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Cracks on your concrete driveway can look scruffy and unsightly. They can also lead to further damage, as moisture can get into the cracks and make them worse. So, it’s important to seal the cracks as soon as you can.

Start by cleaning the area and removing any loose materials. This will help any new materials you introduce to bond with your existing driveway. Then use concrete caulking or sealer to fill in the cracks. You’ll need to use a trowel to push the filler firmly into the crack.

Once you’ve filled in the crack, make sure you consult the product instructions and leave it for the amount of time specified before using your concrete driveway again.

Having your office air conditioning units serviced on a regular basis comes with a wide range of benefits. With proper servicing of your unit, your air con will be able to blow cold or hot air into your space, the lifespan of the heating and cooling system is extended, harmful bacteria and fungal spores will also be removed and lots more. However, since servicing of office air con units does not come free, you’d probably want to know the number of times the task is needed in a year. In this post, we’re going to look at the recommended number of times to have your office heating and cooling units serviced.

Servicing of an office heating and cooling system is generally recommended to be done twice a year - once in the fall and the other in the spring. By doing this, you’ll be not only be able to guarantee that the unit is clean, but also that the parts are in great shape and that it’s working as efficiently as possible. What’s more? This task has to be carried out whether or not you put the air con unit to use. Even in the event whereby the system is leak proof and adequate coolant is available there are usually still reason to have it serviced. If you haven’t used the AC unit in your office for quite a long time, the hoses and seals become brittle more quickly due to the fact that the lubricant and coolant do not circulate.

Asides from having your units checked by a professional, there’s also a need to carry out some maintenance tasks by yourself. This way, you get to enjoy your office AC unit for a long period of time.

How Long Does A Gas Safety Certificate Last?

As a result of faulty installation and irregular maintenance of gas appliances and chimneys, a lot of people have been met with an untimely death caused by the toxic gas - carbon monoxide. This is a gas that’s completely odourless, colourless and tasteless - meaning you can’t identify one of its in the environment. But what you should know is, if you stay in an environment filled with carbon monoxide, you’d probably be dead within a couple of hours. Consequently as a landlord, you must do what’s best to ensure the safety of all your tenants by making sure that all your gas appliances and chimneys are subjected to annual check by an approved Gas Safe engineer as required by the law.

Wondering how long a Gas Safety Check will take? The safety of your gas is guaranteed by carrying out regular examinations. Whether or not you possess a gas alarm, it’s still vital to conduct regular gas safe checks to make sure your home is safe. A typical gas safe check would last between 30 to 60 minutes for a normal domestic property. However, in the situations whereby a need for repair arises, it may take longer time to complete. Other factors that can also affect the timing includes includes both the size and location of your property.

So how long does a gas safety certificate last? The simple answer to this question is 12 months. If you own a rental property in the UK, it’s up to you to ensure all your gas appliances and chimney is check after every 12 months to obtain a Gas Safety Certificate which you should hand out a copy to all tenants living in your property. However, if you don’t own the property, you can inform your landlord to get one as soon as possible while also providing a carbon monoxide alarm.

Asbestos is a perfect example of a silent and hidden killer. The harmful fibre it releases is not only totally invisible to the eye, but also absolutely odourless, therefore can’t be smelt. As a result, you can walk into a room completely filled with asbestos and you still won’t suspect a thing. If you live in an old building ( built before the 1980’s) in the UK, it’s very possible that there’s some asbestos in the house.

Asbestos causes up to 5000 deaths in the UK on a yearly basis. When asbestos materials are disturbed, they release asbestos fibres, which when inhaled can result in lung cancer, asbestosis as well as mesothelioma which are all painful and fatal diseases. And perhaps even more importantly, you won’t notice any symptoms of having these diseases until after several years after your first exposure to asbestos fibres.

Therefore, to reduce these numbers, there’s a crucial need to to know how to identify asbestos so as not to put both ourselves and loved ones at risk.

There are three types of asbestos which includes blue or crocidolite, brown or amosite, and white or chrysotile. So they can easily be identified by their respective colour names, right? Wrong! Asbestos fibres can not be seen with the eye, it can only be detected under a microscope. They’re very tiny and light, and once disturbed and in the air, they can float can days. Asbestos are commonly found in several building materials such as cement products, floor tiles, paints, adhesive, partitions, cladding, insulation, doors and lots more. With its wide acceptability in the past, any building product you can probably think of could contain asbestos.

What Is Better, Steel Or Aluminium For A Front Door?

If you’re extending or refurbishing your home or property or constructing a new one, you’ll, sooner or later, get to the point when you’d have to determine the type of door material you want to use. The most common choices include steel, aluminium, wood and PVC. However, in this article we’ll only be looking at steel and aluminium to discuss which is better for a front door. Let’s take a look!

