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If it’s disruptive to you, imagine what it’s like for your neighbours.

neighbours

You chose to get your house renovated, and at the end of it you get a nice new bathroom. Or a nice new kitchen, or a nice new kitchen, or a toasty new boiler. Your neighbours get nothing but noise, loud builders and ugly scaffolding for the length of your project.

We’ve collected tips from everywhere on how you can avoid being an annoying neighbour when renovating carrying out building work on any part of your home.

Inform your neighbours first.

Depending on how disruptive the work is, this informative process could be anything from a polite note through the door to a knock on the door, to an invite to tea.

Take pictures of everything before and after.

Especially if you and the work may affect your neighbours. Consider this particularly if you have adjoining walls. There’s nothing like before and after pictures to establish responsibility over things that could go wrong.

Give regular updates.

If anything changes, make sure to let your neighbour know. If some work was meant to take 2 weeks and you find it will overrun, let your neighbours know.

Not just the one next door.

Yeah, it’s easy to forget, but the people who live behind and across the street from you are your neighbours too. So include them when you think about your neighbours.

neighbours 2

If you’re the new guy/gal, be diplomatic.

Remember that your neighbour doesn’t know you and you don’t know them. They have no reason to give you the benefit of the doubt and they don’t care that your house will look better when this is all over. In these instance, remember that the diplomacy and just being thoughtful can go a long way.

The basic summary of this article is this – if you want to avoid drama with your neighbours, being thoughtful is key. A simple invite for tea and keeping everyone informed can go a long way to helping you avoid added agro you don’t need while running your renovation.

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Life in London: we summarise the fun places we’ve discovered as we go about engineering in London.

If you’re a Londoner, it’s likely you’ve spotted a WPJ Heating van crossing Albert Bridge, parked in a corner somewhere in Belgravia or making it’s way down a cobbled street in Kensington. This means our plumbing and heating engineers know south west London very well – so we’ve collected their ideas of the best instagram worthy places to visit on a bored spring weekend, to upgrade your London lifestyle.

Visit Cafes in London

Peggy Porshen

Life in London: Peggy Porshen

Source: Pashley

You’ve definitely seen pictures of this pretty, pink cafe all over social media. Located in Belgravia, this cafe is known for its immaculate floral displays and delicious cakes and treats. It might be just what your life in London needs to spark that spring feeling.

Life in London: Go shopping

Connaught Village

Have you stopped by Connaught Village in the West end? This leafy part of the Hyde Park estate is home to galleries, boutiques, restaurants and retailers. A fashionable spot to discover exclusive designers and authentic cuisine from around the world.

Go book shopping

Lutyens and Rubinstein

London has plenty of bookstores, but none more famous in south west London than Lutyens and Rubinstein. If you’re about, stop by and browse their collection.

Life in London – Visit a market

Columbia Road Flower Market

Life in london: flower market

Source: The London Diaries

It’s spring, so its the perfect time to visit a flower market. We’ve cheated a bit. Technically, Bethnal Green isn’t in south west London, but Your life in London could do with a flowery update, visit Columbia Road to stock up on tulips, hyacinths and daffodils flowering this spring.

Visit a museum

The V&A

Life in London: V&A

Source: Fisher Productions

The V&A stands out as one of London’s most iconic museums, with great architecture and a sprawling interior, it’s one of the best still standing examples of Victorian design in England.

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Cleaning Hacks

Everyone thinks it’s your toilet bowl that is the germ friendly zone. But in reality, because you clean your toilet bowl so thoroughly with powerful chemicals, the dangers to your health and hygiene lie elsewhere. It’s more likely that bacteria is lingering on the other areas that you touch like taps, flush handles, door handles, toilet seats etc. Those are the areas that are germ hotspots.

Hotspots

Some of the main hot spots for germs include your toilet seat, flush handle, taps, waste bins often get contaminated. If you’ve got young kids, it’s even more important that these surfaces are cleaned thoroughly. Clean all these surfaces regularly, the main thing with hygiene is that you never clean just once, it has to become a habit.

Another harborer of germs that we may not think of often is cleaning cloths and sponges. If you leave them damp and not put them out to dry they create an environment for bacteria to breed. Wash them regularly on a hot wash (more than 60 degrees), or by soaking them in disinfectant.

Cleaning your plumbing fixtures

Things like your taps, sink tops and shower heads can gather scum and limescale. If you want to be environmentally friendly, make your own products that can sometimes even work better than what you’ll get in store.

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You have opened window number 21!

