| |
Posts Tagged ‘screw<’
Mr-Skill often baulks at situations requiring him to drill holes through tiles, simply because it is such a risky task. The alternatives are to use contact adhesive or two-sided tape, neither of which are ideal in the long term. Fred is one of our regular London tilers, and he advises that drilling through tiles is quite straightforward once you know what to do.
Your Choice
Essentially, there are two safe methods of making holes through your tiles. Well, you could add a third if you decide to rather find a tiler and leave the problem to them! The first method is to locate your holes precisely on the grout line that separates one tile from the other. The other way is more nerve-racking, because it involves drilling through the tile-face itself.
A somewhat nervous Mr-Skill says that before you choose one of these two options, make sure you have a spare tile to replace the broken or cracked one should things go wrong. Nothing is more eye-catching than looking at a broken or cracked tile, or having to use a mismatched replacement one.
Decision Time
Should you find that you have no back-up spares, you need to choose between using the grout line, and drilling through your lovely tiles. You could of course elect to get a tiling quote to sort the problem, but that could prove quite expensive when all you need is a couple of holes!
Enter Fred Again!
Fred is against using grout lines for drilling holes, and that is because you have limited space in which to work, and grout is not the ideal medium to hold a plug and screw either. He goes on to say, “Imagine the consequences of the bit jamming in the grout line as you drill. Rather mark up your holes as desired on the tile face itself. Then, you need to test to see that the tiles you plan to drill through don’t have air space where they attach to the wall. A simple tap with your knuckle will soon confirm if there are any hollow gaps to be avoided.” Thanks for the tips, Fred!
Easy Does It
Once your holes are marked (and checked), stick two pieces of magic tape over each marked hole in the form of a cross. This is to stop the tile from crazing as you drill. Gently tap a pointed punch to create a small guide hole for you to drill out further with a new masonry bit. Now drill slowly and make your hole to the desired depth. Once you have drilled through the tile – you should feel this happen – you can safely use the hammer function on your power tool.
Tags: adhesive, cracked tile, depth, drill, drilling, find a tiler, grout, guide, hammer, hole, london tiler, plug, power tool, replacement tile, safety, screw, spare, tap, tile, tiling quote
Posted in Project Advice, Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
Mr-Skill tells us that his mother got him started on odd jobs around their home from a very early age. He’s not complaining because, as you can see, he went on to great things when it came to introducing tradespeople with skills to customers with needs! One job you can consider doing yourself is the straightforward matter of changing a showerhead. Of course, it may not be that easy if you are unsure of your way around bathroom fittings, so if this describes you, rather find a bathroom fitter right here.
Have these Handy: 
- Plumber’s tape or thread
- Decent wrench or large pliers
- New showerhead
It’s as Easy as 1, 2, 3…
There are many showerheads to select from, and replacing the old one should not take more than a few minutes. Using the wrench or pliers, remove the old unit by twisting it counter-clockwise until it detaches from the feed pipe. Now, apply two layers of plumber’s tape to the screw thread you are about to attach your new unit to.
Interlude – if the above manoeuvre has left you somewhat perplexed, search right here on Mr-Skill and get a bathroom fitting quote.
Nearly there…
Installing your new unit is the exact reverse of removing the old one. First, apply some masking tape around the tightening flange of the shiny new showerhead. This will prevent any scratches or damage as you tighten up. Turn the new head clockwise, first by hand and then finally tighten with the wrench or pliers. It should be a tight fit to prevent leaks, but don’t make the mistake of over-tightening or you may end up stripping the thread!
Spare a Thought 
One of Mr-Skill’s many London bathroom fitters says that bathing is still quite popular in our climate. And you’ll be spoiled for choices because these days you can install anything from high-powered jet sprays to multi units, and even massaging heads – they are available for both bath and shower too. Don’t forget that hot cuppa tea to celebrate your success on the job!
Tags: bath, bathroom fitting quote, celebrate, cup of tea, find a bathroom fitter, fitter, jet spray, jets, london bathroom fitter, massage, pipe, pliers, plumber, plumbers tape, screw, shower, showerhead, tighten, twisting, wrench
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
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
Sometimes old age, rust and wear take their toll on our door locks, requiring us to replace them before they become too troublesome. Internal door locks differ from outside ones that are normally equipped with secure locks that are difficult to “pick”. Inside doors make use of a mortise, positioned in the door hollow, which docks into a latch plate mounted in the doorframe. This allows you to lock your door from either side as you desire.
