Emergency Boiler Servicing Installation and Repair North London

All Boiler Servicing Installation and Repair carried out by a professional with over 25  years experience in all aspects of Boiler Installation and Repair. Fully experienced in all aspects of Boiler Maintenance.All makes covered.

Phone ML Electrical, Heating,Gas, and Electrical Services
Mobile: 07860 690489
Office  : 01923676548

                                   

Experienced Bricklayer North London 07702244475

Bricklayer and Brick Pointing Specialist North London

Fully qualified experienced bricklayer and brick pointing specialist available for all bricklaying, blockwork,, brick pointing,brick repointing, and brick and masonry repairs in the North and West London areas. I have been a bricklayer for many years and have both my City and Guilds Craft and advanced craft certificates.I also do chimney stack re-pointing and repair and will remove and repair them if required.Areas covered include Willesden,Neasden,Kilburn, Wembley, Cricklewood,Hendon,Golders Green, Maida Vale,Hampstead,Highgate,Highbury,Sudbury,Harlesden,Acton,Shepherds Bush,Hammersmith,Ealing,Chiswick,Holland Park,Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove.
My contact tel.no. is 07702244475.

360 Machine Driver/Excavator Driver available London

Experienced 360 Machine Driver /Excavator Driver  London.

Experienced 360MachineDriver/Excavator Driver available for all London and surrounding areas. Vast experience above  and below 10 tonne and worked 18 months on the Olympic site in Stratford east london.
Call Mick on 07985257337

How To Build The Skewbacks on a Brick Arch-Video

HOW TO BUILD THE ARCH VOUSSOIRS

HOW TO MARK OUT THE BIRDS MOUTH OF THE ARCH

Parts of a Brick Arch-Video

Before we go on to build an arch it is best to become familiar with the terminology.The video belows shows the various parts of a brick arch and the terminology associated with it.

MARKING THE SKEWBACK ON A BRICK ARCH

Bricklaying Basics-How To Lay Bricks Correctly

A short video about Brick Cuts

Bricklaying Basics-Jointing Brickwork-video

Another video on jointing brickwork.It is really important to get a good finish to your brick wall so good jointing is essential.Below is a short tutorial on the subject.

Bricklaying Basics-Building a Brick Corner-Video

Bricklaying Basics-Spreading the mortar

Spreading the mortar correctly is an important part of bricklaying and it takes a lot of practice but after a while it becomes second nature and everything falls into place.Below is a very good video on the subject and its definitely worth a watch

Spot The Mistakes on this video from B&Q !

I have to say here that I have got nothing again B&Q and I shop there all the time but they have not distinguished themselves with this particular diy video and do not give very good advice when it comes to brick pointing.(For the difference between Brick Pointing and Brick Jointing see videos on an earlier post.)

The issues I have with this video are.

1.The mortar raker (with the wheels)they use is only used for raking out fresh mortar when a brick wall is to be WEATHER POINTED (rather than jointed)at some point in the future.This tool is not made for the hardship of raking out old mortar and you will end up with huge blisters on your hands if you use it for any length of time.

2.The finish on the brick wall in the video is cut and struck "brick pointing" (or "weather pointing" as it is also known) and NOT brick jointing as the presenter makes it out to be.The new and the old are a complete mismatch as the finish is done with a jointing iron and not a pointing trowel.


3.The perpindicular joints on a wall are known as PERPS (short for perpindicular) and not PERKS as they are called in the video.

4.The old PERPS should be raked out with a plugging chisel and not a cold chisel.The plugging chisel has a tapered tip which better facilitates the removal of the old mortar.If a square tipped cold chisel is used it is more likely to damage the surrounding bricks as it is far too clumsy for this delicate operation.

Thing is if you are selling your property this will stick out like a sore thumb when it is surveyed, and will damage your chances of finding a buyer.

COME ON B&Q YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!

Brick Pointing and Brick Jointing-videos

Brick Jointing and Brick Pointing Videos

Brick Jointing and Brick Pointing are two different finishes that can be applied to brickwork.The first,"Brick Jointing" seen in the first video is finished with a jointing iron as the work proceeds and gives a rounded finish whereas the second is a "cut and struck" weather pointing which is done with a pointing trowel and the excess mortar is cut off with a knife with the tip bent at right angles to the blade.

