Find a Shop Fitter you can trust in Castlederg.

With heating and cooling bills making up more than 50 percent of one’s overall utility expenses as reported by the Department of Energy, you’d probably want to know some ways in which in you can improve the efficiency of your air conditioning system. With the warmer months just around the corner, now is the best time to get started. Not only will you be able to improve the air conditioning efficiency in your home, but you’d also be able to save some money on cooling and heating bills. In this article, we’re going to consider the top 5 tips you can implement to get your air conditioning system running efficiently and at its maximum. Let’s take a look!

• Ensure that around your outdoor condenser unit is clean. When clean and free of debris, your outdoor unit is able to function at its best. This can be done by yourself just by watching a couple of videos, however you’ll need a professional whenever a more thorough and in depth cleaning required.
• Vacuum indoor vents and keep vents unblocked. In order to ensure there’s an uninterrupted airflow from your system, there’s a need to vacuum dust as well as form of debris away from the indoor vents. You should also keep items such as furniture and blinds away from obstructing the vents.
• Increase your thermostat by a number of degrees. Generally, adjusting temperature 5 to 8 degrees can go a long way to help you save some money.
• Keep lamps and other heat producing appliances away from the thermostat. Having heat producing appliance will only inform the thermostat that the air in the room needs extra cooling. This will make the system run longer and use up more electricity.
• Keep the curtains and blinds closed. This is to prevent the heat of the outside coming in and vice versa.

If your house is built before the 1980’s it’s likely to contain some form of asbestos material which when disturbed can release some harmful fibres whose inhalation can lead to a number of fatal diseases and health issues like lung cancer and asbestosis. If you suspect that your house contains some asbestos materials, the best step to take is to call in a qualified asbestos consultant to carry out a thorough inspection of the area so as to identify the potential asbestos containing materials in your property.

The result of the testing done will bring a peace of mind as it’ll confirm whether or not the material actually contains asbestos. In the event whereby the testing result shows that the material does not contain asbestos, this will significantly reduce your renovation or demolition cost. So if you’re wondering how asbestos testing can be done, simply continue reading.

Identifying asbestos is as simple as just looking at the material with the naked to check if it contains the harmful substance. The presence or otherwise of a potential asbestos containing material can only be confirmed by laboratory testing. A qualitative identification of asbestos in a bulk sample is the best method for testing for asbestos. This asbestos testing process involves taking a look at the fibres under a polarized light microscope and under varying conditions to determine the kind of asbestos it is, if present. The result of the testing, if positive, will identify the type of the asbestos discovered and this can be either white or chyrsotile asbestos, brown or amosite asbestos or, blue or crocidolite asbestos. However in the event whereby the sample doesn’t contain any asbestos, the test result will show NAD or No Asbestos Detected.

Knowing when best to clean your gutters can do a lot of good. Wile some people assume that fall is the best time for gutter cleaning after the leaves fall, others believe spring is the most appropriate time to clean the gutters before things start to grow there. The truth is, both camps are right. However, the best time to clean your gutters depend on a wide range of factors which are all unique to you. In order to help you make the most informed decision possible, we have created this post to help you figure out the right time to clean your gutters. Let’s take a look!

Where you’re located. What we get is four season in a year as well as as a good amount of rain. As a result, you may want to put into consideration cleaning your gutter at least twice a year - clean the gutters once in the spring and once in the fall. It’s important to make gutter cleaning a part of your normal spring schedule as well as part of your fall maintenance routines.

What surrounds your home. If you happen to have tree surrounding your home, then it’s more likely that dead leaves clog up your gutter pretty quickly. A single tree is enough as it’s going to shed leaves that will find their way into your gutter, accumulate and affect its performance and integrity.

What your gutter currently looks like. If you gutters already have an entire ecosystem of animal life and plants hamging over the edges, then the best time to clean the gutters is now rather than having to wait a particular season to act. A dirty gutter should be attended to immediately in order to prevent some unnecessary damages as well as expensive repairs.

Gravel driveways, when properly installed, can be a very cost effective way of surfacing all driveways including both the big and the small ones. As a result, it has grown to become a common choice amongst homeowners in the UK. It does a great job at giving a property a more natural look than other driveway surfacing options which includes concrete, block paving or tarmac.

Are you planning to install a gravel on your driveway? If yes, then you’ll most likely be interested to know exactly how much it’s going to cost. Well, to get started you’ll have to decide whether you’ll be doing this yourself or perhaps you’d be hiring a specialist. The project could be much more effective if you decide to tackle it on your own as you’re only going to be worried about the paying for the materials without any labour costs. However, installing a driveway is in no way an easy task even for the competent and more experienced DIYers. So if you choose to carry out the project on your own, you should also get ready for a longer completion time than it would have been if you hired a tradesman which is usually around 48 hours. If you have all the tools and materials in place before commencement, then it’s possible to complete the project over the weekend. However, there are many risks involved such as the possibility of misjudging the amount of base layer and gravel required etc.

