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Thanks. I've done the first three courses. First bricks I've ever laid, so I realise that they aren't going to win any beauty prizes, but do they look good enough? (whole wall is going to be battened and plasterboarded so aesthetics are not a problem) Can you see any fundamental problems? I...

Hi, I just wanted to check that the following mortar mix would be appropriate for a bricking up a hole (900mm x 600mm) in an internal loading bearing wall (using Class B engineering bricks). 3 parts building sand 1 part cement No lime + Bostik Cementone Mortar Plasticiser Any thoughts much...

Turns out that even the bricks aren't a uniform size. Some are 65mm, most are 70mm and couple appear to be 73mm (wall built circa 1955). I wonder if I should go with 3) instead Hole is 955mm. 12 courses of class B engineering brick (65 x 12 = 780mm) + 13 beds of mortar (at about 13.5mm per...

Thanks. The mortar beds are quite thick (at least 16mm) and appear inconsistent (measure one that was at least 20mm). It appears that the hatch is original (so the two sides were never tied together), and, with a level across, the brick courses do not match up exactly. In some places they are...

I am thinking of using these ties along with these plugs. Will they be OK, on every other course?

Hi, I am going to be bricking up a serving hatch and a hole that held a gas fire, both approx 900mm x 600mm on the same single brick, loading bearing, internal wall. Do I need to tie into the existing brickwork with ties or a wall starters? If so, which is best and should I put them every other...

Hi, I have decided to brick up a serving hatch (rather than my original plan to just batten and board over it) and I also have a couple of fireplaces that I want to brick up. The serving hatch is located on a load bearing wall and one of the fireplaces is on the same wall. There is no chimney...

Thanks. Much appreciated. It is a brick wall, I am planning to just remove the tiles as needed to enable direct contact between the battens and the existing plaster. With the ABC I was trying to show idea for how I might batten it, the red bars being battens. I am not clear on the suggestion...

Hi, I am planning to batten and plasterboard a kitchen wall, which has a serving hatch in it, using 38mm x 38mm battens and 12.5mm board. The hatch is 600mm x 990mm so I will not be able to get the battens on 400mm centres, and I am wondering what the best approach is. Is there are acceptable...

Thanks. Much appreciated.

Hi, I removed an old waste pipe today from a brick cavity wall. Below are some pictures of what I found inside. Does it look like it could be loose fill asbestos cavity wall insulation. I did not disturb it, and have sealed up the hole with mortar, however I did core drill the same wall in a...

I've finally gotten around to drilling the new hole today and have roughly assembled the pipework (still need to fine tune some of the pipe lengths once the sink is in place). I just wanted to check that the mocked up work looked correct. I cored a 52mm hole so the tee just fits inside...

Ah, that's OK then, because if I do get an electrician in, I will get them to add RCD (either to just the cooker circuit, or all of the currently unprotected circuit) along with any other work. In fact, as I posted recently, I may well just get one in to do the RCD. I had thought of doing so...

Thanks. The reason for battens is that I want to bring the wall far enough forward to hide the pipes that I moved into the corner (should probably have gone a bit further and brought them onto the same wall). Something like the plan view picture below (new plasterboard in pink). Given the depth...

Thank you. The other thing is that the gas flue box is still in place. Is there any risk to removing it? Not sure if it could be adding anything to the structure.

As always, thanks for the very quick reply. When you say next to the wall, do you mean the rear knockouts that you get in a box like this? Are you advising that I should fix the conduit to the wall, bring the boxes forward and then feed the cable from the rear? Am I correct in thinking that...

Hi, Below is a picture of a cooker socket and outlet that I am installing for an induction hob. As you can see I have placed the conduit and socket/outlet into the original chasing (naturally the supply cable, will drop in form the top, also in conduit).. The problem I have is that I now want...

Hi, We have a narrow chimney breast on the first floor with built in cupboards either side, pretty much in the middle of the house, which expands to a much wider chimney in the loft, but there is no chimney breast on the ground floor. The chimney breast extends above the kitchen and, until...

Thanks. Just out of interest, would an RCD come in to play, if the cooker becomes live and the cooker is not earthed properly? If I understand correctly,. if the cooker is earthed, the live contacting the cooker would cause a large current to flow to the earth, tripping the MCB. Also, just out...

Just because I assume that, or all the unprotected circuits, it is the one where people are most likely to be exposed to the risk of shock. That said, I would prefer for them to all be RCD protected. Any extensions aren't going to happen for a while, so that is not the main driving factor (just...