Brick Pointing-video

Radial brickwork-video

Flemish Bond Brickwork video

Flemish bond brickwork is the term used in nine inch brickwork where the arrangement of bricks is usually header stretcher header formation continued throughout. These days we do not see much solid nine inch work as it has been taken over by cavity walling, which is mainly a four inch skin of brickwork on the outside with a three/four inch cavity in the middle (where insulation is inserted), and a four inch skin of thermalite block on the inside. The two skins are usually tied together with cavity ties at specified intervals. This method has many advantages over the traditional method, namely, better sound and thermal insulation. The appearance of flemish bond brickwork is sometimes required in cavity walling when a new extension is built onto an existing old building which has the traditional flemish bond arrangement of bricks.

The formation of bricks is header (snapped in half as in the video above) stretcher and this is repeated alternately throughout.

This is a method which can seamlessly integrate new with old, especially with imperial bricks such as the london stock which lends itself perfectly to this type of work.

As a side note, I have to add that in my experience and eventhough I`m given to believe it is widely practiced in certain parts of the country, laying bricks frog side down , as in the above video, has always been frowned upon by both clerk of works and architects alike, because of the fact that the frogs are never wholly filled with mortar thereby leaving a weakness.

Tuckpointing video

The tuck pointing video above is a good example of how tuck pointing should be done. As you can see, even though in theory it seems easy enough, in reality it takes a lot of practice to achieve this level of proficiency and as always the mark of any good tradesman is how seemingly effortlessly he performs his task. The finished job looks very impressive and will enhance the aesthetic appeal of the building, making it look as if the brickwork is perfectly square.

Gallows brackets-How to install them

Gallows brackets are metal supports, triangular in shape used in combination with a pre stressed concrete lintel to support the chimney stack in the loft when a chimney breast has been removed on the floor(s) below.Different councils have slightly different requirements when it comes to the installation of Gallows brackets and while one will insist on 3 gallows brackets to support the brickwork above another will require just 2. The strength of the gallows brackets will also need to comply with council specifications which means the flanges will have to be 3 inches wide and not 2 inches as was the case in the old days. Because the chimney flues are bonded into the main party wall there is no need to be too concerned that the whole stack will come tumbling down and I have seen cases where the only thing supporting the stack in the loft was the grace of God.

Before embarking on a project like removing a chimney stack always notify the council and be safe rather than sorry as they will advise the best way forward and there will be no worrying when it comes to selling the house as everything will have been carried out in accordance with building regulations. Remember also that if you share a party wall with your neighbour you may need a Party Wall Agreement.

The process of installing the gallows brackets is pretty straight forward and can easily be carried out in a day but great care has to be taken to ensure you do not fall down through the ceiling as this can ruin your whole day.

You will need

1. 3 gallows brackets

2. 1pre-stressed concrete lintel 9inches wide (2 lintels 4 inches wide are easier to carry) or metal plate

3. 6 rawlbolts to bolt the brackets to the wall

4. 1 drill with a 16mm drill bit

5. Sharp sand and cement mix to use as drypack between the top of the lintel and the underside of the brickwork

Sequence of operations installing the Gallows Brackets

1.Drill 6 holes (two per bracket) where the Gallows brackets are to go i.e one bracket must go on either side of the stack and one in the middle.

2. Offer the gallows brackets to the wall and put the rawlbolts through securing them tightly with a spanner.

3. Span the lintel across the gallows brackets

4. Mix up 2:1 sharp sand and cement mix better known as drypack (damp not wet) and insert it between the lintel and the upper brickwork forming a very strong bond.

This is not a very difficult job to do, but given the dusty conditions and absence of good ventilation in your average loft, it does warrant the use of a good quality dust mask.( and at least six pints of a good quality lager to ensure no possibility of a dreaded sore throat. This is entirely optional... but highly recommended :)

Getting a website up and running.