Mr-Skill recommends that you remove the old mortise and take it to your local hardware store as a sample. After that, the similar replacement lock is quick and easy to fit, avoiding the need to make modifications to the existing door.
Having made your purchase, here are the steps involved in fitting your new lock. This job should take no longer than 30 minutes. However, if you want peace of mind you may prefer to find a window and door fitter right here on Mr-Skill.
What You’ll Need
- Internal door lock assembly, including keys
- Chisel for minor adjustments
- Screwdriver correctly sized for the screw heads
- Hammer
Fitting Guidelines
- Position the new mortise into the hole in the door that held the old mechanism. Test for smooth and flush fitting into the latch plate. If necessary, tighten up screws holding the latch plate in the door frame (they can become loose with constant opening and closing of the door).
- If everything lines up correctly and the closing action is good, secure the mortise in position using wood screws on the closing edge of the door.
- Re-fit the handles on either side, carefully securing them with wood screws.
- Test that the key locks smoothly from either side of the door.
 If you are getting a window and door fitting quote, make sure that the service provider knows to replace like-for-like door locks to save you money.
One of our ever-present London window and door fitters offers the following tip.
“Once you have fitted your new internal door lock, be sure to place one of the two keys in a safe place. Also note the unique number inscribed on it, in case you ever need a replacement. In fact, you should consider keeping a register of all your key numbers!”
Tags: action, close, dock, door frame, find a window and door fitter, fit, handle, key, latch, lock, london window and door fitter, mortise, open, position, replacement, screw, smooth, wear, window and door fitting quote
Posted in Window & Door Fitting | Comments Off
Posted in Electrical Work on Mar 06
Thankfully as winter starts to move on, now is a good time to check that your outside lights are in good working order. Some of the work is easy and safe enough to do yourself. Changing a bulb is a good example, as is cleaning the glass in the light fitting. If the light is not working though, you would be better off using a qualified electrician to solve the problem. Wiring and switching is too dangerous for an unqualified person to work on. Rather check with Mr Skill, find a qualified electrician, and ask them for an electrical quote.
- Make sure that the light switch is in the “off” position. Better still; isolate the light circuit on your electrical board.
- Have a stepladder handy should you need to reach up to the light fitting.
- You may have to remove a piece of glass to access the bulb.
- Wipe the interior of the light fitting with a clean rag.
- Now, remove the old bulb. Be careful, it might be hot.
- Replace the bulb with a correctly-rated new one.
- London electricians always recommend using energy-efficient bulbs. They may cost more, but they will last much longer and therefore require less maintenance.
- Refit the glass panel, having cleaned the surface first.
- Test the new bulb once you have installed it, by flicking the light switch to “on” after you re-set the distribution board.
- Never replace a bulb with a wattage-rating higher than the fitting manufacturers recommended maximum.
If, after having been through the above steps the bulb still does not light up when you switch it on, find an electrician by clicking on Mr Skill.
It’s all about horses for courses and being smart. You wouldn’t consider using a plumber to fix your own car, so be wary of trying to fix your own electrical problems!
Tags: bulb, check, circuit, cloth, cost, efficient, electrical board, electrical quote, energy, find an electrician, fitting, glass, ladder, light, london electricians, maintenance, off, on, rag, rate, screw, switch, test, wipe, wiring
Posted in Electrical Work | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Dec 07
While Carpenters generally speaking cut and finish wooden planks before assembling them with screws and nails, Joiners put more detailed work together using a combination of joints, wooden dowels and glue. Another difference is that Carpenters generally work on site, while you’ll more often Find a Joiner plying their trade in a workshop.
 When you look around your home or office you’ll find considerable evidence of the fascinating art of Joinery:
- A wooden staircase rising to an upper level is the ultimate statement of a gracious interior. If you have a fine piece of architectural woodwork like this, you could be well-advised to contact a leading London Joining Firm if it needs repair so it’s not accidentally ruined.
- Furniture with exposed frames, like most dining-room and some lounge suites are often classic examples of a Joiner’s art. Dowels taken from the same piece of wood are frequently almost invisible. If you spot an antique leather-topped desk in a showroom or second-hand corner shop, consider it carefully because these things are vanishing.
