Estate agents often offer landlords property maintenance services.  But they may not provide the peace of mind and cost effectiveness that they promise.

One of our customers rents out his property in Shrewsbury. He has a lovely Victorian house in Cherry Orchard and needed to get some maintenance done in between tenancies over the summer. His estate agent offered him the use of their property management service as a cost effective easy way of getting the work done quickly. Landlords are keen to keep voids to a minimum and he did not live in Shropshire and know local tradesmen so this sounded attractive.

The letting agent arranged two quotes for the landlord. However, despite the estate agent’s pitch, the quotes seemed high. In fact, having got his own quotes, he found that the price from the agent’s contractors was 20% higher than independent local tradesmen. As well as being expensive, the maintenance men were general handymen, not qualified carpenters; and they were not part of any Trade Register or Association. ‘I did a web search on them, and could find no address, no number, nothing’, he said. ‘I didn’t feel confident letting them loose on our period property’.

Built and fitted door

This landlord has just booked us for a third year to do carpentry work on his house. Having previously built an airing cupboard door and refurbished the kitchen, this year our carpenters have been asked to do some restoration work on his front door and window frames. We currently have a waiting list of around 4-8 weeks and cannot do urgent carpentry jobs like some property maintenance services in Shrewsbury. However, with a bit of planning, we can still be booked for property repairs and refurbishment to fit around your tenants.

With summer coming and with two months to issue Section 21 Tenancy Notices, now is the time to plan the letting of your property. Our carpenters are qualified. We are members of the Shropshire Trade Register, and no VAT is charged on our labour. Our client let his property in Shrewsbury without unplanned voids after two weeks. He wrote, “Thanks Oliver. We are very pleased with the kitchen refurbishment. It has definitely added value to the property”. Estate agents are paid to sell your house; but their property maintenance may be costly and the poorer quality may make your house let more slowly.

For carpentry maintenance, refurbishment or repair work on your property, please contact us for a free quote. We are happy to pick up keys from your estate agents and visit your properties on your behalf.

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

’1st fix’ and ’2nd fix’ are terms often used in the construction industry. In carpentry, the first fix usually refers to structural work, which is done before the plastering of a property. This would include building the wall studding, roof struts, door frames and floor joists, for example. The second fix carpentry is the finishing work, usually done after the plastering. This would include fixing architrave, window boards, floor boards and skirting.

Skirting finishing - second fix carpentry

Roof structure- first fix carpentry

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The division into ‘first’ and ‘second’ comes from the number of phases needed to finish a job. After the first fix, carpenters often stop work to allow electricians to lay cables and plumbers to fix pipes in the roof, walls and floor. When this is finished, the carpenters will then complete the second fix work. Carpenters may go off site in between the first and second fix but, on big projects, will often stay on site and complete the second phase of their carpentry as the other trades finish sections of their work.

Photos of our first fix and second fix carpentry work can be found here. To discuss your building project or for a free carpentry and joinery quote, do contact us at our Shrewsbury office. We can help project manage other trade professionals in the different phases of the work.

Have further questions? Post these below

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

When most people commission a piece of carpentry or joinery, they don’t want a grand design; they simply want something attractive and functional for their home. One client that we worked with wanted an office desk for his workspace, for example.

We began the project by visiting his home and talking to him about his requirements. He had made a basic sketch of the sort of workstation that he wanted. The desk needed to fit into the corner of his office along two walls and he wanted it to have curved edges with an oak effect.

Click to see drawings

After discussing the design and materials, we took measurements and suggested a few options. This included different ways of edging the desk to hide the end grain of the wood and making the desk appear thicker and more substantial.

We then produced two written quotes, one for making the desk from laminated MDF with real oak edging, and another for making the desk from solid oak. The customer choose the oak. We then produced detailed drawings of the desk (see right) and delivered a sample of European Oak to his home. These were agreed and we began work.

In the workshop we started by planing and cutting the oak to size. Tongue and grooves were cut into 20mm boards; they were glued, clamped and sanded. The edging was then carefully cut to shape using a router to make the radii on the corners. Once complete, biscuit joints were used to join the 45mm edging to the desk.

