Recent content by JohnE

My 3 bed semi roof needs 4 ventilation tiles inserted, a chimney capped and another chimney repaired by possibly replacing the lead flashing and/or repointing. Now I asked a couple of roofers to have a look. One eventually looked and couldn't be bothered to give me an estimate, the other didn't...

We moved into our house a couple of years ago where there is a 30 year old alarm system with movement detectors. It has never been serviced as far as I'm aware and we never use it because we have a cat. I want to deactivate/turn off the whole system. Any advice on the following would be much...

Ah thanks alastair/shuflie. Yes there is an expansion tank which is not particularly well covered. In fact the cover doesn't fit properly. I think the condensation could well be a combination of lack of ventilation and the hot expansion tank.

OK thanks. I noticed in the posting about condensation "Woody" advises; "increase the ceiling insulation and then go along and put your hand through the joint where the felt is lapped to open them up - a small bit of timber can be put in to keep them open in various places. This will do...

Thanks again for the help. I will look into the ventilation problem. However in my semi I only have one side of it that has guttering. There is the gap between the loft insulation and the soffits/guttering to allow air in but of course there is no through draft. In other words the front and back...

I really appreciate your advice, many thanks. I suppose I could be wrong but I can't believe it's condensation. I really hope it is. Can condensation really soak a joist right through and saturate all the felt? I've got a fair amount of insulation up there and I suppose, as a 1964 house it's...

After the heavy rain on Friday night I went up into my loft and to my horror, found that the rain has seeped into the whole of the roof space. All the felt is soaked with the rain dripping through the felt onto the loft insulation, and the rafters and joists are wet. The tiles look like...

Can anyone recommend a reliable COTGI gas fitter to supply and fit a new combi gas boiler in the Newport, S Wales area? Cheers.

Many thanks. I think I may have mislead you here. I've just found out it is something called ceiling white, not distemper. Does the same remedy apply or is there anything on the market that will make the removal of ceiling white easier?

I have bought a 1960's house which has distemper on the ceilings. I am about to repaint so do I have to scrape the paintwork off the whole ceiling or is there anything on the market that I can treat it with first before I paint.

My 3 bed semi's walls have quite a few cracks (half to one millimetre from ceiling to floor). A year ago I redecorated, cut back the cracks, refilled with normal polyfilla, then lining paper and 2 coats of paint. A year on and the cracks have started to reappear, splitting the lining paper. I am...

Many thanks for all your help.

My boiler is an E Type RS60 (series 4) balanced flue gas boiler. It also has a brand name of "Ideal Standard" on the cover. British Gas have told me they will no longer service it as it is obsolete and they cannot get parts for it if it went wrong. BG have quoted £4,650 for fitting a new one...

Oh I presume the Solution 1 Combi, £ £1,706.92 refers to the labour charges!

The boiler quoted is as follows: British/Scotish Gas 532 high efficiency boiler £1,430.66. Solution 1 Combi £ £1,706.92 (whatever this is). plus flue/ thermostat etc.