Power shower

My customer had just moved into her new flat and had a problem with her shower -- it didn't work.
Well that's not strictly true. It did work. Just not well enough. 
It took ages to shower and there was simply not enough flow.
The water came out like someone with serious prostate problems.
She wanted a strong shower and at reasonable cost, so after a bit of research we decided that I should fit the 'Vigour' model from Mira, supplied by Plumbase in Eastbourne. I use Plumbase whenever possible. All of the guys know what they are talking about and are always friendly and helpful.
Fitting Mira products is generally a breeze, and this one was no exception. Getting to the hot and cold feeds under the bath proved to be more like an exercise in yoga. During installation I grazed my knuckles a couple of times, but apart from that it all went smoothly.  When the unit was commissioned later that day, Janice was delighted with the  surprisingly variable high powered shower. It cost a little bit more than the cheap models that are available, but the difference in output and looks more than cover the small extra outlay.


To email me follow this link

The builders apron has arrived

If shoes don't feel immediately comfortable, don't delude yourself that they need to be 'broken in'.
It's you that gets broken in - not the shoes.
Ill fitting shoes remain ill fitting.
You've just learned to suffer them.
Why do I tell you this?
Well, on Tuesday of this week my builders apron arrived from the States.
In 57 years I can think of only a few things that have instantly felt good. My current and last wife Trish, my Fein Multimaster, my Burberry duffle coat, and now the builders apron.


To email me follow this link

Cat flaps, Dog flaps,

Isn't it strange how some things come along in groups? Four cat flaps in a week! It must be months since I'd fitted a cat flap, and then within the space of 48 hours, two. One in a metal door (that was fun), and one in normal wooden door. But the really weird thing is that I've already got two for next Monday as well. It must be the breeding season!

Here's a video of how to fit a cat flap. (It's not me)

For those with dogs, here's a link to a dog catflap

To email me follow this link

Rats continued, Traps, Pest Control, Eastbourne

Thought you might like an update on Ratus Ratus and friends. The householder is in her 70's and was aghast that rats were in her loft. Apparently it's very common. They'd come in through the drains, up the stink pipe, along the roofline, under the tiles, and into the loft. Don't start to get smug... it's VERY VERY common and can and does affect any household. That's what the heroic Eastbourne Council Pest Control Officer said.
He was punctual friendly polite and helpful, and explained what he would do and how he was going to get rid of them.  He set traps and laid bait and will be back to make sure the problem is gone. In short, he was the hero of the hour.
If you want to find out more about this very common problem click here. to read an article by Rentokil.

Fix a dripping overflow discover a rats nest

Spotless house.
Not a speck of dirt anywhere.
A place for everything and everything in its place.
The overflow in the loft was pouring water onto the ground outside.
In the loft two cisterns.
One for the hot and cold water.
One for the central heating.
Set up the step ladder.
Lift up the loft hatch. Switch on loft light. Start climbing into the loft.

Changing a ballcock in a storage tank is simple work. Its the getting to it and the finding what's there that causes the headaches. In this case it was very easy. Plenty of light, solid floor, and easy to get to. The pipework had a stopcock fitted so it was simply a matter of turning the water off. Undo the mains tap connector. Undo the back nut. take the old valve out and replace with a new one and then reverse the process.

The smell, immediately recognisable, everywhere, intense, pungent, biting the back of the throat.
The stench of urine. Over by the chimney the droppings. Long. Cylindrical. Rats it can only be rats.

I could smell them, but I had no intention of going after them. Their droppings were over by the chimney, so I stayed well away. Having changed the valve and checked for leaks, I was off out of there. The lady of the house had heard some noises over the months but thought it was birds nesting. She called Pest Control straight away and they will be there tomorrow afternoon to lay poison and traps. Let's hope they get the blighters.

Sally Bee

If like me you've started thinking about your health and more specifically your heart
take a good lookat this website
http://www.sally-bee.com/

Putting up lights switching switches and recover dead websites and find websites that have moved.

