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I’ve designed and built recording studios with very high sound reduction properties - you could end up spending a lot of time and money and not gaining much at all. Even with a Partition wall built to very high specification you may still find the sound gets in to next door by other means - but...

I find these to work well. Takes a bit of a knack in doing them but I drill a pilot hole first and then you need to push slightly harder as you turn so that they don’t just house the PB out, but they are now my goto PB fixing after 30 years of intense DIYing. They can work in existing larger...

To totally tidy up the joint - Google images of “door architrave plinth block” and maybe use a similar concept ie piece of 1” x 1” that’s slightly longer that the height of your existing skirting. Use a multi tool to cut the slot in the old skirting to be able to insert the new block snug in to...

@ericmark Well looks like instant success for me. I put the new bulbs in and then just replaced one of the existing switches with the new dimmer and right away they look to work perfectly. Nice range of brightness from very low to bright, no flickering and all switches working as expected...

Ok folks, I've picked up some Phillips dimmable LEDs and a Varilight V-Pro 1-Gang 2-Way LED Dimmer - from the reviews they looked to be a fairly starting point. Have checked existing switches - Two have a 3 wire set up L1, L2 and COM and then one of them has 2 conductors going in to each of...

I always use warm white.

Thank you folks. I’m picking up some recommended bulbs and a switch (all LED dimmable spec etc ) this morning and will experiment later to see if they do the job. I don’t mind a bit if trial and error as keen to get it right as it’s a key feature in the house being a bit of a gallery area...

Brilliant. I'm happy to change the bulbs themselves to ones that work fine with dimmers, it's the actual style of the downlighter I want to keep. Thank you both.

Hi I don't fully understand how dimmers would work in this situation so are you saying if just one switch gets replaced by a dimmer then all the other switches continue to work as normal ? - which would be great and solve my problem. Now I'm thinking about it I think see the logic ..... there...

Hi all, Have a string of 5 downlighters (that I don't want to change the style) in an L shaped hallway but even using 1.2W GU10 bulbs it's way too bright as we want a nice low level warm effect. I'm assuming dimmers are not immediately easy as there are 3 light switches all linked up as one...

Putting the building regs to one side (not that they should be ignored) the moment you start using a loft space for more than just occasional walking around / dumping stuff the realistic prospect is that the plaster skimmed ceilings in any rooms below will likely crack. Had it exactly here where...

In some sense it's always worth doing a thorough job as possible as fixings and batten don't cost much, but if you are wanting to minimise the work then as said above you'll certainly want noggins in places over 2.4m where the plasterboard ends join. As for everywhere else I look at the...

You don't need to be too precise with the application, basically I would run a bead all around the perimeter, say an inch or so in from the edge and then run some vertical full length lines within that perimeter bead - approx 250 mm apart. Whether it is fresh new plasterboard or old plaster you...

Well for sound reduction the best thing to put between 2 layers of plasterboard is a big fat wedge of air :giggle: as its the "2 leaf" design approach where the trapped air acts as a spring to damp the noise. But we are talking around 100mm minimum air gap and I'm sure you don't want to give up...

I've been involved in design and build of very highly sound insulated recording studios. If you haven't bought the green glue yet then save your money. It's expensive and will only show a noticeable difference when part of a comprehensive fully planned design that involves many other aspects...

I do the double cut like in this video : You have to be handy with the saw but it works well for me - not necessarily dead perfect but I found good enough. I also put the board flat on the floor on top of some old carpet - takes a bit of a knack but I find it traps most of the dreaded dust...

Either above or I would just use the same holesaw to cut a plug out of the spare bit of insulated plasterboard, then just spread some filler round the edge of the plug and push it in to the hole. Wipe off excess, leave to dry for a bit then use filler again to finish off.

I think they mean the gap is to be between the side of the ramp as it runs along the wall (with raised edges or side barriers) and then yeah some kind of bridge at the actual door threshold- otherwise that’s one hell of a bunny hop in a wheel chair

No sign of any DPM and also the other similar ramp at the front also bridges the DPC for several feet and almost totally obscures an air brick, and with no sign of trying to remedy that. BC look to encourage a minimum of 300mm offset from the wall for an adjoining / parallel ramp to avoid DPC...

Assuming you have good access to the nut and the bolt can be kept still then deffo the nut end. Even if you have no option but to turn the bolt end (as the nut end doesn't have much room to turn the spanner) then most bolts have a circular profile under the head to stop you gouging the steelwork...