Our Local Expert, Teignbridge and Torbay Nov. 2013 | Page 26

The difference
between ‘value for
money’ and ‘cheap’

Where do the
recommendations
come from?

Businesses featured here will not necessarily be the
cheapest around. They have been chosen for providing
high standards of customer service and for using good
quality products.

The businesses featured here have been
recommended by local people like YOU! Readers
of Parish Magazines, local Newsletters, friends and
colleagues at places of work. People from the local
community who appreciate good quality, trustworthy
service. We need your feedback (good and bad)
about businesses we feature and businesses we
don’t, to ensure the high standards of those listed
in our publication. No business is accepted without
prior recommendations or adequate references,
and we exclude businesses when we are aware of
malpractice or bad workmanship.

Saving money in the short-term might cost you more
in the long-term, especially if you have to pay for
the same job to be done twice because your chosen
supplier has cut corners to keep the price down. Have
you ever bought cheap bin liners?

Tell us who you think’s
good and win a meal!
Your feedback and recommendations are
essential to ensure the high standards
of Our Local Expert. We need to know
what you think about the businesses we
feature, and others you think are good
enough to appear next year.

Please send all feedback using the contact
details on the inside front cover.

You will be entered into a prize draw once for each business you recommend.
The winner will be drawn by the publisher and notified by September 30th 2014.
We will only pass your details to the prize supplier. Full competition T+Cs on our website.

Tips for planning home maintenance

Keep up-to-date with news and special offers from
recommended local independent businesses.
the Autumn rush –
Don’t wait until an emergency! MakeSee www.OurLocalExpert.co.ukthey tend to be busy right through
maintenance plans, and schedule thesefollow us on til Christmas, likewise for woodburner installations. If
or around
T
witter @NickLocalExpert
you know your fencing is unstable, call in an expert
tradespeople’s busy times.
before it gets blown down in a storm.
Some tradespeople are very busy at certain times
The frequency of these tasks will vary according to
of year – which can be very frustrating when you’re
usage (chimneys, boilers), or the age, condition and
trying to get hold of one!
materials of your roof.
It’s no surprise that good quality roofers are in
Gutters and drains should be checked and cleared
demand after a storm, and that central heating
twice a year (Spring and Autumn) to prevent
engineers are in short supply during freezing spells.
clogging. Blocked gutters can lead to damp problems
These are the emergency times when everyone in
and damaged brickwork, potentially costing
their trade is busy, and you can be sure that roofers
thousands. A seasonal gutter clean of tree debris and
and central heating engineers who care about
moss helps prevent this problem.
customer service will be looking after their regular
customers first.
While clearing your gutters, why not also check
the condition of your exterior paintwork, and your
Some tasks require dry, mild weather to be
rendering (exterior plasterwork). Exterior painting
completed – particularly exterior painting. Decorators
or plastering will be much easier for your chosen
may have jobs stacked up in advance – particularly
contractor to schedule over the summer when
after 2012’s record breaking wet ‘summer’.
(hopefully) there is less rain to disrupt progress.
Plan ahead! Get your central heating serviced
Cold weather in the winter means slow progress for
over the summer, and get your roof examined and
external work on your buildings, particularly when
maintained every few years. If you have an open
condensation forms on walls.
fireplace or hearth, get your chimney swept before

By sending us your feedback, you could win a
£50 voucher to spend at the wonderful local
independent restaurant The Thatched Cottage
in Kingsteignton.

The smallprint

What are those
funny scan-code
things?
This is a QR code (‘Quick Response’
code), similar to a bar code. You
scan them with Smartphones or
other mobile devices, and they
automatically open a website.
You will need to have a QR Reader
or QR scanning app on your phone,
usually this is free.
The code above opens the Our
Local Expert website.

As publishers, we act in good faith in featuring businesses
that have been recommended to us, and make every
reasonable eff