Pitfalls When Instructing Unaccredited Workmen

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Alistair Clarke

On Tuesday 1st 2011 writer for Lettingagenttoday.co.uk wrote this article.

When reading the article below, you will see how beneficial it is using a company which is accredited, certified and has the correct standard procedures in place. Westone are an expert property maintenance company and have all of the above any many more. Call today on 01733 320500 for more information.

Agent fined after workman finds asbestos in rental property
Tuesday 1st November 2011
A letting agent has been hit with £4,000 of fines and costs after a self-employed handyman was exposed to asbestos while carrying out work on a client’s property.

The case highlights health and safety legislation responsibilities for agents, in particular preparing risk assessments of properties and checking the competence of those who carry out maintenance jobs.

The handyman, who does not wish to be named, regularly carried out work on properties managed by agents Rochefort Shugar, a family-run firm in Cardiff.

On October 15 last year, the handyman was sent to a domestic property to fix a leaking porch roof.

As he was removing a sheet of material from the underside panel of the damaged roof, he realised the insulation board contained asbestos. The sheet was broken during removal and the surrounding area was contaminated with asbestos debris.

The Health and Safety Executive, prosecuting, told Barry Magistrates’ Court the removal of the panel and the sweeping up and bagging of the debris would have resulted in a significant release of asbestos fibres into the air.

The handyman wore two dust masks while removing the board, but did not undergo any decontamination procedures and was not wearing a protective, disposable suit. The court heard the fibres could have contaminated his hair, skin and clothing and may also have been inhaled.

The HSE investigation found the handyman had not been given any indication that asbestos was present in the property.

No risk assessment was carried out, and Rochefort Shugar made no attempt to ensure he was competent to identify or work with asbestos.

A licensed asbestos contractor was later called in to decontaminate the area.

Rochefort Shugar was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and fined £1,500 with £2,500 costs.

HSE inspector Steve Richardson said: “There are specific rules and laws regarding hazardous substances like asbestos. If we do not enforce these laws, people’s health can be put at serious risk. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and should be treated with extreme caution.

“Those in charge of maintenance and repair of buildings must ensure work is carried out by competent tradesmen, and that consideration is given to the presence of hazards such as asbestos.”

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Selling Your Home As Quickly As Possible

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Alistair Clarke

When putting your property on the sale market, step back and look at it with a fresh pair of eyes.

Another option could be to enlist the services of Westone Housing Ltd, property maintenance specialists, who are local to the Peterborough area, to come and look for you.

Westone Housing will give you an honest opinion of what needs doing before you put it up for sale that an Estate agent wouldn’t as they want your business and tend not to want to upset your feelings.

The kind of things that we would suggest would be neutralising the property so it then becomes a blank canvas.

There are a lot of people at present, adding a feature wall in wallpaper where the colours are very personal to their taste or colour scheme, again I would suggest removing this before sale.

If you want to keep lights that you may have fitted then do it now not later as a buyer may want them and not pay the cost price that you paid.

The same goes for curtain poles and curtains.

Remember it wasn’t so long ago that the carpets were extra when selling and had separate price negotiation for them.

Westone Housing Ltd may be able to give you cost effective ideas to freshen up bathrooms and kitchens.

A bathroom may just require a new toilet seat a slow closer always gives the impression of an expensive suite.

Other ideas for the bathroom would be re grouting if existing grouting is looking discoloured and a new shower curtain should your existing one be stained.

With a kitchen a professional oven clean is always advisable as viewers for some reason always look into the oven.

Check if the work surfaces are worn and consider replacing the work surfaces. If you do fit work surfaces then use joining bars and end caps, this is a far quicker fitting solution that mitre joins.

Just remember that sinks and hobs need removal and refitting when doing this.

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Practical Tips for Laying Vinyl Flooring

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Alistair Clarke

You can see examples of Westone Housing Vinvly flooring work at our maintenance projects gallery

Have you ever wanted to upgrade your bathroom and kitchen? A quick and simple way of changing a room is to change the floor. In this article I will explain how to remove any existing floor and fit your new vinyl.

Working on the basis you have no DIY experience, I will explain step by step and hopefully make this as easy as possible.

Removal:
Depending on the existing floor you have fitted there may be a variation of repair work required once the floor is removed. Regardless of the room, ensure any furniture or fittings like kitchen kickboards are removed in advance of removal to ensure least damage occurs.

Preparation:
Once removed, look at what type of floor is down. Listed are the following two options depending on the floor you have:

Concrete floor; Inspect the floor, remove excess glue or fixings. Check for small indentations in the concrete, any sections of concrete which protrude higher than the surface need to be chipped out then removed. Any parts of the concrete which have dimples or holes need to be filled with new concrete. Small repair bags can be purchased from any main DIY store.

