Recent content by richw

Herringbone is currently rather fashionable! (which almost put us off having it in our new kitchen - but we have always liked it, honest!)

I would fix that myself before paying someone to skim (assuming you are skimming the whole room). Remove ALL loose plaster. PVC/SBR, then apply browning - might need to build up in stages. Get it to a level where the pro can just skim over. If they have to do that for you, then you are...

This is the way. If you really want professional assistance during the job, then you should draw on the wall where you want sockets etc. and lift/expose the flooring/ceilings throughout the house, then install all the backboxes. This would make the sparky's job much quicker. Maybe you could...

Isn't it the difference between a piece of paper and ethnicity? I could follow the process to live in China and gain citizenship. Does that make me Chinese? No - I am English. If I had a child over there, with my English wife, the child might get some Chinese documents, but won't be Chinese...

There should be insulation above the garage ceiling - is it not plasterboard-ed? I had similar problem, but cutting a hole revealed some insulation, so it wasn't the classic cause. I cut another hole in the bedroom ceiling, and there was approx 1" of fibreglass! I upped it to 12" and the...

Use a local firm. Ask what they will do re. ventilation and trims. I had 14 windows and a front door replaced a couple of years ago. Was over 10k. Didn't pay a penny until it was done, and I was happy.

I would agree that people have been voting for parties who claim they will reduce immigration for quite some time. The odd thing is that those parties do not follow through on their promises. Totally understandable why someone would say that Reform will be the same: in fact, you may have to be...

Some people think it looks horrid. I've had some where the final 8 inches or so of pipe is 10mm plastic, and the advantage is that you can neatly mould and clip the pipe exactly where you want it. I've got it clipped vertically to the skirting, so I don't have the awkward gap between the...

That's easy - cut spending too. It's out of control - loads of low-hanging fruit.

You would need faith to vote on policies. I don't remember Labour promising to increase energy prices & council tax, and introduce digital ID. Obviously, that's only a recent example: we could say the same sort of things about the last lot, e.g. Boris and his non-EU immigration. Re. Reform, I...

Re. mounting the sink, I've just had done similar with a Howdens under-mount porcelain sink. The joiner raised the shelf slightly so the sink could rest on that. Some additional supports were added to the unit because a fair ol' chunk was cut-out and the sink is rather heavy. Works absolutely...

I think it's one of those things you get used to, so any change (combi, electric or tank) seems like another universe. Combis are great if your mains is up to it, and your usage doesn't demand two points in use at once (e.g. two showers on at the same time in the morning). An electric shower...

Well, yes, so instead of the water being cold(er), it will reduce from a bad flow to an appallingly bad flow. Not actually a useful difference. Same limitation of the uselessness of an electric heating element being used on-demand. A proper shower needs hot water and a good flow. Yes, I know...

I don't see how a 'modern' electric shower would be any better. They are the same thing: it's just a kettle heating element through which a flow of water passes. If you want it hot, it trickles. Another thing to remember is that a combi boiler is OK if you use only one hot water outlet at a...

An electric shower?! Yikes. They are awful. Only good feature is that they work when the combination boiler is broken! :) You need to ask yourself: 1) if you would prefer instant/on-demand or stored/tank hot water. A combination boiler means no tanks, which saves space, but it is a single...