Spring has now most definitely sprung, and we want to talk about some things that we all forget when we’re about our Spring cleaning routine.
You may be looking at the bookshelf and wondering, as you dust, if some of those Stephen King novels might be better off at the local St Peter’s Hospice shop. You may be thinking of tackling some more gruesome tasks that you’ve been putting off, like cleaning behind the fridge (gulp!).
However, there are some other essential maintenance and repairs around and outside of your home that need some more serious attention. We’re all guilty of delaying things and putting them out of our minds when they seem a chore. You don’t want to end up with a worse mess later though, when now is the perfect time to get a handyman or handywoman out to nip it in the bud…
Sorry about the pun!
I know what you’re thinking – it’s all well and good us saying this. After all, we’ve got a team of handypeople right here to impart advice to us about home maintenance every day. Well, we want to share their expertise with you and help make you and your loved ones’ lives a little easier. Here are some important things to look out for that our squad of experts can take care of for you.
Now we need to preface this by saying that we aren’t a “cleaning” service per se, but we can help a little bit in that area, as you’ll see below. So don’t sack Julie the cleaner just yet! I’m sure she’s a much better choice for swabbing the decks and scrubbing the surfaces than we would be.
So without further ado, here’s our guide to the top jobs we can do for you in the Spring.
Around the home
There are lots of little general tasks about the house that you might have been delaying whilst hunkering down for the cold winter. Maybe you’ve had some nice Bristol Blue Glass for Christmas that you’d like to display. We can help with putting up shelving, either out of the box or made-to-measure by us. Not to forget assembling the Ikea flat-pack furniture that’s been sat in the box waiting for you to get fed up of piles on the floor. Our carpenters can take on anything you like, and there’s no such thing as a job too small. We do two-man jobs for the larger furniture – safety first!
We’re often finding that we are asked to move furniture around the home. We don’t do removals, but we can help to move a bed or a sofa or any other larger items of furniture to accommodate your needs. We have much experience in adapting homes for patients returning home from the hospital where a hospital bed is to be delivered. Like a real-life game of Tetris, we can configure your living spaces to the way you would like them to be or offer some advice on practical solutions.
Are you finding that you have to put your shoulder into getting into the living room because of that sticky door? Our carpenters are dab-hands at internal doors. We can hang them, trim them, even replace handles and knobs on existing doors. We’ll source the right shapes and styles for you and give you a quote for the work if it’s something non-standard. It’s no trouble at all. Doors should be easily opened and closed for ease of access and safety. We’re very keen on helping sort them out for you.
Windows are another often forgotten set of fixtures. Sure, Jim the window cleaner comes around once a month to give them a wash and a squeegee, but how is the sealing looking? If the sealant is coming away we might be able to help you replace it, as well as repair or replace sticky handles and dodgy locks. If we can’t, we know some great local contractors who don’t cost the earth that can repair and replace windows and frames.
We should also mention that it’s a good idea to look at your blinds and curtains as well. Are they starting to look lop-sided or the blinds won’t open properly? Repairing and replacing blinds and curtains is important for privacy and security – if curtains and blinds remain open or drawn for long stretches of time it could look like a property is vacant and an easy target… So, it’s a good idea to gave them taken care of. It’s a quick fix for privacy and peace.
It’s also a good time to think about replacing any light bulbs that have blown. We often source light bulbs for our customers so they don’t have to – everything from simple ES27 Edison screw bulbs up to fluorescent tube and coil-shaped bulbs. It’s also wise to have any switches and cords that might be broken repaired or replaced. They should also be inspected to make sure that they are safe and functioning correctly. Whilst we’re up there, we can clear out any dead flies or dust from the fixtures that might be causing an issue or blocking light out where it’s needed the most. Same goes for air vents and ceiling fans because you want them working well and not blocked up or scattering dust about your home!
In the bathroom
How are your drains and plug holes looking? Hair and fluff can block them up steadily over time. Perhaps the plug is also perishing after many years of use, causing the opposite issue. Time to inspect those now if the water is draining away slowly or draining when you don’t want it to.
Leaking taps are a nuisance with their constant “drip-drip-drip”. That’s money down the drain quite literally if you’re on a water meter. Replacing tap washers is a simple but effective first step. We are well versed in this as you’d expect, as well as replacing whole tap fixtures. Are you finding turning those old-style taps difficult nowadays? You might consider replacing them with lever taps or a mixer style tap for ease of use. This can be done in the shower as well – if you don’t have an electric power-shower that is.
In either case, the showerhead can also get clogged over time as hard water leads to limescale. This can be cleaned, or replaced if it’s broken or leaky. Shower doors and screens may have similar problems if the seals are worn, cracked or broken. Again, these can simply be replaced. Better to have them swapped out than for the leaking to go onto the bathroom floor where water is definitely not wanted.
Tiling and grouting repairs can be a chore. Panelling is all the rage these days because it cuts down on cleaning and maintenance. Of course, if you have an over-bath shower this might not be suitable for you. You might consider having a wet-room or level access shower room for ease of bathing as well as ease of cleaning. This is an area that we have a lot of expertise in, so don’t hesitate to ask us about what it entails, or see our helpful web page on the subject.
In the garden and outside your home 
Ah the garden. We all want to enjoy it as much as possible, especially in the current lockdown. We’re performing limited garden works at the moment, with a focus on safety first rather than aesthetic. However, do check back with us in the coming months as the coronavirus situation changes, because we would definitely like to resume our full garden maintenance service as soon as possible.
Some things that aren’t commonly done but can make your garden safer and more pleasing to the eye include having the lawn mowed, bushes trimmed back, paving stones and paths jet washed, sheds being repaired or built, and decking stained.
We continue to offer a full gutter cleaning service, using a very nice piece of kit called a Skyvac that thoroughly cleans the entire guttering around the perimeter of the house without us even having to get on a ladder! It’s got a camera that lets our handyperson see all the action ensuring we don’t miss a single leaf. Though for more tricky blockages we will certainly get up the ladder and give it some elbow grease.
It’s also always wise to have your roof inspected by someone qualified. Our technical officers can take a look for you and offer some advice. It can be hard to see if there is a slipped tile or problems with the shingles until it’s too late and you’ve got a leak, so it’s worth enquiring about how we can help.
Phew! I know – that’s a lot of things to look out for.
You may not want to have all these things taken care of at once, or cannot afford to. Don’t forget that we can offer a subsidised rate on some of the works that we do. You may be eligible for a grant or a low-cost loan to help with some larger repairs or maintenance – please call us on 0300 323 0700 or email info@wecareandrepair.org.uk if you’d like some more information about this. It’s our passion and our pleasure to help you with all aspects of home improvements and maintenance, throughout the year.