Wooden floor; There are many wooden floors a property could have. I use one rule for all. Regardless of the wooden floor, I always lay new 3mm ply board 1200mm x 600mm available at any main DIY store and screw down to existing floor. The boarding should then be screwed down to the existing floor.

PLEASE NOTE; Ensure screws used to screw down ply board are not longer than the existing floor. If there are pipes directly beneath the floor you want to be certain the screws will not reach the pipes.

Once the floor is ready, one coat of Uni Bond / PVA should be applied to ensure the vinyl sticks sufficiently over a long period of time.

Fitting:
Presuming you have purchased the vinyl you like, find a room which you can lay the new vinyl flat. Measure the longest width and length of the room. Return back to the vinyl and measure the width and length onto the vinyl but add 4cm to both lengths. Drawn straight lines onto the vinyl and cut to length.

You can now lift the vinyl into the bathroom. Ensure the flooring looks square to the room. Starting from the middle of the floor, flatten the vinyl as much as possible to all corners. If there is furniture which needs cutting round, cut a straight line which is to the middle of the furniture to the correct depth of the furniture. Once this is cut relay the vinyl floor and you should see the floor starting to take shape around the furniture. Cut small sections away from the vinyl until the vinyl is able to lay flat without any pressure being applied.

Once this has been completed and the vinyl floor can lay flat to the whole room, using vinyl glue available from all main DIY stores lift all corners and edges of the vinyl and spray the glue. Leave this to dry until the edges become hard to lift.

To finish of your work the flooring needs to be sealed with silicone. There are all sorts of colours you can choose from however choose a colour which matches the flooring, skirting and wall. Fit the silicone to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Once the silicone is dry, clean the floor and enjoy your good work.
If you decide that the job may be too difficult for you then contact an experienced property maintenance company such as Westone Housing.

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Test Of Social Media Linking

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Alistair Clarke

Test post to make sure social media linking is working

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Practical Tips for Fencing Problems Caused By High Winds

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Alistair Clarke

What do you do if you find your fence or post’s to be down? Firstly take a look at the extent of damage and try to lower as much risk as possible by moving close by items and remove any exposing nails etc.

Removal:
You want to carry out the work yourself? You need to remove any broken fence panels and post. Inspect both the fence panels and posts to see if they are bent, twisted or snapped. When fence lines fall down the fence posts tend to snap or split where the post meets the ground. This is because most posts have concrete bases, meaning the bottom is solid.

If lucky, you will find the fence panels are not badly effected and re-useable. Once you have established which post and panels can be saved, put them to one side.
You may have by this stage realised the post don’t seem to want to move. Yes, that would be thanks to the concrete mix left in the ground. Now there is no easy way of releasing this. Using a spade or shovel dig around the concrete enough so you can see all concrete. Then with at least another person’s help you should be able to lift the concrete mix and post out of the ground.

Preparation:
Be careful not to purchase the wrong items. Ensure you measure the shape and size of the panels and posts. Another product to remember is that to each post you fit you will need two bags of concrete mix (the concrete mix which will go around the post).
Dig out the existing holes as much as you can and remove any excess concrete from the previous fitting.

Fitting:
After you have purchased your items and you are ready to install the new fence line ensure one thing; it isn’t windy! You defiantly do not want to be installing your fence post on a windy day. Before you know it, you have come back after a cup of tea and you have a wobbly line of posts.

Starting at the post closest to the house, place the post in the bottom of the hole and measure the gap between the post and the house (or whatever objects your fence line is attached too). Ensure this gap is just right to fit your fence panel. Check this for every post you fit.

Once this has been checked, ensure your post is level. Then whilst you are holding the post in the correct position ask your ‘fencing buddy’ to pour the concrete mix in around the post. Then with at least 2 large buckets of water pour this into the hole. You will find the water is quickly absorbed into the concrete. Now with a solid long object, sometimes even a good stick repeatedly rod the concrete mix for around 3 minutes. This will allow the water to spread around the post and fill in all gaps so there is no dry powder left. PLEASE NOTE – Drying times may vary depending on the different concrete mix ‘s being used.

Now you need to cut two small pieces of wood which will support the post to remain upright whilst the concrete sets. Complete this for all post and leave to set.

Once the manufacturer’s drying time has passed you can remove all wooden supports and gently try to wobble your posts. If there is positive resistance it means you have done a good job. Working on the basis they are strong continue to fit your panels. I leave around 1inch gap at the bottom of the ground. This allows for any movement in the ground.

Once you have fitted the panels, back fill your post holes with the earth previously removed. Sweep off any excess dirt from the fence panels, take a step back and look at your masterpiece!

If this fills you with dread rather than confidence then I suggest you call a professional property maintenance company.

