Not your average handyman service

Many people who use our London handyman service for the first time are pleasantly surprised when a well spoken, polite and neatly turned out person turns up to tackle their 'to do' list.

All of our handymen come from professional backgrounds: Don is an Oxford graduate, was a pilot in the Royal Air Force, a government liaison in China, Chairman of a Charity and also has a honours degree in french studies. He picked up most of his handyman knowledge and skills while renovating his own and friends properties. Don has been working as a professional handyman for six years now and is attracted to this job because no two days are the same. Nick graduated from Brunel University with an engineering degree, he worked for KPMG for twenty years as a management consultant, is an avid yachtsman and skippers commercially owned yachts in his spare time. Nick describes himself as semi-retired even though he works a full five day week. The aspect of this job he likes the best is meeting new and interesting people everyday. Robin has been in the building trade working as a Quantity Surveyor for over twenty years, he is an advanced motorcyclists and often takes groups of motorcyclists on guided trips to Europe. His depth of building and technical knowledge is massive and he pursues carpentry projects as a hobby.

It should be obvious from the profiles above that we are no ordinary handyman service, when you book a Silver Saints handyman, you are getting someone who can communicate well, is used to working in high pressure environments, has excellent problem solving skills and have chosen to do this job because they understand the importance of customer service and love DIY. All our handymen have had successful professional careers but have left the confinement of the office behind to pursue a flexible, fun and rewarding career as a mobile professional London handyman.

Draught proofing and chimney balloon for a greener home

It is no secret that having an energy efficient home can save you money and at the moment I don't think there are many people that aren't fans of saving money.

In fact more and more people are looking for ways to make their homes more energy efficient spaces. You don't have to look any further than Silver Saints - London's professional handyman service, we offer a highly effective (both in purpose and cost) sash window draught proofing service that not only keeps the chilling draft out and the warmth in but also vastly improves the operation of your sash window.

We offer a fixed price of £95+vat per window so it wont cost you the earth either.

The second energy efficiency product we offer is the supply and installation of chimney balloons. A chimney balloon is a bed pillow size (and shape) balloon that you inflate inside the chimney flu of fire places that are not in use and it seals them up effectively and neatly.

Chimney balloons are a bit of a novice and simple idea but the most the effective idea's usually are. They come in a variety of sizes and prices so give us a call or visit our website for more info.

Galvanised wire rope sash cords

One of our handymen is replacing sash cords for a customer in N4 today. Changing sash cords is a basic task for a Silver Saint and probably not blog worthy but today's job is replacing sash cords on some of the heaviest sash windows we have encountered, so heavy that even the thickest sash cord breaks after 3 months under the windows weight.

The solution is to replace the sash cords with galvanized wire rope. Much thinner than sash cord but much stronger and it also gives the sash window a surprisingly luxurious feel when they are opened and closed. Originally we did this job about 9 months for customer that was so impressed he recommended us to all of his neighbours who have the same windows and thus the same problem and one of those neighbours has booked us in for today.

What better time than the start of summer to have your sash windows working as they should.

For most other windows normal sash cords will suffice and we offer a fixed price for replacing sash cords:

Replace one inner sash window cord - £65+VAT
Replace one outer sash window cord - £75+VAT
Replace both inner sash window cords - £75+VAT
Replace both outer sash window cords - £95+VAT

Silver Saints - Driveway, patio and deck cleaning - **Coming soon**

Silver Saints - London handyman service took delivery of our new and extremely cool power washer last week and spent some of Friday afternoon testing it out on the driveway of the office. I am please to report the the driveway got blasted clean and we are well impressed with the new washer and are just about ready to start offering its services as one of the specialist tasks our Silver Saint London handymen can take on.

Now that summer is well and truly on the way there surely can be a better time to have the garden deck or patio cleaned with a high pressure washer. Nothing will get you patio, deck, walk way, drive way or conservatory roof cleaner than our machine in the hands on one of expert handymen.