At WPJ heating we carry out all plumbing and heating related services, we also install new bathrooms and do full bathroom refurbishments. Here’s one of our recent projects that we carried out in Warwick Square, London.

The following project was a full refurbishment, which meant ripping out the old bathroom completely. We removed old tiles and walls, old lino floor covering and all floorboards. We plastered the walls, fitted new wooden and latex flooring and tiled the floors and walls. We fitted a new bath, basin and toilet in new positions and also a new mirror and taps. We completed the job with painting the space in a bright white color and replacing the spotlights.

If you’re interested in full or partial bathroom refurbishment, please get in touch and we’ll come over to give you a free consultation and quote.

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You have opened window number 20!

We’re giving away an Aluminum charging dock for iPhone!

Perfect for charging your iPhone while still being able to watch a video or continue a video call.


HOW TO WIN

Email zorana@wpjheating.co.uk with the following details:

– Your name

– Your phone number

– Your full address

The competition is open until 9am, Thursday the 21th of December and the winner will be published on this page at 4pm on the same day.

*** THE WINNER IS ***

Mark Fawcett


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You have opened window number 7!

 

We’re giving away a Cleaverdog Smart Camera!

This Clever Dog CCTV camera connects easily to home Wi-Fi. It can stream to multiple devices and be viewed over an Internet connection anywhere in the world. Use it to remotely monitor business, office or home. Parents can keep an eye on the elderly or children making sure they are safe. Since the camera detects movement, it can also be used to prevent any type of theft during the day and night.


HOW TO WIN

Email zorana@wpjheating.co.uk with the following details:

– Your name

– Your phone number

– Your full address

The competition is open until 9am, Monday 11th of December and the winner will be published on this page at 4pm on the same day.

*** THE WINNER IS ***

Ingrid M Wallenborg


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You have opened window number 6!

Did you know that we also make some really nice bathrooms? Here’s one of our latest bathrooms that we refurbished. It was a very big job as all walls needed to be rebuilt. We ripped out the old bathroom, altered configuration, built and plastered new walls, tiled the whole space and finally we fitted the new shower, mirror, basin and loo. We also made some shelving and installed underfloor heating.

Have a look at the time-lapse video below to see the whole project from start to finish in one minute.

Reminder – don’t miss this giveaway, competition is open till 9am tomorrow Thursday so make sure to sign up!

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You have opened window number 5!

We’re giving away a set of Cooks Professional Salt & Pepper mill!

(value £49)


HOW TO WIN

Email zorana@wpjheating.co.uk with the following details:

– Your name

– Your phone number

– Your full address

The competition is open until 9am, Thursday 7th of December and the winner will be published on this page at 4pm on the same day.

*** THE WINNER IS ***

Tom Morgan


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Steam showers are great for many reasons. We all know that they are very relaxing but they also come with great health benefits. Steam showers have a positive effect on blood pressure as exposure to steam widens the blood vessels so that blood flow increases and improves circulation.

The heat also relaxes muscles and reduces tension and gives relief to stiff joints. Exposure to heat and steam releases stress and has a fatiguing effect that can improve sleep when used before bed.

Just a steam shower or a the shower/tub combo?

When ordering a steam shower you need to decide if you need a dual tub and a steam shower or just a steam shower alone. The shower/tub combo is more expensive but it’s important to note the benefits that come with the price tag. Tubs include built-in seats, foot massage and whirlpool massage jets. If you’re looking to create a luxurious bathroom environment the shower/tub combo might be the right way to go.

Installing a Steam Shower

The installation process is not too different from installing a regular shower, also a steam shower doesn’t need to take much more space than a regular shower. The total price of a steam shower installation depends on what shower you choose to install as units start at £800 and go upwards.

We’ve done some research for you and here are some of the top steam showers on the market in different price ranges:

Vidalux Sensual Spas Essence 900 Steam Shower Cabin

Vidalux Sensual Spas Essence 900 is a great lower cost shower as it has all the most desirable features; steam, bluetooth, colour changing light at a reasonable price. Price: £879

Insignia INS8728

steam showers

Just like the Vidalux above, the Insignia INS8728 features steam, Bluetooth and colour changing light. In addition this steam shower also features Insignia’s AMI aromatherapy system. Price: £1424

Aquaplus 9018 1500 x 1500 Steam Whirlpool Bath Enclosure

steam showers

All in one! Choosing a steam shower with a Whirlpool bath will include body jets, foot massage and a built-in seat. Price: £1599

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