A home can decrease in value through botched projects or bad workmanship. For a long time almost every homeowner has wanted to cut down costs by trying their hand at painting and decorating, home refurbishment, plumbing and the like but the need for home improvements is steadily on the increase and a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ amateur can easily mess up a job with the whole project going incredibly wrong.

Many men are now calling on the professional building companies to take on the majority of their home maintenance projects since they are recogning that, in the long run, it works out to be a lot cheaper.

A leading estate agent has states that, in the current recession where nobody seems to be buying homes, the properties which are quickest to sell are the ones which have kept up the appearance and are defect free.

Regular repairs and maintenance need to be undertaken as problems arise to keep your home as your family?s greatest asset. Productivity in the commercial sector has also been shown to decrease when employees are working in a dirty or scruffy environment and a simple coat of paint may be all that you need. Professional building companies will be able to take care of all these home or office maintenance needs with only minor interruptions to your home or office.

When thinking about home refurbishment, painting or all of those hundreds of little jobs which it takes to get a home into a ‘Fit for Purpose’ state, here is a short list of things you should take into consideration. You are probably going to be a lot better off by choosing an established company. The reason for this is that they have a reputation to live up to otherwise they wouldn’t get any work. Ask your friends for referrals look for them under the company review websites on the internet, obviously look for the best competitive quote and that only the most suitable materials are used. Finally, and this is important, find out how long it is going to take them to complete.

It does not matter what kind of tasks you have got planned for the coming year either commercial or domestic, Betts Contracting offers a one stop total solution of building refurbishment that can offer you the best home refurbishment price, for the best materials and guarantee you the highest possible standards in workmanship.

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My wife and I have compromised. I will visit her parents for two whole weeks (a project in itself) and, as a reward for this, I get to destroy our home and build it back up into a dream palace. Sounds simple but in truth both of us actually have to sit down and agree as to what it is we want doing and to make sure that I do it correctly, we both decide on the kinds of building materials that are needed for the job.

Building materials can truly make or break your D-I-Y dreams – If you are not using the proper building materials to do your project, your results will most likely not be what you expected. In saying that, you do not need to lay out a fortune buying building materials and supplies, you just need to know how to work with them correctly and understand the limit of your skills. If you buy really expensive kitchen ceramic tiles for new kitchen appeal, but you have no idea how to install them correctly, the price of the materials will hardly be worth it if the final result appears to be unsightly and amateurish

It’s critical to start with a clear goal and vision of your required results and to choose the quality building materials to make that goal a reality. Not all D-I-Y projects will be the same, some will only require minor alterations and quick fixes, while other tasks may be more precise and extensive- like the installing of new shingles on a roof or redoing your kitchen cupboards. Both projects will need your keen attention to detail and leave little room for mistakes – especially the roof, as a leaky roof could be the direct result of poor quality building material choices or incorrect installation.

Most of the big stores that sell building materials will often have trained staff that can help you in choosing the right building materials for your project; they might also be able to show you how to use the materials properly, in a step-by-step manner.

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Step One : Be ready

You need to make sure that you have enough equipment before you get started. Imagine your cleaning cupboard at home and this should give you an indication, after all your office is simply a big home. A mop, brush and vacuum cleaner should be the beginning followed by dusters, cloths, floor cleaning solution (or a dry carpet cleaning solution if you have carpets instead of tiled floors) and maybe a toilet brush. Speaking about the toilet brush don’t forget the disinfectant spray and maybe some air freshener. The health and safety people would probably lock me up if I failed to mention that you should get some rubber gloves as well.

Step Two : Assess the work to be performed.

Start by letting some sunshine and fresh air into the room. Get the windows open! Once you do this you will notice that the job doesn’t seem to be as bad. Look at the job you are facing and see if there is anything that requires special attention (grease marks, stains on the floors or furniture). Set yourself a goal in terms of how long you will take to finish the job and then start at one end of the room. Make sure that your cleaning equipment is close by but not in the way.

Step Two: Get rid of the garbage.

First get rid of all the food wrappers, papers and general office rubbish and empty the bins. Separate the recyclable from the other rubbish and place them into separate bags. This would already have made the office cleaner and the job will seem less daunting.

