Recent content by chriseastlondon

That's great. Thanks.

Hi. I'm stripping the plaster off an old lath and plaster wall inside my house. I'll be left with bags and bags of rubble - mainly the scratch coat and float coat, made up of coarse aggregate and lime. (I'm separating the different types of plaster and the laths as I put them in rubble bags.)...

Thanks. Yeah, I suppose you're right. If I'm going to use plasterboard, I guess there's no point in saving any of the original lath and plaster.

@Koolpc, when you say rip it all off, you mean the laths and everything? Right down to the joists?

Hi. I've been stripping the skim coat off the walls in a room in my house. One lath and plaster wall is coming apart. I'm trying to take off the top layer of multifinish only. But I've ended up taking off the lime skim coat underneath and large areas of the brown coat as well. The scratch coat...

Thanks for your suggestions. Have measured up carefully and ordered my blinds.

Hi. I'm measuring up for blinds to fit on an angled bay window. The window is uPVC and I don't want to drill into the uPVC. The blinds I've chosen are 50mm wooden venetian blinds. I think screwing the headrail to the wall above the architrave might be too high and look odd. So I'm thinking of...

Hi. I'm trying to restore a Victorian front door that has cricket bat panels. It's supposed to look like this: https://www.doorsie.com/external-doors/islington.html The top 2 panels are missing. In order to replace them, I need to either make or buy the raised moulding in the centre of each...

Thanks. That probably explains it. I'd imagined they were available from mainstream DIY stores because I see at least a couple on every street around me, but perhaps not. Pretty much the only firms I can find that sell them are specialist security companies.

I can see lots of firms that do gates but very few options that either allow the postman access to the letterbox or include a built-in letterbox, plus include a lock rather than relying on a padlock. I see them on streets around me all the time so I'm surprised I can't find more options online.

That sort of thing. I did similar Google searches but couldn't find a suitable one that had an integrated lock and letterbox.

Hi. Does anybody know where to get those black metal security gates you see in porches of terraced houses? I wanted one with an integrated lock so I don't need to use a padlock, and a letterbox - or a gap to allow access to the letterbox in my front door. I'd expected them to be easy to get...

Thanks, both. Very helpful. The Latham doors look great. I think I've found a local carpenter who can help make the door more secure in the short term.

Hi. I need to replace my front door because I was burgled a couple of days ago. I'd like to get it done quickly. There's a company in London that does next day door replacements. They advertise what they describe as a solid hardwood security door. I asked them what type of wood they use and...

Thanks.