The steady stream of shower repairs has continued this week. Mostly it seems to be electric showers that are developing faults.
We often find that the fault in an electric shower is a solenoid that has failed. But recently we've discovered that a failed solenoid is a symptom of another fault. In two cases last week we replaced faulty solenoid valves on electric showers to discover that the original solenoid had actually failed because a leak had developed within the shower.
Given the cost of the replacement parts for electric showers compared the actual cost of the shower, it is often more economical to replace the shower with a similar unit. Often these days it's the labour cost that is the deciding factor between repair of replacement. A like for like shower replacement can normally be done in 60 minutes. Whereas fault finding, ordering parts and fitting them does often take allot longer than this.
If you have a shower that needs repairs, don't hesitate to contact us on 0207 0999 199 or send an email to fixit@silversaints.co.uk
Tuesday 30 September 2008
London Handyman Service
Silver Saints is London's premier handyman service.
0207 0999 199
fixit@silversaints.co.uk
We are best described as a team of multi-skilled, experienced and reliable Handymen who travel around London on motorcycles undertaking plumbing, electrics, fixing, fitting, assembling and hanging jobs. In fact we employ the most experience handymen in London.
Friendly, Flexible, Efficient and Trustworthy - these are the words that describe our Silver Saints Handyman Service and these are the words you'll be using when telling your friends about how we showed up on time, did all the jobs on your ‘to do’ list, cleaned up after ourselves and charged you fairly and accurately.
(Read what our customers think about Silver Saints)
Silver Saints has the most experienced Handymen in London. In addition most come from professional backgrounds that include: Engineers, Accountants, Management Consultants, Quantity Surveyors and even a Royal Air Force Pilot. This means that you are getting a person who has great communication skills, copes well under pressure and understands the value of customer relations.We know what it takes to offer great customer service and we strive to leave a satisfied customer 100% of the time. Our dedicated Operations Team, based in Central London, are on call to discuss any jobs you need doing, as well as manage your booking until completion.
That is enough about us! Give us a call or book online and let us concentrate on giving you the Silver Service you deserve. 0207 0999 199
0207 0999 199
fixit@silversaints.co.uk
We are best described as a team of multi-skilled, experienced and reliable Handymen who travel around London on motorcycles undertaking plumbing, electrics, fixing, fitting, assembling and hanging jobs. In fact we employ the most experience handymen in London.
Friendly, Flexible, Efficient and Trustworthy - these are the words that describe our Silver Saints Handyman Service and these are the words you'll be using when telling your friends about how we showed up on time, did all the jobs on your ‘to do’ list, cleaned up after ourselves and charged you fairly and accurately.
(Read what our customers think about Silver Saints)
Silver Saints has the most experienced Handymen in London. In addition most come from professional backgrounds that include: Engineers, Accountants, Management Consultants, Quantity Surveyors and even a Royal Air Force Pilot. This means that you are getting a person who has great communication skills, copes well under pressure and understands the value of customer relations.We know what it takes to offer great customer service and we strive to leave a satisfied customer 100% of the time. Our dedicated Operations Team, based in Central London, are on call to discuss any jobs you need doing, as well as manage your booking until completion.
That is enough about us! Give us a call or book online and let us concentrate on giving you the Silver Service you deserve. 0207 0999 199
Tile and Grout cleaning
We've recently added a new service to the list of specialist jobs our London handymen undertake, grout and tile cleaning.
In short a Handyman arrives with a special machine that uses steam to blast out any ingrained dirt or soap that has settled into the tile grout over the years. The result is a new lease of life for both wall and floor tiles in either bathrooms or kitchens.
For this tile and grout cleaning service we will normally charge:
£40+VAT for the first 1m2 of tiles
£15+VAT for every 1m2 after that.
If you would like to know more or would like to book a Handyman to clean your bathroom or kitchen tiles don’t hesitate to contact me directly via email, fixit@silversaints.co.uk or on 0207 0999 199.
In short a Handyman arrives with a special machine that uses steam to blast out any ingrained dirt or soap that has settled into the tile grout over the years. The result is a new lease of life for both wall and floor tiles in either bathrooms or kitchens.
For this tile and grout cleaning service we will normally charge:
£40+VAT for the first 1m2 of tiles
£15+VAT for every 1m2 after that.
If you would like to know more or would like to book a Handyman to clean your bathroom or kitchen tiles don’t hesitate to contact me directly via email, fixit@silversaints.co.uk or on 0207 0999 199.
Wednesday 24 September 2008
DIY Plumbing ending in tears.
We have had a series of jobs recently were we have been called in to redo plumbing that was done by amateur DIYers. Normally when this happens its because the dodgy plumbing has failed and resulted in a persistent or catastrophic leak.
One of the jobs we were called to last week was because a downstairs neighbour had complained of a leak through their ceiling. It turned out that our customer had recently purchased the house not realising that all the kitchen plumbing had been done by the previous owner himself. What we found was that all the waste pipes were actually running up hill which had resulted in a blockage and the waste water from the dishwasher flowing back up the stand pipe when the dishwasher drained.
