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2nd question from my other post about ceiling joists:- I have also got an unfortunate added dilemma due to having to replace a 2.7metre joist after knocking out my chimney. BCO are involved but very slow to respond!! I'm just after some tips but wont be doing anything til BCO have taken a...

Hi all I have been pulling the ceiling down in my ground floor kitchen and have come across something of a puzzle / concern. My house is a 75 year old - semi. Essentially what I have in roughly the centre of my house is a sturdy ground floor dividing wall of concrete blocks that has been...

You can replace it with a dwarf variety of Lavender! It wont ever grow more than 2 feet tall then. Failig that there are any number of semi-evergreens / Perrenial shrubs that would do the job just as well in your type of soil, which is probably slightly alkaline. Again The RHS website...

Sorry, had to chuckle. A Badger!! or a Fox!! Are you serious? Badger holes to there sets are normally more like 20-30cms in diameter and incredibly messy. They will not be setting up home in your average garden and will likely have more than one entry/exit point. Foxes again have similar...

Lilac can be a problem plant. The problem being that it has strong and vigorous roots which have a frequent habit of suckering up all over the place. This can cause a hassle with concrete and foundations. However, at a metre tall you wont be having too many problems for a while, but if you...

I agree. Sorry, but I wouldnt want my family drinking water coming out of a potentially poisonous lead pipe!

I meant the comments were not much help to my original question. I didnt make that clear. Sorry. I wasnt commenting on what was your very sound advice about what I SHOULD do. I know what I SHOULD do...but I'm not going to. It will be a problem for someone else. You make assumptions on what...

Right - so not much help then. The reason why I dont want to rewire the whole house is I want out of this dump quickly and dont want to spend any more money than required. The kitchen is the only room that needs real work done, the others have already been re-decorated and the wiring was...

Hi I've had a few electricians around to price up re-wiring my kitchen (Essential work due to re-designing the kitchen layout). The problem is that they have identified there is no Earth in the lighting cable. They say this wouldnt be a problem if I didnt have metal light fittings (Brass...

I should have added that the work is slightly complicated by the fact that I am changing the entire layout of the kitchen and fitting a new rear door where one of the windows was. Although I have worked out a solution. I would also like to move the mains stop cock to a different wall...but I'll...

Thanks for that. I was tearing my hair out!! Just to confirm:- As I understand it, the way to go is:- I'll get the sparky and plumber in first. They can do the main work (Laying the new cables and pipes to the areas where my new kitchen will need them). Then I'll get the plasterer in to...

Hi Some advice please. I have just finished pulling out all my old kitchen units and pulling a ropey old ceiling down and taking about 60% of the plaster off the walls in the room, which was in bad condition. (its quite a big old room too) Now, I know I need to get the kitchen fully...

Yep. Thats what my post says in the first line.

Depends on your soil type really! Some good all rounders are the Choitsya Ternata- Sundance (shrub) Siberian Dogwood (Shrub) - grows big but looks great in winter / spring Grab yourself at least one of the Butterfly Bushes if you have some spare room (Its big). Buddlejas are great...

I agree. Autumn is best also because weeds dont have a chance to grow so vigorously before the winter. Spring time sowing always means you get more weeds in the grass than at autumn. If you want a date I reckon 10th-15th September to be spot on times. So get out there!!! Dont be worried if...

Hi I have just done exactly the same thing you propose. You should find the BCO helpful and you will definitely need to submit a Building Regs Notice. (The notice should cost about £50 - £60 for the work you propose). There should be a lintel in situ on both skins already, if a window...

Hi Thanks for the input!! I am submitting my own plans to the BCO this week. I have decided that a good option was to suggest that I fit some decking suspended over the area of the drain and extending out a few feet - a nice looking addition to the new entrance and the access to the drains...

There needs to be at least 15 centimeters of good soil for the grass to even grow half as well as it should. Less than that and you will have a patchy yellow and sparse lawn within a year. You will probably never have a lush green lawn if you lay turf on top of concrete....not unless the soil is...

Well. Heres my advice. I had the exact same problem. Two choices - Drastic and Permanent or Temporary and lazy. The drastic option (Which I did - and it wasnt actually all that hard). I waited until late august and then killed all the grass and weeds with a big spraying session with...

Glad you took the advice and found it useful!!! Ta. Did you get the Wholesale "trade" version? They do tend to give out some free plants or vouchers with an order - this is a regular thing that they do. Ordering - well, generally they wait until the right planting season for your...