Phase Four: Move the office equipment and stationery

You need to make sure that all surfaces are clear before you can start cleaning properly. Disconnect lights, printers, calculators, computers and the like. If possible move all of this out to a separate room so that you have more space. Any small furniture such as bins, chairs etc should be moved out of the way and don’t forget to take out anything that might be cluttering up the area like pens, books, stationery etc

Phase Five: Start by dusting the office

Your office should be looking rather empty by now except possibly for a few bits of larger furniture. Wipe down all the surfaces and make sure they are free of dust. Remember to dust the high places first since you don’t want furniture you have already dusted getting dirty again.

Phase Six: Vacuum EVERYTHING!

The office area should now be clear so, if you can, try to move some of the larger furniture around so that you can get to those hard to reach places. You have already dusted and most of this will (hopefully) now be on the floor. Vacuum everything! Every piece of floor, every chair, curtain, blinds etc. Any empty drawers or cupboards can get vacuumed as well and once this is all done put all the furniture back into its original places before you continue with the next step.

Step 7: Point and shoot

Everything should now be dust free so take your furniture spray or disinfectant spray and spray all the window sills, furniture and office working areas. Some spray products require you to wait a short while before wiping off the surfaces. Now you can clean all the individual bits of office equipment (computers, lights etc) properly before carrying it back into the office. A little bit of spray and a cloth should be all you need. Be careful with computer monitors that you don’t use a furniture polish on them (you get special monitor cleaner). Finally scent the air with your air freshener and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done.

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Types of Carpet Cleaning.

Other than the countless ‘housewives remedies’, there are generally five recognized methods of cleaning carpets. Steam (also known as hot water extraction), shampoo, bonnet or quick dry and dry absorbent compound cleaning.

Steam cleaning (a.k.a hot water extraction) is probably the most popular of all the different methods but not always the best since the drying time, depending on the material, can be as long as 12 hours. A high-powered pump sprays a cleaning fluid into the carpet which is then sucked out immediately by a strong vacuum.

Any appliance store can offer you a wide variety of carpet cleaning machines. Many of these appliances are upright, free standing units with a solution tank for the cleaning fluid and two or three nylon brushes on the underside. The procedure is the automated version of somebody cleaning with a scrubbing brush in that the dirt is loosened by the brushes and then the dirt and dust is then vacuumed (normally with a separate vacuum cleaner) afterwards. As with steam cleaning, the carpet takes about 12 hours to dry.

Cleaning using the quick dry method may actually seem to be the same as carpet shampooing but the machine is slightly different in that, instead of brushes, it uses a couple of absorbent pads. A quick dry cleaning detergent is first spread over the carpet and then the machine buffs the carpet clean by absorbing the detergent as well as the dirt. The process is similar to buffing your tiled floors. It takes about an hour to dry so this method is ideal for high traffic areas.

If you are looking for a method that is between steam cleaning and shampooing then dry foam cleaning is the answer. Foam is distributed over the carpet using a machine which has rolling brushes after which the carpet is sucked clean using the standard carpet vacuum cleaner. It only takes an hour or two to dry.

A powder called dry absorbent compound containing detergents and solvents which are lightly spread over the carpet. Either the professional or you use a machine which brushes the mixture into the carpet fibers after which you leave the carpet for a short time while the powder encapsulated the dirt. Once a bit of time has passed, a vacuum cleaner is used so suck up the dirt as well as the remaining compound. This method eliminates the chance of your carpets going moldy since no water is ever applied.

Options for cleaning upholstery

The material to be cleaned is the deciding factor when choosing what method you will use to clean. Velvets and silks, for example, should only be dry cleaned and are therefore best left to a professional cleaning service. Some stronger materials, however, can be wet cleaned and this can be done using steam in the same manner that you would use with carpets and rugs. The only difference in the machine is the size of the nozzle which is small enough to be hand held. Most fabrics can also be shampooed but we recommend that you only use the foam of the solution not the liquid and then apply this with a damp sponge.

Identifying the upholstery material

When it comes to cleaning fabric furniture, most people don’t know what the best method to use should be. Search for the manufacturer’s instructions label. You should find it lurking at the bottom of one or all of the cushions and this should contain the manufactures suggestions, warnings and instructions. Apart from all the other images and text, look out for one of three codes: ‘S’, ‘W’ or ‘SW’. ‘W’ indicates that wet cleaning is permissible while the ‘S’ states that the material should only be dry cleaned. ‘SW’ indicates that the material is suitable for both wet and dry cleaning methods.

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