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Posts Tagged ‘moisture<’
Wise old Mr-Skill has often come across water-damaged ceilings, and he rightly advises that the first thing to do is to find and repair the source of the problem. It may be a leaking pipe in the loft, or perhaps a cracked tile on your roof. Once the cause of the problem’s sorted, the damaged ceiling should be allowed to dry out naturally. If it has suffered significant damage, you may need to replace that whole section entirely – simply find a roofing expert right here on Mr-Skill.
Weighing your Options
If you are going to go the route of a DIY repair, there are some important considerations. Maybe that’s all too difficult for you, in which case you can find a painter or decorator here on Mr-Skill. Ceiling and roof work in general are difficult areas to work with, and that’s why it is advisable to call in the experts.
Steps to Ceiling Recovery 
- A proper repair of the damaged area is essential, as simply leaving the moisture to evaporate will not prevent further leaks. Assuming that the source of the leak has been eliminated – this could mean getting a painting quote afterwards – you can now commence the recovery process.
- If you can access the area above the ceiling board, prepare to inspect the area from on top. Drying out the water-damaged area is important, and there is no real substitute for time and some movement of air in the affected space. Attempting to paint too soon will simply result in the water marks re-appearing through the fresh paint, no matter how many coats you apply.
- If the damaged ceiling has severe blackening or water staining, try applying bleach to the area on a sponge or cloth. If the old paint starts to peel or crack, you must scrape the entire area until you get back to raw ceiling board.
- Once the ceiling panel has dried out thoroughly, and you have removed as many of the water marks as possible, apply a liberal coat of universal undercoat. Allow this to dry properly too.
- After a day or two, you can go ahead and apply a good quality ceiling paint with a roller. Allow to dry naturally, and apply as many coats as necessary to cover the old problem zone.
Good as New
One of our regular London painters tells us that he never ceases to be amazed at what water damage can do to a ceiling and how difficult it can be to put right. After all, nobody enjoys walking into a room with a blackened ceiling!
Tags: access, ceiling, ceilings, considerations, cracked tile, DIY, find a painter decorator, leak, leaking, leaking pipe, London painter-and-decorator, moisture, movement, naturally, painter, painting decorating quote, roof work, undercoat, water marks, water-damaged
Posted in Painting & Decorating, Project Advice, Roofing, Gutters & Drainage | Comments Off
Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Feb 27
First you notice that the grout between the tiles has begun to crack. You wonder whether it’s time to Find a Tiler. After that, the grout starts going darker in one spot. Finally, when you tread on a tile, it rocks slightly as the moisture squishes out.
 Fortunately, this is not the end of the world! The good news is that the tile is loose and will be easy to remove. After that, you can have a Plumber in to fix the leak, and perhaps even replace the tile afterwards yourself.
- Avoid your first reaction to lever out the tile. Chances are that you will chip it, and where on earth will you find a replacement one? One London Tiler I know wets the loose tile generously, and then uses a toilet plunger to create a vacuum and gently ease it out. Try it. You could just be pleasantly surprised!
- Depending on how bad the leak is, you may need to turn the water off. If the water is not bubbling out from where you removed the first tile, you may need to chase the leak by removing several more. This is easy when you gently tap a paint scraper
 underneath the middle of the tile, because the mortar will be water-logged.
- Find a Plumber on Mr-Skill to repair the leak. Then wait patiently until the hole the plumber left behind has dried out completely. After that, back-fill it with a strong mix of mortar, and get a Tiling Quote to put the tiles back and re-grout. If you do the job yourself, use an epoxy as there will be insufficient space for tile cement except where the plumber made the hole.
This information comes to you with best wishes of Mr-Skill, that friendly website where you can find every service that you need. These services include electricians, builders, plasterers, carpenters, gardeners and a whole host more besides. The service costs you nothing, and they are all rated too.
Tags: back fill, chip, crack, dark, dry, epoxy, find a plumber, find a tiler, grout, lever, london tiler, loose, moisture, mortar, paint scraper, plumber, plunger, rated, remove, replace, rock, scraper, service, tap, tile, tiling quote, vacuum, water
Posted in Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
Misting or fogging in double-glazed windows is quite common in older homes where the guarantee has expired. Owners often put up this, because it is a cosmetic problem that they feel is not worth the money to repair. As a London Window Fitting Expert I’m often asked what causes this irritating problem, and I thought others might like to know why too.
 Some condensation is natural in the space between two glass panes, because of the difference between outdoor and indoor temperatures. In earlier days this drained naturally away. These days another plan is put in place in the interests of thermal efficiency.
- The moisture-absorption material used instead is known an silica – that’s the same stuff as the tiny white balls found in little bags and shipped with electronic goods.
- This silica is in the separation bars that keep the double-glazing panes apart. You’ll find them right up against the inner window frame. The idea is that the silica absorbs the moisture in winter months, and dries out again in summer.
- Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and sometimes the silica becomes water-logged in less
 than five years. Most double-glazing is guaranteed for ten years though. If you are lucky enough to have the original warranty then you may have a claim.
