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Posts Tagged ‘tip<’
That’s right. The snow may be lying heavily on the ground this year, but the days of warmer Spring are not far away. This is traditionally the season for clearing everything out that you do not want.  Perhaps you should start planning earlier, before all the waste-removal firms are booked out. We offer an exemplary service in this regard. Mr-Skill is able to offer the following range of helpful services when you are in the mood to tidy up.
Waste Management – The professional removal of potentially toxic industrial and commercial waste to Council specifications. Our specialists are equipped with all pre-requisite waste management safety gear and will complete their task responsibly.
Garbage Disposal – Sorting of non-toxic “safe” commercial and domestic garbage into categories, and delivering to re-processing plants and Council garbage disposal tips in accordance with your local bylaws.
Rubbish Removal – Disposal of general “clean” rubbish in an environmentally friendly way according to local regulations. Many town councils award street rubbish removal contracts to our agents.
 Garden Clean-Ups – A broad-based horticultural service. When the snow has melted (and that won’t be too long now) you’ll be glad you booked a garden clean-up and de-weeding service while contractors had room on their calendars still. As with all our contracts, the refuse will be responsibly disposed.
Unlike similar websites we charge consumers nothing extra for our service. In fact the overwhelming feedback is that our contractors charge lower rates. That means you win twice when you contact Mr-Skill. You win the first time because you get a reliable service. The second benefit is it costs you less.
Can you afford not to investigate this further? What’s more, you get your space back too.
Tags: clean, clear, commercial, council, deweeding service, dispose, domestic, environment, garbage, garbage disposal, plan, professional, prunings, regulation, remove, reprocess, responsible, rubbish, rubbish removal, safe, sort, specification, spring, springclean., tidy, tip, toxic, trash, waste, waste management, weeds
Posted in Cleaning Services, Disposals & Waste Removal, Gardening & Landscaping | Comments Off
Posted in Plastering & Drywall on Feb 01
Damp is an on-going problem in many homes in Britain, and that’s not just in the older ones either. Water, especially when forced by wind can find its way inside an outside wall through the tiniest of cracks. After the leak is fixed, it’s time to Find a Plasterer to fix the evidence that alerted us to the damp in the first place.
The Problem
The water has leached the cement away leaving weakened plaster that will eventually come off. The only solution is to hack it out and replace it. You have a choice, though. You could Ask Mr-Skill to Arrange a Plaster Quote, or you could have a go at it yourself.
 Repair Stage One
You have to get rid of the damaged plaster at least a foot above any visible damage or residual salts. If the damp was low down, then you must in any case remove the plaster to three feet above floor level. Brush away every grain of loose material. Complete the job with a vacuum cleaner – you may wish to do this when the wife is out shopping.
Repair Stage Two
This is a tip a London Plasterer taught me years ago. Put on a pair of disposable latex gloves. Make a slurry of cement powder and water with a cup of bonding liquid added – the final consistency should be like runny porridge. Brush this firmly over the space where the old plaster came out. This will allow the new plaster to adhere properly. Wash your hands and tools immediately. Allow the slurry to dry for a day.
Repair Stage Three
Make up a stiff plaster mix of 3-Parts sand to 1-Part cement. Apply this with a wide paint scraper or steel float across the entire surface roughly, and leave it alone for two hours to set. Apply a fresh mix of plaster that stands just proud of the surface. Work this off with a straight edge later the same day.  Leave the job to cure for a week.
Repair Stage Four
Apply a moist mix of Polyfilla over the entire surface. When it’s totally dry and the surface has gone a little powdery, finish the job off with an a sanding block or orbital sander, using medium-grit paper. After that, you are ready to decorate!
That’s all very well in theory, but do you really have the time to spend on this? If not, that’s where Mr-Skill comes in. We provide a matching service between customers and tradespeople. Unlike some others, we don’t add a penny to the cost of jobs.
