Find a Handyman you can trust in Abbots Langley.

There are a bunch of things a handyman can do around the house, so if you’re looking for a reason to hire one, you’d definitely find plenty. First and foremost, a handyman is basically a well versed, skilled and experienced professional who possesses the ability to carry out a plethora of tasks as well as repairs. While not all local authorities require handymen to have a license or carry an insurance policy, some handymen do have insurance. Generally, their rates vary based on their experience as well as specialities.

Handymen are able to handle a multitude of potential jobs in and around the house. These ranges from small tasks, installations, assembly, indoor or outdoor building or repair jobs. They are available to help out with a wide array of odd jobs around the home at a very reasonable price. So, what are some of the jobs a handyman can do in a home? Let’s take a look!

• Odd jobs. This encapsulates any small job you’d want done around the house. It could be a repair, installation or maintenance task.
• Gutter cleaning and repair. The idea of cleaning a gutter may seem hassle free, but there can be a couple of difficulties which includes the use of ladders and the risk of falling. When you hire a handyman to do this task, he does not only clean but also check for any damage or repair needs and much more.
• Painting. If you’re not able to handle some of your painting projects or perhaps you’re just not confident of how its going to turn out, it may be in your best interest to reach out to a skilled handyman.
• General carpentry and home repairs, these includes shelving, cabinets, bookcases, baseboards, framing, doors, countertops, moulding and more.

A sudden appearance of graffiti on your property carried out by some vandals can be a real concern. Since you know it’s your responsibility to have it cleaned, the question becomes would you rather call in a professional or have it cleaned yourself. While calling in a professional may be costly, removing graffiti by yourself won’t be easy either especially if it’s done on brick. Bricks are known to be porous which enables paint to sink with ease inside all of the surface’s grooves. Unlike wood, they can’t be scraped and if it happens to be an internal wall, it can’t be sand- or water-blasted. So, what is the best way to remove graffiti?

Well, your best bet would be to incorporate chemical and gel masonry stripper. And while stripping of the surface is not a complex task, it does involve a number of applications of stripper and multiple scrubbing which makes it very time consuming.

Basically, a fresh and wet paint should be soaked up with am absorbent material without wiping the paint in order to spread the stain. Once done, you can then proceed to apply a suitable solvent like white spirit. After this, wash the area using a degreasing agent taking care in the disposal of the run-off material.

With dried paint, simply scrape off the paint as far as possible and apply a paint removal using the following steps:

• Put on your safety gear like a face mask, safety googles and gloves.
• Apply the paint stripper over the brick wall with a brush starting from a corner at the top of the wall and then working outward and downward.
• Leave for the specified amount of time by the manufacturer. Then start to scrub off the masonry paint stripper beginning at the top of the wall again. Remove as many paints as possible.
• Use rags and warm water to wash the wall and allow it to air dry.
• Repeat the process over again to remove every form of stubborn paint that’s left.
• Use a white vinegar to spray the stripped wall and wipe off any residue of paint with a brush and rinse with water.

Unwanted graffiti by a random artist on your property, be it residential or commercial, can be extremely frustration to say the least. Not only does it encourage further acts of vandalism and reduces the value of your property, but it can also deter your visitors or customers. The list goes on and on, however, one thing you should know is removing graffiti can be a tedious and time-consuming task. And that’s exactly where graffiti prevention comes in! By taking preventative measures, you can avoid having to incur the expenses or pass through the stress that comes with graffiti removal. So, what are the preventative actions you can utilize to deter such vandals? Well, there are a number of measures that can be incorporated, these includes maintenance, fencing, paint colour, protective coatings, vegetation, security, lighting as well as report.

• Maintenance involves keeping your property clean and tidy to pass the message across that you take good care of your property and any act of vandalism wouldn’t be tolerated.
• Fencing your property with a metal cyclone or natural materials such as bamboo or bush reed or bar fencing which doesn’t offer the flat continuous surface which graffiti vandals prefer. Textured surfaces are also tricky to spray paint.
• Paint colour. The use of dark colours to paint your walls and fences will discourage vandals as graffiti is less noticeable on dark coloured surfaces. Hence, denying the vandals the recognition they desire.
• Protective coating. This is the perfect solution for areas that are repeatedly vandalized. Make use of graffiti resistant materials or protective coatings which allows the graffiti to be removed with relative ease.
• Vegetation.  You can consider utilizing trellis on blank walls and fences to create an uneven surface which graffiti vandals do not like.

How To Prep Walls For Painting

This is exactly the part of a wall painting job that can make or mar the whole project. To ensure that your paint project doesn’t end up being disastrous, the most important place to start is from room preparation which includes cleaning, sanding as well as priming the walls before painting. Not every wall will require to go through all the preparation steps as all walls are unique and some are in better conditions than others. However, it’s advisable to thoroughly inspect the surfaces before you proceed to painting and take the necessary actions where required.