Click on images to enlarge

The finished desk was transported to the clients house and fixed to the office wall with wooden batons and brackets.

It won’t be appearing on the TV show Grand Designs. There will be no breathless eulogy from Kevin McCloud; but the desk looks good and works.

To discuss getting a desk or workstation made for your office or home, do contact us for a free quote. Our carpenters in Shrewsbury make grand and simple designs!

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery was featured on the front page of the Business & Finance section of Shropshire Star this week.

The paper ran a story on our use of the new mobile phone payment system, Pingit. You can read the story here. Shropshire Live ran a similar piece, which can be seen here.

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

We now accept payment from mobile phones using Pingit.

Pingit is the new application that allows people to make and receive payments from their mobile phone.

Currently only Barclays customers can use the service to transfer up to £300 daily. However, anyone with a UK mobile number can register to receive payments of up to £5000 daily. Other bank customers will also be able to use the payment facility from early march.

Pingit works by linking a person’s mobile phone number to their bank account.  Unlike other electronic payment systems,  you only need someone’s mobile phone number to transfer money.

We now accept payments on 07943 823515. Simply enter our number and the payment amount in the app, describe what you are paying for in the ‘message’ box, and send.

Pingit provides another convenient payment option for customers.  It also reduces the environmental impact of business by decreasing the need for bank journeys to pay in money.  The app is secure, and can be downloaded from the Barclays website and used on Android, Blackberry and iPhones for free.

More payment options | Download app.

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

We have a new local telephone number to save customers money on calls.

Landline

Before setting up the 01743 818448 line, our main telephone number was a mobile phone number. This was really for our convenience so that we could take calls whether in the office or on-site.

However, mobile phones are expensive to call. We calculated that, previously, customers would have only needed to make four, 15 minute calls to our carpenters at 25p a minute to clock up an eye-watering £15 telephone bill!

As part of our commitment to customer service we have therefore set up a Shrewsbury number to bring down the cost of telephone calls for clients.  Many call packages allow free calls to local numbers or, at most, customers will pay standard land line charges.

Mobile

Should you have memorised our old number (most clients don’t); or should your mobile phone provider charge less for calls to T-Mobile numbers (some do), not to worry: you can still contact us through our mobile telephone number, 07943 8423515.

A new telephone number for new year at Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery. Do give it a try. If we are not in the office, you will be diverted to an answer phone. Do leave a message and we will get back to you.

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery can now be found on Facebook, and you will find more than just a news page.

The social network site, Facebook, currently claims 800 million users. It is different from a static website in that it allows you to connect and interact with individuals and businesses.

Find us

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery can now be found on Facebook at olivergibbscarpentry. To follow and interact with us, you simply need a free Facebook account and to click ‘like’ above the page.

Why bother?

Ideal homes start with ideas, and it can just take one or two ideas to transform a good home into an ideal home.  By clicking ‘like’ on olivergibbscarpentry, you’ll access an exclusive ‘fan’ page and…

To get started, visit olivergibbscarpentry. Spread the word by clicking on the share buttons below.

And if you want our carpenters in Shrewsbury to help make your home improvement ideas into reality, do get in touch for a free quote.

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

What do you do with a derelict out-building in your garden? A barn conversion could transform it into a studio, office or granny flat. But if you live in the beautiful Shropshire countryside, it could make an attractive holiday home.

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry and Joinery was commissioned to help convert an old stone barn into a holiday home in the autumn of 2011.

The building was a dilapidated stone shell with rafters and a corrugated iron roof.  It was ideal for conversion into a holiday home being close to the client’s home with great views over the Shrewsbury hills. After planning permission was granted, work began to reconstruct the outbuilding into a one bedroom cottage with living room, kitchen and bathroom.

Oliver Gibbs was brought in to do the first-fix carpentry work. This involved replacing three large purlins to support the roof.  The roof was tied-in with collars and the rotten rafters and plates were replaced.  An extension with timber frame and waney-edged cladding gave the building more space.  A skylight and window provided light. Stud walls and doorways were then built inside creating the rooms.

