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hot soapy water, handwash it.

How much would it normally cost to have a chimney uncapped? There are 4 flues, 2 are uncapped (1 of which is in use for an open fire). The capped flues don't appear to have any ventilation, and the chimney pots are gone (I would want to replace all 4 flues with early 1900's style chimney pots)

Thanks anobium. Thats excellent advice. I was concerned that the diagonal line of joins would not hold as some of the wood might be too short, but I may be able to get away with it :) Anyway I have to wait for the plumber to replumb the bathroom, so it will be a while yet. I'll lay the...

I have a large pile of solid oak flooring, t&g, which I will be using to refloor my bathroom (directly onto the joists, its easily thick enough). Some of the boards are longer than the room, some are slightly shorter, and others shorter still (I got it all very cheap). Whats the best way...

If the pane is broken, ring a local glazier, and they'll fit a new pane for you. If you put a DG unit in, the sash will no longer stay open (too heavy). A DG unit might also not fit in the frame. If its an entirely new window, just get a joiner to make a new one up, using hardwood. AFAIK...

£21 000! Thats pathetic - either they're the Rolls Royce of sash windows, or selling mainly to people with more money than sense. I have single glazed sash windows on my own house, 95 years old, and still working nicely (after I restored them). Any capable joiner would be able to make...

Why don't you put the boiler in the chimney?

Don't seal the chimney. In fact, if it is sealed, it needs ventilation. You don't want condensation above the fireplace and no breeze to carry it out, because the soot will become acidic, which destroys your mortar.

How is your house ventilated? Chimney breast? Vents on the chimney breasts? Vents in the walls? Are you drying clothes on the radiators? Boiling water with a kettle? Using the bathroom lots? Sealed up houses will get damp. You must ventilate the moisture somehow. Changing the...

Well, glass is just sand really. Unless its got some kind of polarising coating, or perhaps has something to reflect heat on it, it won't harm the fish one bit.

I have a flueless gas fire in my back room. ITs very good (about 100% efficient I'm told), but I had to install a large vent in the same room. Its open all the time, although you really don't feel any breeze coming through it, its some kind of specially designed tube that runs right through...

The white paint might be distemper.

Thats bloody great that is! Thanks - I'll use the massive bag of hydrated lime I have, and let it soak for a bit.

I'd visit your local planning officer, and see what he says. Sorry I can't help any more than that. You do need to allow the breeze to flow through underneath your house, uninterrupted AFAIK.

Did a planning officer visit during construction?

By the sound of it, what you're doing doesn't sound too bad. I've seen many rooms knocked through, with the fireplaces in-situ, and they always look.....daft. Mind you, I'm a big fan of keeping things as they should be :) Are you knocking the entire partition wall down between the two...

What I mean is, that the chimney doesn't appear to have any modern metal flue in like I've seen on my Dad's house for instance. Its just a brick tunnel, right the way up to the stack. The house has 4 main rooms, 2 downstairs, 2 upstairs. Sorry if I sound ignorant, but I am in some ways...

Just whacked all the bricks on the back, to bring them back in line with the rest of the breast, and they're all nice and tight now. Think I'll just repoint the really loose bits of mortar, and run a trowel over the back of them (messy but effective).

Thanks, hopefully I can answer some of your queries: The gas point will be removed at the junction by a plumber friend. The chimney was swept 3 years ago. I don't think there is a flue anywhere in the chimney, I think its been pulled out by whoever installed this bedroom fireplace...

If they're interior bricks, they'll probably be very poor quality. Also bear in mind that knocking a chimney down could devalue you house.