If you are in the market for new construction or building work in Liverpool, then the following tips, will hopefully help you make the right decision when choosing a Liverpool builder to complete your home improvement requirements.

Where To Start

For many people this can be very complicated as there are just so many different Liverpool builders to choose from. But with a little understanding and guidance, it needn’t be as frustrating as one thinks, providing a few simple steps are taken.

Recommendations

Probably the best way to choose your builder by far is by having a personal recommendation by a friend or colleague. If the builder has done a great job already for somebody that you know then this is a good sign that they can do what they say they can do and have a track record where work can be checked. Also ask your friend or colleague if it is OK to go and see the work that the builder did for them. Make sure that you are happy with the quality of the work that they carried out for your friend.

Allowing a builder into your home to carry out construction work can be slightly intrusive for many people, I mean after all let’s face it, unless you already know them then they are simply strangers to you. So it makes sense to carry out some research to ensure you are getting someone who is honest, trustworthy, reliable and competent.

Professional Trade Unions

If you can’t find a friend or colleague to recommend a good Liverpool builder to you then the next safest method is to approach an accredited and professional trade union such as The Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Unions like these only allow builders to join if they have a great track building record and are fully competent at doing the job or trade they say they can do. The FMB will take up several references from the builder or even make site inspections to inspect their work. The builder will also have to meet other requirements before membership is granted such as supplying professional references from an accountant or local building control officer. There are a selection of Liverpool builders registered with the FMB so you could pick maybe 2 or 3 perhaps and ask them to come out to meet you and quote for your project.

Yellow Pages

The yellow pages is another place to find a builder but they will be less vetted than opting for one from the FMB. There are many reputable Liverpool Builders advertising in the Yellow Pages but before instructing one to work on your project, you should carry out your own reference checks from previous jobs they have completed.

Local Newspapers

There are a selection of local newspapers in Liverpool such as the Liverpool Echo and also the Mersey Mart. Both papers have classified sections and offer Liverpool builders the chance to place an advert to promote their services. Again, there will be many reputable builders advertising in the classifieds just like the Yellow Pages, but you should still carry out your own reference checks to ensure the builder can do the work they say they can do.

Internet

There are also directories online now that have large databases of builders offering there services.You could do a Google search and see what comes up. Some of these online directories may have be well established and others may be fairly new so you would have to approach the directory to find out more about the service they are offering and the builders they are promoting.

There are many reputable Liverpool builders in Merseyside and with a little research, time and understanding, there should be no problem in finding the right builder for your project.

Liverpool Builders 4K Construction just wanted to share a little info about the dangers of dismantling old materials, knocking old  plaster off walls, or dismantling roof members etc. While this small article my be more geared toward commercial or industrial persons, never the less, asbestos is asbestos so I thought I would share for all.

Asbestos: The Risks Involved

The law says that anybody responsible for the upkeep and repair of a commercial or industrial property has a duty to identify asbestos in the premises and manage the risk.

What you need to know

Asbestos-related diseases kill more people than any other single work-related cause. All types of asbestos can be dangerous if disturbed. The danger arises when asbestos fibres become airborne. They form a very fine dust. Breathing asbestos dust can cause serious damage to the lungs and cause cancer.

If asbestos is present on any project it must be safely removed by a licensed contractor. Steer clear from the contractor that says they will do it on the cheap for you as all they will do is probably dump it somewhere else that could be fatal.

Kirk (4K)

It seems that I am not the only person concerned about the implications of hiking the VAT limit to 20 %
My trade union, FMB also appears to have a little to say on the subject with some interesting quotes as well. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on this, especially from other builders in the sector but also from any businesses who may be affected from the hike!

I’ve no doubt that in the short term, from now until the increase, that many businesses will see an urgency to orders for their product or service as so customers or clients can avoid the extra revenue brought on by the government. The same government that led us in to this mess I hasten to say!!

Here’s the scoop!

Kirk, 4K Construction

Liverpool Builders

A VAT Increase Will be a ‘Charter for Cowboys’, warns Federation of Master Builders
18th June 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

An increase in the rate of VAT for repairs and maintenance work of buildings will be a charter for cowboys, warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) ahead of the Government’s Emergency Budget on Tuesday 22nd June.

