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Hi all, I've got to re-cement a couple of bricks on my hearth and I'm having trouble getting my sand.cement mix the right colour. What's there already (and what I'd like to get as close to as I can) is sand colour. I've tried normal Blue Circle cement, which comes out grey and also...

Hi all, I've just had the ceiling plastered in my living room and had to take down the two cieling lights. Now I'm putting them back up again but have found that I've got a spare wire coming out of the ceiling (like a wally I didn't take any notice of where the wires went when I took the...

Hi all. I've got a brick fireplace and two bricks have come away so I need to repair. Problem is, I'm struggling to match the mortar. The existing mortar is quite yellow - I doubt they used dye when installing it because it's the same colour as all the houses around here (built mid-70s)...

Morning all, I've got the roots from next door's silver birch growing into my back garden and they've already damaged my patio quite extensively. Had a man round to quote for a new patio and he said that he could cut the roots back to the boundary (which will be about 3' - then there's...

Hi all, I've had someone come round to give me a quote to replace my patio and upon lifting one of the slabs he pointed out tree roots from the silver birch in next-door's garden. He said that he could cut them back and lay a new patio but I'm worried about how quickly they'll grow back...

Hi all, I've inherited the above saw but i've never used one before. At the weekend I want to use it for doing some skirting boards. I've had a look on the internet to see if I can find a user manual anywhere but no luck. Can anybody help or advise please? Thanks.

Hi all, I have just had a bedroom skimmed - walls and ceiling (artex back to smooth) plus coving. I'm doing the skirting at the weekend. Question is, before I can decorate, what processes do I need to go through to prepare the walls, ceiling and coving? All advice much appreciated...

Hi all, I'm going to have my first jaunt into the world of skirting boards at the weekend and I know that they need to be primed. Question is, do I have to prime them on both sides and the ends before I put them on or is it OK to just do the face after they're on the wall? Also, what's the...

I'm soon going to fitting new skirting board, which I've never done before. I've searched the internet for handy hints but there's one question I can't find an answer for: Is it best to fit it before or after the carpet goes down? If before, should I be leaving a gap between the skirting and...

Two problems here. In the bathroom the external walls are plastered and have got damp/mould/black stuff on them in places. Has anyone got any tips on how to get this off and whether or not I will need to treat the walls afterwards? Also, I've got a ground floor extension with a flat roof...

The living room is at the back of my house. About 10 years ago, the people there before me extended the house and made the extension into a dining room, off the original living room. Instead of putting a doorway in, they knocked the majority of the old external wall down and made two large...

I've got a Potterton Suprima 50L that keeps locking out. I've had a guy round to have a look and he says that the PCB needs replacing and that this will involve rewiring the whole thing inside. Quote is £285. I'm not asking if the quote is reasonable as I know this is frowned upon on the...

My electric oven fills the room with smoke when I use it, presumably because of a build-up of fat and grease in there. I haven't yet seen a cleaning product that is suitable for use on the heating element. Does anyone know of something that is safe to use? Also, the top oven (which is an...

Does anyone know what weight can safely be hung on a plasterboard wall from one fixing? I've got something that I would like to hang and it doesn't feel too heavy (exact weight to follow) but before I go and let it pull out a great hole in the wall, I thought I'd check. Thanks! Dackers.

I've got a roof tile that needs replacing but there seems to be a wasps' nest in the void so the roofer won't touch it until I get rid of it. Any idea what the best way to do this is? Rentokill (or similar outfit) or another way? Cheers.

My washing seems to take the clothes, wash them and then splatter nasty little rust-coloured marks all over them like acne. I've tried all manner of stain removal stuff but nothing's any good. I'm guessing there's a fault with the machine but has anyone got the faintest idea what it could be...

Hi all, I need to drill through existing bathroom tiles in order to install a new shower. is there any specific kind of bit I need to use to drill through? Am I running the rick if cracking them? Any handy hints, tips, pointers would be gratefully appreciated. Cheers, Dackers.

All, As we're in the middle of a heatwave, I've turned the central heating off. However, my upstairs bathroom radiator seems to still be getting hot as do two of the downstairs rads. How can this be - the heating's turned off?!?! Am I haunted by some dead vindictive heating engineer who...

Has anyone got any ideas why the rad in my bathroom (upstairs) is hot even now I've got the heating switched off due to the barmy summer we're having (!)? Seems a bit strange to me and I just can't fathom it.

Hi everyone. Not sure where this post should really go so I'll out it here for the time being! I was looking at the wall of my bedroom the the other day and it looks like some light brown-ish water or other liquid has been running down it from where it meets the ceiling. It doesn't fell...