Recent content by dave163

Thank you for all contributions. Some vigorous sanding left a much less bumpy though still imperfect surface that was similarly uneven to the rest of the room. I had wondered if it was too perfect, whether the new board would stick out like a sore thumb. It isn't, and it doesn't. I'm quite...

OK so an update from someone who's never so much as held a plastering trowel before. I extended the hole in the loose plasterwork to where it was secure, which was just over 1800 by 1100mm. This meant I was able to fit a couple of boards of 1800x900, cutting one down to 200mm and nibbling out a...

Thanks, it's the rads on the middle floor that stay cold; top floor get quite hot and ground floor get very hot. But next step sounds like we need to block all ground floor radiators that are supplied by the pipes that goes into the first floor front bedroom, and all the top floor radiators too...

Haha, I don't need heating on at the moment. Just a convenient time to do odd jobs like lifting floor in a storage cupboard which helped me map out some of the pipework, and maybe heating engineers are less busy in summer. Answers to other questions - British Gas 430i boiler (rebranded...

The floor plan is rhe front and central part of the middle floor of the house, I didnt show there is,also another bathroom and bedroom to the right of the plan. There are 13 radiators in the house, which I'm told is fine for the size of boiler. Most of them work fine, it's just the two in the...

I live in a three storey Victorian terraced house. The previous owners fitted central heating to the ground and middle floor but for budget reasons did not heat the top floor. However their layout supposedly allowed for the possibility of taking a loop to the top floor and the boiler has...

Thanks, duh wasn't aware you could paint directly onto (primed) plasterboard, when I paid to have another room completely replastered with plasterboard the guy skimmed it all over and it was super messy and took weeks to dry. The lath strips overview each over and are wobbly so really need to...

Not sure where best to post about alternatives to plastering. I have an top floor attic "spare room" that currently has plastered and light brown painted brick walls to three sides and one lath and plasterboard wall, as in photo. On that wall the ceiling (white) slopes to meet the roofline, and...

I share your pain, I used to live in a terraced house where something similar happened. A few doors down the road between houses was a path offering access to the back garden of each of the houses, which I used every day to take my bike down to the shed in my back garden. The land forming the...

Thanks, liking the idea of the dog clamp though they don't seem readily available other than in packs of several. And ill have to avoid smashing the sink if i hammer it in! Not sure a pin or screw would be aesthetically acceptable. Would there be any way of screwing a clamp or even a small block...

Thanks - no way of getting the worktop out, no way to clamp across its width and no access under it as the cupboards have their own "roof" that the worktop sits on. Is PVA glue better than epoxy glue or any of the many types of wood filler for this sort of thing? I probably won't get it in all...

A crack in our solid oak kitchen worktop, fitted around five years ago has just developed. It extends back around 12 inches from the Belfast sink, and the first 6 inches or so looks quite deep, whilst the rest is superficial but looks like it could open up further. It isn't a failure of stave...

No I don't, nor do I want to blow up the house! Is it just a fact of life that garden 12VAC transformers conk out and need replacing every few months? Reading some of the reviews I'm leaning towards "yes" but that just doesn't feel right. Are there any decent ones out there?

Thanks, I looked up the latest transformer's supplier as it may still be under warranty and was reading reviews last night. All very positive, yet several mentioning they had to regularly replace the transformers! What's up with these things, is low voltage garden lighting just impossible to...

I have a few 12V AC garden lights, wired in parallel to a 240V transformer which is plugged into a wireless-operated switch which is plugged into a standard plug socket in rhe garden shed. The shed is properly wired to the house (shielded cable, fitted by electrician etc) and a wireless switch...