Find a Shop Fitter you can trust in Argyll.

• Washing up liquid
• Glass cleaner
• A lint-free cloth or rag
• A putty knife
• A paper plate
• Acetone

Moss, mushrooms and weeds are all problems that many homeowners face on their lawns. Luckily, with a bit of maintenance, there are ways you can get rid of these unwanted organisms and prevent them from coming back. Getting rid of moss A simple way to remove moss from your lawn is by scarification. This basically means that you vigorously rake your lawn, but only do this in the autumn when the grass is actively growing and it’s not too hot, cold or dry. However, you can also use specific weedkillers to control moss on your lawn, and most of these should be applied when the moss is actively growing. Apply in fine weather by hand or with a push-along spreader, making sure not to apply too much as you could kill off the grass too. Check the instructions, as some will require watering after 48 hours if it’s not rained. Then, get into a scarification routine to help prevent moss growth. Removing mushrooms from your lawn If you’ve got mushrooms in your lawn, it usually means that your lawn is damp and shaded, so it never dries out, and is organic waste-rich. There could be a drainage problem with your lawn that is encouraging mushroom growth, so it’s important to investigate why the mushrooms are growing to prevent them from returning once you’ve removed them. To get rid of mushrooms in your lawn, make sure you scarify your lawn and get rid of all the moss, thatch and dead grass that comes up. If you leave it, this is heaven for mushrooms to grow in. If your lawn is shaded, try to prune and thin surrounding trees to offer it more light. If you do all of these things, it will prevent mushrooms from growing in the future, and then it might be worth using a fungicide to get rid of the mushrooms that are there. But if you just do this step, it’s likely the mushrooms will just come back. How to get rid of weeds To get rid of weeds from your lawn, you can use selective weedkillers that will just kill the weeds and leave your grass alone. But if you’d rather not use weedkiller, you can get rid of weeds from your lawn manually. For large, deep-rooted weeds like dandelions or plantains, use a trowel to lever them out, ensuring that you get the whole plant including its roots. Then use compost to fill the hole it leaves behind, pushing it deeply into the hole. Sprinkle with fresh grass seed, cover with extra compost and water. Make sure you keep the area damp until the seed has germinated. To prevent moss, mushrooms or weeds from returning, the best things to do are:

• Scarify your lawn in the autumn, and lightly in the spring if necessary
• Seed your lawn in the autumn if you need to
• Try to keep trees trimmed and pruned as much as possible to reduce shade
• Use a pre-emergent weedkiller in the spring to catch them before they grow and handpick any that come through
• Mow your lawn regularly in the spring and summer, being careful not to remove more than a third of grass at a time, then before winter give it one last mow and a fertilisation treatment

When it comes to getting an air conditioning unit for your property, one of the greatest mistakes you can possibly make is purchasing and installing the wrong type as well as size in your personal space. In the event whereby you happen to go for an AC unit that’s too small, it won’t be powerful enough to cool your room as you would like. However, when you go ahead to select an oversized AC unit, your room would be cooled relatively quick but will leave the air in your room with excess humidity and consume more electricity as it’s going to cycle on and off which will ultimately cost you more money. As a result, it’s always a smart move to put some things into consideration before making any financial commitment. In this post, we’re going to consider how you can determine the perfect air conditioner for your building. Let’s take a look!

• Determine the appropriate size for your space. When buying a new air conditioner, one mistake you should never make is getting the wrong size. A unit that’s too small will have to work overtime to achieve the set temperature for the room and driving up your energy bills, while a unit that’s too large will cool the air pretty easily and quickly but leave it damp and clammy. To get the appropriate size, you’ll have to take the measurement of the room’s square footage using a tape measure, calculate the room’s square footage and determine the cooling capacity required for the room in question which is measured in British Terminal Units (BTUs)/hour.
• Look out for the ENERGY STAR® certification. It’s crucial to buy and install an air conditioning system with the blue ENERGY STAR® certification. This means that the unit has met or exceeded certain higher efficiency standards than other similar models.

A front porch is a glorious addition that would be a blessing to have in any home. It gives you a good floor space to enjoy your neighbourhood as well as your surroundings in the cool atmosphere of the outside living space. The question however is, how do you build a porch? Constructing the structure can be a very challenging task but with proper guidance and lots of practice, you can also be a skilled porch builder. To protect your investment, it’s advisable to hire the services of a professional for help with your porch especially if you lack proper training and experience. This way, you’ll get to save time and money. This guide is prepared to give you some insight into the porch building process.

lAssess Your Location

• Consider the location before proceeding with the project. It’s essential to select a location that’ll reduce the sunlight coming in.

