Find a Shop Fitter you can trust in Iver.

There are a wide range of household rubbish and wastes you can put in a skip. But unfortunately though, paint cans and leftover paints isn’t one. Furthermore, not only is a liquid paint restricted from skips and landfills, but they are also banned by the council. Frustratingly, because it’s hazardous to the environment and blockages it can create in the pipe, pouring paint right down the drain is never an option as well. So what then is the best way to get rid of your leftover paint? Surprisingly, you have quite a number of options which we’ll share with you.

• Is the paint unused and unopen? For unopened paints, you can simply return them back to the seller either for an exchange or for a refund. Obviously, this will require a receipt and if unavailable, then you might want to consider the other options below.

• Is it just little paint leftover? Since it has been specifically banned from skips and it’s just a small amount of paint, you can get a bit creative with the disposal method. Simply get a cardboard or other papers, paint it with the remaining paint and dry it out. Once dried, you can then dispose the cardboard or paper alongside other permitted wastes in the skip.

• Is it a large amount of paint? For large amounts, you can contact some of your friends or family who might need it to get the paints off your hands. If you are unable to dispose any or all, there are online platforms like Freegle or Freecycle where there are people willing and ready to get leftover paints in large quantities.

• Is it unusable? If positive, then the giveaway option is completely neutralized. The best bet here is to leave your paint out to dry if it has gone past its usable days, then take it to a household waste recycling centre.

Click here to learn more about skips.

Are you looking to tile your bathroom floor very soon? Well, we’ve got you covered! Tiling is not the easiest skill to acquire and definitely not one you’d want to try out on your bathroom without some practices.  For the best results and to get it right the first time, we’d recommend you hire the services of a reliable professional especially if you’re inexperienced or without a bathroom tiling training. Hopefully, this quick step-by-step guide will put you in the right direction.

1. Make Sure You Have A Levelled Subfloor
   Your subfloor’s stability is crucial for the success of your tile laying.
2. Once done, then you can start planning how to level the floor.
3. Identify the highest point of your floor and place a really long level to determine the dip and hump spots.
4. Fill in the identified low spots with mortar.
5. Cut The Tiles
6. Using a wet saw with a diamond blade and pump, cut through the tiles to get the appropriate shape.
7. Choose The Appropriate Adhesive
8. To best adhesive is probably the one written on the label and suggested by the manufacturer. If uncertain, you can make use of a modified mortar
9. Prepare The Area
10. Using the prepared mixture of your mortar, prime the surface by spreading it on the floor with the trowel’s flat side.
11. Once done, you can add more mortar with the ridges of the trowel.
12. Space The Tiles
    Tile spacement depends largely on the surrounding walls. Straight walls equal straight tiles, if not your judge would be required to ensure a great outcome.
13. If the wall is straight, make a space of about an eighth of an inch. The bigger spacing, the higher the possibility for the grout to become visibly discoloured.
14. Use The Right Grout
15. With sanded and unsanded grouts having a variety of colours, choosing the ideal grout can a tricky affair.
16. The size of the spaces play a huge role in determining the best choice.
17. Use a sanded grout if the spacing is an eighth of an inch or more. However if less, make use of the unsanded grout.

There are a wide range of benefits you stand to derive by installing solar panels for your business operations. Not only can it help you save money,  but it can also go a long way to help reduce your business’ environmental footprint. Regardless of whether your company is big or small, it can still benefit immensely by making use of solar panels. If you’re considering the installation of solar panels in your business environment, then you probably want to know just how much it’ll cost to complete the project. In order to help you make the most informed purchase decision, we’ve created this post to give you a good insight into commercial solar panel pricing. Let’s take a look!

Generally, the cost of commercial solar panels is within the range of £16000 to £70000 for small to mid-sized companies. However, there are a number of factors that can influence the cost of commercial solar panels which includes the size of the roof, the amount of energy that’s generated as well as the number incorporated. There is a need to evaluate the cost of solar panels so as to determine whether or not they’re a feasible option for your business. In order to determine the amount of energy your company uses per month, simply take a closer look at your utility bill.  This should indicate just how much energy you use per month as well as how much the utility company charges per kW. In general, most small to medium sized companies will incorporate 30,000 to 50,000 kWh annually and you can expect the cost to differ based on your location and the size of your system. The rule of thumb with larger systems is to calculate using £1000 per kW, plus VAT as the yardstick.

If you’re building a connected home, a smart thermostat allows you to change the temperature in your home. And not only do several smart thermostats come with touch screens and a user friendly interface, but they’re also compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and other voice controlled personal assistants. So how does a smart thermostat work? Let’s have a look!

Generally, smart thermostats are connected to the home’s Heating and/or Air Con system via C wire (common wire). Homes that lacks a C wire (especially older homes) will have to install one first before getting a smart thermostat. The C wire is a crucial element in the installation process as it works mainly to wire your smart thermostats into the Boiler system without tampering with the wiring for the other appliances in the house.

