Handyman Blog

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A Simple Homeowner Checklist for Hiring a Qualified, Professional Plumber!

When you have a plumbing emergency at your home, you need to quickly find a qualified, professional plumber to fix the problem. Here are several ways to find a plumber:

Check with your family or friends for a referral.

Ask a local real estate agent for a good plumber she has used.

If you have used another contractor in your home, ask the contractor for a referral.

Check with the local plumbing supply store for a recommendation for a reputable plumbing company.

Go online and check the reviews of plumbers in your area. If you search for a plumber in your city on one of the popular search engines, such as Google or Yahoo, you will find the search engines "Local Listing" of plumbers geographically near you, links to their website, and customer reviews of their work.

After you find a plumber in your area, what do you look for before you hire them? Here is a checklist of items you need to ask a plumber... BEFORE you hire them.

Are you licensed by the state to do plumbing?

Always check that you are working with a licensed plumber, ask to see his state license! Licensed plumbers have the work experience, training, and are familiar with current state and local plumbing codes. In addition to passing an exam to receive their license, they must take annual continuing education to keep abreast of changes to the codes, new products, and innovations in plumbing.

In Georgia, there are a lot of skills you need to succeed as a plumber. As a result, there are many steps an apprentice plumber needs to take to become a Journeyman or Master Plumber. These steps and the rules for obtaining the designation of master plumber are set by the state. You must have 3-5 years of primary plumbing experience, references, and pass an exam to get a Journeyman or Master Plumbing license. For a Master Plumbers license part of your experience must include commercial or industrial plumbing. In addition, they should have additional certifications to test and certify backflow devices or work on septic systems.

How many years have you been in business?

A good rule of thumb is look for plumber's that have been in business for 8-10 years. This gives you a gauge as to how viable and stable the business is and if they will be around to warrant the work they do on your home.

Are Service Technicians background checked?

Would you be comfortable having their Service Technicians working in your home? A plumber should conduct a complete background check and random drug testing on all employees. Further, professional Service Technicians working in your home should be uniformed and have name tags. These Service Technicians should be company employees and not sub-contractors.

What are your skills and experience in plumbing?

Plumbing demands specific technical skills and knowledge. Plumbing companies use specific tools not available to a homeowner or a local plumbing handyman. The benefit of dealing with an experienced, qualified plumbing company is... they are equipped with all the necessary training, skills, plumbing tools, and experience to handle all sorts of plumbing emergencies in your home.

Does your plumbing company have insurance?

A plumbing company performing service in your home should have General Liability Insurance and a current Workman's Compensation insurance certificate. Upon request, the plumber should be able to provide you with a copy of his insurance.

General liability insurance covers damage that might occur to your home directly caused by the plumber. If the plumber does not have his own general liability policy, any damages would be covered by your homeowners insurance. Typically the plumber should carry a minimum of $500,000.00 in general liability insurance, but it is not uncommon for plumbers who do commercial plumbing to carry $3,000,000.00 in coverage.

Workman's compensation insurance covers an injury to the plumber while he is working in your home. So as a customer you do not need to worry about being responsible for a plumber having an accident while working in your home.

Do you offer Emergency Service after hours?

A plumbing company that advertises that they have "24/7" plumbing service should have a customer service person ready to take your call after hours. Further, the plumber should have on-call or after hours plumbers available to repair your plumbing emergency.

Does the plumber use Quality Materials?

Does the plumber install quality, recognizable, brand name fixtures and materials that offer manufacturer' warranties to the consumer? What brands does he stock and carry on their service trucks?The manufacturers of plumbing parts, fixtures, and appliances typically offer a limited replacement warranty on their products.

Will my work require a permit from the city or county where I live?

Typically, you must be a licensed Master Plumber to secure a plumbing permit. The city or county will inspect the plumbing at various times during the installation to insure that the project is done to the local and state plumbing codes. An unlicensed plumber is unable to pull the necessary permits when work is being done, and they probably are not adequately trained in current plumbing code requirements.

What are your plumbing rates?

Service Plumbers charge for their work one of two ways, Time & Materials Pricing or Flat Rate Pricing. Let me explain the difference, this is very important.

With the Time & Materials method; the plumber charges a small "Service Fee" to mobilize to the job, an hourly rate while he is on the job, and whatever materials were used to repair the plumbing. Usually there is a one hour minimum labor charge and then you are charged by the quarter hour. With this method you only pay for the actual time it takes and materials used on the job... no more, no less.

A plumber using Flat Rate Pricing will charge a "Diagnostic Fee" to determine your plumbing problem and then will give you a flat rate quote to fix the problem. You know up front what it will cost for your repair. If you do not want to proceed with the repair, you are only obligated for the Diagnostic Fee.

With Flat Rate pricing it is difficult to know how much the plumber is charging you per hour. I can tell you that the flat rate price you are given is based upon the worst case scenario for the plumbing company... what is the most time it would take for a slow plumber to fix the problem. But, after the customer has taken off work, waits for the plumber to show up, and is already committed to the diagnostic fee, he is hit with a whopper cost to repair a small plumbing problem.