We are in the process of putting together a pricing structure for patio cleaning, deck cleaning and driveway cleaning. Give us a call on 02070999199 or visit our website and be one the first to take advantage of our new pressure washer service.

Shed re-felting

If your garden shed roof is looking a bit tatty and weather beaten there is no better time than the beginning of Summer to have the felt replaced.

The roof felt forms a waterproof layer that stops water penetrating the roof and leaking onto the stuff you keep in the shed but it also keeps the shed roof timber in good nick and ensures it lasts through the seasons.

Re-felting a shed roof is a job that any of our handymen can do so why not give us a call to get an idea of what costs are involved.

Silver Saints - London handyman service. 0207 0999 199

Change sash cords for the summer

What better time to have a fully functioning, easy to use Sash Window than in summer. It is a time when you want to be opening your windows to let the summery sun and light breeze in without having to battle with a sash window new or old that has a broken sash cord and is not running smoothly.

Silver Saints - London handyman service are pro's at changing sash cords. In fact we are so confident in our ability to quickly and efficiently change sash window cords that we offer a fixed labour price.

Replace one inner sash window cord - £65+VAT
Replace one outer sash window cord - £75+VAT
Replace both inner sash window cords - £75+VAT
Replace both outer sash window cords - £95+VAT

The above charges don't include the the new cord but sash cord very rarely costs more than five to eight pounds per window.

Why not also take advantage of our draught proofing service in preparation for next winter. Seal the draught and cold out and the heat in for an extra £60+vat per window if done at the same time as changing your cords. (Normally £95+vat per window if done on its own).

We hope this summer lives up to expectations and there is good reason for you to want your sash windows working properly.

Silver Saints - London's handyman service - 02070999199.

Toilet repairs

Toilet repairs is one of Silver Saints - London handyman service's specialities. We have repaired almost every conceivable make of toilet and doubt there is a toilet issue we can't solve.

Just recently we came across a toilet made by Possi Genori that had a faulty filling valve and flush valve. Filling and flush valves are very rarely repairable and 9/10 times need replacing, having done this a hundred times we know that we it comes to filling and flush valves that are not operating as they should be, unless the repair is completely obvious, replacing them should be the first course of action.

Spares for possi Genori toilets aren't available from your local plumbers merchants and if not one the of the current ranges of Possi Genori toilets the spares have to imported from Italy at unbelievable prices and take about 6 weeks to arrive. Most people don't have 6 weeks to wait for their toilet to be repaired so instead we sent Silver Saint Don to the property armed with a description of what was required and few standard parts to see what could be done. 2 hours later the toilet was fully functional with a brand new filling and and flush valve.

If you are having a problem with your toilet give us a call on 02070999199 mention this blog and you will receive a 10% discount off your toilet repairs. Don't forget we also unblock toilets.

Should we do the tiling?

Last week we were called in to replace an electric shower by a customer that had a 15 year old electric shower that had finally given up the ghost. She was a little upset that her trusty shower had broken but realized that due to its age it was probably time for a replacement. Shower repairs and shower replacement is something we do on a regular basis so I explained we could replace the shower and would only need one visit if she could give me the details of her current shower, which she did.

I searched the Internet for details of the old shower so I could check what power rating and what plumbing and electrical connections it had so I could get the closest match that would not require too much adjustment of the current plumbing or electrics. Eventually I found the details and a diagram of her current shower which as it turns out was a shower cross mirrored vanity unit that fitted to the wall. I had not seen anything like it before and the site I was looking at confirmed its age and also that there were no spares available for it. The diagram showed the size of shower which was far bigger than any modern shower which means that a newer smaller shower might expose some of the wall behind the old shower depending on weather the tiles have been laid up to the shower or behind the shower. The customer was confident the tiles ran all the way behind the shower.

