Recent content by wombleboy

Many sources refer to 'transformer/driver'. Appreciate that transformers work on AC, and don't convert AC to DC, but presumably in moving from 240v AC to 12v DC part of the process is a transformer? Yes, but presumably I then have a switch next to each strip, which means wandering around the...

And a better solution would be .... ? It doesn't sound like a bad solution: it eliminates the need to put a lot of extra wiring in the walls so that strips can be controlled independently of the ceiling light. Essentially it's just changing the button on the remotes to a wall switch and mounting...

I'm busy ripping out my kitchen prior to fitting a new one. I'd like LED strip lighting in various places (under and above the cabinets), but can't decide how best to hook them up, so interested in hearing how other people are doing it. A lot of LED strip lighting kits come with a wallwart and...

A few weeks ago I picked up some Dulux Trade Satinwood water-based by mistake (I usually go for oil-based), and was really happy with the results - first time I've used water-based. I now have some kitchen cabinets to paint (doors and shelves) and can't decide on the best paint to use. I...

Cheers, I've been playing around with some spare tiles, and got the hang of the damp sponge at 45 degrees. Working pretty nicely - just a matter of judging how long to wait. If the grout is still too wet the sponge ends up taking some of it out of the joint, no matter how gentle I am. Sealing...

I've just finished putting down some clay tiles on my front step ... now I need to grout them. The joint between the tiles is around 8mm (I know that's quite wide, but they are 150mm tiles, so it doesn't look out of place, and an 8mm gap ensured the tiles fitted the existing step nicely, without...

Cheers for the replies. I do quite a lot of work with MDF, so I'm all too familiar with the work involved in getting a nice finish. It's ultimately very rewarding though. Thinking about vinyl, I'm thinking perhaps the biggest problem would be bubbling/peeling at the edges as this has started to...

I'm thinking about replacing my kitchen, and naturally I want to do most of it myself. At the moment I'm thinking about cabinet doors. I've been browsing for pre-made doors, and all are MDF with a washable vinyl coating. Thinking 10 years down the line (or realistically more like 5), when the...

Wrought iron railings, or steel - perhaps these ones, given how good the price is: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Chelsea-Wall-Railing-365x1830mm/p/154353?

In the summer I'm planning on building a dwarf garden wall with railing on the top. A secton of the wall needs to be curved and I'm wondering what my options are please. Looking at other peoples walls, the degree of curving isn't so bad that i'll need radial bricks, but I can't decide what to...

Cheers for the advice, I've bought a sheet of polycarbonate so we'll see how it goes. Do I need to seal the ends of the sheet to stop air/moisture getting between the two layers?

It has doors and windows on now, but the condensation has been a problem ever since I put the roof on - which was a few weeks ago

The last couple of months I've been having great fun building a shed/greenhouse/summerhouse in my graden. Concrete base, timber structure, windows, 2mm perspex roof at an angle of around 10 degrees. Trouble is, the inside of the roof is constantly coated in condensation, to the point where...

Cheers, I realised after I'd typed that it was daft of me to say that you don't so engineering bricks on houses - I should have said the half dozen houses I've lived in over the years haven't had them.

I'm planning to build a small boundary wall in my garden next spring. Probably around 5 or 6 courses of bricks high, 2 skins. Often one of the first things to go in garden walls is often the bottom couple of layers of brick - they blow, presumably from damp and freeze/thaw. Someone suggested...