If you are unable to prove the claim and want your unsightly problem solved, then I suggest you Find a Window Fitter to do this for you. Many people prefer to have a drain hole inserted instead, because this is half the price of a complete Replacement Window Fitting Quote.
The window fitter who contributed this advice is listed on Mr-Skill. Like our other skilled artisans in all UK trades, he has a reputation that goes back for years, and he is registered as required by law too. Please contact us in the event that you require Professional Window Fitting Quotes.
Tags: absorb, cause, claim, condensation, cosmetic, double glazing, find a window fitter, fog, frame, glass, guarantee, hole, home, indoor, insert, log, london window fitting, mist, moisture, money, old, outdoor, pane, price, repair, silica, spacer, summer, temperature, thermal, warranty, waterlog, window, window fitting quote, winter
Posted in Window & Door Fitting | Comments Off
Posted in Bricklaying on Nov 10
United Kingdom soil is always damp provided you dig down deep enough, and when it gets saturated, capillary action causes moisture to rise up to the surface.  If that happens and you rest a cardboard box upon the ground, the water dampens the cardboard too. Similarly, moisture naturally rises up through porous brick walls, and that’s what we call rising damp.
A damp course is a physical damp-proof barrier above the ground on which the walls of a building rest. It may also be a vertical barrier to prevent rainwater intrusion from outside, although this is less common. The earliest horizontal barriers were inserted using slate which being dense is impervious to water. These days cheaper plastic strips are more common.
If you are planning to Find a Builder outside of Mr-Skill we recommend that you carefully research the details of what they propose by way of damp courses. Should you source a tradesman through us though, there is no need to worry. That’s because all our craftsmen follow the practices of the best London Bricklayer Firms.
 A horizontal damp course should be laid between two brick courses at least six inches above the ground at the highest point, and it should never be covered afterwards by soil because this can counteract it. Should the brick course subsequently fail, then there is little point in getting Bricklaying Quotes. The only workable solution is to arrange expensive chemical injections.
This is why we always recommend employing qualified, Rated Bricklayers such as we provide at Mr-Skill. The pleasures of saving a few pounds on a bricklaying job through employing glorified handymen is easily forgotten, after you receive an expensive chemical injection repair bill.
Tags: barrier, brick, bricklaying quotes, capillary, chemical, course, damp, damp course, dig, earth, find a bricklayer, ground, horizontal, injection, intrusion, london bricklayer, moisture, plastic, rain, rise, rising damp, slate, soil, surface, vertical, water
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Posted in Locksmith on Nov 07
There’s nothing quite as unnerving as arriving home from holiday, and finding you’ve either lost your key or the front door lock refuses to budge. This unfortunately boils down to a lack of care or just stupidity. I can say that, because I’ve been guilty of these oversights myself when I was younger.
 Lost Keys – The solution is as simple as people’s failure follow it is incredulous. Leave a spare set of keys with a good friend you trust, so they can visit your home from time to time too. That way, you may never need to Find a Locksmith at such an inconvenient hour.
Jammed Locks – It’s a funny old thing, isn’t it? We update our ant-virus databases and we even sometimes mow our garden lawns. Yet we leave our essential door and window locks to take care of themselves completely, when all you need to do is the following:
• Lubricate all your exterior door locks with a puff of graphite powder (not oil because that will attract the dirt and dust). Lock and unlock them several times to work the lubricant in. If the lock is exposed to the elements and seldom used, consider taping over the outside keyhole with a piece of weatherproof tape to keep the moisture out.
•  The advice of every London Locksmith and all others lock repairers too is to take action as soon as a lock starts giving trouble. If you can open the door or window you could change the lock yourself. At the least you could possibly avoid paying overtime rates.
• Inspect your keys monthly for signs of damage, and never, ever use worn ones. That’s because a broken piece of key can be impossible to remove, necessitating an expensive repair.
Whatever else you do please do not overlook the need to maintain your locks. Did we mention you can get Locksmith Quotes on Mr-Skill too? You’ll find the rates more than competitive and our service exemplary. Isn’t that good to know. Remember that in times of trouble we’re here for you.
Tags: break, broken, budge, care, change, damage, door, element, find a locksmith, friend, graphite, inspect, jam, key, lock, locksmith quotes, london locksmith, lose, lost, lubricate, maintain, moisture, oil, powder, rate, remove, replace, solution, spare, stuck, tape, weather, window, work
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While wooden windows have been replaced by plastic ones in most modern United Kingdom estates, there are still a huge number of these on listed buildings as every London Painter knows. There are three ways to paint them to keep away the rot.  You could slop paint all over and spend hours cleaning off the glass. You could Find a Painter on Mr-Skill, or you could do the job properly yourself as follows:
• Mask off any hardware with painters tape, including the catches, hinges and the handles
• Clean the window glass carefully to avoid contaminating the paint
• Mask off around the window frame leaving a tiny strip of glass still showing. This is to stop moisture entering the wooden frame.
• Roughen off all wooden surfaces to ensure the paint adheres well. Begin by painting the places where the window and the frame will touch, to allow these maximum times to dry before you close the window.  Always work from the top down to avoid splashes on completed work, and wipe these smooth as soon as you spot them.
