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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Shower repairs

Silver Saints - London handyman service. We are getting more and more enquiries for shower repairs. All of our handymen can repair or replace thermostatic and electric showers. I have got say 9 out of 10 times faulty showers are going to be repairable and myself and Seamus have become pro's at identifying and sourcing spares for almost every make, model and type of shower.

In fact we have become so confident we can repair your electric shower that we willing to offer a fixed price of £80+vat for repairing electric showers. Most times we can identify the parts required simply from you description of the symptoms over the phone but if we cant and 2 visits are required we will still only charge £80+vat.

It is important to point out that the £80+vat does not include the cost of the parts but we will always advise you of the cost of the replacement parts before anything in ordered.

Why not give our friendly and experienced operations team a call on 0207 0999 199 or visit our website www.silversaints.com

Our busiest day yet!

Yesterday we took a total of 19 bookings, our busiest day yet. We dont expect to take many bookings on a Thursday or Friday in camparison with the first half of the week so this really took us by suprise. Our previous best was 18 which was only two weeks ago Monday but we expect to be really busy on the phones on Mondays.

I'm super chuffed with this as it isets up for a good week next week and means we only have a few gaps to fill in the first half of next week. We prefer not to be booked up too many days in advance as it makes us a less effective service for our customers.

Monday and Tuesday are looking full aside from one or two small gaps but the rest of the week is fairly open so if you have any handyman jobs you need doing and you are in London why not give us call.

Summer holiday pinch.

The handyman industry traditionally quietens down over the school summer holidays. In fact I think the whole of London quietens down over this period. There is noticeably less traffic on my way to work and there seems to be less people out and about in general.

We always expect to feel a slight pinch at this time of year and take between 2 and 5 bookings less per day than we would normally expect to take on average at any other time of the year.

This years summer holidays so far have not actually been that bad for us and we have managed to keep to flow of work a lot more steady than we expected. Sure we have dropped slightly in our bookings but not as much as usual which I think may be down to the fact less people are going abroad for the summer holidays and instead opting to stay in London and use their time over the holidays differently. Weather or not this has something to do with credit crunch I hesitate to say.

I firmly believe that reputation is everything in this industry and no matter what time of year it is we will always strive to offer a service that is second to none and as long as we continue with this our fantastic regular customers will always refer us onto friends, families and colleagues helping keep the steady flow of jobs coming.

Need some help around the house or office Silver Saints' london handymen will be happy to help. We employ the most experienced handymen in London allowing us to take on almost any home and office repair or maintenance.

Silver Saints going green

Here at Silver Saints - London's premier handyman service we are very proud of our green business.

Most of our handymen travel around on motorbikes which are very economical and have very low emissions compared with your average plumber, electrician or maintenance firm in a van though we have even gone one further and have a handyman on bicycle covering mainly central London postcodes. Don, our handyman on a bicycle will tell you there is no quicker way around central London and being a cycling enthusiast myself I have to agree.

Both myself and Seamus (the other operations team member in the office) are avid cyclists and often cycle out to meet our handymen to assist them on jobs that need a second pair of hands for lifting, to drop off parts or even to deliver a ladder and we have a very neat and nifty trailer that fits behind our bikes and can carry most things a handyman would require including a 5 rung ladder!

This is just one of the many ways in which we overcome some of obstacles that other handyman services would not even attempt and we even go about it in a green, Eco friendly way.

New handymen, breakfast meetings and concealing cables in walls.

Silver Saints is growing. Today was the first day of our newest recruit, Roger. Although this is his first day as one of Silver Saints' London Handymen he has been in the handyman industry for sometime and we have come to know him and his fantastic quality of work quite well over the last year or so.

Roger will be covering mostly the South East, East and central parts of London so if you are lucky enough to live in one of these areas and book in one of our handymen it may well be Roger that turns up at your door.

Rogers' first day coincided with our monthly breakfast meeting providing a good opportunity for him to meet and sit down with all of our other handymen for a chat. This mornings breakfast meeting was a particularly good one as Silver Saints MD Seamus had planned a demonstration on concealing cables in walls. This has become quite a common request from our customers particularly when it comes to plasma and LCD installations as it is usually unsightly to simply have the cables hanging out of the bottom of the TV. We offer a range of different cable tidy solutions, the most cost effective and common of which is a surface mounted strip of conduit which comes in a variety of colors to match your wall and is relatively inexpensive but there are a lot of people who would prefer to have the cables buried in the wall which can be more time consuming and messy than people think.

Seamus has been putting a bit of thought into chasing cables into walls and decided we would experiment with a few tools that come available to make chasing cables into the wall a simpler and tidier job, at the expense of a wall (In need of repair already) at the office. In the end the demonstration went well and it gave all of the saints a pretty good idea of what is possible when it comes to hiding cables in walls and, hopefully, by the end of this week we should an addition to the services we offer fixed prices for on our Silver Saints - London Handyman website.

More YouTubing.

As of this morning the YouTube video I posted about two weeks ago on how to hang a flat screen has been veiwed 382 times. This is a fantastic result for us and we have found it has done wonders for some of our generic word searches on google so I have posted another video on YouTube which is more of a promo video than a how 2.

London handyman - Silver Saints is a selection of pics of our handymen carrying out some of the more common jobs we love to take on.

Is Jon Lewis slipping?

Yesterday I had a call from one of our handymen to say that he is with a customer who has asked him to hang a blind. Our handymen hang blinds almost everyday, it has to be up there with the most common jobs we do so they see almost all makes shapes and forms of blinds. This particular blind came from Jon Lewis and had been supplied with the incorrect brackets for the blind. This is staring to become a common feature of blinds bought from Jon Lewis and the handyman thought he would call to let me know he had run into yet another JL blind that had been supplied with the incorrect parts.

I'm not sure if there was one bad batch supplied with the incorrect parts or if JL have let their quality control slip.

If you have had similar problems with blinds bought from JL post a comment on this entry as I would be interested to know if there is something wrong with the quality control at JL or if it just coincidence that we have seen a few blinds with incorrect parts.