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Ah, well if you and the previous owners of the house had just kept to the original materials and methods there would be no problem. The soldier course of bricks on the outside probably acts as a lintel and the inner bricks rested on the adeqautely strong timber window frame. Then someone took...

No he won't fine you :) Sagging bricks is a matter for some concern. Are the windows that have been put in plastic?

Usual practice in 1908 was to build window openings either with a lintel or, very commonly, with brick arches such that no extra lintel is required. What makes you think that now, after almost a century, your house should suddenly need extra lintels? Oh, and I hate extractor fans. I'd never...

Not true. Trickle vents are just one of the possible means of ensuring the adequate ventilation that a room is required to have. Air bricks and passive stacks are alternatives. It's worth reading the Buildings Regulations rather than just relying on what suppliers tell you.

Best to start off with a lime plaster or even a clay or earth plaseter. Then colour with distemper.

If the loe-e coating is on surface 2 (counting from the outside) it will reduce solar heat gain rather than reducing internal heat loss as in the case where the low-e coat is on surface 3. Hence put the obscure glass on the outside and the Pilk K on the inside.

Sorry to disagree with Glassman but trickle vents are not mandatory. They are just one of the the methods given in the Buildings Regs Guidance to allow you to comply with the Buildings Regs Requirements for ventilation. Guidance is guidance and Requirements is the law. Don't get them muddled...

They'd be Elizabethan rather than Victorian since Victoria died over a century ago. But to replicate them you need a Victorian book such as Paul N Hasluck, Carpentry and Joinery. Buy a copy Here

Any DIY shed. It comes in a plastic tube and you squeeze it out with one of those trigger thingies. This is probably the one you want from screwfix: http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=A336158&ts=77789&id=87537

Is it the sealant the sticks the two bits of glass together - that's tricky, or is it the sealant round the outside of the unit - that's easier, just use a tube of builders' silicone.

I get my tape from this firm: http://www.ukindustrialtapes.co.uk/ 12mm wide 3mm thick (which squashes down to about 2mm) is a suitable standard pvc foam tape.

Don't say 'hardwood', say 'oak'.

Yes, I think with Danish oil they add some driers to the tung oil to make it set quicker. Probably MnO2, though they don't admit the ingredients on the tin. Boiled linseed sets faster than raw linseed so the potentially deeper penetration of raw may be the reason why it is recommended. I'd be...

Ah, we're getting into detail now. Adding a bead of silicone onto the top of the glazing tape gives a belt and braces approach to water penetration defence. As you say, Masona, you don't want a puddle of water sitting there. Actually, I've not heard a really convincing reason why linseed...

Masona's diagram is spot on for double glazing in a wooden frame. It's exactly what I do. You should be able to get a roll of tape from your local double glazing firm.

The total costs for joining Fensa are much more than the £200 quoted, fine for a big company but prohibitive for an independent craftsman joiner like myself. If a householder has a window fitted s/he is obliged to obtain Buildings Regulation Approval. This costs between £50 and £100. It's per...

I make oak windows and, when I paint them at all, only use real linseed oil paint. You can certainly put linseed oil paint over wood that has been oiled. When using a linseed paint such as the Swedish Allback sold in UK by Holkham Paints and recommended by Antwerpman, you first coat the wood...

Pilkingtons do quite a big range. You can see them on their website.

Oh dear, another one determined to spoil the appearance of his house, reduce its value, and help mess up the planet by using uPVC. Just don't go there. Wood is much better.

It's not every company that would be able to handle and supply a 4.5m sheet of glass. I ould contact Pilkingtons and St Gobain and ask them for names of likely suppliers. A 4.5m lintel does not have to be steel. A gluelam (layers of timber glued together) beam has some advantages over steel.