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There is no loft! It's a conversion so the bedroom is in what was originally a loft and the noise is coming from the space between ceiling and roof. There could be a tiny loft in the middle, where the ceiling is flat but there is no access to it. I'd have to go through the ceiling or roof to...

I live in the midlands and hear this tapping noise coming from the ceiling every morning. I don't hear anything at night and I'm sure it's not birds on the roof. Could it be deathwatch beetles?

I used to use an Owl monitor that clamps to the electricity cables, it worked pretty well. Or there's the plug in meters that others suggested. Seems bonkers to pay for those these days though when you can get accurate 30 minute readings from a smart meter for free. Can you put pressure on your...

I'd wait until the boiler dies before changing it. There's only about 40 years of oil left https://www.worldometers.info/ so you'd think it will continue to get more expensive as demand outstrips supply. Industries and vehicles will use less oil in the future though so who knows. Electricity can...

Don't try to bend it without a pipe bending tool or it will kink. Before doing anything, turn off the valves and drain down the radiator and assess the situation with the pipes. They have a surprising amount of give in them. Note that radiator brackets can be fitted two ways, to give different...

Use pliers to remove the screw and start again with a fresh screw.

I had an electrician round a while ago to install a new cable for the cooker. This was the comment on the certificate he left: The previous owner had a son in law who was purportedly an electrician but it's clear that all the newest changes are not of a high standard. When I had the floor up...

Thanks for the replies. I didn't get notifications so didn't see them. Anyway, I've finally figured it out! This is the broken cable. I didn't want to fill the hole in until I'd managed to disconnect it, as it becomes live when the landing lights are turned on. I went into the loft again and...

I have 4 lights in the hallway, all controlled by the same light switch. One of the lights has never worked since I moved in. I removed the light fitting and tested the wires with a volt meter. If the light switch is off I get approx 0 reading. With the light switch on, if I test the live wire...

Turn off the cold mains again and turn on the immersion. Then trace the hot water pipe from the cylinder to see where the hot water is going. As terryplumb said, check if there's hot water in the toilet cisterns.

A legal claim will be dismissed if you haven't given them an opportunity to rectify the problem.

I have this lintel that has rotted a bit: It doesn't look too bad but I'm nervous to paint it, in case it makes it worse. Can it be treated with something first and then painted over or does it need replacing?

Yes, the beam is spliced directly above the post. Still waiting for the clamps to arrive then I’ll see how I get on. I doubt I’ll be able to straighten the post but if I can tease it back towards the beam then hopefully I can fix it in place to stop it from moving again

I'm not sure what you mean when you say strapping. There's a massive loft hatch between the posts so I have easy access from above if that helps.

Thanks I'll try that. My clamp isn't big enough so I'll order a bigger one. Shall I put a couple of bolts through the good post to stop the same thing happening?

Is it too late to do anything about this one then? Should I clamp the other one to stop the same thing happening?

Thanks for the replies, sorry for the delay. @johnny2007 I took a spirit level to it and the vertical post is not straight at all. It starts bending about half way up. @KenGMac I agree that the post has twisted as well as bent. You can see in the pic below how wonky the post is. It curves...

This joist is moving away from the support (or vice versa). Should I clamp them together or will that just cause worse problems elsewhere?

Can't you move one end at a time on your own? There are various solutions for moving heavy furniture. The sliders work great on carpet, not sure about grass: https://www.amazon.co.uk/moving-heavy-furniture/s?k=moving+heavy+furniture

Could you opt for a fence instead and DIY it?