Image via Wikipedia

It is essential these days that the bricklayer uses every means at his disposal to find work, and one of the ways that you can increase your chances considerably, is to put up a simple website and optimize it for the search engines.

Lets face it the days of the yellow pages are almost over and people are increasingly using the internet to find tradesmen (and women) so if you haven`t got a web presence where you can showcase your expertise then you are deader than the dodo. I know that if any bricklayers are actually reading this (and maybe there are one or two:) then they will be saying "but i`m a brickie not a f****ng web designer".This may well be the case but it is a good idea to get some kind of a website online so that you get your share of the pie.These days you have to learn to market yourself and with all the free stuff available online, it need not cost the earth to do it. If you go to ebay and type in websites for sale you will see some fantastic bargains from top class web designers who are looking to establish themselves and will do you a pukka job for very little money.
There are a lot of free places on the net where you can get free publicity for your particular area of expertise and you get to write a brief description of the services you offer.The following are what is needed to get yourself online

1. A domain name: Cost about $9 a year. Go to somewhere like Name.com or Godaddy.com and look for something relevant ( such as www. brickpointerinlondon.co.uk or www.londonbrickie.co.uk or variations thereof eg.www.london-brickie.co.uk) It is essential that the name is relevant because when someone searches for brick pointer in london or london brickie, your website will have a better chance of showing up than if your domain name (ie. website name) was "my dopey website.co.uk":)

2. Hosting:This can be as low as $5 a year if you use ebay. Just type in hosting into the search box. A lot of the hosting provided on ebay comes complete with its own simple website builder and this is a fantastic way to learn the ropes very cheaply and it means that you can easily make changes to your website in future should you wish to do so and not be at the mercy of a web designer. Just have a bit of patience here and you will reap the benefit for years to come

3. If you do not want to go down this road then you can avail yourself of the many free websites on the net such as blinkweb, geocities or blogger.com where you can have unlimited
free blogs and setting up is just a 3 step process.They will host it free of charge and here again you will have access to a simple to use website builder, where you can practice away to your hearts content until you are eventually happy with your masterpiece. Make sure that you put in the keywords that you think your customers will be using to find you, such as brickie in north london, brick pointing specialist,bricklayer etc. as the search engines love it when your content is both targeted and relevant.

As with anything in this life there is a learning curve, but if you just spend a half hour on the computer 3 or 4 times a week you will not regret it and that phone will ring a lot more often,.. even if there is a recession.

Hard Times For Brickies!

The Recession officially came into being last week and as if we needed telling the general public are tightening their belts and cutting back on everything but essentials, so the poor old bricklayer is once again sidelined and finding it hard to get enough work to survive. When I logged into Mybuilder.co.uk it was brought home to me how much competition there is now for work and for some of the jobs posted there, there were about 30 tradesmen tendering, as compared to 3 or 4 this time last year.. A lot of younger married brickies with big mortgages are going into steadier jobs(if they`re lucky) with the old reliables such as London Transport and British Rail hoping to ride out the recession and return to the building sites again when times are better. So how can we increase our chances of getting work?



1..Use the internet to your advantage by putting up a simple website and optimizing it
for the search engines. This is not as complicated as it sounds and will be of enormous help
to you in the coming months and years ahead.

2. Be very professional in all your dealings with customers and always turn up on time.

3. Again remember to use all the free advertising on the internet to get your message out there
All it takes is a little time and patience.

4. If you have any qualifications such as City and Guilds etc make sure it is firmly stated on
your website.This tends to inspire confidence in you as a tradesman.

5.Ring up your local newspaper and haggle with them for a rock bottom price on your advertising or any special deals they might have. Get friendly with them and you will save a fortune.

Remember even in recessions there will still be work for people who are willing to up their game and put some extra work into marketing themselves.It will mean going outside your comfort zone but the rewards will be well worth it.
While these simple steps will not guarantee that you will become a millionaire while everyone else goes under it may just dramatically increase your chances of getting steady work in these difficult times.

Effects of efflorescence on Bricks?

