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    Tall rad not working (has never worked well), suspect lockshield valve?

    See pics. This is in our daughter's house so the info I have is not complete. The previous rad was replaced during their kitchen refurb., approx 2 years ago The new vertical rad was supposed to be better than what was there before, but it isn't (currently) and has never worked properly. The...
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    Pressurised hot water cylinder venting

    We've got a ~10 months old Joule pressurised 200 litre hot water cylinder, replacing a 25 year old cylinder. It is protected with two pressure valves (3 bar I believe) that join via a "Y" shaped pipe then drain through a little "open" bit (a tundish?) down to a powerful pump that scoots water...
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    Is this good for a teak garden bench?

    https://seamarknunn.com/products/wessex-teak-sealer-uv-protector-1-litre
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    Toilet cistern valve "thump"

    The valve is a bottom-entry Torbeck, like this: https://www.screwfix.com/p/torbeck-bottom-entry-fill-valve-1-2-/8120t We recently had our system changed from attic tank / gravity fed to mains pressure everywhere, which is apparently around 3 bar. The toilet fill valve shutoff was previously OK...
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    Slow weep from radiator TRV - pressure loss?

    Our system was recently converted to sealed/pressurised (Nov 2024). I've had one TRV leak, causing pressure loss. Replaced it and the pressure stayed for longer. I've seen it go from 1.2 bar down to 1.0 bar over the last three weeks. A significant amount of gurgling and air, mainly in one...
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    Remove supports no longer needed for attic cistern?

    We've recently had our system boiler and hot water cylinder (in the airing cupboard) replaced. All went smoothly, we now have a pressure-fed system hot and cold, so the CH vent tank and cold water cistern have both gone. We're left with the support for the tanks that was previously distributing...
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    Repainting metal-skinned front door

    Metal-skinned front door, originally white, with a small top glazed area. About ten years ago I took it off, cleaned, spray primed then top coated with dark green spray paint. It's recently started to show a few small chips back to the white, particularly where dangling keys bash into the paint...
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    Outside tap with high mains pressure

    Just isolated the outside tap for winter. The plastic Hozelock couplings on the tap were always unsatisfactory as they would blow off without string loops to hold them on. A plumber recently (doing a different job) told us we have high mains pressure. Anyway back to today's drama. I tried...
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    Bosch oven - replace element again?

    We have a Bosch oven HBN412AGB/06 which is 25 years old. 3 years ago the element in the lower oven failed, I replaced it with https://www.espares.co.uk/product/es1562614. It was quite easy to change. Unfortunately it's just failed again (fan motor seems OK). Is it worth another £32 for an...
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    Worth changing from 100mm to 125mm duct & vent?

    The bathroom extractor fan is a ceiling-mounted rectangular Greenwood Airvac, approx 23 years old (original). It still works but has always been quite noisy. It vents via flexible 100mm duct travelling through the loft space and out of a soffit vent with a gauze filter inside, also 100mm. I was...
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    Tidying up internal appearance of double glazing

    Daughter's house has uPVC double-glazing throughout that's probably 10-15 years old (fitted for the previous owners, before they bought the house). Doesn't seem anything serious wrong with it, reasonably wide gap between panes, no internal condensation etc but it wasn't well finished by the...
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    Older "yellow" fibreglass insulation surface is dirty

    Helping a friend add insulation to their loft. It's a 1995-built detached house in the South of England. It has ~ 100mm of the old style yellow insulation. Most of this is in good condition without signs of damp or dirt. I'm adding 200mm Knauf roll over it and boarding the middle section. A new...
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    Fernox TF1 - a better (longer) opening key?

    This is our Fernox TF1, which was professionally installed for us a good few years ago. The plastic end cap is also intended to serve as a key for the brass drain valve. Space is very tight due to the position it's been installed, and the plastic thing is not easy to fit and turn with your...
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    Poor reliability of AC powered LEDs

    Daughter has replaced most of the bulbs in their house with LEDs, initially cheap no-name ones from https://cpc.farnell.com/. Many of these are the "candle" style ones in fittings that take 3 bulbs. We saw a lot of early life failures. Thinking that "you get what you pay for" we've gradually...
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    Smoke alarm replacements - mains powered (+batt backup) vs batt-only

    Hi, We have two smoke alarms - one in the downstairs hallway, one on the upstairs landing. They were builder-installed when the house was new in 1999. They are on a linked system. Behind each alarm is a plasterboard-type wall box with a terminal strip. There are four connections to this: Earth...
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    Gas fireplace - should fill void at back? Vermiculite?

    We have a gas fireplace as shown. Recently got the chimney swept (there was a lot of sticks and birds-nest up there). Got a cowl fitted to stop them coming back. The sweep said it wasn't right that we had a void at the back of the fireplace (which was also full of sticks). A lot of awkward...
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    Replace halogen outside security light with LED .. junction box?

    We've got an outside halogen security light that no longer works and is 5 yrs+ old. I think it's a 300W but won't know for sure until I borrow a ladder and have a look. I've got one of these to replace it: http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/2124157.pdf It's a sealed unit, with a L / N / E...
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    Miele G646SC dishwasher - fault-code = 9'O clock

    Hi, We have a similar fault to that described elsewhere. Checked inlet and drain hoses, and the sump area. Impeller under the non-return valve looks clean and turns with the expected quarter-turn magnetic lump. Impeller just visible in the slot at the back also turns freely and looks clean...
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    Salamander pump .. standard push-fits failed, replacement?

    Salamander CT50, professionally fitted and wired in March 2011. Has worked fine since then. Noticed lots of water coming out (of the smoke alarm, in the downstairs hall!). Tracked it down to the flexible (anti-vibration) hoses. In particular it was the push-fit end onto 15mm copper pipe that...
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    Fault-finding central-heating wiring

    We've got a problem with our CH/DHW which I think is likely to be a wiring issue. The system consists of an (original, 15 yrs old) timer-switch, original 15 yrs old thermostat, original wiring centre next to the (7 yr old) pump, and 6 year old Remeha Avanta 18v boiler. We found the CH to be OK...
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