Recent content by oldbilly

Thanks FiremanT. Yeah, my hunch is that it's trying to turn itself on and failing to. I'd better drop her a line. Cheers!

Hi all, the fan on my neighbour's boiler is running 24/7 and it's cycling on and off every couple of seconds -- the flue sounds like it's panting! But the boiler itself never seems to come on -- at least, there's no visible vapour even on cold days. Is there any legitimate reason for it to...

Thanks ReJect. Yeah, I should be able to manage it, not rocket science. I think I'll do as you say and quietly just do it.

The woodburner in my house was temporarily removed while a new floor was laid, and now I'm about to reinstall it in exactly the same position, with no changes to the flue or anything. Does anyone know if I need to go through the same hoops as I would if it was a first-time install? ie Hetas or...

Hi All. I recently bought a three-storey, mid-Victorian house on the coast with solid brick walls finished with lath and plaster. It needs a bit of doing up (including an injected damp course) and the builder is keen on adding internal insulation. His plan is: Remove lath and plaster. Clean...

Many thanks Hugh. All very useful.

Brilliant! You guys are the best. One more thing: If it all pans out, is there any particularly way to fit the sink waste to this drain? (I'd be disconnecting the drainpipe from it). Also, is this sort of thing subject to Building Control? Thanks again. What a forum!

The side door of the house opens into the alleyway, and this drain is beside the door. I'm hoping it then follows the alleyway down to the street, where the sewer and manholes are. Good idea. Is there any way to do this apart from digging down and inspecting it, though? 'Cos it's all under...

Ah, thanks Hugh. That's interesting. Yes, that seems to be the situation with my house ... except that, according to the guy who was flushing the sewers this morning, the kerbside drains lead to the foul water sewers anyway. ie there's no separate storm sewer.

Thanks Tiger I don't know much about soakaways. But my house is in the Victorian part of town, and the drain is in a narrow alleyway (six foot wide) between two houses. Would there be a soakaway here?

Evening all. The situation is, I'm moving my kitchen into a room which doesn't have any services yet. Outside, one of the rainwater drainpipes goes into an underground drain. (I don't know why, since all the other drainpipes just disgorge into an open gully in the pavement). The drain is...

Hi all. I've just bought a load of pine slivers from the Old Pine Company to fill my floorboard gaps. Quick question: some people tell you to clean between the floorboards first. Unfortunately they don't say how, or with what. Is it just a case of dislodging any loose particles and giving it a...

Thanks, Frank. Will stop worrying!

I've just started putting 100mm Ecotherm between the 150mm rafters in my pitched roof kitchen. Technically this should give me the required 50mm air gap beneath the insulation and the breathable membrane. Unfortunately I've just discovered that the roofer left so much crap lying on top of the...

Thanks Frank. It's a half-brick wall. The holes were drilled from the inside, and most are only about 5-7cm deep. Must have been done in the 80s or 90s, before I moved in, and yeah it was probably a bit of a bodge job. Some of the holes were drilled into the mortar rather than brick, and now go...