lPlan The Materials Required For Your Porch

• You’ll have to decide the type of porch you’ll be going for. For example, your porch can be built out of wood, composite decking or if it’s going to utilize some stone flooring, brick or even tile.

lBuild Your Porch Foundation

• Dig the foundations deep to ensure stability while also putting in mind any pipework or cabling

• Fit a damp proof course

• Add the subfloor - this can be concrete or timber

lStart To Lay The Brick And Floor

• Lay the bricks evenly up to the DPC level

• Lay the floor

• Add the flooring protection

• Once done, you can lay the bricks to the window level

• You can fit in a window sill if required before proceeding the brick and block work until it reaches the roof timber’s height

• Fit the linter when you get to the top of where the window will reach.

lConstruct The Roof

• Build a timber framework

• Fit a breathable roof membrane

• Install the roof battens and lay the roof tiles.

• Add gutters

You want your home spotlessly clean and sparkling at all time. Well, so does several other home owners. However, before you achieve that aim, there are a multitude of decisions you’d have to make. And these decision will most often start from how to find and choose the best domestic cleaners available.

One of the several different choices you’ll face, however is whether to supply the products to yourself or if it’s the duty of the domestic cleaners to bring their own supplies which they would use to clean up your house. If they’re to bring their own products and end bringing ones you don’t like or insist on using the products that it’s likely that you’re allergic to. Fortunately, you don’t have a thing to worry about when it comes to this as the best domestic cleaners will all agree that the most appropriate products are the ones you already use at home.

Generally, it’s usually best that you provide both the cleaning products as well as equipment that the house cleaners will use for a number of reasons. Firstly, looking at the from the hygienic point of view, you definitely do not want equipment being used on another property brought to yours and you also get to use the cleaning products you’re comfortable with.

Most professional domestic cleaners will show up at your home to do a bit of walk through the home, know where your product and equipment is kept, how your vacuum cleaner works and lots more, before the come for the actual cleaning. Therefore, if you already have your preferred products and equipment, they’ll have a look and provide you with expert advice on the ideal cleaning products, if that’ll help too.

Not if they are under 1 metre high if next to a road or 2 metres high elsewhere. It’s always recommended to check with your neighbours and the local authority if you are unsure. Other restrictions may apply, for example if a fence might impact driver visibility on nearby roads.

Whether you’re liable for a leaking roof in a commercial property will depend on your ownership status and any contracts. Of course, if you own a standalone commercial property, it would make it your responsibility to repair to leaking roof. But if you own an office within a building, you should check your paperwork to see whether you are responsible for some or all of a leaking roof.

If you’re a tenant in a commercial property, things get a bit more complicated. Lots of commercial leases are FRI, or Full Repairing and Insuring leases, which means that the tenant is responsible for all external and internal maintenance and insuring the building. It means that it’s vital that you read through your tenancy agreement in full before signing it and seek legal advice if you think you need it. If your lease is an FRI lease, you are liable for a leaking roof in your commercial property.

It’s important to ensure that you have a schedule of condition for the property, which will mean that you only have to restore the commercial property back to the condition that it was in when you took over. It’s also worth getting the roof inspected before you sign the lease, as if there is any damage before you sign the landlord may be responsible.

The best way to avoid having to pay for a leaking roof in a commercial property is prevention. If you are liable for repairs and maintenance, make sure you have the roof inspected regularly by a reputable company to avoid having to pay for costly repairs when disaster strikes.

When home or property owners decide to plant a Leylandii, they mostly think about how great it is as a hedging and screening plant and forgetting it also require a regular maintenance to keep in good shape. One thing about Leylandii are they do not re grow if you happen to cut back into the old wood. Once it turns brown, it will remain like that with no possible solutions to remedy the situation as they have little to no ability to regrow from the old wood.

In order to maintain your Leylandii hedge in good shape and order, that’s not too wide or too tall, then it’s recommended that it should be trimmed at least once a year. By doing this, you’re more likely to cut only into the new green growth which will enable the hedging plant look great and green with no brown patches. So when is the best time to prune a Leylandii hedge plant in a year?

Generally, it’s advisable to cut back mature or overgrown Leylandii hedges in the UK about two to three cuts between the months of April and August. By this time, your hedge plant will already be well established and ready for some maintenance and care. However, if there’s a chance that you might not be able to prune it on a yearly basis, the we’d suggest you get a slower growing alternative instead. Some of the alternatives which are slower growing and unlike Leylandii, can regenerate when cut back into the old wood are several types of Thuja as well as English Yew.

Below are some guidelines you can follow when trimming your Leylandii hedge:

• Do not cut Leylandii hedges during very forsty or hot weather.

• Do not cut the hedges during wet conditions to allow the cut dry and heal quickly.

• Make use of sharp tools.

• Cut on a cool and breezy day.