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Hard to tell without seeing a picture but I highly doubt that a door or window frame will be loadbearing. Is there anything between the door frame and window frame such as a masonry, timer or steel pillar or is it just the door frame and window frame butted up to each other?

Ouch! How do you know it was 3 phase? And was it a phase to phase shock or phase to earth? I suspect if it was the former, he hould have been alot worse off.

Providing it does not cover more than half the area of the garden and is under 2.5m high and you do not live in a listed building or conservation area then it should be fine.

Could they not erect the scaffolding so as not to block your driveway? Maybe by erecting it so that it straddles the driveway with a space under it for the car, a bit like how it's often built over footpaths infront of shops etc.

You could upgrade the termal performance of your walls by dry lining them, this would of course mean redecorating all the rooms which depending on the condition of the house may or may not be a problem. you would also loose a small amount of floor area from each room depending on the thickness...

An extension to a house needs building regs approval regardless of the size (except for a conservatory or a porch which have specific exemptions) Outbuildings under 30m2 are specifically exempt from regs (providing it is built from substaially non combustable matirials or more than 1m from a...

I've recently done the same thing. If the extension takes the overall floor area (floor area of both the existing garage and the new workshop) over 30m2 then you will require building regs approval. I had to get building regs approval myself as my workshop was 25m2 added to an existing garage...

It's now largly complete (just need to install some fixed drainage before it can be signed off for BC, currnetly using water butt as interim. I will post write up and pictures when I get time, currently laying up a load of carbon fibre in it at the moment.

A block of standard concrete (density 2.4kg/litre) measuring 300x320x450mm will weigh a touch over 100kg which would make it very difficult to move as one piece and is IMHO a tad too heavy. Thermalite is quite a bit lighter but should still be heavy enough, especially if the blocks are fixed...

I think you will struggle to find blocks of that size. Possibly best to make them yourself, make a mould from ply to the correct size and pour in concrete mix to cast them. Or alternativly you could get thermalite foundation blocks which are (IIRC) 300x215x440mm and cut them down with a saw...

if your single bulb uses a 'loop-in' arrangement with 3 cables going to the light (one from previous light or CU, one to next light (may not be there if it is the last light on the circuit), and one to the switch, then make sure you mark the switch cable before unwiring it all (switch cable will...

What is the rating of the fuse or breaker on the cooker circuit? You could only use a connector rated at 30 amps if the fuse/breaker is 30 amp or less.

Not quite sure where the best place for this is, but here goes. I am considering extending my kitchen and I have drawn various plans, some of which involve removing the wall on which the gas meter is currently located. I'd need to move the meter to another wall about 3 meters away. Talking to...

The kit I saw was at B&Q but does not appear to be on their website (I had a look for it), it was a bit more sophisticated than the kit linked above and came with SWA cable and also some of the warning tape for placing above it if buried. Think it was about £70 or so. Here is a similar kit...

From the way it's written, it sounds like the cable was stripped, as it would not be possible to 'grasp' the live with one hand the neutral with the other if the cable had just been cut. I suspect maybe the new oven came with a cable and plug attached, and the handyman disconnected it so it...

I've recently built a new workshop and installed a 1145mm wide steel doorset (1m clear opening) to make getting bikes etc in/out easier, it also has a low 'DDA compient' threshold. I bought the door from here: http://www.ajsteeldoors.co.uk/12-point-locking-high-security-steel-doorset I would...

Ok, I have a summerhouse at the bottom of the garden and I'd like to get some proper power to it. I have seen pre-wired external socket kits in a common DIY store which apparently don't require payment of a large fee to local authority to install. I was wondering if I could use one of these...

You could fit a europrofile sashlock such as this: http://www.screwfix.com/p/qube-euro-cylinder-sashlock-satin-chrome-2-64mm/88155 However I would not recommend it and would rather have a good 5+ lever lock. Europrofile locks can often be bumped, snapped or drilled.

Have you tried removing the handles and turning the spindle with an adjustable spanner just in case the problem is with the handle rather than the lock mechanism?

Planning permission is required for any decking more than 300mm above ground level, if the decking in question was not specified on the original plans then they maybe unable to raise it although they maybe able to add a step outside the door thus you would have two 150mm steps between the door...