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Posts Tagged ‘white<’
Posted in Bricklaying on Nov 25
We get queries from time to time from homeowners concerned about the efflorescence on their walls. Sometimes these walls have been rendered, while at other times they are raw masonry. In all cases the powder is caused by leeching salts contained in the raw materials. So there’s little point in trying to Find the Builder who built the wall –  although you could help avoid the problem by employing a professional bricklayer, such as those whose services we advertise here.
The ground salts are contained in natural products like sand, clay and stone. When water penetrates the material it carries the salts out to the surface. There the water evaporates leaving the characteristic white deposit behind. This can largely be avoided by preventing water intrusion and applying a surface sealer. When you get Bricklaying Quotes from Mr-Skill, you should discuss such matters and agree solutions.
• Brushing the efflorescence away is only a temporary solution, although theoretically all the ground salt will leech out in time.
• The permanent solution lies in preventing water from entering the material in the first place. If it is  intruding from the outside, then this is relatively easily cured. If the wall is a retaining one though then a big job lies ahead as every London Builder knows. That’s because a leak is only stopped at its source, and that’s behind the wall!
• If you are lucky, then the problem is the result of a permeable surface on the weather side. The solution in this case is to allow the wall to dry out, thoroughly brush the surface clean, and then apply a proprietary clear sealer.
The Bricklayers advertising on Mr-Skill are properly trained and know how to mitigate against irritating efflorescence. Their rates are generally lower too, because they compete among themselves for work. There is no charge for requesting quotes from us and no obligation to accept them either. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect consumer-driven solution you’ve been looking for?
Tags: bricklaying quotes, brush, clay, clean, deposit, dry, efflorescence, enter, evaporate, find a bricklayer, ground, intrusion, leech, london bricklayer, masonry, natural, outside, penetrate, permeable, powder, prevent, render, retain, salt, sand, seal, stone, wall, water, white
Posted in Bricklaying | Comments Off
Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Oct 21
Funny, isn’t it, how fashions keep on going round and round. All that’s as true of building materials as it is of clothes. The difference is that your home is going to have to wear its finishes for far longer than you are going to hang on to your hat. For this reason it’s best to know what you are looking for before you get your Tiling Quotes.
 Did I mention that I went to school with a London Tiler? Well he wasn’t a tiler then, but he did become one good enough to successfully start his own flooring firm. This was the advice he gave when asked:
• Stick to natural materials wherever possible. This is because they are timeless and you can always find an acceptable replacement, even if a tile breaks after fifty years.
• Travertine is often beautifully marked and coloured having been paid down by rivers over centuries, and is soft and easy to work with. In the fancy shops it is also called onyx and alabaster.
• Limestone is another sedimentary rock primarily white or light coloured, but also tinted by small impurities. It is often used in commercial developments where the varying thicknesses are an architectural asset.
• Slate is traditionally used for flooring, although new techniques have seen it applied to walls too. It is extremely durable making it ideal for outside use. However quality is unpredictably varied.
•  Marble is valued for its mirror finish after polishing, and has been used for cladding buildings for thousands of years. It is probably the most expensive of all the options, and the most copied by ceramic tile manufacturers.
• Sandstone provides an attractive varied finish on feature walls, although good effect is often only achieved by hand-sorting tiles. It is brittle and unsuitable for floors.
Now that you have made a choice why not Find a Tiler on Mr-Skill right away? You will have range of choices when you shop through us. You may even expect savings of up to 30% on labour against normal rates thanks to our buying power.
Tags: brittle, Building, colour, durable, easy, effect, expensive, fashion, find a floor contractor, floor, light, limestone, london tiler, marble, mark, natural, outside, polish, replace, sandstone, sedement, slate, soft, thick, tile, tiling quotes, travertine, vary, wall, white, work
Posted in Tiling & Flooring | 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 General Building on Jun 30
Bathroom design seems to go around every few years and then eventually finish off where it started, at least in terms of colours. Not so many years ago black  sanitary ware was all the rage before designers returned to white again. I was at a home decorating show last week where once again black bathroom fittings seemed back in vogue. I wonder why.
o Could it be that manufacturers are trying new tactics to get us to start all over again in our bathrooms? I’ve heard that sales are down all over Britain because of the recession. I sometimes wonder what happens to the old fittings that were once the source of so much pride and joy. Perhaps next time I get a Building Quote I should insist on a trade-in on my old bath? Knowing builders like I do, I suspect I already know the answer.
o I believe I may have already mentioned a Builder in London that I know well. His theory is that we have become restless in our materialistic world and are forever searching for new kicks. I know that car  designers tweak shapes to make last year’s model dated. Do they cause the need for change, or do we already want it, I wonder.
o My personal opinion is that if as a species we do not keep moving forward then we shall stagnate. We know this intuitively and that is why we keep reinventing things and looking up new recipes. This may be all fine and dandy, but to be honest, I am not a fan of black bathrooms. So I shall sit this round out at least, and right now have no need to Find a Builder.
Are you thinking of a new bathroom though? At Mr-Skill we list builders that we recommend in just about every United Kingdom town. Our service costs the consumer nothing and we do not mark prices up. A perfect bathroom of any colour that you choose depends upon a competent builder. Find yours here.
Tags: bath, bathroom, black, builder, builder london, building quote, change, colour, competent, date, design, fashion, find, find a builder, fitter, fitting, manufacturer, rage, recession, recommend, sale, tactic, trick, vogue, white
Posted in General Building | Comments Off
Posted in Tiling & Flooring on Apr 14
What will the bathroom of this summer turn out to be? For what will Bath Fitters in London be quoting this time? Will it be for virginal white victorian bathtubs on four heavy legs  again? Oh, how yesterday-ish, the modern dreamers say. Today is about light, brightness and the illusion of space. Perhaps you do not agree. Perhaps I do not either. Nevertheless, let us at least listen to what they are trying to tell us. We might learn something too.