In the end we had to pull out all the kitchen cabinets and redo all the kitchen waste plumbing. A full day of work and certainly not what the customer wanted to find out about her new flat.
One of the jobs we were called to last week was because a downstairs neighbour had complained of a leak through their ceiling. It turned out that our customer had recently purchased the house not realising that all the kitchen plumbing had been done by the previous owner himself. What we found was that all the waste pipes were actually running up hill which had resulted in a blockage and the waste water from the dishwasher flowing back up the stand pipe when the dishwasher drained.
In the end we had to pull out all the kitchen cabinets and redo all the kitchen waste plumbing. A full day of work and certainly not what the customer wanted to find out about her new flat.
Toilet and Sink Unblocking - Service and Beyond
One of the more specialist tasks Silver Saints Handyman Service undertakes is the unblocking of sinks and toilets. Usually this is a straight forward task, but we have had our share of difficult and messy jobs over the past week.
One of our handymen, Richard, was asked to replace a sani-flo unit in a basement toilet last week. He arrived to find that the customer had already purchased a replacement unit and just required us to fit it. It all seemed straight forward. But when Richard proceeded to dismantle the old unit he found that it had obviously failed sometime before the customer had stopped using the toilet and both the waste pipe and old sani-flo unit were completely blocked. It was a smelly and messy job to get the pipe work clear enough to fit the new sani-flo. Once the old unit was un-installed and emptied it was clear that the cause of the failure was that the customer had flushed bits of carpet thread down the toilet which had become entangled in the sani-flo's motor. Resulting in it burning out.
The second, out of the ordinary unblocking job also took place in a basement. We were called out to unblock a bathroom basin, but when we arrived we found that the basin, shower and toilet were blocked. After about 3 hours of roding we managed to break off a piece of limescale about the size of a coke can, which had obviously been building up over many years.
One of our handymen, Richard, was asked to replace a sani-flo unit in a basement toilet last week. He arrived to find that the customer had already purchased a replacement unit and just required us to fit it. It all seemed straight forward. But when Richard proceeded to dismantle the old unit he found that it had obviously failed sometime before the customer had stopped using the toilet and both the waste pipe and old sani-flo unit were completely blocked. It was a smelly and messy job to get the pipe work clear enough to fit the new sani-flo. Once the old unit was un-installed and emptied it was clear that the cause of the failure was that the customer had flushed bits of carpet thread down the toilet which had become entangled in the sani-flo's motor. Resulting in it burning out.
The second, out of the ordinary unblocking job also took place in a basement. We were called out to unblock a bathroom basin, but when we arrived we found that the basin, shower and toilet were blocked. After about 3 hours of roding we managed to break off a piece of limescale about the size of a coke can, which had obviously been building up over many years.
Monday 15 September 2008
Sash Window Repair London
One of the most common of the more specialist jobs we undertake is the repair and replacement of sash window cords and sash balances.
We recently had a request to replace sash chains. Although sash chain is readily available from architectural iron mongers. Its very rare to find sash windows which use chains instead of normal sash cord. This is because the cost of the chain is about four times that of nylon cord with no additional benefit other than been out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately for our customer only one chain needed replacing and the shortest chain we could purchase was a 50ft reel at a cost of £90.
At least they'll have plenty of chain at hand if any of the other chains need replacing in the near future.
We recently had a request to replace sash chains. Although sash chain is readily available from architectural iron mongers. Its very rare to find sash windows which use chains instead of normal sash cord. This is because the cost of the chain is about four times that of nylon cord with no additional benefit other than been out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately for our customer only one chain needed replacing and the shortest chain we could purchase was a 50ft reel at a cost of £90.
At least they'll have plenty of chain at hand if any of the other chains need replacing in the near future.
Shower Repairs - London
I've had a theory for some time now that shower faults occur in batches. This is reflected in the fact that we will not have a shower repair job for weeks and then all of a sudden we'll get 6 faulty shower repairs in one week.
This week has been one of those weeks.
Yesterday we had a successfully completed the installation of a replacement thermostatic shower valve.
On Monday one of or handymen repaired an exotic shower divertor which two specialist plumbers had failed to repair.
On Tuesday we replaced an electric shower, replaced parts in another and did two estimates to supply and fit shower pumps to cure low pressure problems.
Our operations department have become experts at identifying shower valves and sourcing replacement parts for even the rarest of showers.
There aren't many shower faults that silver saints cannot solve.
This week has been one of those weeks.
Yesterday we had a successfully completed the installation of a replacement thermostatic shower valve.
On Monday one of or handymen repaired an exotic shower divertor which two specialist plumbers had failed to repair.
On Tuesday we replaced an electric shower, replaced parts in another and did two estimates to supply and fit shower pumps to cure low pressure problems.
Our operations department have become experts at identifying shower valves and sourcing replacement parts for even the rarest of showers.
There aren't many shower faults that silver saints cannot solve.
