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You are correct! The unit in my house is the Compact 65. I simply said Nightstor because it is a brand of storage heater from GEC that people are more familiar with. Furthermore, my unit isn't even made by GEC, it was made by a company called APECS who were a spin off from GEC when the former...

Thanks. I guess two questions in my mind: Firstly, if this damage is due to an overcurrent fault, why would a breaker not be tripped? Both of these circuits are fed from 63A breakers and constructed from 10mm2 cable throughout, the breaker should trip before any fault current is able to cause...

We recently moved into a house that has an electric storage heater central heating system (GEC Nightstor). The system is powered from two 63A MCBs in the consumer unit, one a dedicated off-peak circuit (Economy 7) and the other a regular circuit. Upon testing we discovered the heat storage was...

Thanks all for your replies. I think I need to do some more research on the cost effectiveness of using an ASHP to heat DHW. 45degC doesn't sound great, especially if you've got to run an immersion cycle one a week anyhow to kill off bugs. Furthermore, from what I understand the efficiency of...

Hi all, We've just moved house and our new place has an old vented/gravity DHW system using a loft header tank + airing cupboard hot water tank with dual immersion heaters. The property is not on mains gas and is electric only. My main gripe with the system at the moment is the lack of hot...

Thanks for the advice. Yes your proposal is the most straight forward. However as a DIYer my understanding is that it is notified work to break into and reform the ring? Just trying to do things safely.

I am a DIYer looking to add a double socket on an unfused spur. For me the nearest convenient connection point for the spur is an existing 3A fused FCU that is part of my ring main circuit. Can I spur off the supply side of this FCU?

Really? What about this document? http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/files/documents/notches_and_holes_in_timber_joists/Notches%20and%20Holes%20in%20Timber%20Joists.pdf

In the past a "plumber" has run a pair of 15mm copper pipe from one side of the room to the other in the ceiling and notched every single joist on the underside to a depth of 1.5 inches. The notches are about 8 inches from the ends of the joist where they rest on an RSJ. The joists are 8x2''...

Thanks John. The cut joists are connected to the stair trimmer by two screws (at least on the cut joists that I have exposed by the hole I have cut in the ceiling). How large or how deep these screws penetrate into the joist is unknown. With regards to strengthening the dangerously notched...

Thanks Ree. Please could you explain point 1? I agree everything is very amateurish and we seem to be discovering stuff like this all over the house. I fear the past owner was a bit of a cowboy DIY disaster. I won't be getting BCO involved but I will definitely take your advice about a joiner...

OK, I've uploaded some images. I've picture the left hand side from the perpective of looking at the stairs in the basement. You can see that the 5/10 cut joists are simply screwed into a single header which is screwed into the joists at the sides. No hangers, brackets or bolts are used. You...

Yule post? Do you mean newel post?

Thanks Ree. I'll try to post some pics this evening.

Furthermore the cut joists are only attached to a single piece of perpendicular timber, not a double header. They are also just screwed together, no joist hangers have been used. It seems a miracle that this floor is still in place :shock:

Hi guys, We own a terraced house where the staircase from the ground floor to the basement has been historically moved from the centre to the front of the house. The central wall in the basement has been knocked thru to create an open plan environment and RSJs installed. The joists of the...

No there is definitely not a French drain as you describe, only the presence of ballast and gravel against the back wall instead of soil. I'll try and post some photos later. To categorise the dampness problem we have - This problem is nothing like cellars that have serious damp problems and...

Thanks. The floor is damp proofed concrete using a membrane, so no damp issues with the floor. Some of these tanking system seem very over engineered and more of benefit to people who have basements that flood. Behind the back wall the soil has been dug out and replaced with blast and gravel...

Our Victorian mid terrace house is built into a hill such that the back wall of our kitchen is below ground level, sort of a "part basement" This back wall and perpendicular party walls have been previously dry lined using a "dot and dab" method of adhering plasterboard directly to the brick...

I managed to peel back more of the EPDM membrane really easily. I can't tell what type of adhesive has been used to bond it but it is certainly only one type for sure. There is no border of contact adhesive with a central area of water based. Is there a way to tell the difference between EPDM...