Tags: adhere, bond, brush, cement, clean, consistency, crack, cure, damage, damp, dry, dust, exterior, find a plasterer, float, get rid of, glove, grit, hack, london plasterer, mix, orbital, outside, paint scraper, plaster, plaster quote, polyfilla, powder, remove, replace, salt, sand, scraper, set, slurry, stick, straight edge, tip, wall, water
Posted in Plastering & Drywall | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Jan 25
I was in an antique shop in London the other day, admiring some really lovely pieces of old furniture and wondering how they got their finishes so smooth. Later in the day I met up with an old London Carpenter friend of mine in a listed City pub. As he ran his hand over the gleaming wooden counter, he let a few trade-secrets slip.
• Wait for a windless day while you prepare a suitable work-place out of the sun
• Assuming you’ve prepared everything properly and that your work-piece is completely dry, give the varnish a proper stir for at least five minutes if not longer.
• Strain the varnish through a silk stocking to get rid of any remaining lumps.
• If you feel a call of nature coming on take that break now, as you are going to work through to completion.
• Moisten the best quality brush you can lay your hands on in the cleaning solvent the varnish manufacturer recommends (this prevents the brush from clogging up).
•  Apply the varnish evenly with a series of long firm overlapping strokes. Do not return to touch-up. Never scrape the brush across the container – it is this action that creates the bubbles.
• Don’t fiddle with your work afterwards and mess it up. Allow it to dry naturally for twenty-four hours before checking in an inconspicuous place.
That sounds like good enough advice for me and I might no longer need to Find a Carpenter for those smaller jobs. However if I decide to re-varnish the wooden staircase in my home the wife is always nagging me about, I think I’ll rather go for Carpentry Quotes on Mr-Skill instead. It’s just so much easier, and inexpensive allowing for the savings on my own time.
Tags: antique, apply, brush, bubble, carpenter, carpentry quotes, clog, container, dry, fiddle, find a carpenter, finish, furniture, london carpenter, lump, moisten, naturally, overlap, prepare, scrape, secret, smooth, solvent, stir, stocking, strain, stroke, sun, tip, touch up, varnish, wind, wood
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
Posted in Locksmith on Jan 06
There’s nothing quite as irritating as losing keys, or battling with sticking locks without a plan to bail you out. In fact, at times like this you sometimes feel like hitting your head in frustration against a wall. If in the City, you’ll need to  Find a London Locksmith to bail you out, and that could cost you a pretty penny too. This might all have been avoidable, if you had followed these simple tips:
- Have your outside locks serviced regularly. You can Obtain a Locksmith Quote by clicking on the link. There’s no charge for this service, and the rates you receive will be highly competitive too.
- Inspect your keys regularly for signs of damage. A bent key is brittle, and could suddenly snap in two pieces. A worn one could eventually fail to work, just when you need it most
- Make up a spare set of keys. Click on this link to Find a Locksmith in your immediate area. Once you have a spare set, entrust them to a neighbour or some other trustworthy person.
 TIP – Never leave your spare keys hidden on your property or in your car. Trust me, crooks know every place that you could think of, and you can even find these listed on the internet. Act wisely in this regard.
Mr-Skill is a tradesperson-listing service that is freely available to members of the general public, and provides a Bulletin Board where you can post your jobs. And that includes far more than just having keys cut too.
In fact, we provide Links to Every Trade Available, and deliver our service FREE.
Tags: bent, brittle, broken, competitive, damage, fail, find a locksmith, frustration, inspect, key, lock, locksmith quote, london locksmith, plan, rate, service, snap, spare, spare key, spare set, sticking, tip, trust, worn
Posted in Locksmith | Comments Off
Posted in Bricklaying on Dec 20
Brick steps are lovely to behold, but they do tend to get a little grimy over time, as dirt collects and moss develops. I popped over to the local brickfield the other day, and picked up some tips I’ll gladly share with you here.  This is definitely not a job to take lightly though. In fact I’m inclined to suggest you Find a Bricklayer to do the job for you instead
- Remove any obvious blobs of cement or anything else using a metal or hard-wood scraper. The same goes for any paint runs too.
