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Posts Tagged ‘house<’
Gutters are an important consideration for every single home, and perform an important function when it comes to clearing rain water away from your foundations. As the rain drains from the roof, it collects in the gutter channel before discharging through the downspout. Modern gutters come in the form of aluminium or PVC (vinyl), and over time, sagging can occur. Repairs are not difficult provided you have the basic knowhow and some tools. As with all projects, Mr-Skill always puts safety first, so make sure you have a buddy to hold the ladder and pass things to you. 
If you are dealing with a double-storey building, a gutter repair job is best left to the experts – you can find gutter specialist right now on Mr-Skill. They have the correct equipment and know just what to do too. If you have decided to fix the gutter yourself though, you will require a safe ladder, somebody to hold it, a drill, the correct bit, a hammer and some sleeves and spikes to effect the repair.
Position your ladder securely and ascend it to inspect from close up. Don’t forget the buddy to hold the ladder and pass you things. Use a paint brush to clean around the working area.
Calculate the centre of the sagging area, and drill a pilot hole at the top of the gutter. Now, place the sleeve inside the gutter channel and align it with the hole you’ve just drilled, before securing the two profiles together with a screw. Insert the spike by clipping it hard against the back of the gutter. You will need to repeat this process at the other end of the sagging section too.
Strengthening the gutter correctly should remove the sagging section, but you need to check above the gutter to ensure that all profiles align neatly. You can also check that everything is working as it should, by using a hosepipe and high-pressure nozzle to simulate rain on the roof. The water should discharge along the gutter line and flow neatly into the downspout. There should be no leakage or spillage whatsoever. 
One of our regular London gutter experts tells us that water has a strange way of finding the quickest way through. He suggests that you keep your gutters clean and clear regularly. Get a gutter clearing quote right here on Mr-Skill, and rest easy knowing that your house is ready to handle whatever mother nature has to throw at it.
Tags: aluminium gutters, bracket, downspout, drains, find a gutter and drainage expert, foundations, gutter and drainage quote, gutters, home, house, London gutter and drainage expert, profiles, pvc gutters, rain, rain water, safety, sagging gutter, screw, spike, water
Posted in Roofing, Gutters & Drainage | Comments Off
Posted in Electrical Work on Jul 12
If you can’t take the heat, then get out of the kitchen, at least that’s what professional chef’s like Gordon Ramsey bark at their charges! Our kitchens are the hearts of our homes, and they should be fun places where friends and family meet to share food. But there’s more to it unfortunately – greasy kitchens can cause electrical fires. The UK has around 20,000 fires a year arising mainly from faulty electrical appliances in the kitchen. Grease is a fire’s best friend, and can quickly spread flames and threaten our houses and even our families. 
Kitchens are not the only source of unwanted fires. The Electrical Safety Council (ESC) comments that more than half of fires reported, as already stated that’s around 20,000 a year, are down to people’s casual attitudes. Here at Mr-Skill, we say that you and your family – especially the kids – should always have a healthy respect for electrical safety, and never abuse electrical appliances.
The cost of an electrical call-out to check your appliances is insignificant, when compared with the cost of re-building a burned-out home with all the inconvenience that incurs. Mr-Skill urges you to get an electrical quote today, and sleep well at night.
The ESC goes on to say: “In our opinion – which is shared by the fire and rescue professionals we consulted – a considerable number of fires occur through a casual attitude to cleaning and safety, particularly in kitchens.” Leading research into the causes of domestic fires demonstrates that over 25% of the British public suspect faults with at least one of their electrical appliances. As Mr-Skill says, “SAFETY FIRST, ALWAYS!” So, if you are one of the many people with faulty equipment, find an electrician to thoroughly check your home appliances right now.
It doesn’t take a genius to realise that dangling electrical leads in fat deposits left on the counter-tops rate right up there as scary when it comes to fire risks. So too is the dangerous habit of storing items on top of the microwave oven, including tea towels, and forgetting to remove them when the appliance is in use. 
Martin – he’s one of our regular London electricians – advises that we should never take electricity for granted. Because we live in a modern electrical world, we need to understand that this power source is a potential fire-maker and even a killer. “Never let your guard down, and keeping a clean and grease-free home is a good start,” says Martin.
Tags: abuse, appliance, cable, casual, cleaning, electrical fire, electrical leads, electrical quote, faulty appliances, find an electrician, fire, fire risk, fire-maker, grease, home, house, killer fire, kitchen, london electrician, safety
Posted in Electrical Work | Comments Off
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
Preparing the exterior walls of a house or bungalow for painting is an onerous task that few private homeowners attempt. Does that sound too much for you too? No worries. We can help you Find a Painter who’s been rated by other customers already.
When he or she arrives they complete the preparation of the outside as summarised below. That’s assuming they don’t find anything exceptional, that they did not anticipate when preparing their Detailed Painting Quote. If they do, they’ll negotiate in good faith.
 Cast an eye over the structure to make sure there are no cracks that might admit water and cause damp. They’re likely to report any structural concerns they may detect too, although that’s not the job you’re paying them for.
Clear out and close-up any gaps with rendering. They’ll work elsewhere on the building for the next few days while the fresh plaster dries.
Remove all flaking or damaged paint using a combination of hand-scrapers, sanders, power washing and chemicals. Attend to any mould or fungus.
Discuss the best paints to use and the colours that you like and are practical too. When that’s done they can begin apply the paint.
I was chatting to my old friend a retired London Decorator who has a thought on anything and everything. I just can’t understand, he said, why so many folk try to paint outside in winter, when it makes so much more sense to do the inside then.
