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Posts Tagged ‘Survey<’
Posted in General Building on Feb 20
Before you even think about removing an interior brick wall, you first need to determine whether or not it’s load bearing. This is especially important when working with an older building. Sometimes homes were extended in the past, in a way that outside walls ended up inside houses.
 The only way to determine this is to get up in the ceiling and determine what is resting on the wall. Sometimes you’ll find rafters pressing down, and at other times planks supporting boilers. If you can’t run your finger all the way along the wall you must arrange a survey before proceeding.
While you’re up there, check for water pipes and electricity cables entering the wall through the ceiling, as these may travel a distance to reach their destination. Have an electrician isolate and terminate these (and any others that may reach a wall-switch from the floor below. You may legally disconnect a water supply pipe yourself.
Perhaps at this stage you have already decided that you need to Find a London Building Firm instead? No worries, simply click on this link to receive a Builder’s Quote. Here’s what you still need to do, to prepare in advance for the day the builder arrives.
 Remove everything from the surplus wall that you might conceivably use again
- Barricade off the immediate area with sheets of plastic
- Clear everything from inside the space, including semi-fixtures like draperies and light fittings.
- Invest in a heavy-duty drop-sheet to protect the floor.
- Resolve to be reasonable about the dust and dirt about to disturb you.
While any London Building Firm on Mr-Skill will do their best to contain the mess, the bottom line is that demolition is a dirty business. Ask yourself a simple question before you let the builders in – “Is this really necessary in the first place?” On the other hand, the results may be well worthwhile.
Tags: barricade, boiler, brick, builder’s quote, ceiling, demolish, dirt, disconnect, dropsheet, dust, electrician, electricity, find a builder, inside, interior, internal, isolate, load, load bearing, london building, masonry, mess, pipe, plank, plastic, rafter, remove, rest, sheet, solid, Survey, switch, truss, wall, water, waterpipe
Posted in General Building | Comments Off
Well, let’s hope you get all your maintenance chores finished before you move. If not, you’ll never know how the bathroom might have worked out, and that’s half a shame. But never mind about all that. It’s time to start evaluating Removalist Quotes. Wait a minute! You first need to plan your move don’t you, and  there are three ways to do it.
DIY MOVING
This one’s the easiest in theory, but the most frustrating in practice. You just hire a van, pack everything in and then transport it. How long do you think that’s going to take you with just one pair of arms? And who will give you insurance at both ends? It’s a bad idea – unless you are a glutton for punishment.
PROFESSIONAL MOVERS
This is the simplest solution, although also by far the most expensive. A surveyor writes everything down and prepares a quote. On moving day a team arrives with a mountain of packing materials. Once they’ve got everything in the truck they’re off to your new home. It’s so easy you could go off and watch the  soccer while they move you back in. You can Find a Mover here.
MAN WITH A VAN
This is the middle of the road solution many people are learning to prefer. Every suburb in the City has a London White Van Man now. When you have wrapped everything up or stuffed it into boxes the van arrives with a couple of strong lads who deliver it to your new home. Just make sure the price includes offloading too, and watch out for insurance issues.
Isn’t it handy to have a Website like Mr-Skill where you can source all your service requirements in one place? They have stacks of plumbers, electricians, builders, gardeners, handymen and much more. And they don’t charge the consumer a single penny in commissions for their service.
Tags: box, cost, deliver, DIY, do it yourself, expensive, find a mover, hire, home, insurance, london white van man, move, mover, moving day, pack, professional, quote, removalist, removalist quotes, stuff, Survey, team, transport, truck, van, wrap
Posted in Moving Homes & Hauliers | Comments Off
A recent survey revealed that almost every Gardener in London these days has several orchids growing in the house, and I suppose that this would be true of gardeners elsewhere in the country too. Of all of these, the Moth Orchid that the boffins call Phalaenopsis is  reputedly the most popular, and I for one am not surprised that this is so. Did you know that millions of these beautiful while or pink flowers are grown and sold in Britain every year?
The average citizen does not have the same green fingers though. Every year hundreds of thousands of Orchids in Britain fizzle out, and not because Gardener Quotes for small jobs are impossible to obtain either. It’s just because we do not understand that all they need is a draught-free room, some sunlight, a little food and drink occasionally, and a friendly nod in their direction from time to time.
