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Boring to Glamorous – A Bathroom Makeover

Each month satisfied customers of H&G Home Works division share their remodeling success stories with the readers. This month we are featuring the experience of another such couple who came to us for a makeover request for their drab white master bathroom.
 

Here is what they had to say:
 

“We had been living in our house for about a year after moving in. Although the master bathroom was done by the developer was functional however we had always dreamt of a more glamorous and better equipped bathroom in our permanent home. Our list of requirements was long and we wanted very high quality finishing.

Hitches and Glitches had been maintaining our villa for a year and so we knew that they always fulfilled their commitments and worked to a schedule. We did not however have any experience with their Home Works Division, but based on our existing experience with them, we decided to ask them to visit us.

The response from the team was very prompt; a meeting time was arranged for the visit by the lead architect and his team for the initial survey. The team arrived and took photos of the existing bathroom. We shared some internet photos along with a list of our requirements to give them an idea of what we ideally wanted in our bathroom. H&G reverted back to us with complete lay out drawings and a cost estimate within the next seven working days. The agreement was signed and work commenced. We had already informed H&G that we wanted the work to be completed promptly on the assigned deadline and without interference to the rest of the house.

H&G’s team worked wonders. They were very considerate of the fact that we had moved out of our bedroom so they actually managed to finish the assignment two days ahead of schedule. In addition the workers ensured that they did not disturb the rest of the house while the work was carrying on. The end result was a spectacularly glamorous bathroom with a much more functional layout, his & her sinks, a brand new shower cubicle and above all excellent finishing.

With these customizations, today our home truly reflects our personalities and provides us the comfort that we need in our long term home. Our decision to work with H&G’s home works division paid off and we would definitely recommend them to everyone who wants to modify or upgrade their home. Thank you H&G!” 

Tips For Long Lasting Paint on Your Walls
• Before you decide to incur the expense of re-painting your walls, you need to check if they really require a fresh coat of paint. A lot of time, wiping with a mildly damp cloth soaked in water and soap solution can work wonders and remove most grime and dirt marks.
 

• When you are sure that you do want a new coat of paint, always clean the walls before painting on them. This ensures that your paint will last much longer.

• Prime the stains appropriately. Oily or greasy stains should be covered with a water-thinned primer. Water stains can be prevented from bleeding through the new paint if you cover them with two or three coats of an oil-based primer.

• Mold and mildew must be removed. You can do so by applying a bleach-and-water solution over the mold and mildew and scrubbing with household cleaner. Wipe the area well with clear water as a last step.

• Paint is either water-based or oil-based.

• Water-based paint is usually quicker drying but less durable and shows streaks more than the oil-based paints. However, today's water-based paints, especially all-acrylic paints, have improved significantly, and are easier to maintain, quicker-drying, and do not require thinning agents for clean-up. They also produce less odor during the painting and drying process.

• Acrylic paints are more elastic, hold color better, tend to crack less, and are easier to apply and clean up. Water-based paints can be applied over either oil- or water-based, coatings, but oil-based paints should generally only be applied over bare or oil-based surfaces.

So whether you need to freshen up your walls or are looking to redecorate in a completely new combination of colours, select your paints according to these tips and they will last you much longer. Happy Painting!

How to Select a Home Maintenance Company

A significant number of expats have bought first time homes in Dubai within the last five years. With every passing day this number keeps increasing gradually. As a first time home owner, a lot of people are not aware of average amount of maintenance that any property (whether new or old) requires on a regular basis. A new property will require comparatively less attention than an old property, however all of them will definitely need periodic checks and preventive maintenance to ensure that they not only retain their value, but in fact keep increasing the ROI. The selection of a home maintenance company therefore becomes a very important decision.

What to Look For

First and foremost requirement from a home maintenance company is its ability to deal with emergencies round the clock. Emergencies mean any major Mechanical, Electrical or Plumbing (MEP) failures. For example no one wants to be stuck without air-conditioning in peak Dubai summer, or run out of water while getting ready for office in the morning. A reputable maintenance company should ideally offer 24/7 emergency call outs with a 30 minute response time.

Another important aspect to look out for is unlimited emergency call outs. Some companies claim to offer emergency call outs but include a clause in the fine print that after a certain number of call out, the remaining visits will be charged for.

Experience and skill of technicians is the other very important aspect that home owners need to pay attention to while selecting a maintenance company. A skilled and experienced team will ensure that the fixtures and equipments installed in homes get the right treatment and damage due to untrained technicians is avoided.

New home maintenance companies keep flooding home owners with advertisements and seemingly good offers, however in the vast majority of cases these are small operations without any prior experience of the communities and they never live up to their commitments. Home owners not only lose out on annual subscriptions but also end up incurring extra costs to bring in technicians when these companies fail to resolve the problems or do not show up when desperately required due to lack of resources.

Pitfalls to Avoid

When a maintenance company offers unusually low rates in comparison to the other companies, be sure to enquire about their size of operation and total staff strength. Do not be taken in by small operations that will promise the world but deliver far below expectations.

Read the fine print to understand what are the standard services offered in the package. The experienced and reputable maintenance companies do not charge any extras for additional call outs.

Unskilled or inexperienced technicians can cause damage to expensive air conditioning units, water pipes, heaters, water tanks and other fixtures in the house. Reputable companies are always happy to provide you with references.

Its important to remember that good service will have a cost associated with it, however in the long term it provides home owners with far better return on investment. As they say.. “A stitch in time, saves nine!”
 

Dreshak General Maintenance LLC
PO Box 211 356, Dubai - UAE
Tel: +971-4-341-2888
Fax:+971-4-341-2882
www.hitchesandglitches.com
info@hitchesandglitches.com