Effects of Efflorescence on Bricks?
Efflorescence is that white powdery looking substance that appears on some brickwork This can be unsightly in new brickwork and some people try to take off the white deposit by applying more water to it in the hope that it will lessen its effects. Instead of getting rid of the efflorescence it actually makes it worse and the best way to get rid of it is with a scrubbing brush,no water, and good old fashion elbow grease.
How would efflorescence damage masonry?
Continual saturation with soluble salts, can cause deterioration of
masonry, if the materials are soft like stone, soft blocks, and non British Standard bricks
This continual wetting with ground water or water high in soluble salts can
make the materials susceptible to frost attack also the salt crystals can
build up inside the masonry expanding as the frost water molecules do,
destroying the face.
Water molecules expanding within the face of the masonry will make the
face breakaway and flake, leaving the masonry unsightly and over a long
time unstable.
Lime mortar will be affected, as the soluble salts will attack the lime the
chemical reaction between the soluble salt and the lime creating sulphates
that weakening the mortar.
With face stone work particularly stone containing limestone, the soluble
salts will cause a chemical reaction between the soluble salt and the lime
creating sulphates, leaving the masonry susceptible to atmospheric attack
from acid rain and frost etc

Types of Bricks

Image by east_lothian_museums via FlickrTypes of Bricks

This week I would like to discuss the different types of bricks available and their uses.

Engineering

Engineering bricks are a very hard, durable and highly resistant to frost damage.They are rated as either class A or B, with A being the strongest and they are usually used below ground level where great strength is required and also for Damp proof courses. They usually come in either red or blue colours

Common Bricks

These bricks are of an inferior quality to the engineering or facing brick and they should not be used below ground level and are most commonly used for internal walling where they are generally plastered over.These bricks are sometimes referred to as 'flettons"or LBC faced commons because of their common coloured base.

Facing Bricks

Facing bricks come in a variety of colours and are selected for their attractive appearance. They are aesthetically pleasing and are by far the most popular of all bricks.These Facing bricks can be broken down into the following classifications.

a) Wirecut

The majority of bricks in the UK are formed using this process. First, clay is extruded through a brick-shaped die, the appearance of the brick can then be determined by the addition of sand or texturing the face. The resultant clay column is then cut into individual bricks and fired in a kiln. They produce crisp lines and sharper looking brickwork.

b) Stock Bricks

Stock bricks are machine moulded bricks generally with a frog indent, formed by pressing wet clay into sanded moulds. The use of sand to release the bricks from the mould contributes to their soft texture and slightly irregular shape. Stock bricks produce a softer appearance

c) Waterstruck

These are moulded bricks released from the mould by water. They are solid bricks, containing no holes or frogs. The use of water together with the wetness of the clay produces a smooth and lipped edge.

Reclaimed Bricks

Reclaimed bricks have, by definition, been reclaimed from demolition sites - some may be handmade bricks, some other types of facing brick, others may be engineers. Their edges are typically worn and irregular and a number may have remnants of mortar on due to their original use. Many will have fine creases, characteristic folds and variations in colour that typify old brickwork. It is this combination which some feel gives "Reclaims" a charm and character all of their own. By virtue of their age the vast majority of Reclaimed Bricks are in Imperial dimensions. The Matching Brick Company stocks a range of reclaimed bricks in each of its yards.

Imperial-Sized Bricks

As well as Reclaimed Bricks, The Matching Brick Company stocks a range of new bricks in Imperial size (normally 73mm or 75mm). Other imperial-sized bricks are obtainable to order.

Special Shapes

A wide variety of Bricks are available in Special Shapes or sizes to compliment or contrast with all facing bricks. The MBC stocks a large range of special shapes in smooth red and blue, and can obtain any special shape to order. We also offer a cut and bond service which is ideal for creating angles for conservatory bases etc.

Handmade

As the name suggests, handmade bricks are literally made by a person throwing clay into a mould by hand. This produces the distinctive creases or "smiles" that charecterise handmade bricks. Once all bricks were made this way and although a few traditional handmade brickworks still exist, the cost of producing bricks by this method is prohibitive so more often nowadays this process is done by a machine. These are prestige facing bricks adding style, individuality and character to any project.