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Want to know what we have been up to recently, have a look at our blog to read about the jobs we have planned or recently carried out.
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Handyman Blog
Another tea break favourite...
  Now I'm just waiting for them them to invent the multi-sized drill bit! My multi-construction drill bits are made by Bosch, and are available from a great little online retailer called ITS. They are also available from Tool Station and other suppliers and brands are available out there.
Hope you are enjoying the mug shots!
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How Smart People Remodel Their Kitchen
Most of us purchase our kitchens from our nearest DIY store, but don’t get locked into the process of using one store to supply and fit your whole kitchen. It might be convenient but it also extremely expensive. More on this later. Use a free kitchen design service from your local DIY store but get them to experiment with a few different options, and use this free service to help resolve the practical stuff like utilities. Buy the kitchen you want from where you want, but don’t buy your taps, sink, waste, appliances or worktops from them. You’ll notice that during sale periods it is the cabinets/doors that are reduced. Everything else is full price and the mark-up can be astonishing. Plumbing items like sink, taps etc can come from your local plumbing merchant (often more than 60% cheaper), worktops (even solid wood) can come from online retailers like Screw Fix (up to 50% cheaper) and appliances can be chosen in store locally and then ordered online from more competitive shops like www.bootskitchenappliance.com (around 40% cheaper). Watch out for fitting accessories that have been added to your bill as these will also carry a high mark-up and can be sourced elsewhere for a fraction of the price. Look for things like worktop joining bolts, mitre bond adhesive and oils that may be sold at inflated prices. Ask for these to be removed from your bill.
Dismantling the old kitchen is an expense in itself, but doing this yourself could save you upwards of £100. Don’t get stuck when you get to the kitchen sink – if you spot some isolation valves on the hot and cold supply pipes, close them and you are away!
By following these simple tips you’ll be able to save up to half your total purchase costs and get your kitchen fully installed for less than half the price quoted by your DIY store. You didn’t hear it from me. Sssshhhhh. |
My Favourite Tea Break... at the moment
 Hi there reader, you’ve probably gathered that from time to time, a handyman needs a tea break and it is during these special intervals that he ponders all things handyman related and puts them down, in this blog. Today – I share one of my favourite products with you… read on to find out more…
I’m often asked by my customers to wall mount their new TV or add a new socket but we have all become fussier about how things look, and rightly so – no one likes the sight of unsightly wires. Time and time again I have found myself introducing customers to one of my favourite
 products, a really neatly designed trunking that hides those wires out of sight and fits in beautifully with your décor. I mount it above the skirting on horizontal runs and it then looks just like traditional Taurus skirting board. It is clean lined and so looks great as it is, but it can be keyed and painted to match your skirting or walls. My customers use it for new sockets, TV mounts, speaker cables – in fact any kind of cable they want to hide. It makes that old square edge trunking that electricians use look second rate. Of course, if customers want to go the extra mile then I chase out the wall and bury the cables – but not everybody wants the expense so this surface mounted trunking is a brilliant alternative. Now that I’ve shared it with you – maybe you’ll find some use for it too. And if you’d rather someone else fitted it for you, just give me a call – that’s my job and I love it.D-Line trunking and accessories is available in various sizes from B&Q and other DIY stores. |
Tea break, will that be cash or cheque?
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 Of course, nobody really likes paying taxes, and for most of us income tax and national insurance contributions are somewhat painlessly deducted before the pay cheque hits the bank. Understandably, when we pay our tradespeople, we might not consider that this payment will include their national insurance and income tax deductions and, as difficult as it is, they will have to put these aside to settle up at the end of the financial year. For some businesses with a bigger turnover, there is of course VAT to collect too.
Personally, I love living in this country. My family are kept in good health without charge, our community is a safe and friendly place to be and when my son grows older there is a chance he will be able to attend a good, well resourced, local school. It’s no surprise then that I feel I should pay my way living here just like everyone does.
I also wonder, if a tradesperson chooses to avoid deductions to pocket a bit more cash, how else might they extend their margins? Perhaps by using inferior materials, or working in your home without proper insurance for you and your property, or working quickly without quality… It starts to sound quite risky doesn’t it!
That is why Handyman House & Garden customers can settle their bill in any way convenient to them, in the knowledge that we are a professional and trustworthy business with values just like yours. |
Tea Break...
 Home for a cup of tea then out again to get up onto a roof in Croft Road. Hands smell of linseed oil from glazing all those windows today. Wonderful. Bit of a bone to pick with the planning department. They insist on preserving sash windows in conservation areas and don't permit even the most convincing of UPVC sash window replacements. But time and time again, I am finding that the people living in these draughty, cold rooms with old and tatty sash windows are tenants, and landlords are unsurprisingly without incentive to do anything about these windows - other than make sure they don't fall out. Surely that leaves people who are least able to get on the property ladder out in the cold (literally) because some very comfortable planning officials decide that they can't have 'affordable' double glazing like the rest of us! I feel a campaign coming on... |
Busy week ahead again, no complaints there...
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Another fantastic busy week ahead. Here are some of the jobs I have lined up:
A handyman is never happier than when he is busy, and every day is different to the last. |
We've been busy quoting for you...
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Here is what Handyman House & Garden have been quoting for this week:
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