Today was a "clean" day. I went out clean, I came back home clean. Trish was amazed. I spent most of the morning changing light switches from worn away brass to white, and normal two gang switches to dimmer switches. I was also asked to replace some pendant lights that had seen better days. It can take a surprising amount of time to make such minor changes. It was cold and wet outside,  and I didn't want to get cold and wet, and so I pottered around, getting the job done and just enjoyed doing the work.
When buying a dimmer switch always look at the rating - many are rated about 240W max. A lot of dimmer switches 'fail' after a short time, mainly because they are overloaded. If a chandelier has 8 bulbs @ 40w (and lots do) then just one chandelier will already be overloading the dimmer. If you have two chandeliers on one dimmer.... well you do the sums. All I'm saying is check the loading if you are about to install dimmer switches. If your looking for good over the counter advice checkout 'TLC Electrical Supppliers' in Eastbourne.

While I was changing switches, my client and I were chatting about loads of things, and he mentioned  in passing how he had a website made in memory of his mother with her full life story but had lost it all when the hosting service ended.
Nothing is totally lost once its been on the net.
This evening I relaxed by hunting for the website. I quickly found some of the old pages, (The ones that were supposedly lost) and with some more digging managed to find all of the pages that he had assumed were gone forever. I phoned him to tell him that his mum's memoires were not lost, and tomorrow I'll  give him a copy of the lot. What he does then is up to him.
Nothing is totally lost once it's been on the Net.
For some that's good news and for others that may be bad.

Computer Help, Leaky taps, Bathroom Heater

It's been a day of many talents today. One of the things I did was show a lady how to set up a blog. Easy when you know how, but daunting when she'd only just started using a computer in the last two months.. Basic computer lessons and home computer help is something I've been doing for quite a number of years. In a previous life (I've had so many!) I used to train people for a living. I don't have the educational qualifications to be a teacher, but many people tell me that I'm a very good trainer. I've found that if you concentrate on getting the basics, the fundamentals, right, the rest is a lot simpler. She was an avid traditional diarist, and wanted to start doing the same on her new computer. She'd tried a computer help forum  but only got more confused (Hey, that's happened to me too) Blog help was what she wanted, and so blog help is what she got.
After an hour she was flying solo, and so I was free to go on my way to the next call.

Which was - you guessed it - a leaky tap. Dripping taps are so annoying, and yet so easy to fix - most of the time. This one was not to be ignored. It wasn't dripping. It was pouring.
Imagine a Victorian mansion, sub-divided into flats. Over the years so many alterations have been made to the property that Stop Cocks are buried under many layers of remodelling. In other words - not to be found.
As the water pressure was so low I decided to do it "live". Open the taps in the flat to reduce the flow even further. Take the tap head off. Undo the barrel. Change the washer. Reverse the order. Hey Presto! Job done. WARNING! Don't do this unless you know what you're doing. Because it can go wrong. And then you need to know what to do next. Leaky pipes. Non flushing cisterns. Fitting bathroom heaters. Changing bannisters on the stairs, and helping people with Technology. It's all in a days work for the Eastbourne Handyman.

Here is a resource you may find useful if you have a good background knowledge of  using a computer. Some lessons get a bit to technical for the majority of users, but it's a very good place to start.

A day in the life of Eastbourne Handyman

Had a great day today.
Phones are constantly ringing and lots of small jobs are coming in.
By 10.30 I'd already helped four households out of trouble.
I can't tell you the number of times I've heard people say they can't find anyone to do the small jobs.
I love doing the small jobs,. It's what I do!. For example, very often when carpet fitters fit new carpets, doors need to be trimmed. It only takes a few minutes to do - when you've got the right tools. If you haven't - you're stuck - quite literally. Because I've got the right equipment (so to speak), it only took me 15 minutes to do 3 doors this afternoon and then I was on my way to the next job, which was looking at a house with 35 sash windows to un-stick, re-cord and draught proof. Today I've worked in 7 different houses, and drunk so many cups of tea that I need to stop now and fix another leak!
Whether it's fixing dripping taps, overflow dripping, leaky washers, fuse blown, door sticking, or any other annoyance you can think of, Jim'll Fix it.