I found a suitable electric shower that had similar connections and the identical power rating and the job was booked in. The handyman arrived and proceeded to fit the shower but when he removed the old shower he found that the tiles protuded only marginally behind the shower and there was a mainly just bear wall behind the old shower at which point he though it best to confer with the customer and explain there will need to be some tiling done as the new shower would not cover up the exposed wall. The customer understood the what was required but asked the handyman to continue to fit the new shower and she would do the necessary tiles herself. The handyman continued.

Early the next morning I received an email with pictures attached from the customer who was very upset with the condition of her wall and level of finish of the installation. She was right the finish was not great but not surprising either as the handyman had fully explained the situation and she literally told him that she only wanted to pay him for the shower installation and that she would do the tiles herself. This is an incredibly frustrating situation for us as we had tried to explain that this issue would arise but to avoid leaving one of our customers unsatisfied we are going back to the property to re tile the wall as necessary at our own expense. Sometimes it is impossible to do everything right but it is mostly the way you handle the complaint when things do go wrong that people will remember you for.

Snowed in?

While most of London had the day off on Monday courtesy of mother nature some of our handymen were still hard at work. All of our handymen travel around on either large motorbikes or bicycles so they are really exposed to the elements and far more adversely affected by the snow than your average tradesman in a van but this did not stop some of handymen getting on with their working day.

Most of our handymen live in suburban London and understandably were unable to make it into work on Monday and Tuesday but one or two of our guys refused to let a little bit of snow ruin the start to their working week and managed to walk to some of their jobs. Now that's what I call dedication and its what you can expect every time you use London's premier handyman service - Silver Saints.

Extreme handymaning

A few weeks back I posted a blog entry on a job that required us to abseil from the 3rd floor balcony of a customers house. The job was to fit pigeon spikes to the horizontal pipes that feed into each floor of the property. The customer, as with most of her neighbours had built a conservatory onto the back of her property that covered most of the garden. This caused two problems, the first was that pipes provided the perfect place for pigeons to perch out of the wind over night, this meant that every time one of the pigeons relieved itself it relieved itself onto the glass conservatory roof. The second was that because the conservatory covered most of the back yard we could not use a ladder to gain access to the pipes or to clean the conservatory roof. The only way to clean the roof and gain access to the pipes was from above, so we bounced the problem around the office and came up with a plan.

A few months back a friend got me interested in the sport of climbing and after a few trips to the Castle indoor climbing centre in north London I was hooked. I kitted myself out with all the necessary harness, belay devices, etc so felt confident the best way to tackle the problem was to set up a rig from the third floor balcony and abseil one of my handymen (Manfred) down to the pipes.

After waiting for all the materials to arrive in our office and favourable weather the job eventually went ahead last week Friday and was a huge success. We set up an extremely safe rig and abseiled Manfred down all 3 floors several times. We even landed up washing the conservatory roof with a pressure washer which we suspend from a rope.

Another job well done which virtually no other handyman service would take on.

Is it really the time of year?

Silver Saints - London handyman service. We have noticed a change in routine of late, usually Monday is our busiest day on the phones and as a result we take more bookings on a Monday than any other day. But Monday bookings have slowed down and every other day of the week has picked up.

Having been in the pro handyman industry for 5 years I have witnessed the continuous trend of high bookings Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then a decrease in bookings on Thursday and Friday but something has happened that has turned this ever reliable routine on its head and we seem to be taking far higher bookings towards the end of the week than ever before. We originally thought it was the time of year that was having the affect and things were generally slowing down as everyone recovers from the financial hang over from December but this does not add up as the average bookings taken Monday to Friday has not gone down it just been reversed. We have a few theories on this but none of them are certain and I wonder what has changed that has made a consistent trend that makes perfect sense change completely.

Abseiling handymen

One of our handymen was recently asked by a customer to find a way to stop pigeons from landing on the external pipe work on the third floor of her triple story house. This is quite a common problem and is usually solved by fitting bird proofing or pigeon spikes to the pipes. The only problem was that the customer had built a large conservatory onto the back of the property preventing us from using ladders to get up to the 3rd floor so we had put our thinking caps on to find an alternative solution.

