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A couple of years ago, mum had someone repaint the front of the house. The old white paint was flaking away to the red paint underneath. There is damage to the window sills, even though the painter covered them with masking tape. We presume that this was caused by paintstripper, but don't know...

Okay, thanks a lot John. Mum wants a gas-fired stove but we wonder whether it would be possible to find one that can also burn wood? Do such combined stoves exist or is it a choice between either gas or wood?

Hi. My mum has a terraced house, approximately 80 years old. When we moved in 20 years ago, the fireplaces downstairs contained sideboards and lights at the top and upstairs were plastered over with vents. When the house was renovated, the vents were removed upstairs and downstairs was plastered...

With the bung removed, the entire gland kit (sans boot) fits through the hole:

I did look at BAS' link? But it doesn't tell me anything new - the situation is different there, because it uses a box with just the right size hole. If I pretend that the holes are 20 mm (they are in fact 28 mm), then the box won't be waterproof anymore? Sure, the chances of water splashing...

Hi. I know I need to use SWA glands; the problem is these weird rubber bungs that fill the holes in the junction box. If I remove the bung entirely, the hole is too large and I can't seem to do it with the bung either due to the space it takes up around the threads on the nozzle of the gland kit.

Is it possible to connect SWA to 2.5 mm mains inside this box? http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Electrical/IP55%20Rated/IP55%20Junction%20Box/d190/sd3140/p93158

The ceiling is made up by lath and plaster. I think it might be a good idea to attach a nogin between the two beams in the attic. Screws will then go through one of the lath peices and into the noggin. Sound ok? Can I use and peice of timber that I have laying around so long as it fits and is...

Well they're both wires going into the load terminals on a switch (the feed is 2.5 mm). The switch was originally wired by an electrician to have 2.5 mm feed and 1 mm load. I'm now adding another load but using 2.5 mm cable.

When I try to secure a 1 mm wire and a 2.5 mm wire in the same hole (i.e. under the same screw in a switch), the 2.5 mm wire gets clamped while the 1 mm wire comes loose. What ways do people deal with that? Must they both be twisted together? Also, what's the proper name for a "wire hole" in...

This has been on my to do list for a while. My mum had my room replastered while I was studying abroad and when I came back the light fitting (the whole house was re-wired shortly prior) was like this. I've been meaning to affix it properly to the ceiling for a while. The problem is that there...

Hi. I found some information here which tells me to use nails to hold the conduit or channel in place before plastering over the top. Why nails and not say, screws with appropriate fixings? The nails go into the mortar joints right? Presumably y'all know what you're doing but hammering a nail...

God bless us, each and every one!

I whitewashed our garden walls a few times and whilst some areas of the wall were fine, I couldn't stop some areas from flaking (despite changing the formula to include boiled linseed oil which is supposed to help prevent flaking). After three failed attempts, I scoured the surface to remove...

Follwing my investigations I find that all sockets appear to be covered by an RCD at the consumer unit and that the existing external light is on the same circuit as the kitchen sockets. Click images for larger view. Am I right in thinking I need to chisel away the plaster...

I'm also a novice and don't know exactly where you're suggesting to use hex head bolts, but would coach bolts be more suitable? They've got a smooth head which will be more comfortable to sit on and possible more aesthetically pleasing.

As a gentleman, I object to this thread being located in the DIY Disasters subforum.

Hi. Looks good so far; thanks for sharing. I've never attempted to build a wall so don't know how difficult it is to get right. Why didn't you attempt it yourself? Is it hard to get it straight?

Hey. Thanks. I won't be going home until Christmas but I'll take those photographs then. The reason I want to chisel, is to avoid having a length of cable running along the outside of the wall, since I think it will be a bit of a blemish on the wall. I realise that after patching the render...

According to the specs at the bottom of the listing, the transformer provides upto 60 watts while 5 m uses 36 watts. What it's not clear on is whether the 150 LEDs per 5 m ir 300 LEDs per 5 m both use the same power but if you bought the higher density strips, then I guess it's a safe bet than...