It was a fairly busy week last week - but that's a good thing! I met a couple of very nice ladies who graciously allowed me into their homes to do some work.

The first job looked a little challenging at first glance. It was stripping, sanding and painting an exterior huge bay window that consisted of 20 rather large windows that were in dire need of attention - well, at least the wood surrounding them. I apologize I should have taken before and after shots in which this time I didn't. Regardless, the window came out very nice with a fresh coat of high quality natural white paint. On to the other window at the side of the home where a garage window had obvious signs of weather. The trim surrounding the perimeter had rotted away to the point the window was about to fall out, so I replaced the trim, added in some window putty, caulked all around, sanded and painted it - but not necessarily in that order :)

Another job this nice lady had on her agenda was to have 3 exterior coach lanterns removed and replaced along with the front lamp post removed. About an hour or so later - voila! On to the next job. This was merely filling in multiple holes where a front storm door had been removed and the frame painted.

I really enjoyed working at this particular home in the north end of our beautiful city of London. The woman had made me feel very comfortable as we engaged in conversation and shared stories. Her grandchildren also joined in part of the conversation and I was even invited in to join the trio for a nice lunch. Wonderful! It never ceases to amaze me of how kind people can be - Thank you!

Now getting to the unusual request... This was another job where some vinyl flooring needed to be removed from a cement floor due to a little bit of mould coming through the vinyl. I removed the baseboards and then the flooring and treated the cement floor with bleach and later cleaned the floor with TSP crystals. After a couple of days allowing the cement floor to completely dry, I picked up a carpet the lady had purchased and installed it over the cement floor and re-installed the baseboards.

The unusual request was can I build a 'Book Box'? Also known as a 'Mini Library' for the exterior of this business. Sure I could! I never built such a thing before, but with a little imagination, some pine, hinges, stain and plexi-glass and a post to mount it on...behold! The Book Box allows people to access information about the business - free. All you have to do is visit the box to take out a book or information pamphlet/brochure out...oh, but be sure to close the box with the latch after you do to prevent any of Mother Nature's elements from taking a peek herself!

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!

Yours truly,

Wilson's Handyman Services.

Okay! So the title is quite long, but that about sums it up! June & July are gone and we are already into August! (Quite frankly I'm still waiting for summer to arrive ~) Regardless, it has been quite some time since I last updated my blog. I'm not really a blogger - I'm a Handyman.

Let me first apologize to all those reading my blog. Why? Because it has been quite a while as I said. I have been busy painting, installing baseboard, installing trim, dry walling, taping, mudding, sanding, installing curtain rods, electrical plug & switch plates, laminate flooring, installing carpeting, cleaning out eaves troughs-a many, laying patio stones/walk ways, cutting plywood sheets, stripping & painting a shed, cleaning windows and screens, installing equalizer strips, did I mention baseboards? Seems to be the season for that sort of thing, so my mitre saw has gotten a work out to the point I will be replacing the blade! But y'know, this has been great for Wilson's Handyman Services. I technically began this sole proprietor business in January, but officially launched at the end of April.

There have been 'lulls' just like any business, but for the most part, it's been fairly steady and I've been getting (thankfully) a lot of repeat business! This handyman business has also been very gratifying and I've been fortunate enough to have already met some great people kind, caring, generous, thoughtful, interesting.

I'm in the mood to write tonight, but I'm going to cut this one short (no pun intended). I've got a few things to prepare for a couple of calls tomorrow, some marketing and a little more promoting to get the word out there even further.

By the way, please keep in mind as of August 8th I will no longer be responding to emails at handyman@bell.net as I am changing my Internet Service Provider. My NEW email is Blair@wilsonshandymanservices.ca

Yes, I know it is a little long as well, but fitting don't you think? Gotta go...in the meantime enjoy the photos & video!

Cheers!

It was a perfect day for replacing a large screen on a door today. Kudos to Home Depot for carrying a relatively inexpensive screen replacement kit! A perfect size for the 34" X 84" door I needed to fit.

I removed the door off of its hinges, laid it on a flat surface, removed the old torn screen and any protruding hardware that could puncture the new screen and began laying it out over top of what is obviously a home made/built to fit door.

One thing to be careful of when replacing a screen is to make sure the screen is pulled taught while installing the spline. From there just use one end of the provided tool, feed the spline into the groove and follow through with the other end while tucking the spline in (see photos below). As this is done the spline pulls the screen in nice and tight. There are a few other things to know, but I'm not going to bore you on it. We'll keep today's blog short & sweet, but thanks for reading!

 

Truth be known...canvassing neighborhoods on foot with door knockers in hand (you know, those colorful things that hang on one's door knob of their home advertising services people offer?) does pay off - and I'm glad they do because they are not cheap to have designed and printed! A few weeks ago I distributed just a few (maybe 50-60) of them in a very nice neighborhood. At the time I was fortunate enough to bump into a few people along my route and explain what Wilson's Handyman Services is all about.

I remember distinctly running into a very sweet lady who was tending to her bushes in her front yard. I walked up her driveway, smiled, introduced myself and asked if she would mind if I hung a doorknocker on her front door handle.

