Recent content by squarepeg

Hi All, I'm shortly to be laying a slate hearth, and wondered what is the best mortar mix to use. It will be for a woodburning stove and so will get relatively warm. Do I jsut use standard mortar (with colouring) or do I need to use lime etc? Any advice on the best mixture to use is appreciated!

Hi, Just a little follow on question - probably a silly one! Do we just use normal mortar (sand + cement) or do we need lime / anything else in there? I will add the tinting as suggested! Thanks all.

Thanks. OK, so our next step is obviously to take the plaster off. Once we've done that there are two questions: firstly, what should we use to cover the brickwork? and secondly, is it possible to do it ourselves? In this regard, it may be useful to know that if it were gypsum, we would be happy...

Hi All, I'm looking for some advice on the type of CH protector I should use...got a sealed system, WB greenstar CDi boiler, and WB hot water cylinder. I seem to recall the plumbers who fitted that little lot saying that we should use a specific type of protector because it's a sealed...

Thanks!

Hi, I've got a slate hearth that needs to be layed onto a relatively levelconcrete sub-hearth. What I really need to know is how to adhere the one to the other, and does anyone have any tips / tricks on ensuring that the hearth ends up level? In case it's useful, we've got a single piece...

By the way, there are two people in a cold house in Gloucestershire who are very very grateful for your help!

Can you use jointing compond and PTFE together? Should I not use the PTFE and use JC instead? Thanks!

Hi Both, Thanks for that - Tried holding it in place - but I'm a bit of a wimp - love plumbing, but I'm starting to think it's not for girls (or I need to go to the gym!) - just one query...I've used PTFE on the joints; should I use Bosswhite with this? Seem to recall I was advised not to -...

Hi All, I've got hopefully a little query - looking for some tricks of the trade! I'm trying to install a radiator - I know how to do it, but with this one I'm struggling, because the pipes coming up to the valves have an S bend to get around the joist, rather than being a straight bit of...

I agree...I think though they were talking about condensation of tar and creosote etc, and that you need to keep the flue gasses hot so that they don't condense and leave these around to catch fire later on. Could be talking nonsense of course!

Hi, Back in November we were having the chimney rebuilt on our three storey house. That required scaffolding (no access for cherry-pickers) and so, knowing that we would be buying a stove at some point in the future, we got a stove company to line the chimney for us at the same time (saving...

Hi, We've got a 200 yr old house, with 200 yrs worth of paint on just about all of the woodwork. We've probably got 15 layers of paint, the top two or three are modern paints, but the rest are probably lead-based. Nitromors gets through the top layers, but the lower layers seem just about...

Thanks for the recommendation, I've often looked at these, but wasn't sure they weren't a gimmick. I'll go shopping now :-)

Unfortunately we may not have a choice...got to get it out of the way for the plasterer, can do it at night though! Freeze spray may be the option, thanks for the suggestion :-)