- Obtain a supply of hydrochloric acid from a hardware store. Dilute 1-part of acid to 20-parts of water for light-coloured bricks, and twice the strength for darker ones. Do not make the mixture any stronger, or you could harm your health!
- Protect yourself and the adjacent areas from splashing, and saturate the area where you will be working with clean water. Minimum safety requirements are rubber gloves and safety glasses.
 Apply the hydrochloric acid dilution to a small area highest up the wall. Wait for between 3 and 6 minutes, and then scrub it down thoroughly. Work in small batches of no more than one square meter at a time, and rinse thoroughly as you go along.
- HINT For best results, London Bricklayers recommend rinsing light-coloured bricks with a bicarbonate or washing soda solution instead.
A messy job indeed, and one I’m not sure I’d care to tackle myself. In fact I can think of a dozen things I’d prefer to do. I reckon that’s where Mr-Skill comes in. You can get a Bricklayer Quote to do the job for you, just by clicking on the link. And there’s no charge at all for this superb quoting service either!
Tags: apply, bicarbonate, brick, bricklayer quote, cement, colour, dark, dilute, dirt, find a bricklayer, glasses, glove, goggles, grimy, hint, hydrochloric acid, light, london bricklayers, moss, paint, part, remove, rinse, safety, saturate, scrape, scrub, splash, step, tip, washing soda, water
Posted in Bricklaying | Comments Off
Good paint brushes are worth the price, although they nevertheless cost a surprising amount of money these days. If you choose not to Find a Painter to do the work for you on Mr-Skill, then you can extend the life of your paintbrushes – and experience the pleasures of working with a well run-in brush, by following these simple tips:
 London Painters know the trick of moistening the brush right through with the cleaning medium that they plan to use later, which could be water, turpentine or a specialized liquid. This prevents the brush fibres from absorbing the paint, saving you money, and making cleaning a pleasure later too.
- Don’t dip the brush so deeply in the paint that the heart fills with paint too. This space is there to provide flexibility in the head, not to act as a reservoir for generating paint spills.
- Work the brush back and forth against the job. This not only provides a better finish, it also helps the brush maintain its shape.
- After you have thoroughly cleaned the used paintbrush using the appropriate cleaning medium, squirt a dollop of dishwashing fluid into the heart of the brush and work it through to the outside with
 your fingers. Rinse clean under running water making sure it comes clear on the inside too, and then lightly flick the brush dry somewhere where you can stand a little mess.
- Finally, reshape the damp paintbrush with your fingers, and leave it somewhere suitable to dry. That way, it will be perfectly ready for you when you need it next.
If this sounds like too much work for you, then you could always Get Painting Quotes on Mr-Skill instead. You’ll be surprised at the quality of their work, and the amount of money that you could save when you use our painters, compared to general market rates.
Tags: absorb, brush, clean, clear, dishwash, extend life, fiber, fibre, find a painter, finger, flick, fluid, heart, liquid, london painters, maintain, mess, moist, moisten, paint, paintbrush, painting quotes, reshape, restore, rinse, save money, shape, soap, spill, tip, turpentine, water
Posted in Painting & Decorating | Comments Off
Posted in Bricklaying on Sep 07
Sometimes finishing off the joints between bricks can seem like a never-ending chore, unless you have years of experience as some Bricklayers in London may. This is because bricks are naturally made products, and have all sorts of holes and cracks where plaster may collect. If you are contemplating a DIY job such as building a smaller set of steps, then you can try to bridge your experience gap with tips like these.
•  Buy a decent set of tools. I cannot over-emphasise the difference that a shiny new float or builder’s trowel can make, and these are inexpensive too. So throw away your rusty set and make a fresh start on your next job.
