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would you do this around the existing pipes/cables, they are still in use so it isnt just a brick shaped hole, but big gaps around the pipes/cables going through the wall. Here is one example (and no access to insert big chunks in this one, but could stuff it with something)

I have some rather large holes between my garage and main house where previous owners/contractors have installed pipes and electric cables (boiler and meters in the garage area) - half a brick width with some cables to the upstairs underfloor - a whole brick removed for CH/Water to upstairs...

well, so far I've caught 2 live mice and we also had 2 caught in a natural trap in the stud wall above a door they just couldn't climb out of - unfortunately by the time I had the help/tools to cut into the wall to get them they had perished which was quite sad. There was also an old decayed...

I've put peanut butter and chocolate drops

Rat and mouse trap arrived yesterday - decided to lay the big one, but new footage looks more like a small mouse with those big ears! it ran around outside the trap, showing no interest, then ran off. There's always the chance its not the same animal I snapped in my first post

hmm, thats my worry - not sure the mouse traps will be big enough (they are humane ones that just trap it inside). My local council does a free rat and mouse poison service so might be best just calling them in.

Had some tapping and scratching/gnawing sounds in the ceiling but not seen any physical evidence so put a camera in the eaves storage and caught the culprit. Camera didn't get a great view unfortunately - I have tweaked the positioning and will see if I get another shot (and I've ordered some...

I don't even know what this structure was meant to be - its just a double brick wall and not a chimney. The roof closer to the camera is on an extension to the original building so I dont know if the steps are original or added as something for the additional roof to butt up to

When I went around the back of the house the other day I noticed all this felt hanging off the bricks. I don't know the history of this and if it was put there to fix another problem. In the short term, what's the best thing to reattach it to the brickwork? Any thoughts why it might have been...

I've a couple of windows like this - where they have been sealed with mortar (its hard and brittle) which is now crumbling off. I'm not sure if the bottom was also the same but previous owners have tried to replace it with frame sealant as that's pretty ropey too. What's the best thing to do...

Have you tried any penetrating oil to try and loosen things up? Plusgas used to be the go to for seized bolts...

I replaced the 2 core flex from the transformer to the old 12 volt lamps with T&E. The new LED fittings had no earth connections so just terminated the sleeved earths into a normal connector block.

I've just replaced three LV ceiling spots with 240V LED units and discovered this slightly concerning connection :eek: There were three lamps daisy chained off the transformer but looks like that should have been ok for the transformer (although when I've replaced others like this they've had...

I was using a digital Fluke multimeter with capacitance mode - unfortunately the replacement cap that just arrived also shows nothing like the expected value, they do have an internal 1MOhm resistor across the terminals so that might be screwing up the reading? The new cap doesn't resolve the...

Our 26 month old (2 yr guarantee) microwave decided to stop heating this weekend, although it makes all the usual noises/sounds but power usage is only around 200W. I've tested the HV diode ok, the HV transformer gets a supply when it should, but the big 1.0uF capacitor is reading (discharged...

interesting. If power were off for a few hours its not the end of the world, but if it happens to go off just as you are getting in from work or school when the heating has been off all day then thats a bit more of an issue. You might say first world problems, but the definition of first world...

Although nothing official in the UK, there must be some niggling concerns about energy supply this winter. Germany putting in place lots of restrictions already (obv more reliant on russian gas but still interesting to see action being taken now) and Gordon Brown hinting at potential shortages...

I have a bungalow with a dormer on one side (existing when we moved in a couple of years ago). I've just noticed some water drops on some of the GU10 ceiling light fittings under the flat dormer roof and all the lamps are really warm (switched off). The sun is blazing today and that room is 25C...

I have removed a small shower room from a summer house (it leaked, soaking loads of the plasterboard walls and the floor, and was never going to be used again so ripped it all out) which left a lot of wall to repair. The main wall is about 3m wide and is now about half original skimmed...

ha, thanks for the replies - I did try it with about 6kW load on the system for 10 minutes and there was no crackling noise, smoke or warmth so assuming its nothing critical. Will get on to the DNO though. Its a 60's build house though so assuming the supply is from that era if that makes any odds