• Follow with the window itself. Finish the horizontal bits first, followed by the down pieces and the remainder of the frame. Wait patiently until the paint is almost dry before carefully removing the painter’s tape. When completely dry, remove any splashes on the glass with a sharp paint scraper.
Not a difficult job to do at all, provided you don’t mind the smell of paint and the chore of cleaning brushes afterwards. For those with other things to do in life, Mr-Skill provides the simplest way to get Competitive Painter Quotes instead. Best of all is, it’s completely free! And it saves pounds too.
Tags: adhere, bottom, brush, catch, clean, down, dry, find a painter, frame, glass, handle, hinge, horizontal, london painter, mask, moisture, paint, painter quote, properly, rot, roughen, scrape, slop, smell, spill, splash, top, way, wood, wooden
Posted in Painting & Decorating | Comments Off
Roofers lay tiles loosely over each other in an overlapping pattern, and hold them in place with edging fascias, and special tiles cemented in place along the ridges. If these ridges fail, then there is a possibility of a strong wind lifting sheets of roof tiles with disastrous results. This fairly common problem usually begins as roofs settle after the first few years, and  the rendering beneath the ridges separates.
This is not a job for an amateur with a bad head for heights. In fact, we strongly recommend that you Find a Roofer to do the following work for you instead.
• Identify which ridge tiles have worked loose. This could be just one, a few, or the entire ridge, and the solution varies accordingly. If you can remove the loose tiles without disturbing the adjacent ones then this could save you time and money, although it is unwise to take chances and end up with a patch job.
• Obtain a supply of replacement ridge tiles. Remove offending ridges, set them aside and carefully chisel the loose rendering off the roof tiles beneath. You can leave a small residue of old rendering behind, provided that this is firmly attached.
• Soak the replacement ridge tiles and the supporting roof tiles with clean water until they have taken up a slightly darker hue. This ensures that they do not suck the moisture out of the new rendering, and weaken it.
•  Loose fit a new ridge tile, make a chalk mark on either side of it, and set it aside again. Lay two generous lines of suitable tinted rendering within the chalk lines. Press the ridge tile gently into place and remove any surplus rendering with trowel and damp cloth. Repeat the process as necessary along the entire ridge, remembering to close in the ends of the last ridge tiles if you replaced these too.
• A competent London Roofer will always check carefully that there are no cracks or holes showing anywhere on the ridge. This is because a strong gust of wind can blow rainwater through a tiny hole into the roof space below with surprising force, and form damaging pools on ceilings.
Should you decide to get a Roofing Quote on Mr-Skill, then we would be delighted to put you in touch with several rated tradesmen working in your area. We know you will be satisfied with the price and quality of the bids that you receive, and we wish you well with your roofing project too.
Tags: chalk, check, chisel, competent, crack, disturb, fascia, find a roofer, gust, hole, lift, london roofer, loose, loose fit, mark, moisture, overlap, press, rain, remove, rendering, repeat, replacement, roof, roofing quote, separate, settle, soak, tile, water, wind
Posted in Roofing, Gutters & Drainage | Comments Off
Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Sep 21
Wood-Effect laminate flooring has become popular in recent years, as folk discover how quickly they can change a room around, and how easy these floors are to keep clean too. But everything has its downsides and laminate flooring certainly is no exception. The only way to protect yourself from  problems is to Find a Floorer who does the job correctly in the first place.
• Peaking occurs when boards are too tight up against each other and the centres begin to bulge. This is almost invariably causde by a lack of free expansion space around the perimeter of the room, and can be corrected.
• Buckling and Warping are the result of water damage or moisture that could come from underground or might even be in the air. For this reason I have yet to meet a Flooring Firm in London who would consider laying laminate flooring in a bathroom, especially near a shower. Another possible cause of buckling and warping is the absence of an effective balancing substrate.
• Gapping between boards should not occur at all providing they are allowed to acclimatize before being laid. If they do open slightly under very cold conditions, the chances are that gaps will close as the room warms up again.
•  Mould and Mildew are warning signs of high humidity that ought to be carefully controlled, not simply cleaned away. The solution is to root cause the underlying problem and address it.
• Chipping on corners is a sign of abuse during installation. Make sure your Flooring Quote describes the manner in which the work will be done. If it mentions the use of a mallet and tapping block (which are unnecessary in the first place) move away and look again. If the damage happens subsequently, then I’m afraid you bought a poor quality floor.
Another way to avoid these hassles is to Find a Reputable Flooring Firm on Mr-Skill. That’s because we reference-check our tradespeople to make sure their lower prices do not come with loss of quality. How’s that for winning both ways.
Tags: avoid, board, buckle, bulge, cheap, chip, clean, cold, control, damp, expansion, find a flooring firm, floor, flooring firm in london, flooring quote, gap, humidity, laminate, mallet, mildew, moisture, mould, peaking, poor, price, problem, protect, quality, strip, substrate, tap, tight, warp, wood, wood effect
Posted in Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
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