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Just to ease my mind, I take it that you got it all checked out by a structual engineer first before taking out the wall? If the storage room was on the back of the house then the wall you've taken out was probably load bearing and could be carrying the weight of the upstairs floors and roof...

...But what you probably can't see is the big buttresses and gabions behind the blocks which are actually holding back the ground. Normally the block/bricks you see on road cuttings are just for aesthetics. I'd really recommend you consult a structural engineer on this. The type of...

Have you checked the level of the water table in your garden? I know is's only a foot or so down in mine. If I tried to dig a bunker in my garden I'd be up to my armpits in water before I'd even dug the hole....

HSS used to rent them for between £5 and £6 per week depending on the size of prop.

The last type I used personally was a clear liquid which came ready mixed and was just painted onto the surface. My experience is mainly on internal concrete floor slabs and although they're generally subject to a fair amount of water and wear (lorry loading bays etc.) one of the builders on...

If they're drywall boxes then presumably they're plastic anyway? Mot much point in earthing a plastic box :wink:

If you try this then sandwich some washers between the head of the screw and the fan feet as well. To prevent the vibration being transferred you need to make sure there is no direct contact between the fan and either the truss or the screws. Go for the softest rubber washers you can find as...

Is the fan screwed directly to the roof truss? If so you could try fitting some rubber bushes between the feet of the fan and the truss to prevent the vibration being transferred from the fan to the timber. This is probably what is creating the hum. Have a google for "anti vibration mounts"...

Have you been watching re-runs of Grand Designs? :P I remember seeing this sort of construction on there once. I also seem to remember that it went slighly pear shaped at one point and the guy ended up with some odd bulges in the wall where the polystyrene split! :roll:

You probably need to apply a coat of concrete dustproofer / hardener to the concrete. We use this all the time on new concrete building floor slabs to prevent exactly the same problem. I can't think of any trade names at the moment, but any main builders merchant should have something suitable...

I've actually got the same thing in the room I'm in at the moment. The lightswitch is back to with the lightswitch for the room next door, in a 4 inch cinder block wall. I had to fit a 35mm backbox on this side for a deeper switch a couple of years ago. Admittedly I had to go carefully (I...

I tend to use Neweys and find them pretty good generally. Once in a while I'll use City for something specific , but as you say they tend to be a bit pricey. It's sometimes worth having a look at screwfix (www.screwfix.com) as well, particularly if you won't get the trade discount from the...

Also remember that if it's cast iron it'll be heavy when you release it from the wall. Not the sort of thing you want to realise when you're balanced 6 foot up a ladder with a hammer in one hand and the pipe in the other... :wink:

If you get a fault then only the socket which your appliance is plugged into will trip. RCD sockets don't cut the power to the whole circuit, only to the appliance actually plugged into the socket. What your instructions mean is that if you wired the socket into a RCD protected circuit (RCD...

You'll probably easily add another grand to the job meeting building regulations by the time you condider ventilation, fire safety, electrics, energy efficiency (assuming you'll want to heat it) etc. Your lawn will also die in the summer! I speak from experience here - in my last house I...

I had the same problem in my house a few years ago. I just bought a bag of cheap one coat plaster from my local builders merchants, mixed it up in a bucket and used it as filler to fill the gap at the bottom of the wall. It doesn't really matter what it looks like as it's just to fill the gap...

I suppose it's possible that the RCD didn't trip because it was a straight live-neutral fault with no 'leakage' to earth. Admittedly I would have thought a puddle of water on a wet building site would offer a pretty reasonable path to earth (you wouldn't catch me standing in it holding a 240V...

There may not be an earth wire as such , but is there a small brass earth terminal somewhere on the fitting to connect them into? If not then connect them together in a terminal strip and tuck them inside the ceiling rose or fitting. Don't forget that the bare wire should be sleeved with green...