She said that would be fine and then introduced herself to me. I explained the purpose of my visit and said I hope to see you again. Well, sure enough; I received a call from her and asked me to come over and give her a quote for cleaning her windows inside and out. She gave me a nice tour of her extraordinary home smiling the whole time as she did and then asked what I thought - indicating to close the deal. So, I gave her a quote (who her husband sitting in the family room nearby) said to his wife "oh hire him, that's not going to break us" and so she did.

It's a great feeling working for such fine folks. I started the work the very next morning under perfect weather conditions for cleaning windows inside and out. It was easy working for these nice people because they were very accommodating and their home was jaw-dropping.

When I was finished and it was time to receive my payment I noticed my door knocker on the kitchen table next to a note pad as if this lady had planned on hiring me all along - after all she did say she would get back to me and was true to her word.

 

A pretty good start to the season if I do so say so myself! I've managed to help out a few fine folks along my journey operating as Wilson's Handyman Services and have been enjoying what I do. That's important isn't it? Liking what you do? Well...guess what? I even enjoy cutting grass! Yes! Go figure. many people have said to me "You're kidding...really?". "You're a rare breed".Yep, I love the smell of fresh cut grass, the sound of my Briggs & Stratton gas motor and the sun in my eyes. Call me crazy, but I find the time cutting grass very therapeutic.... a sense of serenity if you will.

I wanted to test out my lawn mower for a new season so I took it over to my in-laws and cut their front and back lawn while they were away doing errands. There was quite a surprise on their faces when they returned. I said to them as they pulled up in their driveway " I hope you don't mind, I wanted to test out my lawn mower and make sure she's operational for the season". They smiled and just directed me to the back of the house where their grass was growing quite fast. Well, after all, it is spring...the first of the season fertilizer should already be put down and we've certainly had our fair share of rain to get the green stuff growing thick and fast.

So...if you're looking to get your grass cut at decent rates, give Wilson's Handyman Services a call! That's 226-234-9291.

P.S. I do windows too!

Guilty. It's been awhile since I blogged, but the reasoning is totally acceptable on this end of the spectrum. It's getting busier!

I've been working for some fine folks out in the east end preparing their 2 rooms in their home before they move in. I think I mentioned earlier about ripping out some carpet and installing some VCT tile? Yep! All done.

I then got a call out to the Westmount area of town to do a few smaller jobs such as level a couple of air conditioning units, repair some bent and twisted flashing atop of a pool pump house, saw of a few limbs off a tree, install a hook for a tomato planter and install an 11 foot bird house.

The following day I went out and purchased and built 4 individual shelving units for a lady I did work for a few weeks ago.

And I've been busy adding to my website in which I hope you're enjoying and doing some on line marketing and posting a few business signs around town.

So why would I be writing about the jobs I've been doing for people you might ask? So I can give you a better understanding of the variety of jobs I am willing and capable of doing.

If there is something out of my league, I will apologize and refer the customer to a more qualified person or company to do the work.

Oh, by the way, before I forget....Wilson's Handyman Services is now using 'Square'. This new feature allows customers to use most major credit cards as opposed to the traditional cheque or cash payment. To learn more about it just click here: https://squareup.com/ca/news. Until next time...thanks for reading!

It's been a busy few days, so I thought I'd better check in. Thanks for reading my blog and as always, feel free to leave a comment.

I started a job for some really nice folks out in the east end of London yesterday, but I had to put the job on hold due to unforeseen circumstances.

Okay, I was removing carpeting, under padding and furring strips from 2 small rooms in the basement of this home. The under padding was the biggest part because the previous owners decided to use glue? I'm not sure this was necessary, but at any rate; the padding was difficult to remove. Once I removed everything it was time to prep the concrete floor and make sure it is smooth and level.

After doing that it was time to install the vct (Vinyl Composite Tile). Heavy duty, commercial grade, to withstand some machines that will be placed inside of both rooms.

I began applying the adhesive and went over to the adjacent room to do the same while the other was drying to become good and tacky. I did this throughout the day, laying each individual tile, but then found myself exhausted and without much energy so I finished up, cleaned up and continued the following day (today).

 Shortly after 11 this morning I was making  a corner cut with a brand new (and very sharp) utility knife. I was lining up my square and ready to score the tile and ooops! The blade quickly left the tile and lacerated my left thumb to the point of a gusher! I quickly ran to the nearby bathroom and ran it under cold water for quite some time, but there was no stopping the bleeding so I wrapped it up good, elevated my arm and was applying pressure while I hurried to my nearby vehicle. I keep a small emergency kit on hand for little accidents.

Well, this 'kit' wasn't going to help this deep gash. I needed to get the hospital for stitches I was certain. Sure enough...only 3 stitches, but the good Doctor said it would not have healed on its own and I was to lay off work for the rest of the day.

I was wearing some protective gloves at the time of the incident, however I bought cheapo gloves and here's the result.

Fortunately, the nice folks were very understanding of the situation and realized I would be off the job for the duration of the day.

I'll be returning tomorrow first thing with a latex glove over the wounded thumb and much better protective gloves to avoid that from happening again. Ouch!