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I need to do this and the heavy duty ones at Toolstation have angled/pointy top flanges. I tried hammering one into a half Celcon lying around on site and it went in a treat - nice tight fit, no cracking. So is it OK to do this for a floor? Hammer the flange of the hanger into a Celcon...

When building a brick wall off a steel beam, is there any connector needed from the steel to the brick/mortar? or does the mortar bond ok/weight of the wall suffice? After a few courses, the wall becomes timber frame. What is the best way of connecting the sole plate to the bricks? Is it...

Hi, Been asked to fix a shower - recessed two way diverter/thermostat. The thermostat handle is quite stiff and when you turn it, the cartridge behind also moves, so the water is stuck on very hot. Owner doesn't know the make. Anyone know how to get this sort of plate off? Think it might...

Had a sparky doing some electrics, including a fused spur running off a ring main. He left the fuse out of the spur plate (ring main behind it) while I finished off work. When I'd finished and came to to push the fuse in, I got a big BANG and spark/smoke and it tripped the consumer unit RCD...

Had an electrical company fit 7 low voltage downlighters. Two started melting the cable/fitting at the junction between the fitting and the transformer - noticed before it was too late due to burning smell. The boss said it must be faulty transformers. They replaced the two problem ones and...

Hi, Have spent 30 minutes searching Google without a clear answer on these q's: Can I put a 32mm bidet waste pipe into a boss strap on the side (i.e. not entering from above) of a horizontal 110mm soil pipe? Possibly slightly above half way up the soil pipe? The boss would only be about...

Hi, Have some hanging reclaimed clay tiles (on timber frame/ply/battens) to drill through for a 40mm waste. BC have said it's fine. Should I use a diamond coated core drill that is normally used for internal bathroom tiles like this...

Hi, Small extension subservient (I mean lower than) to existing hipped roof, the new ridge beam only just meets an existing rafter on the old roof. So rather than the full timber width of 2 inches meeting, there is maybe one inch of the ridge sitting on the rafter and one inch in thin air...

Hi, As far as I know bare wood should be primed, then undercoat, then gloss (or primed then one coat). Our builder has turned up with just a tin of undercoat and I'm nervous - don't really want yet another fight over how to do things properly (!) unless it's really necessary. This is...

Hi, I am hoping to be able to use existing loft joists in a loft conversion without putting in a whole new load of joists. The middle 3 feet of the room is supported by staircase walls below, then if I put steels 6 feet further out on both sides (behind or below new roof supporting dwarf...

Got a quote and I'm not sure what that phrase means - is it the same as boxing in pipework? Also, 'double tack joists' - two layers of plasterboard, right? I'm what you might call an 'experienced newbie'.

Hi, Looking at a house built in the 1930s with a clay tiles roof. A few tiles are cracked and a valley leaking very slightly, so they need fixing. But this winter have also noticed a lot of chipping - noticeable as the bright red 'new' clay shows through the darker/weathered surface. I...

Hi, Quiz time. How much do you think to remove a Kingfisher II RS50.B (old but not used much and serviced reg) from a base cupboard, drill a top vent in the external wall at the back of the cupboard and put the boiler back again? This is at first floor level, so ladder work needed I...

Hi, Need to repair a driveway (ie not going to dig everything out and start again). Hopefully base is not too bad, slabs were fine for years until a skip disturbed a few. Slabs are the square shed/B+Q type about 3cm thick, 40cm square. Am intending to lift, fill/screed with sharp sand and...

Hi, A kitchen worktop installer has put a sink waste in that slopes slightly *uphill* for a few inches before going horizontal and then sloping downhill. It drains OK, there's no leak and no gurgling, etc. Can it be left or should we insist he re-do it? (er... again!) He's also left the...