Recent content by vargen

Hi all I've taken up old, worn out chipboard and 20mm polystyrene sheets to expose a very rough, shallow and uneven screed over pre-cast concrete planks in an upper floor ex-council flat. The screed must have been an unsupervised Friday afternoon operation and I'm undecided whether to use...

Up to a point the rougher the surface the better for tile adhesion. I'd defo avoid skimming if I were you. From your pic it looks as though the surface beneath the top coat is ideal for tiling.

Bear in mind I'm not an expert just a DIYer.... Underfloor heating is (generally) more efficient than a rad system, as the heat rises uniformly through the room without creating any draft. I would dispense with the radiator and go for u/f as the principal heat source. You'll need to check...

Hi all Slight problem of fitting lining sets in a DIY council flat refurb, as finished stud walls will be only 80mm thick (from 37.5mm originally!!!). Options include trimming sets down to fit / building from scratch etc, I suppose, but this decision will wait until plastering is finished...

Hi I have extended the bathroom in my sixth floor flat by incorporating a cupboard from the adjoing room. The former cupboard area will house toilet and washbasin. The floor throughout is a concrete plank with a 1 1/2" sand cement screed. The screed in the former cupboard is uneven and...

I want to install a stud wall with window and door across a balcony in my flat. The enclosed space would be used as a kind of 'pantry' with a freezer, secondary fridge etc installed under a worktop. There would be about 1m depth of the original balcony space preserved. To make it a practical...

Cheers. Thanks for the advice.

Very droll............ I won't bore you with the minutiae, but, obviously, I'll be needing another spark.

Yes, he does. The original plan was for me to chase brickwork and install cabling to first fix while my mate was away and for him to make connections, test and certify when he got back from his holiday. Unfortunately, he was taken seriously ill on holiday and is now in hospital being...

I'm renovating the kitchen and installing new wiring with a separate ring main for kitchen. The double oven and hob have yet to be chosen, so I'm trying to provide for every possibility and future proof at the same time. I plan to run 2 separate cables to 45A DP switches (or CCUs) from CU...

Thanks for that. Didn't know that about softened water. Assume the same applies to dishwasher washing up then. I'd thought a softener would prevent limescale generally and give a better lather in the shower with added benefits for bad hair days and my dry skin eczema. Didn't realise there...

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If PVC won't degenerate under sand/cement render or hardwall, I'll use that instead. Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

Forgot this part:- The brickwork is to be rendered or hardwalled, so I need to protect the cables, I assume.

Hi all Can anyone recommend a water softener system for a small 2 bed flat, preferably zero or low maintenance electric, please? Our water is very hard in Cambridge. There's just the wife and I in the flat. Water consumption is minimal, eg just an electric shower - no bath; 10 litre water...