• Decide on the type of joint you want. There are a variety of different strokes for different folks, and the right solution is usually the one that you prefer the most. Some people like full grouted joints requiring fewer tools, while others want recessed, hand-tooled ones that take a little extra time. Remember to specify what joints you may require when calling for Bricklaying Quotes on Mr-Skill, as this may affect the price.
• Don’t be shy with masking tape. This may be frowned on by professionals, but can be a dab trick for weekend builders such as you and me. Time and effort spent improving techniques this way, can produce really professional looking jobs that you can be proud of too.
•  Use a grout bag or grout gun. Believe me; these make the difference between pain and pleasure. This is because they are not only quick to use, but they also make a whole lot less mess. And yes, you could even save a little plaster, although this is often more in the salesperson’s mind.
• Use a jointer’s tool to create recessed grout lines. This is essential equipment for scooping out surplus grout material, and I doubt you will Find a Bricklayer anywhere who does not have at least one in their kit. The trick is to add a little more material when required, as opposed to applying too much in the first place.
Not an awfully difficult job to do, although grouting bricks can be fiddly and frustrating. Attempt the job yourself by all means if you have lots of patience and spare time. Otherwise, why not Find a Skilled and Rated Tradesman on Mr-Skill instead, to take the hassles (and the cement) off your busy hands.
Tags: add, brick, bricklayers in london, bricklaying quotes, cement, clean, crack, DIY, experience, find a bricklayer, finish, float, flush, full, grout, hint, hole, joint, line, mask, masking tape, mess, natural, new, plaster, professional, recess, render, rust, save, scoop, shiny, skill, specify, step, technique, tip, tool, trowel
Posted in Bricklaying | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Jul 03
All of us start off in life with the simplest of workshops, especially when we move away from parents to our first own homes, and need to make a quick adjustment.  If we are lucky enough we have a garage to store our tools. Otherwise we have to keep the few tools we have in bedroom cupboards, use the kitchen table as a workbench, and generally risk criticism from you-know-who. If you have passed this point in time and are ready to upgrade, here are a few tips to get you salivating.
I agree with you that it sounds like Taking Coals to Newcastle to Find a Carpenter to help you set things up. On the other hand, if you are busy and lack the heavy tools you need to do the job, this could just make a great deal of sense. Mr-Skill makes it really easy to get a couple of Carpentry Quotes, and you don’t have to accept any if they turn out over budget.
You need to have a proper plan before you start. By this I mean of scheme of things where you have sufficient working and storage space that’s properly separated for safety. If you are planning to afford a lathe next Spring, by all means plan it in. Who knows, you may influence somebody’s Christmas Gift list.
This time you really should do something about decent extraction. Modern power tools create a deal of dust and most of this is bad for us because of the chemicals present. I know a Carpenter in London who  specializes in creating home workshops for the rich and famous. He refuses any job, no matter how grand it may seem to be, if extraction is not part of the basic plan.
Lighting and electricity are an essential part of any workshop, and here there should be no skimping for safety’s sake. You need comprehensive lighting without shadows, and a ring of counter-top-height plug sockets all the way around the room. Do remember to ask Mr-Skill to send an Electrician around to do this bit for you. Some power tools are still are not properly earthed back to ground.
Keeping the floor clean is another thing to think about. A screed over an under-floor heating grid is the best dream that I could think of, and if you bolt everything to the walls there’s even a chance that the floor could get swept from time to time. Besides, how else will you ever find the springs and screws that mysteriously go to ground?
Tags: adjust, bedroom, bolt, budget, carpenter london, carpenter quote, chemical, clean, cupboard, dust, electric, extraction, find, find a carpenter, floor, garage, heat, help, home, kitchen, light, plan, scheme, screed, separate, shadow, simple, socket, storage, store, sweep, table, tip, tool, upgrade, wall, work, workshop
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery on Apr 12
A dog kennel is not necessarily just the place where your dog sleeps at night. It is also a statement of a dog’s territory  and the place your dog can call their own. Kennels are especially handy of they are outside and it rains. All in all a good dog kennel is a great asset to the dog, the owner, and their home.