While the Flat Rate pricing method looks attractive, in most cases an experienced licensed plumber can fix your plumbing emergency on a Time & Material basis for less money. In addition, with Flat Rate pricing most Service Technicians are paid commission on the price of the ticket. Typically, the technicians have been trained by professionals to sell and close an expensive sale. This can lead to abuse as the technician in your home becomes more of a salesman instead of a plumber.

Do you guarantee or warrant your work?

A professional plumbing company is concerned with the safety and quality of their work. They should offer the homeowner a workmanship warranty and safety guarantee on their work.

Can you provide me with referrals from customers you have done work for?

A reputable plumbing company will have no problem giving references from their customers, business banker, or plumbing supply house. Also, ask them if they are a member of any state or national plumbing associations, local chamber of commerce, or have received any awards or recognitions in the community.

For more information check us out here: Plumbers Gloucester

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Quality Car Body Repairs - What You Need To Know

With ever-increasing traffic filling our roads, people all trying to park 4 x 4's etc into seemingly smaller car parking spaces, it is not surprising that our cars pick up little dings & dents, scrapes & scratches. So what do we do, leave them to multiply and reduce the re sale value of our car or do we take action and find a quality car body repair centre? Finding a good car body repair shop is easier than you might think once you have more idea of what you are looking for.

Some signs of a quality car body repair.

When visiting a car body repair shop where do you start on your quest to find quality? The first thing I would like to see is a car repair they have just done, or if they will allow you to, have a stroll around their shop. By looking at cars in their repair stages, you can tell if the repairs will last.

So firstly, when looking at a finished car body repair, what should we pay attention to? Take your time, let your eyes gaze over the job, does anything immediately jump out, is the colour matching good? If not that's a good start, everything should look natural and untouched. Now look at how it was masked, are there any signs of paint on the rubbers or around the trims etc. Bend down and take a look down the panels, a good car body repair should be flat and have no signs of ripples. If it's not flat it's not quality, a good vehicle repair guy should be using a sanding block at all times. Take a good look into the paint work, do you see any fine scratches or little pin holes? These if present are called sinkage or mapping out, if they are not present its a good job.

Next, look at the overall texture of the paint work, does it all match? A good car body repair guy will try to match the texture of the spray job as close to the original as possible. This can be done by adjusting the pressure of the spray or changing the mixture of the paint, I know its picky but poor quality repairs will affect the re sale value of your car. Finally, don't be shy when looking a job over (don't be cocky or annoying either), being inquisitive and asking good questions will gain a good understanding of the type of people you are dealing with. If they are annoyed and defensive with you they are probably no good anyway.

If they are good enough to allow you to walk around the shop and look at some repairs in progress here are a few pointers. Are the cars well masked up & dust free inside, do they use dust extraction blocks and sanding machines? Looking at dent repairs, the body filler should be finished in fine scratches before the primer is applied. Course body filler scratches will sink over time, so beware of repairers that load the primer on to seal the deep scratches. Check does the body repair shop use a low bake oven? This is a must if you want bodywork repairs to last for a long time, drying the primers & paint need to be done in either an oven or with infra-red lamp.

I hope these pointers have been useful. If you want to keep your cars bodywork in tip-top condition using a quality car body repair shop is vital. Once you find a good one and build a relationship with them you are set for life, my customers are very loyal, even promotion me to all their friends and families.

For more interesting information on car body repairs please read our other articles, or visit our website at  Alloy Wheel Refurb Gloucester where you can see some of our videos too.

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A Man With a Van - As Simple As You Think?

From time to time we all need to move something from one place to another, sometimes we move home and need a good quality removal service to get your precious belongings to the new property.

All it takes is a quick call to any local man with a van or removal company and you can have a well maintained luton van waiting for you ready to go. But what other things would you need to take into account?

Insurance & Liability

Is the company you are using insured? When the van arrives and your furniture is damaged or a favourite vase broken, no amount of "sorry" can help replace or repair the item. Chances are too that the company isn't liable. So make sure the company has enough insurance to cover what they are moving and also ask for details about what is covered and what isn't, you may be surprised.

Loading & Unloading

Does the price you pay include moving the items into the van and back out again at the other end? Sometimes this isn't made clear beforehand and can leave you in a bit of a spot. All it takes is to ask the question. The difference in price isn't always that high but it is still something you need to take into account.

Van Size & Capacity

Can the van hold everything you need moved? Sometimes a number of assumptions can be made and the van that turns up may not hold everything you need moved. Unfortunately this can sometimes result in extra charges for and additional van which is not something you want to hear during a time as stressful as this.

In summary, it always pays to ask as many questions as you need to, a reputable company will only be more than happy to give you clear answers. Alarm bells should start ringing when they try to avoid answering your questions, just like when using any other service.

More information about this can be found at  Removals Stroud   and finding the service you require on the top navigation bar.

I hope this helps you find a great man with a van, and get your things moved.

