Search results

Following on from another post about an electrician leaving an uneven circular cut-out in about 5 points along a couple of floorboards. I'm now wondering about the best way to replace. I'm assuming I could use a cutting tool to take out the required sections between joists and replace short...

Thanks got your response. Meant to add - should back boxes be, essentially, sealed in by the tiles? It has given me a new appreciation for tradespeople, their ability to do a neat job is very dependent on who's done the work before them.

Previous occupier. For some of the sockets the hole isn't square (have not cut the corners completely out), so the boxes are well and truly stuck in there with little room or visibility to fix them onto the wall behind. I'm wondering if they've never been fixed on properly but they managed to...

I'm curious about this as I've been boarding my loft in stages: The survey initially suggested that the loft had been used excessively for storage and this had caused the ceiling to sag, meaning the doors didn't fit properly in the frames. They (surveyor) said they thought once the items were...

I had an electrician in to initially change a couple of light switches and then another dozen sockets once we realised they didn't match the new switches (wish we hadn't started but I digress). The electrician asked me to have a look at the socket as he was having trouble getting the screws...

Thanks - yes I've come to the conclusion this was his only crime! The Barton's he used were warped - I used a different piece of wood for the final one and it sat much neater.

Thanks very much all - sorry for my hysteria! This is upstairs - it's a water pipe going to the radiator. The plumber had a good look and thought that it wasn't ideal but didn't think they were causing any problems. Re: joists - should I be very worried - I honestly don't think he looked...

Cheers - I (as a layperson) got the impression that he was really geeky about the electrics but hated all the other bits involved - he was telling me he just does small jobs by choice (this was originally supposed to be just changing some switches and a pull cord) it was clear that the process...

I'm gutted about it - I've just had a plumber in to look at the pipe he hit with his circular saw - she was really angry i.e. wtf didn't he lift the floorboard up or saw it at the joists. It's one of those things you (or I) didn't question as that's how he says he does it - so then he braced the...

Just had the plumber in - who says they can't believe what a mess they've made - they went in through 5inch circular holes in the floorboards rather than lifting the boards themselves - is this normal practice?

The odd part was the failed bit of cable was a new section that had been added, which went a different route to the other cables. What an absolute nightmare it is putting in a new cable. There was the option of going through the floor or the ceiling. Opted for floor because potentially old...

Failed cable apparently. Have put in a new one and apparently all is well. Now to put my house back together...

Thanks all, Yes properly qualified - I don't know anyone around here but he seems like a good bloke and he was insistent that he came back to sort the problem properly and he's been around every light and switch in the house to identify the fault. So after we unboarded the loft we're now...

So a sparky came around today, it seems things in the house are quite messed up. I'm just quoting him but the voltages are apparently different at different switches and earth wires are carrying voltages too. So he's changed switches but thinks it's still going to give me a shock. I've been up...

Hey sorry for delay. I chickened out of doing it myself. My thinking was that if there's something wrong and it needs more than a chance of switch I may not know. I've got an electrician coming around today. Thanks for your help.

Thanks for your response. The house was built in the 50's and I'm not sure what's been done since then. I'll take a photo asap. So it could be a localised problem (i.e. the wiring of the switch) rather than a fundamental house wiring issue? I also suspect the previous owner of doing lots of...

Maybe a daft question but... I get small shocks when I use my downstairs chrome light switches. The same sort that you get from a car door on a hot day. Sometimes if an appliance like the washing machine or dishwasher is on its almost like the switches vibrate. Would changing to plastic...

Thank you for your help everyone. Like I said, I wasn't able to switch off the water completely so time was of the essence. However I took the washer out and came to the conclusion it was probably too thick - it had been squashed in the centre and this had caused it to look like it was...

Thank you - too tall? Too wide? It looked the same size but I could try an smaller one.