the wife would say “now what’s the point of Getting in a Handyman on Mr-Skill when you do half the work yourself’? Sometimes it seems that only another man would understand. Or did I perhaps overlook something in my haste?
Tags: busy, carry, downpipe, drain, find a handyman, garage, gutter, hand, handyman quote, house, job, london handymen, month, mould, rain, skill, team, water, weather, weed, weekend, wipe, wood, work
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on Oct 23
I was looking around my yard the other day and just couldn’t believe the number of odd-jobs waiting to be done. It’s not the lack of wanting that’s holding me back, it’s the lack of time. I think I’m going to take my own advice and get a London Handyman estimate. And then I think I’ll accept it and then get on with things.
•  Clear out the gutters on the house. They’re full of leaves again! I’m fortunate to have a bungalow but just don’t feel like climbing up a ladder. Besides, how much can this cost?
• Clean the outside window frames. These looked so crisp when I had them put in a few years ago. They’re UPVC. They’ll just need a good wash with detergent.
• Tidy up the back porch. Five years of muddy boots have taken their toll and the spiders have done the rest. That’s one Handyman Quote I’m definitely going to accept!
• Tidy up the path around the back and sides. Paths under the eaves provide a valuable service by handling rainwater run-off. My house is hardly new, and I think it’s time to sort out the cracks before the weeds take hold. Don’t you too?
•  Sort out the garage. While I’m at it, I think I’m going to Find a Handyman to give the garage roof and door a make-over. I’m planning a new car next year, and I’m sure it will appreciate a near-new place to sleep at night.
That’s enough for now. I’m really looking forward to getting in a Rated Handyman from Mr-Skill to catch up on my backlog. The twin advantages are that I’ll be getting a better price, and will be able to review feedback from other previous customers too.
Come on all you Handymen. I can’t wait to see my garage door looking half as smart as this again!
Tags: backlog, block, car, clean, detergent, door, estimate, find a handyman, frame, garage, gutter, handyman quote, handyperson, house, job, ladder, leaves, london handyman estimate, mud, odd job, oddjob, path, porch, price, quote, review, roof, spider, tidy, time, want, wash, water, window, yard
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Climbing ivy is undoubtedly a sight to behold as spread out across a wall and creates an environment in which the birds may nest. But it has its disadvantages too. Snakes and spiders and even rats may use it to gain access to your bedroom, and it can also cause damage to bricks, window frames and gutters.  Are you of a mind to get rid of yours? Then you may need to Find a Gardener on Mr-Skill to do the work for you. That’s because standing on a ladder all day is dangerous, and the job is laborious too. Not convinced to call in help? Then here is what you need to do…
• Pull a test sample of ivy away from the wall to determine how thick it is, and whether it tears off without causing damage. If it comes away easily then you could continue. If not, then you may need to get Gardening Quotes to have poison applied by an expert, and perhaps even call in a builder afterwards to make repairs.
• Returning to ground level, lop off all the vines as close as possible to the ground before proceeding to peel away the cut branches. Be careful here, because a sheet of ivy can come loose unexpectedly, and this will be heavy and surprisingly dusty too. Do not attempt to deal with the tiny hand-like suckers yet.
•  Bag the cuttings and dispose of them at your local council dump-site according to the bylaws.
• After approximately two to three weeks, remove the suckers with a stiff wire brush covered with approximately two tablespoons of household laundry detergent. Every Gardener in London knows all too well not to miss the deadline. That’s because beyond this period the suckers oxidize, and are stubborn to remove.
So there you go. It’s not really all that difficult to get ivy off a wall. It’s just a messy, time-consuming job. Not in the mood to do it anymore? Then speak to Mr-Skill about the services of a Rated Local Gardener.
Personally, I find the patina of natural brickwork far more appealing, especially on an older building.
Tags: away, bag, bird, brick, builder, cutting, damage, danger, detergent, dispose, dust, expert, find a gardener, gardener in London, gardening quotes, ground, gutter, heavy, help, ivy, ladder, loose, lop, peel, poison, pull, rat, repair, sample, snake, sucker, tear, test, vine, window, wire brush, work
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping | Comments Off
Before the first winter rains arrive, it’s time to catch up on the outstanding jobs. Do you have a broken or a missing downpipe on your house? If so, you can Find a Roofer on Mr-Skill to fix it up for you. Did you know that we review all our tradespeople personally, and  that they could come in up to 30% cheaper than prevailing rates?
If you had the time and energy, you could also do the job yourself. Here’s what you would have to do:
o First identify the guttering system on your house, and pop down to the hardware store to buy the bits you need (a digi-pic could prove handy here).
o Make sure that your ladder is in first rate condition, and that you have a mate available to hold it steady for you. If not, rather avoid injury and get some Roofer Quotes instead.
o Remove the old downpipe and set it aside to take to a recycling depot later. Clean the interface point on the gutter thoroughly, and double-check for any other damage while you do.
o Assuming the old downpipe brackets are still in place and reusable, offer up the elbow-piece into the gutter and  tighten the bracket around it. Makes sure it fits well, because believe me, this is where a leak is most likely to occur.
o Assemble the other sections of the pipe, working from the top downwards and attaching the brackets as you go. An old pal of mine named Ray, who works for a Roofing Firm in London, believes in dropping down a tennis ball as he goes along, just to make double-sure there are no stoppages.
o Finally, attach the bottom elbow to the pipe to drain the water away from the house, and hey presto, the job is done!
That could take the better part of a Saturday afternoon and you might have other plans in mind? No worries, simply Click on Mr-Skill, and we’ll sort everything out for you instead.
Tags: assemple, bottom, bracket, broken, buy, cheap, clean, downpipe, drain, elbow, find a roofer, fit, gutter, injury, job, ladder, leak, leaking, missing, photograph, rain, roofer quote, roofing firm in london, rusted, safe, safety, spares, steady, system, tennis ball, tight, tool, water, winter
Posted in Roofing, Gutters & Drainage | Comments Off
There’s nothing quite as irritating as a leaking gutter, is there? It’s not just the dripping sound at night that keeps you sleeping light. It’s also the fact that gutters are generally so inaccessible too. The answer, of course, is to make sure the  roofer gets the job right in the first place.
Every London Roofer knows that the trick is to get the gutter sloping correctly when installing it. There are various rules of thumb here, but my favourite test is to see whether a dry tennis ball will roll slowly down from the topmost point until it pops out where the downpipe is normally attached.
The next most common fault is downsizing of components. This can result in too much water pouring down into a single gutter, or an insufficiency of downpipes. Unfortunately there is no tap to turn off in the sky, and so the only solution is a modification, or at worse a complete redesign.
 Damaged components can also cause a gutter to begin to leak. The main cause of this is someone using them as steadying points for a ladder, although I have also seen a few gutters smashed by exceptional hail in my time. When this happens, you had better hope spares are still available – if not, then you may need to get Roofer Quotes to replace the entire installation, or put up with a mismatched appearance.
The most common problem though is gutters and downpipes stopped up with leaves. This is an irritating problem at the best of times, and can be costly to resolve, especially where the building is double- or even multi-storey. The solution is to get rid of all overhanging trees. I doubt though that you could get Find a Roofer to do this even on Mr-Skill, although I’m sure you could Find a Gardener here to sort things out for you.
Tags: ball, block, component, damage, downpipe, downsize, drip, find a roofer, gutter, hail, instal, insufficiency, job, lack, ladder, leak, leaves, london roofer, modification, redesign, replace, roofer, roofing quote, rule, sleep, slope, smash, spare, stop, test, tree, water
Posted in Roofing, Gutters & Drainage, Uncategorized | Comments Off
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