Posted in December 2008

Sash Window Draught Problems

Source: Silver Saints
Wednesday 31st December 2008, 4:01pm

As temperatures fall and wind speeds rise along with the price of fuel, it''s time to consider plugging those gaps which are so often a feature of London''s millions of sash windows.

Draught Proofing Sash Windows

As temperatures fall and wind speeds rise along with the price of fuel, it''s time to consider plugging those gaps which are so often a feature of London''s millions of sash windows.

Silver Saints Handymen have years of experience in maintaining sash windows and draught proofing is one of the services we offer to keep your home or office snug this winter.

London has many companies specialising in sash window restoration but you will usually be asked to part with several hundreds of pounds per window for their services. If your window is basically sound but rattles a bit in the wind and lets in draughts, then Silver Saints offers a unique value-for-money draught proofing service.

We will professionally draught-proof your sash windows for an all-in price of only £ 95+vat per window. What is more, if any of your sash cords needs replacing, we can do this at the same time for only £ 8+vat per cord.

We will dismantle your sash window and apply high quality draught-proofing materials to all surfaces which can admit draughts. We will then reassemble the window, make good and leave your window smart and draught-free.

How can we do this for such a low price?

At Silver Saints, we realised that companies offering sash window restoration were offering more than many of us needed, if all you need is draught proofing. So, we started experimenting on our own windows at home to find a cost-effective solution to draughts and have come up with an approach which offers unique value for money. There are no short-cuts. Every surface which can admit a draught is sealed with the highest quality materials. What we leave out is the wider restoration of the window which is what takes most time and is where most companies make their money. Because our Handymen have many years experience of working on sash windows, they are able to work quickly and effectively and so reduce labour costs. This is how we can offer the Silver Saints customer unrivalled value for money.

To enquire further or to book a handyman to draught proof your sash windows call us on 0207 0999 199 or send an email to fixit@silversaints.co.uk

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LCD TV Installation

Source: Silver Saints
Wednesday 31st December 2008, 3:53pm

Hanging an LCD TV or Plasma screen is one of those jobs that most people would prefer to have a professional do for them.

LCD TV Installation

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Why close down?

Source: Silver Saints
Tuesday 30th December 2008, 3:15pm

I was surprised to see a report stating that thousands of small businesses have decided to shut down for two weeks over the Christmas period to save on their electricity bills.

I was surprised to see a report, click here to read it, stating that thousands of small businesses have decided to shut down for two weeks over the Christmas period to save on their electricity bills.

I can’t believe that small businesses would close to business because they want to reduce their electricity bill. After all the biggest liability for most businesses is payroll and they still have to pay their employees during the shutdown period. There is no doubt that things do slow down over Christmas and businesses know that it is going to be their quietest time of year (besides retailers and airports of course). They know that a large portion of their employees will take holiday anyway and allot of their clients will shut down over the Christmas period.

Current legislation dictates that permanent employees are entitled to 24 days holiday each year. All small business owners and managers know how frustrating it is to have employees request holiday during busy periods. By closing down for two weeks over Christmas the small business owner gets to ensure that at least 10 of each employees 24 days statutory holidays are taken over the quietest period of the year.

Companies closing down over the Christmas period has never been a contentious issue as it corresponds with school holidays, a time of year when extended families want to come together and pretty much everyone wants to get out of England to a warmer climate or at least go skiing. The fact is that even though they don’t really have a say in it, employees want to be on holiday over the Christmas period.

Now I may or may not believe all I have just argued, but I think it is allot more believable than small businesses are shutting down for two weeks to save electricity. One other thing that caught my attention in this very week article was the photo comparing traffic across Westminster Bridge this December with a December day a few years ago. The picture they have chosen to demonstrate a past December day was the ‘last ride’ parade of the 159 Routemaster bus. You can even see the police motorcycle escorts in the photo!

Silver Saints decided to stay open to business this Christmas and we have been very busy. Most likely because many of our competitors have closed down until 5th Jan.

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Putting things right

Source: Silver Saints
Tuesday 30th December 2008, 1:02pm

One of our handymen was asked to assemble an ikea shelving unit last week. This is normally a very straight forward job, assembling flatpack furniture is something our handyman service does all the time.

One of our handymen was asked to assemble an ikea shelving unit last week. This is normally a very straight forward job, assembling flatpack furniture is something our handyman service does all the time.

There was an added difficulty on this job however, the shelving unit was almost 2m wide and 2m high and needed to be assembled on its side and then lifted in to position. Unfortunately there was not a 2mX2m clear space anywhere in the flat we were working in. The handyman decided to attempt to assemble the wardrobe with it in an upright position. This was going well, he managed to get the outer frame together, but as soon as he tried to move the bookcase in to a position where he could add the individual shelving units the frame colapsed, damaging the laminated chipboard wood it was made from beyond repair.

Knowing the difficult conditions we were working on, the customer was understanding, but did expect us to replace the bookcase and have it assembled by the next day. We tried to explain that the most logical way to deal with this situation was for him to order a new bookcase from Ikea, have it delivered and we would put it together for him and reimburse him the cost of the replacement bookcase. But he would not accept this solution and insisted that the bookcase be replaced and assembled the following day.