Here, we’ll look at the various material costs of gravel driveways, as labour costs largely varies from one tradesman to the other.

The material cost of a gravel driveway of about 20 square metre should range between £1100 to £1200, 40 square metre should cost between £1600 to £2000 and 80 square metre gravel driveway should cost between £2800 to £3200.

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 considering a house move, garden work or building project, one of the most common questions that comes to mind is, how much it would cost to hire a skip?

It is widely known that a skip represents one of the best and most affordable ways to get rid of your unwanted rubbish or waste. However, the determination of the cost of a skip hire depends on a number of factors such as your location, the size of the required skip, the skip hire duration as well as the requirement or otherwise of a skip hire permit.

The most significant determinant of a skip hire cost is the size required. The most common skip sizes are 4 and 8 cubic yard and as expected, the larger skips come at more expensive prices than the smaller ones. This is due to the fact that it can contain a larger amount of unwanted waste or rubbish. Generally, the skip hire price includes the delivery, collection and disposal of the waste. The more the waste, the larger the size of skip to be hired, which means a lot more expenses to be made.

Another factor that determines the cost of a skip hire is the duration. The standard duration of a skip hire is 2 weeks (14 days), however, this period can be extended for just a small amount so far a due notice is provided. Location is also another great determinant and that works considering the number of other skip hire companies in the area.

Overall, a small sized skip costs within the range of £90 to £130 per week, whereas a large sized skip of up to 12 yards for the same amount of time jumps up considerably to a range of £250 to £440. Click here to learn more about skip prices.

Tiling a kitchen wall can seem like an easy task until you get started. Errors made will forever be evident for everyone to see unless you’re prepared to spend some extra bucks. When done right, it can actually be a very satisfying project, but don’t even think about rushing into it. If you lack a proper training or experience, it’s advisable to leave the task to a skilled professional for the best results and to avoid extra costs. This guide is meant to give you a detailed insight into the process and help you avoid possible errors.

• Preparation

✓ Ensure you have the required amount of tiles, adhesive and grout.

✓ Take the tiles measurement and calculate in square metres.

✓ Determine the number of tiles to be used and add about 10% to the total number to cover for possible wastage.

✓ Check to surface to make sure its clean and dry.

• Mark Out The Area To Be Tiled

✓ Mark out the width of the tiles with spacers using a baton of timber.

✓ Position a tile against the bottom-most point and draw a line.

✓ Put a baton along this line and follow this by a vertical line at the wall’s end.

• Install The Tiles On The Kitchen Walls

✓ Apply an even layer of adhesive with a wall trowel on the kitchen’s wall surface.

✓ Place the first tile on the adhesive and apply small pressure, do this for the remaining tiles with similar pressure to ensure its levelled.

✓ Make use of tile spacers to get a uniform space in between.

✓ Leave the adhesive to harden before applying the grout.

• Grouting

✓ Remove the tile space and clear out excess adhesive

✓ Prepare the grout

✓ Make use of a grout float to apply the mixture into the joints.

✓ Let the grout dry up a bit before washing the surface off with a sponge and water.

Being a strong and durable product requiring little maintenance and expected to last over 2 decades, it’s little wonder resin is now a popular material amongst homeowners in the UK to build their driveways. However, there’s always the issue of the driveway fading, cracking or even becoming worn and tired. So is it possible to repair resin driveways? The answer is yes, a resin driveway can be repaired, however the best approach to use largely depends on the issue being faced. As a confident DIYer it’ll be very easy to do, but if you lack the confidence then calling in a professional for help would be a better option. So let’s take a look at how you can repair your resin driveways.

For cracks, the best reparation approach would be to chisel it out. Once done, then you can proceed to breaking the stones to form a rough edge. It’s important to make sure that the matrix of the stone remains unaffected. Make a new mixture of resin bound stone and pack it in tightly to the gap. While doing this, we’ll recommend making use of a plastic trowel to avoid burnishing. This fresh mixture will then create a smooth and perfect surface by interlocking with the edges. You can follow similar procedure for patches but these are larger holes or damages than cracks and as the name suggests are mostly likely to remain noticeable but will prevent further crumbling of your resin driveway.

For homeowners, who aren’t so keen about the patch repairs, you can opt for an overlay especially in the event whereby the majority of the surface has failed. Although many usually shy away from this approach because of the perceived high expenses, but the fact is that the approach is actually cost effective as you won’t have the need to spend more money in the long run.