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To answer you question on demolition, I'd just fill in the cross joints where the mortar's washed out. Looks like it's been covered with hessian, which is fine for frost, but you need plastic as well for rain.

Doubling up on blocks laid flat is actually a standard method on site on 9inch walls. On party walls for example it bonds into the cavity walls better. Also it's said to make less chance of the blocks cracking. However, for face work, single bonding does look better.

I was asked by a customer to put up some blinds she got from Dunelm a few years ago. I reckon at least have of them snapped the heads off before they were even fully tight by hand. I suppose the difference years ago was that the correct sized clearance and pilot holes were used, so even a slot...

It's untrue. First rule with those goods is throw away the screws and use decent ones.

Phillips screw heads are designed so that the Phillips screwdriver will cam-out (slip) if too much torque (power) is applied. The reason is that this prevents the risk of the screw head being twisted off by a power tool. This can be helpful, because if the head breaks off, a screw is very...

He probably means the DPC is a slip plane.

Even less can be. Here's one that's about 3ft and failed I priced for.

So you need about a 5 or 6inch fall. Can you get the depth at the other end easily?

They always look deeper when you're looking down. That's probably around 12 courses, or 3ft. What's the length of the run?

Internal backdrops are sometimes used. When building on new work external is easier because it's already excavated. For retro internal might be used if there's enough room to work.

I thought I was looking at the London Underground map.

A mate of mine got rid of a lot of the subsoil down a well in the garden. Not sure if it was in the contract. The rest he got rid of in Tesco carrier bags, leaving them on the bus home every night. Agree the builder must be a cowboy though. A decent pro like me would take away and dispose of it...

Have a look at Brickhunter library. There's thousands on there, but being 50mm and textured will narrow it down a lot. They might be on there, but not in production. Google Imperial Tudor Multi.

You need lateral restraint straps.

You just need a small hand held one. They just give you an image of the wall, with different colours showing the warm and cool spots on the wall. They work better when the inside temperature is a lot warmer than the external one.

A 1/3/6 OPC/sand/gravel used to be a standard mix for a lot of residential foundations. 1/2/3 is really strong. 1/2/4 was normal for insitu lintels.

Octopus are taking bookings for next winter 2026/2027 in the new year.

Thermal cameras are the best way. If used on the inside the cold spots will show up. When used outside you are looking for the hot spots.

Remember an S/S liner is a temporary liner which although can last 25 years can be wrecked in only a few years if burning the wrong fuels on a slow, cool burn.

Most tradesmen don't like saying an old flue is OK. If you do a sealed smoke test, the regs allow for a small amount of smoke to escape. The amount is left to the experience of the tradesman. The majority of people are not going to get involved with this in an old flue, especially as it could...