So two of us set off to Croydon Ikea at 19:30 that evening, we bought a replacement shelving unit, had a couple of hot dogs and drove across London to N16 to deliver the replacement unit.

The next day our handymen returned and assembled the shelving unit, this time disassembling the bed in the room to allow enough space for the unit to be assembled on its side.

With a four hour round trip to replace the bookcase, the £110 cost of the wardrobe and the extra 1.5 hours of labour we completed the job and charged the customer a grand total of £72+VAT. I don't need the Dragon's Den panel to tell me that this equation does not equal profit, but it did equal a satisfied customer. Which at this stage of our business is just as important!

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London Handymen and their tools

Source: Silver Saints
Tuesday 30th December 2008, 12:54pm

One of the universal truths about men is they all love power tools! One thing you learn pretty quickly when you use power tools on a regular basis is that price and quality do count.

One of the universal truths about men is they all love power tools! One thing you learn pretty quickly when you use power tools on a regular basis is that price and quality do count.

Given the size of jobs our handymen take on, most lasting between half an hour and half a day, the only power tool they are guaranteed to us on a daily basis is their cordless drills.

After many years of using the XRP Dewalt Cordless 14.4v , we experienced a string of product malfunctions when Dewalt redesigned it in 2007. So we moved to the Makita Lithium Ion 14.4V Combi-Drill, these are fantastic pieces of kit but at £320, these seemed a bit on the expensive side.

We are now moving towards the Makita BHR162RFE 14.4V Lithium-Ion SDS Drill , these aren't sold by screwfix but can be picked up online for around £230. So far we think they are great. Thanks to the Lithium Ion battery they only weigh 2kg and give consistent power throughout the day. Because of its an SDS drill it gets through even the hardest of walls. It is a bit heavy to use for driving in screws, so our handymen also carry a lightweight 9.6v cordless screwdriver.

So the next time your £25 drill you were over excited to get from Argos lets you down, you know what drill to upgrade to. But if you don't want to spend the best part of £250 on a top or the line drill, just give us a call and we'll drill the hole for you.

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Not your average London Handyman Service

Source: Silver Saints
Tuesday 30th December 2008, 11:14am

Many people who use our London handyman service for the first time are pleasantly surprised when a well spoken, polite and neatly turned out person turns up to tackle their 'to do' list.

All of our handymen come from professional backgrounds:

Don is an Oxford graduate, was a pilot in the Royal Air Force, a government liaison in China, Chairman of a Charity and also has a honours degree in french studies. He picked up most of his handyman knowledge and skills while renovating his own and friends properties. Don has been working as a professional handyman for six years now and is attracted to this job because no two days are the same.

Nick graduated from Brunel University with an engineering degree, he worked for KPMG for twenty years as a management consultant, is an avid yachtsman and skippers commercially owned yachts in his spare time. Nick describes himself as semi-retired even though he works a full five day week. The aspect of this job he likes the best is meeting new and interesting people everyday.

Robin has been in the building trade working as a Quantity Surveyor for over twenty years, he is an advanced motorcyclists and often takes groups of motorcyclists on guided trips to Europe. His depth of building and technical knowledge is massive and he pursues carpentry projects as a hobby.

It should be obvious from the profiles above that we are no ordinary handyman service, when you book a Silver Saints handyman, you are getting someone who can communicate well, is used to working in high pressure environments, has excellent problem solving skills and have chosen to do this job because they understand the importance of customer service and love DIY.

All our handymen have had successful professional careers but have left the confinement of the office behind to pursue a flexible, fun and rewarding career as a mobile professional London handyman.

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London Handyman, falling property prices and the credit crunch

Source: Silver Saints
Tuesday 30th December 2008, 10:09am

London Handyman Service discusses credit crunch and its possible effect on the handyman industry.

It seems that you can’t watch the news or open a paper these days without hearing about the ‘credit crunch’ and the related fall in property prices. But are households feeling the pinch just yet or is it only mortgage lenders and estate agents who are struggling, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7385195.stm?

There is no doubt that when property prices are on the rise, homeowners, landlords and developers are all too happy to pour money into their properties. Most companies that are in the property or property services industry have benefitted from a decade of rising property prices and a long period of economic growth. But now that the boom appears to be turning to gloom will London homeowners begin to tighten their belts? Will they still be willing to fork out the best part of £100 an hour for a London plumber or electrician?

Well the answer is that they don’t have to and haven’t had to for about the last seven years. What a lot of people are starting to realise is that they don’t need a specialist plumber to fix a dripping tap or replace a toilet flush, it doesn’t take a qualified electrician to replace a light switch or ceiling rose, why get a carpenter to plane a door? All these small jobs, the kind a good DIY-er would tackle themselves, can be done by a specialist handyman. There are a number of London handyman services, most charge about half the hourly rate of a specialist tradesman.

The only worry about getting a handyman to do the work that is typically associated with specialist trades is over quality of workmanship. There are a lot of handyman services out there, but very few can offer consistently good handymen. Silver Saints only employ handymen with a professional background with a minimum of three years experience within the handyman industry. This means that they can guarantee you will get a handyman that is polite, communicates well and has a wide range of experience and knowledge every time you book.

So as the upside of owning a property becomes less of a sure thing, I think a lot of people are going to start realising the value of handyman services over specialist tradesmen to get all those small plumbing, electrical and carpentry jobs done.

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