I've bought myself a builders apron!

I've been told, by the boss, to stop wearing those baggy trousers with the dozen pockets, that I love, and that I've worn for years, and are really comfortable, and replace them with something else. 
 I don't know about you, but I've found it really good practice, to do what the boss wants. In order that peace will continue to reign I searched the internet and came across this builders apron. Having only ever having worn an apron under duress it will be an interesting experiment in engaging with high fashion. According to Vince (the owner of www. aprons.net it'll be posted out on Tuesday from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in the town of Placerville, CA, USA. I'll let you know what it is like when it arrives. 

Information Resources and ways you can help survivors of the Haiti earthquake

Folow this Google link
Information, resources, and ways you can help
survivors of the Haiti earthquake.
Watch this BBC News report
Haiti earthquake
There, but for the grace of God, go we.

Tom Ware Painters & Decorators covering Eastbourne Bexhill Hastings & East Sussex

As many of you already know -- I hate paint!
For some time now I've been working with Tom Ware,
a painter and decorator from Bexhill.

This week he's finally got around to getting a website built.
In fact, it's me that's building it for him.
If you like playing with paint colours visit his site and go to "Fun with Paint"
On that page you'll see a Start button.
With just a few clicks you can then change the colours in a room to see how colour affects a room. It's fun and easy to use. Go and have some fun.

Mirrored sliding doors

Worked with a lovely family today installing some sliding doors. The man of the house had done all of the roughing out, and the double door units were more or less in the right spot. I had to get it all running properly and "dress" the opening to finish the job.

After you've done a couple, fitting mirror sliding doors is not difficult. The main thing to remember is to make the height of the opening just 2-3 cm larger than the door height and the frame width 2-3 cm smaller than the double door width. . There's a good range of vertical adjustment that will take up any play.

The adjustment range can accommodate even quite wonky walls. Everything should slide smoothly and butt up parallel to the frame.

Tea was offered (and gratefully accepted). We talked about the theme of the week.... snow snow snow... and the time just flew by. In what seemed like an instant I was back on the road and onto the next job... Nice home, nice kids, nice people... all in all ... nice.

Computer photos, docs, and music rescued!

If you've used a computer to store your important music photos and documents - then what follows must be everybody's worst nightmare.

A customer brought me his computer at the weekend.

The computer was healthy - but he was sick!

He'd wanted to clean his computer and return it to the original factory settings - but hadn't taken a backup of the stuff he'd wanted to keep.

So many of us (and in this I include myself) "forget" to take back ups of information stored on our computers. We rely on the computer to look after itself. I'll do a backup tomorrow when I've got more time (sounds familiar?) is what we promise ourselves. Tomorrow never comes.

All, and yes I do mean all, of his digital family photos, his very substantial music collection and letters and emails he'd written over five years were gone. One wrong key press and that was it.

I'm an optimist, and so after a few questions about exactly what he'd done, I said to him that we would probably be able to get some of his stuff back. As it turned out, most of the photos and nearly all of his documents and music were recovered. It takes time, but it can be done.

Now he's gone back home with a smile on his face, and of course he has vowed he will now back up his files on a regular basis. Perhaps he will. It is after all the time for New Years resolutions.

Simple Computer Help

I like helping people. I'm good with computers.
I've been helping people with terminal cases of computer phobia for years.

So that the Jim'll Fix IT computer service can grow I've now teamed up with Stuart Jenkins and between us we can solve just about any computer problem you may have.
We offer a simple, no nonsense, service.
We talk in plain English, and can save you many hours of frustration.
Having trouble with your computer?
Then email us or phone us 07930 335 937.

Please tell everyone you know what were doing and if you know of someone who needs help please call.
By the way, if your looking for free software click here and I'll send you a link to an excellent site that I've been using for years.