Recent content by bice

Any other views on how to seal the area around the coal shoot so that water ceases flowing into the cellar?

The paving does slope away from the house. I am on the case with the guttering: just as well as we have just had a torrential 20 minutes when litres of water were coming down the down-pipe. The drains have never given a problem. Any views on the mortar to block the coal shoot?

We live in a Victorian terraced house and a couple of years ago we re-worked the front garden, laying York stone where there had been conrete. In the past, the old coal shoot of the cellar was covered in concrete that did not look great but most of the time kept the water out. (The rest of the...

Worked a treat. Thanks

I have this outside light at the back that was driving us mad. It has a motion sensor, that is not needed, that kept switching off and then on. The sensor is now broken, but the light does not work. How can I rig the wiring to enable the light to work, but without being routed through the now...

What I am trying to avoid is to discard the York stone hearth slabs, which have been here for around 100 years. Given that there are quite large apertures in the stone, it seems to me to be possible to secure the first, second, third line of bricks of the pillar to the stone hearth with steel...

Don't be silly.

I want to replace these wood posts with a brick pillar between my neighbour’s house and mine. This would be the gate post. The pillar needs to stand on York stone slabs, so there won’t be foundations. But I want it to be secure. My idea is to use perforated ventilation bricks (6 round holes...

I want to disguise this wall at the back of our house with render, but it has been painted. It does not need to be a perfect finish as the render on the rest of the wall is cottage and uneven, which we like. So it blend with the rest and be repainted. Any advice on this? I am worried about...

I have a half-completed loft conversion in a Victorian SW London house from previous owners. It is not a real loft conversion as the Victorians built the house with a top bedroom under the eaves, so completing the loft conversion will get me a raised platform of more space and a higher ceiling...

insulation has been stuffed int the rafters

large velux turns attic in to oven in summer

Loft conversion insulation advice

I am building a rear extension and have hit an issue with underfloor heating. The sub-floor here is half a floating floor (joists and OSB) and half concrete screed. The builders built the screed floor, citing regulations or misunderstanding the building inspector. According to my approved...