| Hello, and welcome to my Fall newsletter. I hope you find it helpful and informative. Well, summer is gone, and while fall has been pretty nice, winter is certainly closing in on us fast. It is time once again, to take care of those regular maintenance items. These include shutting off your exterior hose faucets and draining them, as well as having your in ground sprinkler system shut off and "blown out". This will prevent them from freezing, as well as prevent your pipes from bursting. A burst pipe inside the house can easily flood out your home. Your sprinkler will need to be professionally done, but the hose faucets are something that everyone can do themselves. If you need help on how to do it, please feel free to e-mail me. I will be happy to email you some general instructions. I would also like to mention the importance of smoke alarms in your house. This is a good time to make sure they are working properly, and replace batteries as needed. Also, do not overlook any carbon monoxide detectors you have. Test them all and change batteries as needed. Remember, smoke alarms are the cheapest insurance you will ever buy! If your smoke alarms are older than 10 years, it is time to replace them. If your house has natural gas in it, consider a smoke detector/carbon monoxide detector combination unit. Detectors are the cheapest life insurance you will ever buy! This is also a good time to check the weather stripping on you exterior doors. The cold is coming! If you weather stripping is in less than pristine condition, I can fix it for you. A tighter seal on your doors translates to money in your pocket from lower heating bills. Do you work late every day have a busy schedule? Do you ever need a quick estimate or opinion on a problem in your home, but don't have time to schedule an estimate? Take a digital picture of your home repair issue and e-mail it to me. Most of the time, I can give you an approximate estimate without having to come out to your home. I can usually e-mail you back the same day! Is your garbage disposal giving you problems? While they do eventually need replacement, a "stuck" disposal is easily fixed with the Allen wrench that should have been included with your disposal. With the switch off, locate the "wrench hole" at the center of the very bottom of the disposal. Insert the Allen wrench, and while holding the disposal with your other hand, twist the wrench firmly back and forth freeing the blades in the disposal. Then run cold water through the disposal and turn it on. Nine times out of ten, this will solve the problem. Now I am going to discuss a little bit about hiring a contractor. While I hope you will consider my services when you need one, I do not handle every type of repair. Please call me to discuss the work you need done. If I cannot help you, I can often point you in the right direction on the type of contractor you need. When you do decide on a contractor for a large job, it should only be after talking to references, and confirming that they start and finish their jobs in a timely, agreed upon time frame. It is best to talk to several previous customers, so you know they are not related to the contractor. Also, ask to see previously work performed. Most contractors are happy to show off work they are proud of. I know I am. It is also important that the references you get are recent jobs he performed. A job he did 5 years ago has little to do with the here and now. Also remember, no contractor will give you the name of a job that went poorly. Take this into consideration. One last thought. Don't be so quick to volunteer a deposit. Only give one when asked, and only provide a reasonable deposit. If you are having your house painted for $3000., the total for materials probably comes to a few hundred dollars. To give a deposit of much more than that, is asking for problems. You would be providing the contractor with incentive not to return, or push your job off to tend to a more lucrative job. Money is the incentive! Do not take it away, and always maintain a balance due until the job is completed. Now I'm going to mention something about contracting through the local stores here is the area. While I am sure that many of their contractors are good ones, I know for a fact that many are not. As many of us have experienced when we go into the stores, many of their employees would rather say anything, than make the statement "I do not know". The same tends to apply to their contractors. It does not take much to be a contractor for one of them, it only takes some paperwork. While it is true that I may be slightly more expensive in some cases, most of the time my prices are the same or cheaper, and you always get the truth from me. If I don't know the answer, then I say I don't know. You always know who you get when you hire Roth's Handyman Service. You get me, Lawrence Roth. I offer personal, professional service. I have been running my business in Woodbridge for the past 28 years. I am easy to reach, and if, in the extremely unlikely chance I need to come back for an adjustment, I will return promptly. You will never have to call me twice! Take care. |
Contact information:
| Lawrence Roth 703-492-8514 |
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