In their natural environment, Orchids grow in forks of trees or in stony crevices. This means that they do not like to grow in earth, but are happy nestling among bark and moss and other natural debris around their roots. Their natural environments also ensure that rainwater drains away rapidly too – forget this principle and they could drown or rot away.
If after several years your Orchid seems as it it’s trying to climb out of its container, then it is time to learn  how to re-pot it. All you need is some Orchid compost (or an imaginative stroll through the local wood) and you are ready to begin this simple process.
Remove the Orchid from the old container, and shake its roots clear before removing any shrivelled ones. Cut the healthy ones back to about four inches long with a pair of sharp secateurs. Wrap the roots gently into their fresh growing medium, press them into their new pot, moisten the compost daily with an atomiser, and your job is done.
You don’t need to Find a Gardener for a simple job like this, and I doubt one would be particularly interested either. If you have a bigger gardening job though why not speak to Mr-Skill. They have all the good gardening professionals on their books.
Tags: atomise, bark, breeze, compost, container, crack, crevice, cut, cutter, dead, debris, drain, draught, drink, flower, food, fork, Garden, green, medium, moisten, moss, natural, orchid, pink, pot, rain, rock, secateur, short, spray, stone, sun, Survey, tree, trim, water, white
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping | Comments Off
Posted in Bricklaying, Carpentry & Joinery, Cleaning Services, Disposals & Waste Removal, Electrical Work, Gardening & Landscaping, General Building, Handyman Services, Kitchen Fitting, Locksmith, Moving Homes & Hauliers, Other Craftsman Services, Painting & Decorating, Planning & Consulting, Plastering & Drywall, Plumbing, Heating & Gas, Roofing, Gutters & Drainage, Tiling & Flooring, Window & Door Fitting on Oct 16
 The insurance company Aviva recently conducted a survey amongst their clients which dispelled the myth that “White Van Man” was no more than an urban thug.
Tradesmen in London are the smartest, sexiest and most successful drivers on the road their research showed, with over 70% having an interest in politics and current affairs.
Smart Tradesmen in London
Over half of the white van drivers surveyed said that they regularly read books, compared to one-in-ten sports car owners.
Sexy Tradesmen in London
Most of the white van drivers questioned responded that they like to keep themselves in shape and pursued some form of outdoor leisure activity.
Successful Tradesmen in London
Half of all van drivers were the boss of their own business, as compared to 83% of sports car drivers who work for someone else.
Nigel Bartram, motoring expert at Aviva, who carried out the survey, said: “It’s great to prove what we already knew – van drivers are switched on and enterprising! Gone are the days of the traditional white van man stereotype. What our research shows is that van drivers are entrepreneurial and responsible. This is why we have tailored direct motor insurance to cater for the 21st century van driver.”
With half of van drivers opting to fix household appliances when they break rather than ask for help, they are also the handiest to have at home. After a hard day’s work, a tradesman in London is more likely to catch a news bulletin or documentary than anything else on the box and, out of all drivers questioned, is the least likely to watch reality TV.
Sofeminine.co.uk added a female perspective to the results of the survey with the comment that “A white van driver may not be so likely to have a degree, but he has a big package” – So much for stereotypes!
For a deeper look into the psyche of a white van driver tradesman in London, visit the Social Issue Research Centre web site, who produced a quite eye-opening and humorous insight into this social phenomenon, and concluded that in order to change their image, tradesmen in London should paint their vans a different colour!
Tags: Find a Tradesman in London, insurance, Research, Social Issues, Survey, Tradesmen´s Directory, transit van, Van Driver
Posted in Bricklaying, Carpentry & Joinery, Cleaning Services, Disposals & Waste Removal, Electrical Work, Gardening & Landscaping, General Building, Handyman Services, Kitchen Fitting, Locksmith, Moving Homes & Hauliers, Other Craftsman Services, Painting & Decorating, Planning & Consulting, Plastering & Drywall, Plumbing, Heating & Gas, Roofing, Gutters & Drainage, Tiling & Flooring, Window & Door Fitting | Comments Off
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