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Always makes me wonder why I bother buying energy saving lighbulbs, energy efficient appliances and renewable electricity when I see things like this.

I have my worktop installed but now need to do the edging strip, as we had to order it in seperately... It's wider than the depth of the worktop - the guy in the shop said that was normal, but I don't understand how you're supposed to get it to fit. Can someone talk me through what I need to do...

We have a slight gap between the skirting board and the wall in places where the walls aren't quite exactly level. Is it possible to fill this with caulk without having to re-paint the skirting boards, etc? Any tips on how to do it well?

Have just had a bit of plastering done in a small boiler cupboard and it's not very neat in some places, as the space was absolutely tiny (about 2m2 with a wall-mounted boiler in there as well!). I'm just wondering if I can simply sand down the places where I can see trowel marks? If so, can I...

Well, this is my project. We bought a 1930s flat in Brussels a few months ago and we're gradually doing it up, as I don't think it has seen a paintbrush in about 20 years! It's a 2 bedroom flat with 3m50 high ceilings (pretty typical in this country), and thankfully already has double glazing...

OOOh I just found some of that in my 1930's flat. It's been put behind a couple of radiators in our house... It was a bit of a b**tard to get off I have to say. WE discovered that a lot of pulling and scrapping worked best. However we only had abou 6m2 to take off. I don't envy you with your...

I wanted to add a new bit of worktop to one wall in my kitchen. However, seeing as I now can't find where the original owners bought the old worktop, I can't find a bit to match. So, my question is this: is it possible to replace a whole worktop - keeping the applicances, sink, tiling etc that...

I think what I used was for new plaster. It certainly cost a fair bit - almost €100 for 5 litres! In any case, it seems to be holding pretty well - I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get any cracks or bubbles or things. The room's been painted for nearly 2 months now, so fingers...

I had my bedroom walls skimmed in the Summer. Left them for 3 weeks to dry out. Then used a undercoat primer (by Levis - kinda like European Dulux), followed by 2 coats of water-based mat paint. I'm now just a bit worried that I'm going to have problems, after having read on here about mist...

Help! My 4-year old Bauknecht washing machine has always been really reliable. However when I put it on last night, it took the softner at the start of the programme, instead of the powder. It then tried to take the softner again at the normal place in the programme. I've cleaned the filter, the...

Nope, there's no pump. I think I'm going to tell me plumber to s*d off, find another one, keep my lovely old heating system and spend the money on something else! Thanks for all the advice.

That's actually been our experience - when the heating's on, the flat gets pretty warm pretty quickly! I'm thinking I might have to start a labourious trawl for another plumber who likes my heating! :(

There's no real problem. Just the fact that my pipes are visible high up on the walls or along the skirting boards. We don't think they look too bad (or certainly won't once they're painted a nicer colour and match the colour of the skirting!). It's just that the plumber's so insistent they...

OK, so I have a 1930's appartment, with a fairly old heating system. The pipes are all visible, run high up along the walls, and are about 2 inches in diameter (my plumber assures me these are huge pipes). I have old fashioned Victorian-esque radiators in each room - all installed in the correct...

I would imagine you'd need planning permission, as you would be extending the square footage of your house. My parents extended their kitchen by about 2.5 metres into the garden, and they definitely had to have planning permission. For the kitchen floor - I'd do the tiles on the floor before...

Ah - I hadn't even thought about the added moisture in the air affecting the flooring. Thanks for pointing that out. I think I'll paint the skirting too, as there are heating pipes running along some of them, so they'd be quite tricky to replace. Thanks for the help!

I have about 30m2 of hardwood floors in my hallway and lounge. I need to get them repaired in some places and refinished (I guess also re-sanded too). The thing is, I also need to replaster the walls, and do something with the rubbish skirting boards. What should I do first - plaster or floors...

Thanks for the warning. I'll be there when he fits the carpet, so I'll definitely give him a few strong words about being careful with my paintwork!

Thanks for your help everyone. We did the primer coats, 2 coats of emulsion on walls and ceilings, and 3 coats of gloss on the woodwork (water-based gloss - still seemed to be a bit patchy after 2 coats) - it all looks brilliant! We used rollers on the walls/ceilings and managed to get no marks...

We've got an Ikea kitchen - the Faktum with the Nexus doors, and some frosted glass doors, and a grey stone effect worktop. It all looks great. Was installed 18 months ago by the previous owners, and is still going strong. My only complaint is that the thing that connects the fridge door to the...