This is a very simple DIY job that should be completed in little time, however it’s also perhaps the most important step of the entire painting project. Hence, if you lack the confidence to pull this off, then we’d recommend employing a painting expert who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’ll should you how you can prepare your wall for painting.

✓ Cleaning. There is no single best way to properly clean a wall, but most walls will be just fine with a sponge and warm water. For walls that have been stained with oil or grime such as kitchen walls, you can apply grease cutting detergent and water mixture to wash and follow up with warm water to clean the residues and a damp cloth wiping to finish it off. Then leave to dry off properly.

✓ Remove mildrew. Wipe out mildrew using a sponge and solution that’s three to four parts water to one part bleach. Apply this solution and scrub the affected surface with a soft brush.

✓ Sanding. This step is only meant for walls with rough spots on its surface. Dull the uneven spots with a sandpaper, wipe away the dust and leave to dry. Use a fine grit sandpaper to sand the surfaces and let it dry properly.

✓ Priming. Prime the wall to get the most out of your paint. They work to disguise imperfections and create a smooth surface on which you can work on.

It can be a huge headache, but cleaning of gutters is a task that needs to be done and even more so when it’s a stained white gutter. Nobody want to do it, but everybody has to. If you happen to lack the required confidence to pull this off as it has to do with working at heights, then we’d strongly recommend that you get in touch with a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help and also save you some time and money from potential costly errors. In this post, we’re going to show you some of effective way in which you can tackle stained white gutters effectively.

Firstly, you’ll have to take out the ladder with a pair of rubber gloves. Simply position the ladder safely, climb up the roof and start removing the leaves and other debris clogging up the gutters. You can also make use of a garden trowel to remove the very thick debris. Once done, spray the gutter using a garden hose to flush out the dirt as this will make the stains visible. Then prior to cleaning, ensure to cover the plants or landscape underneath with tarp or plastic sheet since the cleaning solution may negatively impact the vegetation.

Start to clean by spraying an all-purpose cleaner on the stains and srub them off using a scrub brush. You can also try a mixture of 1/4 of water with 1 cup of bleach and 1 teaspoon of dish soap. Dip your scrub brush in this solution to scrub off the stains. The bleach mixture is guaranteed to eliminate any mold or mildew that growing on your gutters with ease.

How To Paint A Ceiling

If you’re a bit hesitant to take on the seemingly awkward task of painting your ceiling, you’re definitely not alone. However, there are ways in which you can make ceiling painting tasks one of the less strenuous tasks you’ll find around the house as they’ll help you get rid of most drips and also assist you to easily determine whether or not you’re covering the whole ceiling. In several cases, painting a ceiling simply means painting it white again and most same colour painting jobs are way easier than painting with a new colour entirely. When you have the right size of nap controller as well as the appropriate length of an extension pole, painting over your head will be a lot easier. Here’s how to paint a ceiling.

✓ Prepare the room. This include removing as many furniture and objects from the room as possible while also laying down plastic sheets on the remaining ones. And also cover the floor with paper or canvas drop cloths.

✓ Remove obstructions. Detach or remove everything that can make your work harder like light fixtures or smoke detectors.

✓ Protect surfaces. This includes protecting vertical surfaces like the windows and doors from ceiling paint.

✓ Prepare the ceiling. This involves vacuuming the ceiling to get rid of any dust or dirt, sanding any rough spots on the ceiling with a sandpaper and filling any small holes or cracks in the ceiling (optional).

✓ Prime the ceiling. Use an angled brush or paint edging tool or primer to cut in edges of the ceiling.

✓ Paint the edges of the ceiling. When the primer has dried, simply paint the edges of the ceiling to create a frame in which you can easily work in.

✓ Paint the ceiling in grids.

The short and simple answer to this question is yes, it definitely does matter if the graffiti has been there a long time! When it comes to graffiti removal, one thing to have at the back of your mind is prompt removal is always the most effective. However, this doesn’t mean that a long existing graffiti can’t be removed. Graffiti that has been in existence a long time can be removed, but you shouldn’t expect this to be a walk in the park. If you don’t have the experience, tools and skills to pull this off, it’s strongly recommended that you call in a qualified professional for help so as to ensure the best result is achieved without any form of damage to your walls.  However, if you wish to give this a shot, then here are some tips that should put you in the right direction.

Here, we’ll advise you to get an effective graffiti cleaning solution such as Elephant Snot® to remove the long existing graffiti. To start the removal process, simply brush the product ( Elephant Snot® ) with the help of a wallpaper brush on the affected wall. Once completed, let the product sit for about 45 minutes to 1 hour to make for an easy removal. After this, you can then proceed to power washing it off at about 1400 to 1600 psi cold water. This should remove virtually all the paint leaving only a few behind. Identify the remaining stubborn graffiti and go for a second application. Repeat the process until the graffiti has been fully washed off. This should leave no damage to your wall whether brick or mortar.