Man and Van Service West Drayton

Several things in a house cannot lawfully be disconnected by whoever happens to be holding a spanner, and finding that out on the morning of a move is expensive. A gas cooker or hob must be disconnected and reconnected by a Gas Safe registered engineer. A hard-wired oven, shower or hob is electrical work with its own rules. An integrated dishwasher behind a cabinet door is generally part of the kitchen and stays where it is. West Drayton's housing runs from interwar semis to recent flats, and the newer the kitchen, the more of it is built in and staying.

What a van crew will and will not disconnect

A driver and a helper will unplug an appliance, turn off an isolating valve, disconnect a washing machine's hoses and cap or plug the feed, and fit the transit fixings if they were kept. They will not touch a gas connection or any fixed wiring, and no reputable crew will be persuaded otherwise. Anything beyond that needs a qualified engineer, booked in advance for the day before the move rather than the morning of it, since an engineer arriving at eleven wastes a crew that arrived at nine.

Fitted kitchens and what belongs to the property

Worktops, cabinets, an extractor hood ducted through a wall and appliances built in behind doors are usually fixtures and part of the house or the landlord's inventory. A freestanding cooker, a fridge that stands on the floor and a washing machine that pulls out are generally the household's. Where a tenant has installed something themselves, the obligation is often to remove it and make good, which takes longer than anyone expects and is a job for before the removal day, not during it.

Equipment that is leased rather than owned

A monitored alarm, a broadband router, a television service box, a smart meter and in many cases a satellite dish or a communal aerial connection are not the household's to take. Some are supplied under contract and have to be returned to the supplier or left in place for the next occupier, and removing them can trigger a charge or break a contract. The sensible approach is to check each one against its agreement a fortnight ahead.

Isolation, readings and the checks at both ends

The commonest post-move problem in a kitchen is a slow leak behind a machine that nobody notices for a week. When a washing machine or dishwasher comes out, the valve is closed and the open end is capped rather than left hanging in a cupboard. At the new address the reverse applies: the connection is made, the valve is opened, the machine is run briefly and the underside of the cupboard is checked with a hand and a torch before anything is pushed back into place. Finding the stopcock at both properties is part of the same five minutes.

Readings for gas, electricity and water are taken at the old address once the appliances are off and again at the new one on arrival, with photographs rather than notes on a phone. The consumer unit is located, the isolator for the shower identified, and the heating checked so that a problem is discovered while somebody can still do something about it. Keys are handed to a named person, not posted, and anything left in a loft, an outbuilding or a side store is checked before the door closes.

Order of work at the new address

Appliances go in before the room fills with boxes, because a washing machine cannot be manoeuvred across a kitchen floor covered in packing. A fridge is stood upright for some hours before the power goes on, so the compressor oil settles. The engineer reconnecting a gas appliance needs the space clear and the appliance in position, which means the kitchen is unloaded first and the rest of the house follows.

What to line up in the week before

Charging reflects the vehicle and the crew against the hours committed, and waiting for a tradesperson is the most avoidable cost on the list. Book any gas or electrical work for the day before, sort out which leased equipment stays, locate the transit fixings for the washing machine, and have the appliances emptied and dried. A whole furnished house with a professional pack and an inventory belongs with removals services across West Drayton, while the crews at work on Uxbridge man and van specialists handle the same kitchens a few miles north. Once the property is empty, putting it straight belongs to West Drayton professional cleaners, and a household keeping a regular arrangement going nearby continues it with what the visit includes. The overall scope of the service is set out on professional small moves.