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Hi, I fitted a new PIR activated light above our front door about six weeks ago, and it was working fine up until a few days ago. Now, whenever it detects movement the integrated sensor flashes red, there is a faint 'click' as if the light has been activated, and then the sensor continues to...

Hi, I have just fitted an outside light, and I am hoping to swap the existing 1-gang/2-way switch in our hallway for a 2-gang switch. Would it be possible to have one of the switches kept as a 2-way for the lights in the hallway, and the second switch for the outside light as a 1-way? For...

I have two 90mm thick, 140mm deep oak mantles to fit to either side of chimney breast. Stainless 10mm threaded bars have already been resined into the brickwork and project about 60mm (the nuts are irrelevant and were only there to clear the threads if they got plastered too!). The plan is to...

Just had a new fire and hearth fitted and the installers have left a gap beneath the hearth for me to fit the cut laminate flooring edges under. Do I need to seal the edges of the flooring, or fill the gap between the boards and hearth? It's the dining room, so I'm thinking of spilled drinks...

I'm hoping to make a start on laying laminate floorboards in our dining room whilst I'm off work next week. The floor has been self-levelled and is mostly good and level apart from a few areas towards the centre where there are couple of small dips. No dip is larger than the size of a paint tin...

I'm currently replacing the floor and suspended joists in our dining room. Our old dining room timber floor was 'bouncy' and uneven and had a small 'step' where it transitioned to a concrete solid floor in our old kitchen. Following a new kitchen extension, the two old rooms have been knocked...

Hi, Does anyone know of a brick repair filler that can be used to tidy up some damaged brick faces inside a newly reopened chimney hearth? The opening is double-sided (two walls, straight through) and will have a wood burner, not an open fire. I'm hoping to avoid digging out the offending...

Hello, Is it possible to connect two ethernet cables into a single RG45 type socket while keeping a connection for both? We currently have a desktop PC and a games console sharing the same wall socket connection but have to keep unplugging one or the other to use them. Would prefer an option...

Hello, I've just removed two internal walls to make one larger room. The chimney now remains in the middle of the room and the next plan is to increase the existing hearth opening and then make a new opening at the back so that we can put in a double-sided burner. The existing front of the...

I'm planning a new footpath to follow the walls around the back of the house and would like it to drain to an existing soak-away. Is it acceptable to butt Aco drainage channels directly against the house walls (well below dpc), or should they be spaced away? Cheers.

Hi, Currently re-routing the mains water supply into our house due to an extension build. Will also be replacing stop-cock for new as the original is about to give up by the looks. Does anyone know which Philmac type fitting will be right for joining new 20mm MDPE to the original 1/2" Class D...

Hi, Currently fitting a new toilet unit back to the wall (to replace an old 45 deg ceramic toilet that constantly dripped condensation and wrecked the floor). Please see photo: The unit depth is 200mm, and the centre of soil pipe to the centre of WC is also approx 200mm. Any ideas on how to...

Hi, I'm fitting out my bathroom, and have the same bath as the one pictured below - Is the hot tap on the left from outside the bath, or from inside the bath? Cheers.

I have just built a small enclosed porch approximately 1.5 x 2.5m with cavity walls and a pitched roof. The roof is felt/batten/tiles, and the ceiling inside is not yet boarded so I still have complete access to the underside for any extra work. However, once it’s covered that’ll be it! Does...

Hi, We had our bathroom walls and ceiling plastered yesterday. Two walls and the ceiling are new plasterboard, and two solid block walls were plastered over the remnants of a sand/cement render left from removing old tiles and plaster. The two sand/cement rendered walls have started cracking...

Hi All, Currently gutting our first-floor bathroom to repair and upgrade. I was aware of the rotten floorboards and joists and the need to replace, but I have found the sole plate between the bathroom and one of the bedrooms is almost gone too. Any tips on what should be done here? Cheers.

Hi All, Just been ripping out the old bathroom for a full rebuild (floor, ceiling, walls, the lot). While pulling away the old tiles most of the thistle plaster has come away too, leaving the sand and cement scratch render. Can I just prime and tile directly to the render base, or is there...

Hi, Another joist problem in our 1950's house. Pulled down fibreboard and taped ceiling to replace with boards and found this split and knot in the first joist. The split is about 1m from the end. It runs over, but doesn't sit on the wall in the pic (and the wall is coming down anyway). No...

Hi, I'm looking to take down a small internal block wall in our hallway (marked in red on drawing). The wall currently has four 50 x 190 joists passing over it, of which only two appear to be actually resting on it. The joists span 5070mm and sit in blockwork at either end. The wall to come...

Hi All, Just built a small enclosed porch to the front of our house. I now need to bring the new floor up, over the top of the old concrete porch base, and level to the existing floor inside the hallway. As can be seen in the attached side cutaway pic, the floor needs to come up a maximum of...