✓ Home security. Intruders and unwanted visitors are always a concern regardless of where you live. If this is your biggest concern when going for a front door then steel doors are your best bet as they happen to be one of the sturdiest and strongest materials that can be used to manufacture a door. Not only do they not crack or warp, but they also offer some high security models that features a large number of locks as well as hinges with various style designs. However, this does not mean aluminium are left behind on this subject either as there are also some high security doors that uses aluminium as the primary metal component.

✓ Thermal insulations. Both door presentations are not completely made of steel or aluminium. For a better insulation, they’ll feature other materials such as foam,wood, polystryene foam, or fibreglass core to prevent the escape of heat. As a result, both doors can do a great job when it comes to thermal insulation like keeping your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter for a better energy efficiency.

✓ Aesthetics. If this is your primary criteria for a front door, then aluminium has a wide range of colours and styles to match the style of your home.

Home renovations are an incredible way not only to beautify and add value to your home, but also to breathe fresh life as well as energy into your living space. If you’re currently wondering what room to renovate within your home, you may want to consider the bathroom. Not only is this a room that’s subjected to everyday use, but also has to deal with water attacks on a regular basis.

It’s a place where you groom, relax, cleanse and shower, meaning a lot of time is usually spent in this relatively small room. So if you’re planning to renovate your bathroom, one of the most frequently asked questions is, “how much it’ll cost to fit a new bathroom?. Of course like many other home improvement efforts, the cost of fitting a bathroom is largely dependent on the materials to be used as well as the size of the bathroom, whereas the cost of installation may be a lot less than you would’ve guessed. In this simple guide, you’ll get all what you need to understand the average cost of fitting a bathroom and to develop a good estimate for your project as well.

Generally, professional bathroom fitter will charge varying amounts based on the material that’s to be fitted. For instance, small projects that only involves installing a new basin can cost within a range of £70 to £120, whereas larger projects which involves tiling a big bathroom cam cost within the range of £800 to £1,200. Overall, the average cost of fitting a new bathroom will range between £4,200 to £4,800. you can, however, save some money by shopping smart as well as comparing the prices.

Unlike in houses constructed in the 1960s, where you’d probably need to rewire the entire house unless the wiring is the modern PVCu coated type, majority of houses built in the 1970s would not need to be rewired. Most often than not, what they’ll need is just a consumer unit as well as an earthing upgrade. If you happen to have a consumer unit change, the electrical professional you hire would have to inspect the most parts of the property regardless. With that answered, you may also wish to know just how often a house would need to be rewired.

First and foremost, in order to make sure that your wiring is safe there’s a need to ensure that a periodic inspection is carried out by a fully licensed and qualified electrician every 10 years. Meanwhile for rental properties with tenants, the landlord is required to carry out a periodic inspection at least every 5 years. This will make sure that the electrical works in the property are safe, up to date and suitable for continued usage.

In order to determine whether your house needs to be rewired, there are some signs or indicators you’d have to watch out for. If you notice one or even a combination of the following , then you should get in touch with a registered electrician:

• Discoloured outlets and switches
• Persistent burning smell
• Outlets problems
• Flickering lights
• Tripping circuit breaker or blown fuses
• If you happen to possess aluminium wiring
• If you have continually experienced electrical shocks

It must, however, be said that rewiring a house is a messy and quite disruptive work. It’s also considered to be quite dangerous and recommended to be carried out only by a professional is well trained and experienced when it comes to tackling electrical works.

How To Put Up Plasterboard

Putting up a plasterboard is a vital process when it comes to home renovations. However as daunting as it may seem, with a good guide and regular practice you can master the skill within a small period of time. If you lack proper training and experience, we’d recommend you hire a seasoned professional plasterer for help so as to get the best result and also avoid additional costs due to possible damages.

Putting up plasterboard is way quicker than wet plastering and also significantly reduces the drying time that can slow down your renovation plans. With a plasterboard, you can delve straight into the decorating stage and achieve a smooth finish. Below are the steps required to put up a plasterboard.

• The first step is cutting the plasterboard to shape which be one of the most challenging parts of the process. This is because you’ll need to fit the board around things such as plug sockets and window sills. As a result, this involves cutting complex shapes rather than just a simple straight line. To get this done, simply mark out the cut required with the use of a tape measure, combination square and spirit level for a better precision. Once done, you can then use a plasterboard pad saw to cut along the marked spots.

• After you made the required cuts, the next step is putting up the plasterboard. And depending on where the boards are going to be put, this could be a very challenging task. If you’re going to put the boards on the ceiling or somewhere very high up, you’d probably need an extra pair of hands for help. To get this done, use the appropriate screws to secure the boards in place if you’re installing them directly on studs. However, if you’d be fixing them onto bricks or blocks, a drywall adhesive is your best bet.