Find a Handyman you can trust near you.

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.

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.

Knowing when best to clean your gutters can do a lot of good. Wile some people assume that fall is the best time for gutter cleaning after the leaves fall, others believe spring is the most appropriate time to clean the gutters before things start to grow there. The truth is, both camps are right. However, the best time to clean your gutters depend on a wide range of factors which are all unique to you. In order to help you make the most informed decision possible, we have created this post to help you figure out the right time to clean your gutters. Let’s take a look!

Where you’re located. What we get is four season in a year as well as as a good amount of rain. As a result, you may want to put into consideration cleaning your gutter at least twice a year - clean the gutters once in the spring and once in the fall. It’s important to make gutter cleaning a part of your normal spring schedule as well as part of your fall maintenance routines.

What surrounds your home. If you happen to have tree surrounding your home, then it’s more likely that dead leaves clog up your gutter pretty quickly. A single tree is enough as it’s going to shed leaves that will find their way into your gutter, accumulate and affect its performance and integrity.

What your gutter currently looks like. If you gutters already have an entire ecosystem of animal life and plants hamging over the edges, then the best time to clean the gutters is now rather than having to wait a particular season to act. A dirty gutter should be attended to immediately in order to prevent some unnecessary damages as well as expensive repairs.

How To Paint Skirting Boards

In the exact same way a room isn’t complete unless it has all the right finishing touches here and there, your skirting boards also just wouldn’t be right leaving it without a paint. As you can imagine, skirting board can quickly gather dust, dirt and scuffed over time can affect the appearance of the entire room. But you don’t have to wait for this to happen before painting your skirting boards. Good news is, painting of skirting boards is relatively easy and straightforward especially when you follow the guide given in this article. It should, however, be said that if you’re not so confident about holding a brush and doing the task yourself, then getting a professional painter to complete the project will be a great option to achieve the best result while you can focus on other important things.

Painting your skirting board will help provide your room with the much needed perfect frame. Now let’s take a closer look!

✓ Prepare your skirting boards. Treat your wood skirting board with a knotting solution and wood primer. But if they’re already painted or varnished, simply wipe clean use a wet and dry paper with a mild detergent to abrade the surface. Once done, you can then run a strip of masking tape along the floor.

✓ Start Painting. For the decorative coat, you can use any paint designed for wood and metal like satin, gloss etc. Once selected, you can then start to paint across the top with the help of a 2 inch brush. Then move to the flat side. Work in easy to manage sections and when starting the next section, start at the far side and brush into the section you’ve just painted so as to make for an even finish. Finally, remove the masking tape used before the paint dries off.

How To Paint A Radiator

First thing you should know about painting a radiator is that normal paints can’t be used to do the job, however that doesn’t mean it’s not cheap, easy and fun - it definitely is and even more so, when you do it the right way. With a few radiator painting hints here, it’s only a matter of time before you start painting your radiators every colour of the rainbow delightfully.

Painting a radiator is not one of the most common tasks on most people’s to do list, so we’ve created this article as an encouraging nudge to allow more people let their creativity manifest through a brush. However, this is not to say that this is a task for everyone though as you won’t like to make a mess of your radiator. If you know you can’t pick up a brush or bend a knee or your back here and there, then you probably shouldn’t. In such cases, hiring a professional painter would be your best bet to get the best results while also saving yourself some time and money.

To paint a radiator, you’ll need a paint brush, suitable radiator paint, dust sheet and a radiator paint brush (optional).

✓ Turn off the radiator and leave it to cool off. Once it’s cold, simply wipe out all dust, dirt or grease from the radiator.

✓ Protect the flooring under the radiator from any paint splatter with a by spreading out a dust cloth.

✓ Use a suitable radiator paint to brush out well and lay off evenly in a direction. Leave it to dry overnight. Then apply paint on the radiator in direction of the grooves with the help of a top quality brush.

✓ Paint in sections and move across the radiator slightly overlapping until you get to the end. The move to paint the other areas.

✓ Leave the paint to dry as instructed in the manufacturer’s instructions, then apply a second coat if necessary.

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.

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.

Cleaning block paving is a fairly straightforward task, although you’ll want to be careful to not use any chemicals that may cause damage to the surface. Use a simple household soap, mixed with water, and brush this across the paving with a stiff brush. Then, simply rinse off with clean water. Alternatively, use a pressure washer – but be careful not to use it on a powerful setting, as this may damage the joints and can cause slabs to come loose. Using the pressure washer on a medium setting and at a 45 degree angle is recommended.