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A couple of years ago we put the Aquastep Travertine Anthracite Mini Tile v4 in our kitchen. These are interlocking plastic tiles so 100% waterproof and (apparently) ideal for kitchens. The tiles were installed on the recommended underlay and the tiles cost over £750 (it’s a big kitchen) but...

We are about to order some underlay to go with a new Seattle Lavastone carpet in a bedroom. The carpet is 16mm Saxony pile with an Action Hessian backing. Is Cloud 9 Cirrus 9mm thick underlay suitable? Tredaire has a similar spec but I can get the Cloud 9 cheaper. Is it ok to lay the underlay...

Happy New Year, I was lucky enough to get a Dewalt DWS777 sliding mitre saw for Christmas. It’s my first sliding mitre saw so I’d be grateful for some advice: When performing straight cuts on wide lengths of material the instructions say to lower the blade fully and then pull it towards me...

I need a new diamond blade for my Wickes wet saw electric tile cutter. The old blade is 180mm x 25mm bore x 2mm thick. Wickes sell these but they are expensive and don’t have very good reviews. There doesn’t appear to be much choice as most of the 180mm blades I’ve seen are 25.4mm bore. Will...

Hello, I’ve inherited a (cheapo) Ferm FZB-720 table saw which needs a new blade. The existing blade is 200mm x 16mm with 20 teeth but I’m struggling to find any of these at a reasonable price. Toolstation do 200mm blades with 30mm bore and a 16mm reduction bush...

Hello, The recent cold weather has made me want to top up the loft insulation. The existing insulation is 100mm laid between the joists and I’m looking to lay another 170mm across the joists. I want to keep as much heat in as possible but I’m concerned about the possibility of condensation...

Hello all, I’ve got a Optoma HD20 projector that’s linked via a HDMI cable to a Blu-ray player. I’ve also got an Amazon Firestick and I’d like to watch movies on the projector but the projector doesn’t have a separate sound output. Is there a “device” that will split the HDMI signal from the...

I've had a gas fire removed and we want to replace it with a modern electric one. The gas fire had a FCU for the electronic ignition and I want to change this to a single socket to plug the electric fire in. But I've since found the FCU has been spurred off a nearby double socket in 1mm T&E...

Is it ok to feed a 2 gang light switch from 2 separate cables - each carrying live, switched live and earth? I want to extend the existing circuit and put a second light in the garage and replace the existing 1 gang switch so the 2 lights can be switched separately. The reason for the question...

Good evening, I'm trying to build some shelves in 18mm MFC and I want to make the joints hidden by using 6mm dowels. I've bought the Clarke dowelling jig set: http://www.clarketools.net/cdj2-clarke-universal-dowelling-jig-set-9189-p.asp I'm trying to make a Right angle joint but the dowel...

GF has decided she wants some wall shelves in the lounge for storing CD's and DVD's. I'm going to make these as a simple 4 sided box that will be fixed to the wall with hidden corner plates. However she wants these painting the same colour as the walls - Wickes vinyl Matt emulsion. What's...

Is it possible to make your own timber board by gluing strips of timber together ? I'm looking for something like this: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-General-Purpose-Timberboard-18x300x1750mm/p/115436 I have a load of 70 x 20mm PAR timber left over from another job and I'd like to make it...

Following the removal of an inset shelf unit I need to brick up the internal skin of a cavity wall. The hole is about 2ft wide and about 4ft high. I've got some celcon solar blocks left over from another job and I was going to use these with some screw ties to tie the new block work into the...

Hello, we have a cupboard with a 686 mm wide internal door on it. The door opens outwards but due to space restrictions I would like to cut it in half vertically so it folds on to its self when opened. It's a hollow (cardboard) door and I'm aware I will need to glue timber inside to support...

Hello, I need to install a new drain connection in to an existing manhole in the garden some 4m away from the house. This will accommodate the outlet from a washing machine which has been moved into our new utility room extension. The standpipe will discharge into a rodderable gully which...

Hello, We're just about to start installing our new kitchen units and plan to tile the floor later with the tiles going just under the plinths. We're looking at using 600mm square porcelin (or possibly ceramic) floor tiles. Is there a standard thickness for these tile? SWMBO hasn't decided...

Our builder has installed the frame for an access door into our detached garage. The frame was installed using screw in frame ties mortared into the brickwork. Are these strong enough to hold the frame or should I supplement these with some screws and plugs? I'm going to have a go a...

Hi, The building inspector has just signed off the trench for our small (3m x 3m) single story extension. We've excavated 500mm wide and 1.3m deep and the BI is happy with that. It's a strip foundation and we now need to fill it with concrete 600mm deep. The drawings state the concrete...

Good evening, We're excavating the footings for our extension and have come across a cable buried about 18 inches down. The cable runs from a plastic pipe, through what looks like a length of cast iron drain pipe (!) and back into a plastic pipe. The cable is thinner than my little finger...

Good morning, We've received planning permission for our small (3m x 3m) single story kitchen extension. We're going for a full plans application and the architect has sent us the first draft of the drawings to be submitted for Building Regs approval. I'm going to give him a call on Monday...