The smart thermostats comes with some special temperature setting which you can access by connecting them to your home’s WiFi. These include:

• Mobile Control

Most smart thermostats are specially designed to enable users to control the temperature of their home from the comfort of their couch or car via their unique mobile apps. This feature is just perfect if you particularly like getting the perfect temperature in your home without having to get out of bed.

• Humidity Controls

Although, the humidity of your home can not really be adjusted with a smart thermostat but you can always stay on top of it by monitoring it or setting an alarm on your phone to go off when the humidity changes.

• Geofencing Feature

With a smart thermostat, you can choose the particular times of the day you want it in action. This feature enables you to go on impromptu travels without having to worry about your energy bills - some smart thermostats come with the geotracking feature which determines when you’ve left the house and adjusts the temperature of the home accordingly with your energy usage in mind.

Different types of gardening work will need to be carried out at different times of the year. Garden maintenance is a year round job, although the amount of work will usually decrease during the winter. For larger landscaping projects, aim to have these done through autumn, winter and early spring, to give plants time to get established before summer. Be aware that poor weather over winter can slow down the work.

If you’re considering adding a two storey house extension, then setting a budget for this project would be a great way to get started. Similar to a rear extension, a two storey extension usually leaves the rest of the building needing some work and, due to its size, this may imply the re-development of the entire house - which is why they can be very costly. Some of the other influencing factors that can have big impact on a two storey house extension cost includes: your location, the size of the build, complexity of the design ( anything beyond the standard build will normally require more expertise and time), the glazing to be incorporated ( the more the glass used in the project, the more the material cost), as well as the team used.

Generally, when it comes to extensions, the major part of the expenses will be made on the build of the project. This is because it doesn’t only cover the material cost but also the contractor’s overhead as well as the daily rates. At this stage, the extension prices can be determined by the standard of the work that’s being done.

For a fairly average room size of about 18 square metre, the two storey extension should cost within the range of £2,500 to £3,000 per square metre - with the range being determined by the finishes incorporated. Therefore, a two storey extension of about 18 square metre should cost within the range of £45,000 to £55,000. However, this is with the assumption that there are standard window sizes, bathroom suits are modest, and without any need for any purpose joinery or glazing. If you wish to include all these extra features you’ll also have to pay more to make the total cost between £70,000 to £80,000.

There always seems to be lots of things to take care of when moving house. No matter how good your organizational skills may be, it Will be quite challenging to perfect all work without trace of slip.

Therefore, some questions are asked, how long does it actually take to move house? What is the average time to relocate? How long does the moving process take? How much time do you need to organize and perform a smooth and trouble-free relocation?These questions are very difficult to answer,Yet, you can get a rough idea of how long you are going to need to move to your new home.

1) Finding an Appropriate New Home

House hunting is exciting but very tasking. You look out for the perfect new property to buy or to rent in your new area one that is easily affordable and utmostly appropriate for your lifestyle.

2) Selling Your Old Home / Ending The Lease Agreement

If you’re moving out of a rented property, you need to recall the terms and conditions in your lease agreement and notify your landlord about your movement to a new house.

3) Ensuring Professional Moving Assistance

Unless you’re Moving just within the town or have very few items to relocate, performing a DIY move is not a recommendable option. You’re going to need professional moving assistance in order to ensure the successful outcome of your relocation, so you’re strongly advised to allow yourself enough time to research your moving options.

4) Putting Your Paperwork in Order

Have in mind that obtaining and/or updating all the necessary documents usually takes time, so you need to start preparing the paperwork as early as possible. Don’t forget that you will need some time to review and properly organize your papers, as well.

5) Organizing Your Belongings and Getting Rid Of Unwanted Items

When moving house, there is need to look through all your physical possessions and decide the fate of each and every one of them – set aside the things you’re going to relocate to your new home, throw away any useless.

6) Packing Your Belongings

Packing is the most strenuous and time-consuming task you’ll have to take care of when moving house.

7) Moving Day

The actual time your movers will need to take your belongings out of your old home and load them onto the moving truck depends on:

The number of boxes to be loaded onto the moving truck;

The number of furniture pieces and household appliances you want to relocate;

How well prepared you are,

The flights of stairs your items will have to be taken up or down or the free access to an elevator;

The moving truck accessibility.

8) Transportation to Your Final Destination

Depending on the actual distance between your old home and your new one, as well as on the traffic and the weather conditions at the time of your move, the transportation of your items may take from several hours (for a move across town) to about a week (when moving from coast to coast).

9) Unpacking and Settling In

It won’t take the movers long to unload your goods and take them into your new home (several hours, depending on the size of your shipment), especially if you know where you want each and every item to go. Upon your request, the moving experts will also help you reassemble furniture, connect appliances, and unpack your most essential items.

The time it takes to relocate depends on individual circumstance, Therefore, the average time to move house is estimated to be about 8-16 weeks.