Richard Diment, Director General of the FMB said:

Any increase in the current rate of VAT for building work would merely result in a massive boost for the informal economy because more and more cash strapped householders would resort  to ‘cash in hand’ as a way to avoid paying a possible 20 percent extra cost on maintaining their home. The end result will be not to raise more money as the Chancellor intends but simply a means to drive more money into the informal economy.”

Diment continued:

The danger of inadvertently boosting the informal economy is that more people will be put at risk by unscrupulous rogue traders who will exploit cash strapped customers. We know that two years ago more than £170 million was paid to rogue traders by members of the public and given the current economic crisis this figure will have probably increased as householders tighten their belts.

Diment concluded:

The Chancellor needs to consider carefully VAT rates because a low taxation economy is one that stimulates growth. Independent research has shown that actually reducing the rate of VAT to five percent on the labour element of housing repair, maintenance and improvement work would have a multiplier effect of more than £1 billion as well as creating more than 55,000 extra new jobs this year alone. This can only be good news for the economy as it faces the threat of a double dip recession.

Some interesting pointers to think about there!!

Be interested in knowing your thoughts on this one and how the VAT rise may affect you or your business.

Kirk

4K

We get called out on many occasions to investigate sources of damp any what may be causing a building to become susceptible to it. On many occasions, particularly in older houses, rising damp has indeed been the source of the problem and we have had to perform a chemical injection remedial solution, followed by associated re-plastering works.

However, damp is not always attributable to rising damp any the failure of any damp proof course that may be present. Many homeowners have been told that they have rising damp but in actual fact, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here at 4K Construction, as Liverpool damp proofing contractors, we don’t just see damp walls and assume that the cause can only be one thing, We will investigate the source and find exactly what it is that’s causing the problem.

Rising Damp

Rising damp usually travels approximately a metre up from the ground floor walls when present and is usually due to DPC failure. However, damp can also be caused by other methods such as bridging. This is when the existing damp proof course (usually 150 mm from ground floor level) has been bridged by something like soil or paving stones. Essentially, if the floor outside is higher than the damp proof course level then it may be possible for damp to travel past the DPC and into your property and spoil the walls. The plaster would become wet and start smelling very musky. This is a pretty good sign that something is wrong.

How Can We Check The obvious?

We should mention at this stage now that this article is not meant to preach to you and give you a whole bunch of technical goo ga that will probably not mean very much to you anyway, but instead to just simply give you a basic understanding of how damp can be caused and what to look out for.

Go outside to the property exterior and check the ground levels. How high are they? Are they within 150 mm of the DPC? Can you see the DPC? Is there a buildup of plants of soil towards the walls of your house?

If you are wondering how to recognize what the DPC looks like, then depending on the age of your property, this may either be slate, bitumen, plastic or you may even see signs of a previous chemical injection course which will be identifiable by normally 12mm drill holes running along the wall horizontally and also some going vertically towards the end of a building where it adjoins another property.

An obvious cause of damp would be if soil was packed up against the wall. This would almost certainly allow damp to bridge over the existing damp proof course causing the plaster to spoil on the inside. The simple remedy in this case would be to remove the offending soil from the exterior and ensure the DPC is obstructed in any way. This is not a guarantee that there is no other source of damp, but before splashing out on a new DPC, it makes sense to explore all avenues. 4K Construction would advise you on this accordingly in order to make sure the correct course of remedial action is taken.

Any damp above 1 metre or so will not be rising damp but more than likely attributable to something else like, cracked render, a leaking downpipe, or perhaps even a blocked cavity. This may then allow water to penetrate the brickwork and cause the dampness. Commonly known as penetrating damp.

After resolving the actual cause of damp there is then the matter of what remedial action to take. If it is rising damp will you have a physical DPC? a chemical injection? mmmm.. all of this will need to be considered. And don’t just assume that because you’ve had a new DPC, that the problem will magically go away as tomorrow, I will tell you about one of the biggest causes that can lead to a new DPC, failing in every way.

Read more tomorrow………….