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I ended up using a hacksaw. Mum got professionals to do it all, a week before I got home.. :( I suppose it's for the best. I've painted it, though :D

I was wondering whether, when removing paint with chemical stripper and steel wool, is steel wool supposed to be washed and reused or just disposed of?

Okay, great.; thanks for the advice. To help determine whether or not it's damp, in case I can't see external damage, can I hold some toilet tissue against the wall and see if it becomes damp, or would that not work?

The walls in a room were replastered about five weeks ago and a couple of days ago, I started to paint them with watered-down emulsion. There are some patches of plaster that have been more difficult to paint than others, in that they haven't accepted the paint as readily as the majority of the...

What sort of gloves are needed to protect my hands while I remove paint with a hot-air gun? I suppose rubber would melt in an instant? Obviously I'll need to avoid putting my hands close to the source of heat in the first place but the nature of the work means that they can't be too far either.

What if it was? And do you mean PVA over the plaster or plaster over the PVA? I'm not sure whether it was completely replastered or just skimmed. It happened while I was away and my mum arranged it. I've asked her to call the people who did it. I want to remove the paint from the skirting...

The plaster in the following image was applied three weeks ago and I am waiting to be able to paint over it. Does the plaster need to be a completely even tone? It has been mostly light pink for well over a week and the darker areas do not seem to be changing. We've had the heating on for a few...

The quarter-century-old carpet was recently removed from my old bedroom in my mother's house. We'd like to sand the floorboards and varnish them and use them bare, with a rug. A few concerns: 1) Sound proofing - I read that the space between a ceiling and floorboard used to be filled with...

I would like to disassemble a wooden bed for disposal. The wood is stapled together and hammering it only seems to dent the wood. Would it be (in)advisable to drill through the staples using a drillbit designed for metal?

Okay, super. And what's the difference between a trowel and a float? They both look pretty similar...

Thanks, Roughcaster. This is really helpful! I hope it wasn't too much trouble to keep stopping to use the camera. Do I need to use a different type of plaster over the top? I've read about something called 'skim' - is that necessary? Did you use it?

Thanks very much! I really appreciate it :)

Hi, The area is roughly one square meter and I have never plastered before. :)

I have a wall, from which the plaster has come away from a part. It is a wall composed of laths and studs. I have read online that the recommended solution is to cut away the laths and insert plasterboard, fastened to two or more studs (and then plaster over it). I just wonder whether it is not...

I can find that here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EXTERNAL-BLACK-TELEPHONE-CABLE-10mtrs-BT-SPEC-CW1308_W0QQitemZ370064348006QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item370064348006&_trkparms=72%3A12|39%3A1|65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 but it does cost a little more and doesn't have the jelly-filled centre... mmmm....

The main telephone socket to our house is in the living room, and we'd like a second socket fitted in the master bedroom, directly above. We would like the cable to be routed externally (quality cable appears to be available cheaply here: http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CAEXGPO5.html ). As...

Thanks for your response! I'm sorry for the delay in my reply (the forum was having problems last time I was here and I thought this post was lost). The problem is water collecting when it rains. I guess I would like the water to drain to the other side of the wall/door. How can such an...

My mums concrete yard is uneven. The diagram below attempts to portray an idea of the situation. The blue arrow indicates water flow and the black lines arent so much cracks as ridges in the concrete. I dont know why they are there but have been since we moved in about 15 years ago. Eventually...

My friend wants a door bell that uses a real bell. I was wondering if I could use her adjusting wireless door bell to send an impulse to a solenoid which could then move the bell somehow. The door bell only uses 4.5 though, so that could be a problem in terms of activating the solenoid. On ebay...

Perfect. Thanks!