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Hi All At the beginning of the year my boiler would for a few seconds flick off the pilot light & cold water would come out. Its about 5 years old.It would be hot again in a few seconds. A heating engineer changed the NTC and fitted a hardwater magnet thing on the cold in pipe because he said...

Hi I had a stopcock that was stiff so I WD40'd it over the weekend and it now turns but not to stop the water. I have looked up in a book about changing the washer and putting PTFE tape in the glad, but every picture I see is different to my tap. Mine is the same colour (yellowish/brownish) but...

Hi I am having a chimney removed and need 70 tiles to make do. They are 9"x15" grey slate, but I cant seem to find that size. The house is in Norfolk area, but anywhere in Midlands happy to go.Cheers

Hi I was talking to a guy who owns a business next-door-but-one in my street. Known him for 20 years and always got on great. He shocked me by saying if the old hermit/hoarder who lives next door to me (attached) moves/dies he would buy it, demolish it and make car parking for his business, the...

Hi All, I have got a builder removing the chimney down to the upstairs ceiling and doing all structural roof and slate repairs. I will remove it fully down to the bottom - due to the cost involved, but I was wondering about the floor joist once it is removed. I will use acroid props, but when I...

Hi I have a house that has previously been painted in a very thick Sandtex (I/m guessing) paint. The bottom is flaking but the rest is stuck like glue. I have to remove it because the house is an earth inner house/brick outer and it is stopping it 'breathing'. Any ideas? I've been told by...

Hi I have bought an old house (approx. 1870) and it has a brick/rough outer surface that has been painted. It hasn't been touched since the 1960's.The paint is peeling and it needs repointing in places anyway so how do i remove the paint. There is a lot of green on the walls too. It is clay...

Hi I am in a remote forest using oil (via a range) and want to come away from it (keeps getting stolen!). Im having a whole house renovation so good time to consider options. Considering downstairs electric underfloor heating & a wood burner (free wood being in a forest) with a backboiler...

Hi I am doing a whole house renovation and the house is clay lump brick with brick facing. The chinmey is in the centre of the house and 4 pots on top (rayburn one side and log burner the other side). It is this clay lump with straw construction from floor to 3 foot above upstairs ceiling (ie...

Hi I am doing a whole house renovation. The heating is now oil via a rayburn/Aga, but the tank is very old and been condemned (rusting/not bunded etc). So looking at alternatives LPG has been mentioned. I have no experience of it except a friend has a car converted. Any help would be...

I have bought an old station masters house (approx. 1890 but not sure).it had that horrid 1960 fake panelling all over - now I've removed it I see why.the plaster is horrid, crumbly, very white and the 4 inch nails he banged it in with have left big holes in the walls. Q - I am thinking I will...

Hi I have bought a detached remote wreck (not touched since 1960's and a hermit lived there), so everything _(drains, ceilings, whole house replaster, bathroom, kitchen rewire/plumb) needs doing BUT on a budget. I have no vision and think the layout could be better. Do i get in an architect to...

Hi I have bought a house -approx. 1900c - old station masters detached house. Very thick walls (at least a foot thick). It was empty for 3 years and was covered in the 1960 fake wooden panelling and velour wall paper on ceiling /doors etc. A hermit lived in it so nothing was repaired/new.YES I...

Hi I have an out building which I have made into a store room and utility - not attached to the house. The bottom meter was rendered and it was flaking off . On removal some brick were missing - flaking until disintegrated. A builder replaced those brick that were too far gone and rendered the...

Hi We have been living in an old (1896 I think) small semi for years no problem. Now (last 4 weeks) as we enter the font door we can smell damp. We have 2 air bricks on the front wall and 2 on the side wall. The house is effectively a 2up/2down. The damp seems to be coming from the front...

Hi all, I am going to attempt to lay a retaining wall using Tarmac 100 concrete blocks.I will lay them back down to give better strength. It is 9 m long by 1m high so I've calculated 200 blocks. I bought 1 ton of sand and 10 bags of cement, but now i'm wondering if I have under ordered. I don't...