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About a year ago, they put gas into our street, and I was seriously tempted. Now my oil tank is close to end of life, so time to decide… I have an oil boiler which was installed new 8 years ago, serviced every year, provides good heat. It’s on a vented system, which I see no reason to change...

While in the bathroom earlier today, I briefly heard a great bubbling noise from somewhere - couldn't locate it before it stopped. Then while using the kitchen tap, it spat and spurted for a while before normal service was resumed. I assumed the water company had been doing something, so...

This lavatory has been here since the house was built 30 years ago, but I’ve only been here a few years, and am gradually repairing/replacing things. As you can see, the inside of this cistern is filthy, and my efforts to clean it have failed. It works OK, but I think it smells a bit… Anyway...

Hope somebody knows the answer, as I don't fancy leaving the garage open all night etc... this morning I pressed the button, the door started to go up, then began to make hideous noises, and the big roll looked like it was kind of unfurling. Then it stuck solid. When I press the button now, it...

Here in NI, an awful lot of houses are still heated by oil boilers, as we’re a bit more spread out than eg England, so gas companies haven't felt it economic to put gas in, I suppose. Anyway, in our estate, after 30 years, now they have, and will connect for free – so I’m trying to decide. I’m...

Picture below. What happens is that the door jams at the top when the weather is very cold. I'm assuming it's the pointed pin on the top sticking up a tiny bit too high... I believe it's adjustable - can anybody tell me how please?

So I live in a bungalow, with 3 bedrooms at the rear end of a long hallway, and living room, dining room, bathroom, kitchen at the front end. The old mahogany window frames at the rear are the only ones I haven't had replaced with modern units, and they’re leaking etc – time to go I think. But...

Trying to save the daughter in law some money as usual... the seal on the bottom of her shower door started coming out in bits, which she chucked away, assuming it would be easy to get a new one. But the kind you can buy in SF etc seem to be different, having just a U-shaped top profile which...

Being a pessimist by nature, I'm assuming I already know the answer to my question, but... here in NI we mostly have oil boilers. However, they've just piped gas into our estate, and I'm thinking about lashing out for the conversion. The government will pay for getting the gas into the property...

Hi all – the bungalow I live in is about 30 years old now (I’ve only been here 7, so don’t know all the history), and some things are of course starting to deteriorate – in this case soffits and things. The soffits actually mostly seem OK, but some are starting to go at the ends, so I’d like to...

My house has 30-year-old mahogany-framed double glazing. I've had quite a bit of it replaced with modern UPVC stuff, but the bathroom is a problem. Whereas a lot of the other frames were starting to rot in places, so had to go, the bathroom is on the sheltered side of the house, and the frame...

I need to drill a hole through the outside wall of the garage, about 1" diameter. Some years ago, I bought a cheap (but quite big and brutal) SDS drill from SF. I didn't need the drill, but it also had a chisel action, which I used to dig out the concrete base of a rotary clothes line I wanted...

When I moved into this house about 7 years ago, there was a row of very mature Leylandii above a retaining wall at the back of the garden. The branches stretched out well over the garden, blocking all the light – also over the neighbour’s garden behind. I decided to try and use them as a...

We have an "Affordable Warmth" scheme here in NI whereby councils will pay to improve the heating/insulation in your house if you're on a low income. So when I bought the house 6 years ago, they paid a contractor to put 12" insulation in the attic, replace some blown double glazing panels etc...

I've just noticed a tiny draught when I put the back of my hand down to the corner of the sill and, as you can see, a small amount of dust blows through. when there's a strong wind. It doesn't really annoy me - can't feel it in the room - but I've had problems with other windows fitted by this...

I thought this tree would stop gaining height years ago but, as you can see, it hasn't, and I'm now worried about it damaging the foundations... Not sure what kind it is, as it was here when I bought the house - Christmas type maybe? I do know that hard pruning this kind destroys them. Do you...

Please bear with me when you read this – for the avoidance of doubt, (a) I don't know what I’m talking about, and (b) I know I should get a proper plumber to do it. Trouble is, the one we used for years let us down very badly, skimping on things, bodging etc – took us a long time to realise what...

At least I think that's what you call them... maybe MDF or something? Not wood anyway... so the doors are quite old now (maybe 30 years), and the screws holding the furniture on are very loose, so you can nearly pull the handle off the door sometimes. I've read one or two other threads here...

My fence is possibly getting on for 30 years old now, and is beginning to crumble, so I’m going to have to replace it. The wall has 5 fence sections like this in it, so there’s quite a lot to do… At the moment, they’re kind of double-sided affairs – hopefully you can see it in the photo, but...

I had some new windows fitted by a local company about a year ago. One of the frames has been badly fitted, in my opinion, as the two big mullions going from top to bottom are noticeably bowed inwards towards the room. I tried to chase them at the time, but was ignored. Unfortunately, my mental...