The kitchen truly is at the heart of every home, and if you think about it the sink tap is at its core. First thing in the morning we use it to fill the kettle. Last thing at night we rinse the dirty dishes. Cook uses it at least a dozen times a day. The family gathers around it to do the washing up.
There are some really handsome kitchen taps around these days. Why not Find a Plumber and spoil yourself with a new one. If you are thinking of doing it yourself, then here’s what’s involved.
1. Isolate the hot and cold water supply, making sure the flow stops completely. Position a bucket beneath the tap under the sink.
2. Loosen off the nut that holds the tap in place. London Plumbers always travel with a basin wrench – if the nut is hard to get at, you’ll know why.
3. Disconnect the flexible water lines connecting the tap to the water supply at the lower end. Be careful not to strain the piping. As you remove the couplings a little water will flow out. Make sure the bucket is in place before you do!
4. Remove the old tap complete with the flexible pipes attached. Clean the sink surface thoroughly where the old tap rested. Take your time to do this properly. Apply a 
generous bead of plumbers putty around the hole in the surface of the sink, and gently bed the rubber gasket into it.
5. Insert the new tap assembly through the hole including the flexible water lines. Locate the fixing nut, position the tap, and tighten the nut firmly. Attach the pipes to the water supply remembering to be generous with plumber’s tape.
6. Re-tighten the nut that secures the tap as it will have bedded down. Remove the surplus putty that squeezed out and clean the sink top thoroughly. Turn on the water and test the tap. No leaks? You’ve earned a cup of tea and a biscuit too!
Sound’s easy, doesn’t it? But there are various things that could go wrong, resulting in water leaks that could ruin expensive kitchen cabinetry. Why not get a Plumber’s Quote on Mr-Skill instead? You’ll save pounds off normal rates, and could still enjoy that cup of tea and biscuit.
Tags: attach, basin, bucket, change, clean, cold, flexibly, flow, gasket, heart, home, hot, insert, isolate, kitchen, leak, line, loose, nit, pipe, putty, rubber, save pounds, sink, supply, surplus, tap, tape, test, tight, water, wrench
Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
Posted in
Handyman Services on Feb 08
Sometimes it is necessary to cast a small non-load bearing concrete slab outside in the garden. There are many reasons why you may need to this of which the following are just a few examples.
o A foundation for a tiled sit-out
o A floor inside a garden shed
o A base for a small garden frame.
Before getting Handyman Quotes, here is how you could do the job yourself instead.
1. After carefully selecting a suitable site and considering water drainage mark the area out with string. Remove an area of earth slightly larger than required, and deep enough, and line the area with strips of wood or other suitable shuttering.
2. Back fill the space outside the shuttering carefully for this is what will determine the outer edge of your finished slab. Compact the earth inside the strips of wood, adding earth and a little water as you go. Do this several times on at least two consecutive days until the surface is the right depth and as hard as a clay tennis court can be (one full brick height is about the right level of thickness to target). Line the space with pvc plastic right across and up all four sides.
3. Make up a good strong mix of concrete ensuring that the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Fill the space inside the shuttering half-way up. Lay pre-cut reinforcing bars across at regular intervals, tamp these down and add the rest of 
the concrete. Use a straight edge across the shuttering to get things nice and level (sometimes Handyman London use a steel roller instead).
4. After a few hours when water is no longer lying on the surface scribe a line between the top edge of the concrete and the shuttering to prevent the joint from drying out. Six hours later or the following morning you will be able to gently tap the strips of wood away and remove them completely.
5. You now have the final opportunity to gently remove any surplus concrete with a metal float. Don’t be too hasty to tile over it though as concrete takes thirty days to fully cure.
Are you feeling tired already? Is your favourite television program calling you instead? Never mind about all that, just Find a Handyman on Mr-Skill to do a tidy job for you.
Tags: backfill, base, brick, compact, concrete, drainage, earth, find a handyman, float, floor, foundation, Garden, garden frame, handyman london, handyman quote, mix, pour, PVC, reinforce, reinforcing, scribe, shed, shuttering, site, slab, string, strip, surplus, tap, thickness, water, wood
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