Barn conversions are rarely straight forward.  As Oliver Gibbs explains, ‘The difficult thing about working with an old building is that nothing is straight or square.  The walls may have sunk and the beams maybe twisted.  So with every new timber piece you have to decide how to adjust the plans to the original structure’

However, despite working from very basic architect and structural engineer’s drawings, the first-fix carpentry work was completed successfully in about 4 weeks.  The finished result will be an inviting holiday cottage set in the stunning Shropshire countryside.

For more information about our Shrewsbury carpenters, barn conversions, renovations, extensions or roofing, do contact Oliver Gibbs Carpentry and Joinery for an informal discussion or free estimate.

Click photos to enlarge

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

Christmas is on the horizon and power tools are a great gift for DIY lovers. Customers often ask our advice on tools. So here is our selection of five power tools that every budding carpenter should have.

1. Battery powered drill

The amperage (A) is more important than the voltage. Our drills are 3.0A, but 2.0A would also be fine. Get two batteries, rather than one, for uninterrupted portable work.

2. Circular saw

A great general purpose machine that is useful for cutting down sheets of 4′ by 8′ and timber. Get a corded, rather than battery powered, saw for greater power.

3. Power planer

Used for shaving a thin layer off the top of wood, and great for fixing those sticking doors. Use a hand plane for finishing work on fine joinery.

4. Jigsaw

Ideal for cutting out curves and templates in thin materials such as MDF or plywood. Get the correct blades for the thickness and type of material that you are cutting.

5. Belt sander

A quick and easy way to sand down or smooth off a surface. Get a multi-grade pack of sanding belts for different jobs. Always finish with a fine grade sand paper by hand.

What make and model to choose will depend on your budget.  As a general rule, you cannot go far wrong with power tools made by Makita and Dewalt. Pick up these brands at shops like Screwfix and Charlie’s in Shrewsbury

Power tools are a great gift, and a fitting present to mark the birth of the world’s most famous carpenter! We wish you a very happy Christmas.

For more about us and our carpentry services, do get in touch.

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire

1. Provide labour

Labour costs are the most expensive part of a building project. You can save a huge amount of money by doing some of the work yourself.  For example, you may not be able to hang a new door, but you may be able to take off the old door and paint the replacement on your weekend.

2. Source materials

Tradesmen often get trade discounts on materials. However, it is still worth shopping around to see if you can get things cheaper. For example, two 128mm T-bar kitchen handles will cost you around £5 in a high street store but you can get twenty identical handles on e-bay for £20 – a 60% saving! Asked for itemised quotes from workmen to check prices.

Mitre Joint

Joining Strip

3. Find alternatives

You may be able to use cheaper materials or less labour intensive techniques to bring down costs. For example, rather than choose a hard wood for your internal doors, you could get them made from a cheaper stained soft wood. Using joining strips is less labour intensive than cutting joints in a kitchen work surface, for example. Ask your tradesmen for ideas.

4. Dump waste

Disposing of waste is increasingly expensive for builders.  A skip costs anything from £100 upwards. But many councils will allow residents to fill up their cars with wood or rubble and dump it for free at their local recycling centre.  However, remember that hazardous waste like Asbestos will still need to be disposed of by professionals and there are heavy fines for fly-tipping.

5. Save VAT

Value Added Tax (VAT) currently adds 20% to all bills.  But this can be reclaimed in certain environmental and disabled building projects. Do get advice from your tax office before work starts. Some businesses like ours are also under the VAT threshold. This means that you pay no VAT on any labour, only materials.

Some of these steps will take time, and savings in material costs need to be balanced against losses in the durability and appearance of the finished product. However, our money saving tips could halve your building costs.

Do speak to us at Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery for your free quote or to discuss your building project.

Oliver Gibbs Carpentry & Joinery - Oliver Gibbs is a carpenter and joiner in Shrewsbury who provides carpentry and joinery services throughout Shropshire