With the current state of world affairs more and more people are staying put, but staying put doesn’t mean you can’t have some of the features you might want for your home it’s just that you might have to sort out building them yourself.  CD Hood Ltd, experienced local builders are here to advise on any building project you might want to embark on.

More and more people are looking to add and build a garage or carport to their properties. There are two main ways of getting a garage or carport built. The first is to buy a ready-made garage from one of a number of reputable suppliers throughout the country. The second is to hire a builder like CD Hood Ltd to build one for you from scratch.

Either way the best thing to do is to get a few quotes including your specific measurements, the style of garage you want, and how long you expect it to take. Professional suppliers can come along and assemble a garage for you but you will need to provide extremely accurate measurements and make sure that you have adequate foundations for the building.

A pre-constructed building might work for you but even if you were interested in this route it might be best to get a second option. If you are thinking about a garage or carport good builders like CD Hood Ltd could construct one for you from scratch. This may work out as a better option if, further down the line, you think that you might end up using the garage as a study or a den, rather than just somewhere to keep the car.

What with doing some last-minute Halloween decorating, dealing with the effect of the clocks going back on your evenings, the last thing you want might want to think about is decking. But it’s good to remember  that those wood or synthetic wood platforms that extend your living space outside from the kitchen or  the living room can give you weeks, maybe months  of space to enjoy life outside and  extend the usable time in your garden over the year.  Even on a sunny winter day a coffee in the garden on decking is much more pleasurable than on mud.

In actual fact, autumn or winter are probably the best times to plan those deck-building projects. Usually, you won’t be in a rush to have the job finished so you should have plenty of time to think about where in the garden you want to place the deck, what you'll use it for, how big you want it to be, how much money you want to spend and what materials you want to make it out of.

Why not next week-end make yourself a cup of hot coffee and warm up a piece of left over pumpkin pie, if we are sticking with the American theme, and sketch out some plans for the garden, that should get you to thinking about what you want, need, and what is feasible. With some sort of plan on the table expert builders of decking, with experience of using all kinds of material, CDHood Ltd can help you take it from there.

Sadly the theft of lead from roofs is a problem which has increased dramatically over recent years as the value of metal has soared. The roofs of commercial premises, schools and domestic dwellings are frequent victims although churches are among the hardest hit.

The problem not only causes great inconvenience to its victims but also can cost thousands of pounds in higher insurance premiums, especially if you’re a repeat target.

There are, however, a number of security measures you can take to reduce the chance of you becoming victim to lead theft; lock gates to prevent vehicles from entering your premises or people walking through easily, ensure thieves do not have easy access to your roof by removing items such as water butts, waste bins, and ladders from the immediate vicinity.

You could even apply anti-climb paint to drain pipes and roof guttering to make it as difficult as possible for potential thieves to climb onto the roof. (Ensure you only use it on piping over 2m, however, and warning notices should always be used)

If you haven’t done so already, consider installing additional security such as lighting, sensors, security cameras and intruder alarms.  Report all roof lead thefts to the police so they can issue warnings for the area and help catch who‘s responsible.

CD Hood as good local builders can help with any repairs or damage caused in connection with lead theft but it is best to try and prevent any damage occurring in the first place.

House sales in the last month have risen 10.6 per cent, with more buyers registering interest with agents. The Hometrack monthly housing survey shows the number of applicants registering with agents rose from -0.5 per cent in May to 1.9 per cent in June. 

If you are thinking of down sizing the fact that there is more interest might not be such a bad thing especially as house prices are continuing to fall. But moving from a home that you've lived in for many years and possibly brought up your family in can be a traumatic time.

People often either put off downsizing until it becomes a necessity or make a snap decision and end up downsizing to a home that isn't suitable and soon have to move again.

Ideally you want to downsize to a property that is suitable for as long as you can be independent in your life. So, if you want to time the move to a smaller property, it is ideal to do this when you are fit and healthy, rather than hanging on as long as possible, becoming ill and then ending up having to move under a lot of stresses and strains.

Many people worry about the market they but maybe you shouldn't! If you own your property outright and have made a lot of money, don't forget it's tax free extra income, so you might as well as cash in when you want to so you can spend your time enjoying your life.