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I have interlinked mains-powered Kidde Fyrnetics alarms throughout my house - 8 smoke, 1 heat and 1 CO. As a few are getting a bit yellow now (yay brominated plastic) I looked at replacing those ones but can't get a straight answer on compatibility with newer models. As the system is 13 years...

I unknowingly inherited this situation when I bought my house... Decent sized garden so a few inches isn't noticeably however the two bits of trouble I've had are: 1) The neighbours on one side had since removed the original fence, piled up gravel against the wooden panels (no concrete gravel...

That's a common tale... 10 years ago we had two of the national franchises quote on a new back door... £2k for one and £3k for the other. Both salesmen hung about for ages trying to pressure us. Local firm came in, looked at the job, measured it, quoted £400 and left it with us to mull over. No...

Given the wooden construction above blockwork level, I'd be looking at a flitch beam to simplify construction. Steel plate sandwiched between two lengths of timber and bolted at several points along its length.

Ah, interesting. I've gone looking and at least one of the AC suppliers offers F-gas commissioning from £249+VAT... That could be a good compromise, thanks.

I've been looking at air-conditioners, the smaller split-systems rather than the portable units. I've noticed a lot of the split systems say the pipes are pre-gassed, but that they need to be installed by an F-gas certified/qualified person. What is the deal with this - is it actually a matter...

The white stuff? From the photo that looks like efflorescence, which will be due to the water in the soil behind the retaining wall. You can get it cleaned up with a wire brush (I've used one in a drill but you need to be careful not to dig out all the mortar), some people use brick acid, but...

Thinking laterally, and not to everyone's taste, but eucalyptus trees are great for preventing clay soil becoming boggy in wet weather. Downside is they grow immensely quickly (which is why they take up so much water when the ground is wet) and need chopping back every year (sometimes twice). I...

You'd probably find grab adhesive works fine, however given that furniture is prone to small amounts of flex then something more flexible would be wise; TBH, you might find that regular cheapo builders silicone will do the trick well enough, but with the advantage that if it doesn't work out you...

I'm building a shed from scratch. Due to distance from the road a concrete slab base is not an option (SWMBO is determined but petite, and after we built the last one she vowed never to lay concrete again!). I was considering using "decking blocks", pre-cast concrete saddles that have notches...

If you do go ahead with pouring a concrete slab, the advantage is that you can easily replace the shed in future if you decide you want to build a new one. If access isn't an issue, consider getting an on-demand concrete lorry in. I did that when building a shed base and between 3 of us we had...

In the spring I'll be building a new shed to replace the failing flatpack abomination I bought a few years ago. We're hopefully only going to be here another couple of years, so this isn't my "forever shed" and whilst I'll build it properly, longevity is a secondary concern this time, and...

I realise I'm preaching to the choir but it is somewhat farcical - when Part P came in to the Building Regs it was intended to stop people bodging electrics whether in their own house or in their role as e.g. a kitchen fitter. But, the bodgers keep bodging regardless, and it just means those who...

This will be the second time I've dealt with Central Beds for electrical sign-off on building notices. The first time was when Part P was the buzzword and no-one was quite sure what the implications were (who is competent and who is "competent"?) so mine was one of the ones who put their hands...

The LABC bit isn't an issue - all the work is listed on a Building Notice so I just need to pass a Periodic Inspection, supply the PIR to the BCO and it's good. I did check that with them before starting all the works as I didn't want to get it all done then find I should have done something...

I'd like to use an adaptable box on the outside of my house to join 6mm T&E (from box to CU, run inside the house) to 6mm SWA (to run from box to workshop... once I've built a workshop). To keep it neat, and because AFAIK T&E isn't rated for outdoor use, I'd like the T&E to run through the...

Thanks, looks very familiar! Did you put anything on the bricks to seal in the staining?

We had a backboiler and gas-front removed from our living room fireplace recently. We've had the flu liner pulled from above and the chimney fitted with a vent cap, and the plan is to install some hardiboard with a vent just out of sight at the bottom to keep the chimney ventilated. House was...

Hi, hoping for some advice or a pointer to a product I've not found. My FIL is struggling to stand up when getting out of bed. He would like a horizontal grab rail fitted to a wall that runs parallel to the side of his bed, so he can reach out in front and pull himself from being seated on the...

I second that - I used to have a portable air-conditioner and the hose came with the connector to use a tumble dryer vent as the exhaust outlet. This will provide a better seal than poking it through a cat-flap, and you can pop a round piece of polystyrene into the tube when the colder weather...