Mr-Skill provides a FREE service to UK customers requiring the services of a Painter / Decorator, or for that matter any other Skilled Person. They pay to list with us after we have checked them out. That’s the only money that ever changes hands as far as we are concerned. We make not a penny more from it, no kidding, so all this is FREE to you with our compliments. Isn’t it nice to know that you can still get good service like this today?
Tags: bungalow, chemical, clear, close, colour, cracks, damaged, damp, decorate, decorator, exterior, find a painter, flaking, fungus, house, london decorator, mould, paint, painter, painting quote, plaster, prepare, redecorate, remove, render, sander, seal, structure, wall, wash, water
Posted in Painting & Decorating | 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
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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
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
Posted in General Building on Oct 15
Before you Find a Builder to complement your house with a perfect garden wall you really ought to choose the design yourself. This is because a boundary wall along a street is the ultimate statement of the owner’s taste, and hence a personal decision.  Here are some ideas to get you going. The comments are our personal feelings, not the final word on the subject!
• The first decision needed is the height of your garden wall, which has a great deal to do with why you are building it in the first place. If you require privacy the wall will be far higher than if you are defining the street line in a garden suburb. There will be council regulations that control height too.
• Your next choice is probably the materials to use. Here you are guided by several considerations. These include the style of your own house, the prevailing vernacular in the neighborhood, and the magnitude of Builder’s Quotes that you can afford. Cost is not the only consideration though. A first impression from the street can influence the value of a home enormously.
•  Where possible avoid a monotonous run of wall. There are various techniques to use. These include staggered heights, curved effects and inset sections. Experienced London Builders often recommend incorporating a herbaceous feature here and there. That’s because Mother Nature does not work in straight lines, and neither ought you to.
When you know exactly what you require it’s time to get competitive quotes. May I suggest you include Mr-Skill in this? They have a large number of Rated Builders available to work in every Postcode, and their unique bidding system ensures attractive bids.
They are also well-versed in design alternatives, and will be delighted to help you to choose the best design.
Tags: bid, boundary, Builders Quotes, cost, council, curve, decision, define, design, feature, find a builder, Garden, height, herbacious, house, inset, london builders, material, monotonous, perfect, privacy, rated, regulation, stagger, statement, street, style, taste, technique, vernacular, wall
Posted in General Building | Comments Off
It may sound obvious to some people, but for many the penny has not dropped yet. Moving Quotes are based on distance travelled, but also on the items to be moved.  While no removalist worth their salt in business is likely to tell you not to pack up everything in the house, the bald truth is that it makes no sense at all to pay to move things that you no longer need. Here’s how to go about not wasting money in this way.
o Homes are seldom the same shape and size. Obtain a floor plan of the one that you are moving to, and compare this to the home that you are moving from. If there is no room for Auntie’s grand piano that nobody plays anymore, why pay to move it? Sell it instead. The same goes for the exercise machine that you no longer use.
o If you Find a Man with a Van who is willing to take the curtains down and hang them up again, it could be an idea to check first whether they will fit the windows where you are moving to. If not, sell them to the new people moving in, or send them down to the Church Bazaar. Either way will save you money.
o  Finally, about your clutter (or junk as a Removalist in London that I know quite well likes to call it). Because of the labour involved in packing and unpacking household smalls, and the risk of damage too, this can be where a removal firm could really stack up their bill. Before you even start to Find a Removal Firm, first get in the cleaners and throw out all the junk. You may have to be merciless, so get ready to be tough!
You will be surprised at how much money you could save this way. When you get to your destination and have finally settled in, why not spend some of your savings on the moving-in celebration of the year?
Tags: apartment, bill, clutter, curtain, distance, find a removalist, fit, floor plan, hauliers london, home, house, junk, labour, man-with-a-van london, measure, moving, moving homes London. moving quote, pack, plan, quote, removalist london, room, save, saving, shape, size, small, unpack, volume, weight
Posted in Moving Homes & Hauliers | Comments Off
Posted in Uncategorized on May 06
Now that summer is around the corner and we are in the Merry Month of May, it is time for us to turn our thoughts to our little feathered friends who are busy raising families.  How much does bird seed cost anyway compared to the joys we share? So its time to hop onto the internet, and find something that will complement the garden and our tastes.
In times gone by one almost had to Find a Carpenter to knock a wooden bird table together (unless one was really handy) and that could easily cost a barrow-load of bird seed. These days bird feeders are available off the peg (if you’ll excuse the expression) and the only problem that remains is making up your mind.
My friendly Carpenter in London is a curious fellow  who likes to know that is happening in his town. He tells me that the latest fad is feeders shaped like fruit or vegetables, he thinks because so few plants grow these days in concrete canyons of the City
I am personally quite fond of bird feeders that look light little houses, just in case someone is looking for someplace to build a nest. I have seen many shapes from temples to pagodas. Some are so complicated that I think you almost might need a Joiner Quote from Mr-Skill before you ordered one made up.
Life is full of fun and we need to all help keep it that way. The wildlife that survives in Britain needs to be cared for too. So why not go down to the shops today, and find a bird feeder perfect for your needs. Your feathered friends will reward you with their song as you reward them with their food and drink.
Tags: bird, carpenter quote, carpenters london, complicate, feather, feed, feeder, find a carpenter, find a joiner, friend, fruit, fun, Garden, house, joiner london, joiner quote, joy, nest, reward, seed, shape, song, summer, table, taste, vegetable, wildlife
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
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