While wood is expensive you could still knock a kennel together for less than the price of a proprietary one, although you might have to do this yourself in the absence of any Joiner Quotes. This does not necessarily have to be a daunting task. After all, a kennel is a floor, four walls and two roof sections nailed together – if you can build a house of cards you have the picture already.
The most important things about kennels are waterproofing, thermal qualities and size. All are equally important. Pooch must say dry in rain and snow, keep nice and warm, and be able to walk in and out again without stooping. This is important for a dog’s muscular and bone health. They like to curl up tight inside a kennel. But, they also need to be able to get up and stretch.
A Joiner in London or another busy city may decide to fit a flap across the door. The purpose of this is three-fold. To keep out bright city lights, to keep in warmth and to make a dog feel at home.
There seems to be no end to innovative dog kennel designs, and you probably need to know what you have in mind before you Find a Joiner (if you think that this is really necessary). I mean, why build a ladder when pussycat could jump right up onto the viewing platform?
This could be a fun project to complete with the kids. If short of ideas, you could search the internet for tips, or find the right book in a bookstore. Mr-Skill says enjoy your dog kennel project. Good luck Rover.
Tags: carpenter quote, carpenters london, curl, design, dog, dry, find a carpenter, find a joiner, flap, floor, handy, home, idea, joiner london, joiner quote, kennel, light, rain, roof, size, sleep, snow, stretch, task, territory, thermal, tip, wall, warm, waterproof, wood
Posted in Carpentry & Joinery | Comments Off
Posted in Handyman Services on Mar 18
From time to time every homeowner is faced with the need to cut a hole in a piece of glass. This may be to screw a mirror on a wall, install an extractor in a window pane, or just insert a pipe through the side of a fish tank. Fortunately these days you can usually hire a gadget called a dremel tool to make your life a little easier – this is a small hand-held tool that can be used to engrave or cut glass using a diamond-tipped attachment.
 Advisory Note 1: If glass breaks or shatters it can cause serious injury and an urgent need for first aid. You must wear safety glasses and safety gloves, and ensure that your body, especially your face and arms are well-protected with clothing too.
Advisory Note 2: Practice on a piece of scrap glass until you have a good idea how to use the tool correctly. Mr-Skill is not responsible for damage or loss caused beyond our control.
Perhaps this is one of the cases when you really do need to Find a Handyman with Glass Cutting Experience? If you are not a practical person this could be a good idea. If not, this is what you could do yourself:
o Measure and mark out the cut-out area with a permanent black marker, preferably using a stencil for accuracy. Re-measure and double-check before proceeding.
o Protect the area on both sides of the glass where you will be working with transparent packing tape.
o  Place the glass on a level working area making sure that it does not rock, and rub a new bar of soap all over the taped area where you will be cutting. This decreases friction and the risk of damage.
o First put on your safety gear. Then delicately and gently cut out the glass through the tape using the dremel tool and a suitable diamond-tipped attachment. Take your time and let the tool do the work. When the glass and cutting tip begin to heat up, use water to cool them down. Remember, if you push too hard the glass will break.
When the job is done, you can finish off the cut edge with 150 grit sandpaper and clean it nicely. This could be a risky job though. Why not rather get a Handyman Quote on Mr-Skill instead?
Tags: attachment, careful, clothing, cut, delicate, diamond, dremel, drill, extractor, find a handyman, friction, gentle, glass, glasses, gloves, handyman london, handyman quote, heat, hole, injury, mark, measure, mirror, protect, safety, sandpaper, soap, stencil, tape, tip, tool, water
Posted in Handyman Services | Comments Off
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