Thursday 4 September 2008
Special Delivery
Silver Saints is London's premier handyman service. One of the things that makes us different from the other London handyman services is the fact that we will go out of our way to solve our customer's problems.
Over the last few weeks this has lead to us having to source, deliver and fit a few out of the ordinary items. These included:
Porcelain Tiles:
We spent 3 days searching for 1 box of a particualr polished porcelain tile in order to repair a leaking shower without having to re-tile the whole bathroom. After 15 different tile shops and about 100 miles of traveling we managed to source the matching tiles from a specialist tile shop in Kingston.
Electric Shower:
Sourced an unused electric shower matching a customers current faulty shower. This particular model was made obsolete a few years ago. Replacing it with a different model would have meant almost a full days worth of work. We found a like for like replacement on ebay and snapped it up. The job was done in 90 minutes.
Roller Blind Mechanism:
Sounds trivial, but you try find a single replacement part for a roller blind. It took us about two days to source a manufacturer who was willing to sell us a single component.
Tap Aerators:
If you don't know, these are the small mesh filters that you find at the end of tap spouts. We were sent a photo of a tap and asked to source the aerators without any hint of the manufacturers name.
The both are just a few of the dozens of specialist parts we source for our customers every week. Something I know other London handyman services will not do for their customers.
Over the last few weeks this has lead to us having to source, deliver and fit a few out of the ordinary items. These included:
Porcelain Tiles:
We spent 3 days searching for 1 box of a particualr polished porcelain tile in order to repair a leaking shower without having to re-tile the whole bathroom. After 15 different tile shops and about 100 miles of traveling we managed to source the matching tiles from a specialist tile shop in Kingston.
Electric Shower:
Sourced an unused electric shower matching a customers current faulty shower. This particular model was made obsolete a few years ago. Replacing it with a different model would have meant almost a full days worth of work. We found a like for like replacement on ebay and snapped it up. The job was done in 90 minutes.
Roller Blind Mechanism:
Sounds trivial, but you try find a single replacement part for a roller blind. It took us about two days to source a manufacturer who was willing to sell us a single component.
Tap Aerators:
If you don't know, these are the small mesh filters that you find at the end of tap spouts. We were sent a photo of a tap and asked to source the aerators without any hint of the manufacturers name.
The both are just a few of the dozens of specialist parts we source for our customers every week. Something I know other London handyman services will not do for their customers.
Monday 1 September 2008
Hanging LCD Screens - Cheap SCART leads
One of the more specialist jobs our London handymen take on is the hanging of LCD TVs. As an added service we also offer a cable concealing service. Where our London handyman will conceal the Scart/HDMI and power cables within a surface mounted trunking or behind the plasterboard wall itself.
One issue that customers don't usually prepare for, is that the cables need to significantly longer than the ones supplied with most TVs if they are to be concealed in any way and still reach the desired accessories or power sockets. So we always ask the customer at the booking stage to ensure that they have sufficiently long cables on-site for us to be able to complete the installation.
I realised on last week, that not only is the length of the cable important but the quality of the SCART lead does affect the picture and sound quality. We arrived at a LCD fitting job in Fulham where the customer had a 5m SCART cable which he wanted concealed in trunking and connected to his sky box. Once we had fitted the TV, and connected the sky box using the 5m SCART cable supplied by the customer, we noticed that the picture quality on the LCD was not very good. We had a 1.5m SCART cable with us and so changed the SCART lead to see if it had any effect. Sure enough the picture quality improved to near perfect. I examined the packaging that the 5m SCART had arrived and noted that it had cost the customer £5.99. This obviously seemed like a bargain at the time. But it was clear that it was the cause of the poor quality picture.
Luckily there was an electrical wholesaler nearby where we managed to get a better quality 3m SCART for around £20. The end result was good and we all learnt that if you are going to spend close to £1000 on an LCD TV, its worth spending £20 on good quality cables.
One issue that customers don't usually prepare for, is that the cables need to significantly longer than the ones supplied with most TVs if they are to be concealed in any way and still reach the desired accessories or power sockets. So we always ask the customer at the booking stage to ensure that they have sufficiently long cables on-site for us to be able to complete the installation.
I realised on last week, that not only is the length of the cable important but the quality of the SCART lead does affect the picture and sound quality. We arrived at a LCD fitting job in Fulham where the customer had a 5m SCART cable which he wanted concealed in trunking and connected to his sky box. Once we had fitted the TV, and connected the sky box using the 5m SCART cable supplied by the customer, we noticed that the picture quality on the LCD was not very good. We had a 1.5m SCART cable with us and so changed the SCART lead to see if it had any effect. Sure enough the picture quality improved to near perfect. I examined the packaging that the 5m SCART had arrived and noted that it had cost the customer £5.99. This obviously seemed like a bargain at the time. But it was clear that it was the cause of the poor quality picture.
Luckily there was an electrical wholesaler nearby where we managed to get a better quality 3m SCART for around £20. The end result was good and we all learnt that if you are going to spend close to £1000 on an LCD TV, its worth spending £20 on good quality cables.
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