On behalf of Carlton's Transport.

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Affordable Locksmith Services - Top Quality Locksmith Work Can Be Inexpensive

All good things in life come at a price. Or so is it said. However we believe hat where locksmiths are concerned, this has not to be the case. Cheap locksmiths are not cheap in the way they work or the way they go around making keys. It is just that these locksmiths charge much less and hence often fall prey to suspicion. We believe that affordable should be a second name to every locksmith service available. There is no point in hiring a locksmith who charges you a very high fee. Hence cheap locksmiths, affordable and inexpensive that they are, are a much better option available to the so called costlier locksmiths.

Cheap locksmiths are often looked upon with suspicion. Cheap locksmiths, however good they might be, often fail to get the gleam of recognition in the service requirer's eyes. Cheap locksmith services suffer from the problem of plenty, ironically. Cheap locksmiths, preferably called affordable locksmiths, as the name suggests, are inexpensive. An old adage goes that everything in the world comes for a price. Well locksmith services are no exception to this. What we are saying is simply that locksmith services, good locksmith services, often are very less expensive.

Cheap locksmiths, the world over are regarded to be just that, cheap locksmiths. Cheap locksmiths have to handle the most delicate locks of some of the most prized cars, houses, bungalows etc. Cheap locksmiths the world over are regarded to be masters at their tricky and often tiring work. Cheap locksmiths gather enough bangs for their buck in the recognition they get. Cheap locksmiths guarantee you the best treatment to your car and the great freedom of worry of being locked out of it. Even though they do so much, and handle all their work with so much care, cheap locksmiths are often ridiculed and called also called 'cheap'.

Finally, and unfortunately, there are many locksmiths out there who are not licensed locksmiths. Many times these unlicensed locksmiths who are often also inexperienced, very unprofessional and simply call themselves "locksmiths" are simply trying to earn as much money as possible. These locksmiths therefore will give deleterious and very misguided advice. Most of the times, these people do not have any real experience in locksmith services. They also lack training in the security industry. They are often very greedy individuals. These are not cheap locksmiths. These are not locksmiths at all. Cheap locksmiths offer the same services offered by other locksmiths, but at a much lesser rate. We prefer to call these locksmiths, inexpensive locksmiths or discount locksmiths rather than us calling them cheap locksmiths and thus degrading them.

There should be a word of caution though. There are many touts posing to be locksmiths, who claim to charge you just a fraction of what he other locksmiths are charging you. The main intention of these so called 'cheap locksmiths' is to enter your house and relieve you of your valuables. Hence you should take care and verify the license of the locksmith given to him by the local governing body to be doubly sure.

If it's an emergency and you need a locksmith, you’re in luck! Locksmith Gloucester is available to help you 24-hours a day. Rather than making the situation worse by attempting to handle the problem on your own, why not allow a professional locksmith to handle it for you. Locksmith Gloucester is the best for you. Check them out.

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Why Home Owners Opt For Tree Service Providers

Apart from grasses and flowers, trees can also make properties appealing and valuable. However, maintaining trees require more time and efforts which some homeowners do not have. Apart from that, some homeowners do not have sufficient knowledge in maintaining trees. Because of this, more and more homeowners opt for the services of experts. Of course, hiring experts can be costly, but these experts can provide you with amazing features. Below are some of the following.

Ensure tree health

One of the main reasons why homeowners opt for tree service providers is to ensure its health. Of course, like humans, trees can also experience diseases due to the unstable weather conditions as well as viruses. Because of this, health and appearance can be affected easily. By working with tree service providers, these issues can be prevented immediately. This is possible since these service providers have the skills and knowledge in diagnosing and treating trees. As a result, trees can make properties more valuable once again.

Maintain trees properly

The next reason why homeowners work with service providers is to maintain trees properly and efficiently. Water, trimming and fertilizing are only some of the most essential tasks homeowners make to maintain their trees. However, trees also have essential needs. And, service providers can offer trees the right solution they need. For instance, when dealing with pests, homeowners can make use of pesticides. Unfortunately, there are cases when these items cannot match your needs. Luckily, experts can provide you with reliable services like micro-trunk injections. These services help trees in treating pests easily.

Provide them with assistance in growing trees

Another reason homeowners hire service specialists is to provide them with assistance in growing trees. Surely, some homeowners wish to grow their own trees. But, accomplishing such task can be difficult. It gets even worse if you do not have the right skills and knowledge. With the help of tree experts, they can assist you in achieving your goal.

Better access with different types of tree services

Finally, working with service providers can also help homeowners to have better access to related services. As of now, there are numerous services homeowners can choose from. And, each service provides the benefits for your trees. As a result, maintaining timber can be easier and more efficient.

These are only some of the reasons why it is best for homeowners to work closely with tree services experts.

Tree Surgeon Gloucester is a reliable company that offers the best trees and turf services. The company also has skilled experts who can assist you in maintaining your properties easily. To know more, Visit their website at Tree Surgeon Gloucester