Perhaps one should rather Find a Bath Fitter to create a symphony of reflective mirrors, granite tops and white cabinetry. Across a broad mosaic floor, a shower could accommodate a pair of lovers easily. And everywhere bright, glorious light filtering naturally through the ceiling with a glimpse of plants through a window beyond?
Perhaps not. Perhaps a bathroom is a more serious place where we go to do our business. No time for lingering here. Just teutonic space efficiency – modern white fittings offset by sober dark wood cabinets.
 Maybe a bathroom is a lover’s tryst. An open wet room where no secrets hide. An extension to the bedroom where more exciting things await. Why hide your charms behind closed doors, some people say.
Personally, I think that a bathroom should be an extension of the outside environment. A private garden or a view across the Bay of Capri – such as the one designed by an architectural genius to the right. No matter how little I can afford, I should still like to be able to lie back in a bath and connect with nature.
I for one am going to Get Bathroom Fitter Quotes the instant that I win the Lotto. How about you? Will you be doing that too? In the meantime happy dreaming, for of such small things are the sweetest dreams made.
Tags: bath fitter london, bath fitter quote, bath fitting london, bath fitting quote, bathroom, bathroom fitter london, bathroom fitter quote, bathroom fitting london, bathroom fitting quote, bright, cabinet, ceiling, charm, dark, design, efficient, environmnent, find a bath fitter, find a bathroom fitter, Garden, granite, light, lover, mirror, mosaic, secret, serious, shower, space, style, summer, victorian, view, wet, wetroom, white, window
Posted in Tiling & Flooring | Comments Off
I don’t think we paint our ceilings nearly frequently enough. That’s because they are some distance from us and we hate cricking our necks to check them out. As a result they end up yellowing and can no longer do their job of making a room  look so much bigger, brighter and airier than when they were once so pristine white. If you agree with me, then maybe this is a good time of the year to Find a Decorator.
A ceiling that is lighter than the walls makes it seem higher and the room correspondingly larger too. Personally I don’t like home ceilings painted in colours although I do grant that there are exceptions too. Here’s how to go about the job
o Painters London Wide refuse to do a ceiling job without proper scaffolding, and for your back’s sake I recommend you hire some instead of falling off the ladder while applying sealer and masking tape. Another useful tip is to put down drop-sheets and mask off the walls and skirting boards – an hour spent this way will save hours later scraping and cleaning off when all you really want is your room back.
o Seal all the gaps between the cornice and the ceiling with white acrylic filler and your finger before you start. Remember to smooth off the job with a damp cloth as you go along.
o Cut-in the edges with a one inch pointing brush making sure that the cornice-to-wall joints are tidy when viewed from the floor. My take on this is not to paint the bottom return on the coving so as not to disturb the existing line.
 o When done you can start to roll the ceiling, working in small sections back and forth to achieve effective coverage. If you do not do this properly your patchy ceiling will need a second coat – avoid this by doing the ceiling painting job right first time.
o Do not be in a hurry to remove the masking tape – in fact it is better to do this the following day. This is because you want the skin of paint to dry first, and avoid wet paint on the masking tape messing up your walls as well.
Do not be fooled into thinking that this is an easy job although it is within the scope of the reasonably fit. Mr-Skill could be an easier way to get your ceilings painted and they could help you Get Decorator Quotes too. One final hint – If you do the job yourself, remember to wear old clothes that cover your entire body, gloves, a hat and a face mask.
Tags: acrylic, airier, bigger, brighter, ceiling, clean, cloth, clothes, cornice, cover, coving, damp, decorating job london, decorating quote, decorator london, decorator quote, drop sheet, filler, find a decorator, find a painter, hat, job, ladder, mask, mess, paint, painter london, painter quote, painting job london, painting quote, point, roll, room, scaffold, smooth, tape, white, wipe
Posted in Painting & Decorating | Comments Off
Do you still long for days spent in sun-drenched Tuscany while living in the northern hemisphere? No worries, you could convert the yard outside your house to Little Italy for fewer pounds than you think. Are larger tiled Tuscan retro homes springing up all around your humble home too? No worries, you can make your wealthy neighbors jealous with a some imagination, and just a little money.
 o On outside walls, bring back the colors of Italy by painting them with earthy reds and oranges, muted butter yellows or even creamy stucco.
o Find copperware and copper hanging planter baskets at thrift shops and hang then on your newly painted walls.
o Now add some big, bold terracotta pots to your garden landscape and plant them out. Italian colors are red, green and white – choose plants accordingly.
o At salvage yards and garage sales, find interesting cast iron artifacts to create a rustic feel. Place them against walls for an added laid-back effect.
o Why not get really creative too, and build a romantic grotto with an iron archway and tall plants all round like landscapers in London often do? A touch of mystery and a fresh view around a corner is the secret to an interesting garden. Add a tinkling fountain for additional effect.
o What is missing still? I almost forgot white and green window boxes just below the windowsills. Red geraniums against glossy green leaves complete that perfect Tuscan picture. If you still think that something is missing, find a landscaper for fresh ideas.
Do you lack the imagination to follow through on a job like this? No worries either, just get a few landscaper quotes on Mr Skill, and take it further on from there.
Tags: archway, cast iron, copper, copperware, find a gardener, find a landscaper, gardener quotes, gardeners london, green, grotto, landscaper quotes, landscapers london, metal, orange, plant, red, stucco, terracotta pot, tuscan, tuscan garden, tuscany, white, window, window box, yellow
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping, Inspirations | Comments Off
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