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I'll aim to update this thread as it goes through. For my posts I've decided to use 4ft concrete fence repair posts, designed for bolting to the bottom of a rotted wooden post, and I can then bolt short 'decking type' posts to the provided holes to mount the balustrade. Then if the timber...

Ran across the thread. Perhaps the first thing I would do would be to drop the external ground level by about 12-18", and see if it made a difference. We did, and it helped for a house with stone walls. It wasn't concrete, though :-). Ferdinand

Thanks for the note, F. Removal from site is problematic for several reasons in addition to cost, not the least of which is that it is within 25m of traffic lights at a junction which would put a question-mark over a skip license, and if I put the skip on the front garden it will be sitting...

I sprayed light to dark, so I can't specifically say how dark to lighter would work. F

If you are really doing it in blockwork not a liner and it is 1m deep, then think about somewhere incorporating a step half way up so that people can climb out easily :-). If your bricks are not square in cross-section, perhaps all it needs is one row of bricks laid flat not on edge all the...

I'm making a raised area as part of a garden redesign. The raised area is - as per usual - to avoid taking rubble etc off site. It will be up to 2ft above the main garden in a sunny corner, size approx 4mx6m, made from rubble and earth from the new gravel car-standing dig-out, MOT gravel...

Yes you can, and I've done it with Wickes fence protection, but could you make it a feature or grow something in front of it instead? You risk making a rod for your own back. What may happen is that bits of your colour will flake off / wear through / be scratched by the cat / rat / dog /...

I'd welcome comment here. This worked for me in bringing a situation to a head, where I was just being ignored in similar circumstances. Note that you will be responsinble for your actions. I think you can legally take reasonable action to mitigate the nuisance/disruption. You have an...

I think this one best fits in the building forum, and I'd be grateful for any advice. Apologies for the long post, but I've tried to be clear. I'm turning an ex-living room into a kitchen in a 1915 house, and opening up the chimney breast to put the cooker there. When I open it up the hole...

Is it just me or does the pic below look like fire damage?

Linked, perhaps? ML

You could get a structural survey as suggested and then keep quiet about it unless the buyer asks the awkward question. ML

I thought this was a Christmas Comedy thread. Screw size ... marry Hazel Blears. <:-) ML

I may be about to be branded unhinged, but what do you think? Find a 6m container, fit a shutter or door one end, and use as a garage where it will not be needed permanently or if I am a cheapskate. 2.4m high, so no PD if more than 5m from the house and 1m from the boundary. Probably no...

Thanks. The plan is now: a - Give the Water Company another couple of chances. then b - Put a tap on it, insulate, and build a box around it for somebody else to look for in 25 years. Ferdinand

Short of digging a well, collecting water from your roof, installing sprinklers and tapping into them (!) or bribing next door for a hose connection (which is probably a criminal offence) I think you're stuck with it. Is there anything you can reduce - eg creating a 'garden watering' pond from...

I'm at a bit of a loss what to do next. We have a shop in the middle of a terrace of about 8 shops, built around 1900, and a leak coming from a rising main lead pipe where the outside wc used to be in the back garden. The old story - thought it was disconnected having had the wc out decades...

I've just had the BG package as I use the Homecare boiler package on a rented property. They send a surveyor out first, so there's a chance to discuss it with the engineer. I guess they put a camera in to examine your cavities. If it is less than 50mm they won't insulate it. Your...

I'm just to buy a house, and the gas supply runs around the outside of the house for about 4m about 6 inches above ground level in (I think) a copper pipe. While it has been on the market (2 years) someone came along and stole the length of pipe to sell on. It was well repaired, but I'm...

Sooty exhaust? Get someone to Sweep the flue. I'll get my coat... Ferdinand