Having done a bit of amature indoor climbing recently and with help of our experienced climber and handyman Manfred we were able to come up with a rather unusual solution to abseil from the 3rd floor balcony down to the pipes that require bird proofing.

This is just another example of how everyone here at Silver Saints - London's premier handyman service take pride in thinking outside of the box to come up with solutions that allow us to take on jobs that no other handyman service in London will touch.

Draught Proofing

Silver Saints offer a comprehensive and effective draught proofing service. I know that I have definitely felt the chill set in in London over the past couple of weeks and doom and gloom weather reports confirm this. That's why I think there is probably not a better time to get your windows draught proofed. Its is also a good way of giving new life to your old rattly sash windows at a reasonable price.

We offer a fixed price of £95+vat per window which includes all the labour and materials and if needed we will also change your sash cords in the process for an extra £8+vat per window.

If you would like to know more about what our draught proofing service involves give us a call on 0207 0999 199 or visit our London handyman service website.

Specialist curtain and blind hanging service

The other day I had a call from a customer who wanted to know if we were a specialist curtain hanging service. The obvious reply was "yes, we are indeed a specialist curtain hanging service". She then went onto explain that a few years ago she had some curtains professionally made and installed by Peter Jones which for many years looked fantastic but recently they just haven't been hanging right. She thought the pull mechanisms and curtain tracks were fine and that it had more to do with the way the curtain are hanging on the rails than anything else.

When a customer calls and asks if we are specialist curtain hangers my immediate thought (From years of taking these types of calls) was that she meant fitting new curtain poles or tracks and not actually hanging the curtains themselves. I explained to this customer that we are a professional handyman service and though I am perfectly confident that we can figure out what is wrong with the way her curtains are hanging she should expect a handyman to arrive and not some interior designer curtain specialist type.

In the end she was perfectly happy with that explanation and even more pleased that the same handyman could sort out her funny hanging curtains and also look at a few other jobs she had around the house.

We pride ourselves on solving the problems of our customers and feel that we have the best handyman in London who are capable of solving almost all household and office jobs.

Hanging curtains and blinds is only one the many specialist jobs Silver Saints - London handyman service takes on.

Toilet unblocking - its not pleasant but at least its satisfying

Silver Saints - London handyman service has encountered a few interesting toilet unlocking jobs over the past few months. From soccer ball size pieces of limescale to bits of carpet our Silver Saints have seen it all.

We have a very special method of unblocking toilets that allows us to be faster and cheaper than your average man in van drain unblocking company. This doesn't make the process of unblocking toilets any more pleasant a task but at least it makes it a bit more satisfying. Reason being is that our London handymen find nothing more satisfying than giving a customer a successful, cost effective solution to a problem, even if that problem is a nasty blocked toilet.

Our handymen have pretty funny and equally nauseating stories about unblocking toilets but each one of them still finds it a satisfying job to do.

We charge a fixed price of £60+vat for unblocking your toilet (we unblock sinks and basins too at £70+vat).

If you have a domestic or commercial toilet that is blocked give our operations team a call on 0207 0999 199 or visit our London handyman service website to book in a Silver Saint today.

LCD installation

Fitting LCD screens is a job our Silver Saint - London handymen do all the time. We have LCD installations down to a fine art and offer a fix price to hang your LCD screen. Any screen up to 42" - £80+vat Any screen above 42" - £95+vat We have a satisfaction guarantee that covers all of our work and we are also fully insured as plasma and LCD installer. The above charges cover the fitting of the bracket and screen. We can also supply a bracket for you for an extra charge and also offer a range of cable tidy solutions which one of our friendly and experienced operations team will be happy to discuss with you. If you have an LCD or Plasma screen that you want hung give us a call on 0207 0999 199 or visit our plasma installation website.