 Better-quality wooden doors, and wooden door and window frames are the work of trained Joiners too, and rely on joints that you can spot when you look carefully. It is these joints that give them the extra strength they need, when a gust of wind unexpectedly slams them closed.
Joiners provide a service to several different market sectors, where their different titles may be confusing. Cabinet Makers make storage furniture like shelves and cupboards; Shop Fitters create display and service points; Boat Builders finish off the interiors of yachts, and so on. The common denominator is the care they take, and their love of wood.
When you advertise a woodworking job on Mr-Skill that you need attending to, it is always a good idea to indicate the trade you need. Use key phrases like simple carpentry job, or needs a person experienced in making joints. That way you’re more likely to find the right person to provide you with the Joiner Quote you want.
Tags: antique, architect, boat builder, cabinet maker, care, carpenter, desk, dining, Dining Room, door, dowel, find a joiner, frame, glue, gracious, home, joiner, joiner quote, joint, leather, london joining firm, lounge, love, nail, office, plank, repair, screw, service, shop fitter, stair, staircase, strength, window, wood, wooden, workshop
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Nov 24
While parents may still find them handy for tracking teenagers in and out at night, the truth is that a squeaking floor is an irritating thing that is literally crying out for your attention. Before you look for cost-effective Carpenters Quotes on Mr-Skill, you may like to try out these handy ideas first.
 Floor boards creak for one of three reasons, and these are some of the things you can do to fix them – possibly by yourself – once you have walked the floor and found the source:
1. They are incorrectly fitted and rubbing up against each other. Pour a little talcum powder into the crack and work it in by pressing up and down with your foot. If this works, repeat the treatment regularly.
2. The nails holding them down have worked loose. If at all possible, remove the nails completely and replace them with wood screws. If not, you may have to fit new screws separately, hammer the old nails in as best you can, and fill the nail heads with filler. Start with two screws, each towards the outer edge of the board, remembering to countersink them. Only add a middle one if necessary.
3.  The floor support is inadequate. This is a major job and you need to Find a Carpenter on Mr-Skill to do the job for you. They will remove a section of floor boards, add additional supporting battens and re-lay the floor. If done correctly by a professional there is no reason why the job will not work. Done incorrectly by a cowboy though, and it could cost you the floor.
There are Experts in London Carpentry on Mr-Skill, and specialist carpenters working in almost every other United Kingdom postcode too. When you Hire a Skilful Tradesman here, you not only get one with all the correct papers. You also get to save pounds off normal market rates.
Tags: add, batten, board, carpenters quotes, countersink, creak, fill, filler, find a carpenter, floor, floorboard, hammer, incorrect, lay, london carpentry, loose, nail, paper, powder, professional, rate, reason, relay, remove, replace, rub, save, screw, section, specialist, squeak, talcum, work
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Nov 08
Bedroom fitters seem to find it necessary to install cupboards from the wall to ceiling. While this makes sense in terms of managing the dust on top, customers often end up with storage space that looks more like the inside of a church steeple. The solution? Add a space below for storing shoes, or above for keeping what almost inevitably turns out to be junk.
 I personally don’t have much time for using the plastic shelf blocks that seem all the rage these days. That’s because they involve point contact and it’s difficult to get them aligned perfectly. Moreover, in these times of chipboard everything, an overloaded shelf can easily come crashing down.
The following is what Professional London Carpenters still prefer to do:
• Remove the cupboard doors for ease of access and to avoid straining hinges. Measure the internal depth of the cupboard from front to back at both left and right. While you’re at it, measure the cupboard internally from left to right too. Enter the information on a drawing, because in all the years of providing Carpentry Quotes I have seldom come across a cupboard that’s perfectly square.
• Ask the hardware store to cut a shelf to size and to cut battens to support it on the left and right too. Make sure they also supply half-a-dozen screws of the appropriate length.
•  Pre-drill the battens in the middle and towards either end. Fix the first one in the middle only and set it horizontal with a spirit level. Draw a pencil line along the bottom edge and fit the other two screws accordingly.
• Measure from the top or bottom of the cupboard to determine where the second batten should go. Screw it into place, again just using the middle hole. Test fit the shelf in place. It should be level and fit snugly so you can complete the installation and replace the doors. If not, you may need to make adjustments.