Posted in Property Maintenance Tips | Tagged | 4 Comments

Tiling Tips and Hints

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Alistair Clarke

Westone’s Top Tiling tips
Over the past few months we have had a growing number of phone calls from home owners that thought they could save themselves a quid or two by doing work around the house all on their own. Little did they know, there is a reason why tradesmen exist!
Instead of being the ‘typical’ man and not reading any instructions before starting, take a couple of minutes to digest my top tips when it comes to laying wall and floor tiles.
1. Removal; Wall – If on the walls there are already tiles laid, be very careful when removing them. Use a Bolster or Chisel to lever the tiles and use a hammer to tap the bolster or chisel underneath them. They should pop off one by one. Depending on the surface which the tiles have been laid to, some tiles will be removed easier than others. For instance, if the tiles have been laid onto fresh plaster and only a small amount of adhesive has been used, the tiles should come off fairly easy. However, if you are removing tiles from a plaster boarded wall you will find the plasterboard ripping off with the tiles. Next thing you know, you need a new plasterboard wall.

Removal; Floor – When removing existing floor tiles from floors it is essential to check what flooring is underneath the tiles. For example, if the tiles have been laid directly onto wood, it means the adhesive will literally be stuck to the top surface of wood so when you are removing the tiles, wood will rip off too. This will mean either a new wood floor, or laying hard board over the existing floor.

2. Preparation; Wall – Once all tiles have been removed I’m sure you will notice lumps and bumps on the wall – this is the stubborn old adhesive which hasn’t yet been removed. Using your chisel or a small scraper, carefully scrape this excess adhesive of the wall. Apply 2x coats of PVA (Uni bond). This will help the new adhesive stick to the wall and not dry straight away. If there are any holes in the wall, be sure to pick up a small tub of wall filler or bonding from your large DIY store, and fill in any holes you can see. The smoother the surface, the easier it is to tile (in theory).

Preparation; Floor – What you see when you remove the floor tiles may differ depending on the flooring you have. If you have a wood floor I would expect multiple random holes in the floor where the adhesive has ripped the wood floor up. If you have concrete floors I would expect (just like the wall tiles) it to have excess adhesive left over which would need scraping off. Whatever your floor may be, the next step of preparation applies to all floor types. Scrape of any excess you may have to make it as smooth as possible.

Now what a lot of people don’t realise is that floors do move and twist over years, especially wooden floors. If you were to lay floor tiles onto any wooden floor, in 1 or 2 years there will very quickly be grout lines cracking, hair line cracks to tiles, wobbly tiles etc. Of course nobody wants to be revisiting the work they did only last year, so at Westone Housing we always fit concrete boarding to the entire floor as a ‘standard rule’. Once this is complete, when you walk on your floor you will be able to feel the difference in strength… You are now ready to tile.

3. Tiling; Walls – Working on this basis you plan to tile the whole four walls in your typical square bathroom. All grout lines will need to meet up. A lot of people just start putting them on the walls, complete an entire wall and then move to the next. This is the wrong way.

Start by fitting a small but sturdy baton to the wall which will run around the perimeter of your bathroom. Ensure this baton is level and the tops of this baton are perfectly in line with each other. This is going to act as your level line to tile from. Then, lay your first row of tiles on this baton around the entire perimeter of the room. You now have level grout lines. Only when this is complete can you continue to tile whole walls at a time.

Apply the adhesive evenly and allow for any dips or curves in the wall. If all your tiles fell smooth then you are doing a good job.

Tiling; Floors – Now your concrete boarding is laid, think about the placement of your tiles and sizes of the cuts. For instance, if you started a full tile in the doorway where would this finish and would there be a slither of a tile at the other end.

To lay tiles onto floors you will need a floor adhesive – this will need mixing with water. Once it is mixed it’s a race against time as you have approximately 1 hour to lay your tiles before the mix dries up. Ensure all tiles are laid smoothly and have an equal amount of adhesive in each part of the tile. If you don’t apply adhesive in one part of the tile you may find it cracks over time from a lack of support underneath.

Leave all wall and floor tiles to dry for one day. Clean the grout lines of any adhesive or residue. Grout all spaces and clean multiple times. Then use a tile sealant to provide a clear lacquer over your tile face and grout lines. This protects from any staining or colour loss.

Your Tiling is complete!

If you have any questions relating to DIY or Home Developments contact me by;
01733 320500 OR ali.clarke@westonehousing.co.uk ;
Westone Housing Ltd, Manager, Alistair Clarke

Posted in Property Maintenance Tips, Tiling Services | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Westone Site goes Live!

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Alistair Clarke

On the 28th October the new Westone Housing site went live!..

The new site has been in development for the past months and is finally here! The last few tweaks are happening as we speak but the site itself is fully functional.

Westone’s new site is a much better interface and is easier for customers to browse through and find the department they are searching for. It also benefits from a Blog section and a personalised testimonials page; this allows all customers to fully express their opinion.

Take a look around and of course any feedback you have let us all know; www.westonehousing.co.uk

Posted in Westone Housing | Tagged | 1 Comment