Gratitude and reward for good service

Silver Saints - London handyman service - We often get emails from customers thanking us for the great service and more often than not praising the handyman for his skill, flexibility and mostly his good manner.

Just last week I received an email from a customer who had Robin in to draught proof her windows. This particular customer was a property developer and had been using a rival handyman service for some time but thought she would give us go as we are one of the few handyman services that offer a draught proofing service.

Robin met her at the property first thing in the morning and proceeded to inspect the windows and the customer decided that she would leave Robin with the keys and leave the property to get on with some other things. This is not a rare occurrence, we are left in properties to work on our own all the time and have absolutely no problem with it. Robin completed the job at the agreed a fixed price, cleaned up after himself and dropped the keys through the post box of the customers home address which was just around the corner. Once he had done this I called the customer to let her know I had emailed her a copy of the invoice for the work done that day and explained this invoice could be paid by card over the phone which she did then and there. Robin had also had a look at some other windows while he was there and I included a cost estimate in the email I had sent with the invoice. The customer could not have been more complimentary about the service she had received and how wonderful she thought Robin was. She even went a step further to email me after the conversation we had had on the phone to say how she thought there was not another handyman company capable of offer more professional and complete service.

Needles to say that this customer will be using us in all of her investment properties from now on.

The most interesting thing about this situation is that I do not feel we did anything out of the ordinary for this customer, we treat all of our customers the same and give the service we ourselves would expect as customers of a service based company.

Why not put us to the test by calling 0207 0999 199 or by visiting our London handyman website. I assure there is no other handyman service in London that offers the same standard of service we do.

Changing light fittings and light switches.

Some people are under the illusion that you need a qualified electrician to change light fittings, light switches and plug sockets but this is not the case. None of our handymen are qualified electricians but are more than capable of changing light fittings, light switches and plug sockets. In fact we can do almost any domestic and commercial electrical jobs that don't need any new wiring added.

Handymen are well within the law to take on like for like electrics eg fitting replacement light fittings. As long as there has been a light fitting there before and the cables are all in place we can change the light fitting without hassle.

Changing light fittings, light switches and plug sockets are just a few of the many electrical jobs we take on. Why not give our operations team a call on 0207 0999 199 or visit out Silver Saints - London handyman website to discuss and book a Silver Saints handyman today.

London toilet and sink unblocking.

Silver Saints - London's premier handyman service is fast becoming London's premier toilet and sink unblocking service.

Sure, all of our handymen travel around motorbikes and cant lug a full jetting and roding kit around with them but that is what makes us so competitive. We carry a special pump and small auger that fits neatly on our bikes and has a 99% hit rate.

There is no comparison between what we charge for unblocking toilets(£60+vat) and what a specialist drain clearing company with two guys in a van with a full kit of drain clearing machines charges (Usually upwards of £100+vat).

If we cant unblock your toilet and sink we wont charge you a penny.

Why not give our operations team a call on 0207 0999 199 or visit our London handyman service website.

Sash window draught proofing

Silver Saints - London handyman service. We have recently added sash window draught proofing to the wide range of handyman jobs we take on in London. Our handymen have years of experience working with sash windows and we have come to realise that there is a demand (especially as winter closes in) for draught proofing of sash windows.

We offer a professional and complete draught proofing service that does not cost the earth. Most draught proofing companies prefer to renovate the entire window which can become both timely and costly whereas we offer a straightforward draught proofing service which will vastly improve the weatherproofing on all areas of the existing sash window.

We offer a fixed price for draught proofing so you no exactly what you're in for.

- £95+vat per window.

If you need your sash window cords changed at the same time we charge an extra £8+vat per window that we are draughtproofing.

Sash window draught proofing is just one of the many specialist tasks we take on, we not give our friendly and experienced operations team a call on 02070999199 or visit our London handyman service website to book your Silver Saint today.