You could also save yourself a heap of trouble and get Highly Competitive Carpentry Quotes on Mr-Skill instead. We have carpenters at every UK postcode. They’re on standby to fit that shelf for you, and much more.
Tags: battem, bedroom, block, bottom, carpentry quotes, chipboard, complete, cupboard, cut, door, drill, dust, find a carpenter, fit, hinge, horizontal, length, london carpenters, measure, plastic, remove, replace, screw, shelf, shoe, size, snug, spirit level, square, storage, strain, support, test, top, vertical, weight
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
Posted in Kitchen Fitting on Nov 02
There’s nothing quite as sad as a worktop with a corner broken off, or burned by a hot saucepan or an electric iron. Fear not. A replacement is not as expensive as you think, even when done by a London Kitchen Fitting Firm.
•  Obtain a replacement piece that’s cut to size, and edged-off at any exposed end / ends. In that case, remember to allow an overhang that matches the other worktops as closely as possible.
• Clear the old worktop of everything. Remove the cabinet doors and clear the units completely. Carefully inspect for stains or water damage, because this is the best chance you’ll have to do repairs for some time.
• Remove the seal between the worktop and the tiles, and rout out any grout taking care not to chip or crack the tiles. Take your time – this is where you make a professional difference. If the gap is tight, you might need to Find a Kitchen Fitter to assist.
• Remove the screws that attach the worktop to the cabinetry from underneath, making sure you find them all. Double-check that the top is clear of all the tiles, and then gently work it loose. You must work evenly and gently to avoid any contact with the tile edges.
•  When completely free, remove the old worktop from the kitchen. Vacuum up all the dust. Wipe the surfaces clean and have a cup of tea. You’re past the halfway point!
• Lay the new top roughly in position, and gently move it into the space between the cabinetry and tiles. Attach it to the cabinetry from underneath, using the old holes and similar screws. Grout in the gap, and when this is dry add a bead of silicone. Now you can re-fit the doors and get on with your life. What a pleasure – damage controlled.
This information is provided with the compliments of Mr-Skill, although we recommend that only experienced people attempt this project. Should you decide to obtain Kitchen Fitter Quotes instead, we assure you of our best service, and top value in the industry too!
Tags: broken, burn, cabinet, chip, clean, counter, crack, cut, damage, door, dust, edge, end, expose, find a kitchen fitter, grout, inspect, kitchen, kitchen fitter quote, london kitchen fitting, loose, overhang, remove, repair, replacement, screw, seal, silicone, stain, tile, top, unit, vacuum, water, wipe, work, worktop
Posted in Kitchen Fitting | Comments Off
Theoretically, a door is a rectangular piece of wood sitting inside a perfectly rectangular, slightly oversize frame, and attached to it with hinges. The owners of a well-built home should never need to Find a Door Fitter unless they want to make some changes. However the world is seldom such a perfect place. If your  doors start sticking, this is what you might need to do.
• Begin by examining the gap between the door and frame, to determine where it is catching, and why. Reasons could include a door that’s swelling in humidity, and a frame worked loose through slamming.
• If the frame is coming loose, your first step is to re-attach it to the opening in the wall with some solid screws and plugs. Make sure it remains exactly square, or you could be worsening the problem!
• If the frame is firmly in position, and square too, examine where the door is catching. If this is on the handle side at the top corner, either the top hinge must move in, or the bottom hinge must come out. The converse applies if the door is catching at the bottom.
•  If the door is sticking on the handle side from top to bottom, then both hinges need adjustment. This is not a difficult task, providing you understand what to do. If not, and you live in the City, then you need to consult with London Door Fitters to play safe.
• To move a door towards the handle side, loosen off the offending hinge and insert a shim between hinge and frame. To move it away from a sticking point, loosen off the hinge and chisel out a little wood to recess it more.
If his does not solve the problem or the door is sticking at the top or bottom, then the answer is to remove the door and plane it down to size. This is a more complex job. Perhaps you should play safe and get Door Fitting Quotes on Mr-Skill instead?
Tags: adjust, attach, bottom, catch, chisel, complex, door, door fitting quote(s), down, examine, find a door fitter, frame, handle, hinge, home, humid, in, london door fitters, loose, move, out, plug, rectangular, screw, shim, slam, square, stick, swell, top, up
Posted in Window & Door Fitting | Comments Off
|
Subscribe to our RSS Feed