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Apologies if this is the wrong sub-forum, mod feel free to move this post. I have unearthed the inspection pit in my workshop for the first time since taking it over. It was very damp and puddles on the floor. The walls are made from concrete blocks and the floor is a concrete slab; the latter...

The last lot of builders I had in used self-threaded concrete fixing for just about everything, saving them from having to mess around with rawl plugs. They seem pretty nifty. Obviously you're not going to hang a picture frame up with them, but for other stuff they seem ideal - like fixing stud...

I have a plaster concrete block wall which has a steel running through it; this has been plastered over. Over time the steel, under the plaster, has developed a surface rust and you could see where, even through the plaster and paint, and a crack had formed on the lower edge. I have stripped...

I am creating a vaulted ceiling, rigid board insulation will be fixed on top of the rafters (forming an air gap with the slates). I'd like the final ceiling finish to be tongue and groove wood cladding. Probably running vertically, rather than horizontally. I'm just not sure how I'd go about...

I'm bolting some roof timbers together, specifically collar ties to rafters. What is the absolute most belt and brace/foolproof way to do this? So far I am looking at Stainless M12 Hex head + M12 Square washers + with a dog tooth washer between the timbers. I also considered coachbolts /...

I am having some windows made and the joiner and I have to decide whether or not I want tinted window panels. They're tinted for thermal efficiency. Compared to untinted double glazing they are 1.9U vs 1.4U. Which seems pretty significant. My house gets very little direct natural light and I...

Hi, I've got a large workshop which is a single skin wood construction built on top of a concrete slab with a corrugated roof. The building is warm and relatively dry but a lot of a metal tools do build up rust pretty quick. The wooden structure is by no means well sealed from the outdoors. If...

I am getting the old and rotting windows on my property replaced with bespoke hardwood framed windows. At a minimum they're going to be double glazed, but given the costs involved I am wondering whether I should go for triple glazing. If it makes any difference, the windows don't actually get...

My house is in the perpetual shade in what seems to be an abnormally rainy area. As a result and keep getting moss and other flora build up on the most shaded parts and the lower couple of feet of the exterior walls. I am thinking giving them a good brushing getting whatever lifeforms I can...

One external wall of a room in my property is constructed from solid stone but also serves as a retaining wall. The room has 2 other external walls which are not retaining walls but are also solid stone. All of the walls have been rendered in what appears to be a cement render, then plastered...

Hi, I'd like to build a very small foundation for a large wood clad log store to ensure that it is off the ground and also level. Everything else in the area is built from stone and lime mortar so I was just going to effectively built a short (<1ft) and level wall out of stone and sit the legs...

Hi, My house has a Juliet balcony which is constructed from the internal joists that then extend out of the house acting as a cantilever on the external blockwork. This balcony needs some work and I'll basically be rebuilding all of the box section it and re-treating and then weather painting...

Hi, I feel like I am missing something here. I need to drill some holes into concrete block (not Airlights) for a 10x55mm rawl plugs I am using a "Boschhammer" drill with a brand new Reisser 10mm SDS bit but when I drill the hole it's oversized for the 10mm rawl plug and when I then add the...

Hi, I have a house with a cavity wall which currently has plaster applied directly to it. The house is quite old and I live in a very wet area do I do not fancy my chances with the sort of insulation that is pumped into the cavity. What I'd like to do is use insulated plasterboard on the walls...

Hi, The master bedroom of my house which I am slowly doing up occupies the entire width gable end of the house. The room has a flat conventional ceiling although at far right and left of the room the ceiling slops in a bit where the roof "cuts in" a little. I think this room would look and...

Hi, I have some cabinetry and a dining room table which have teak veneers. Both appear to have a wax finish; as if the wood gets wetted then a wax substance tends peel and ball up into a waxy mess. However one has a very vibrant Orangey colour, where as the other is a richer red tone. IMO...

Hi I have a floor that I am hoping to lay down some parquet flooring I am painstakingly in the process of cleaning block by block. The floor where I want to lay it is a concrete slab with two layers (separated by a red member - might just be thick/gloss paint) of screed/self levelling compound...

Hi, I have a floor a concrete floor that has had a skim coat applied to it by the previous owners. The floor is not all that level and not all that even either. I want to lay a parquet floor and as far as I can tell I have a few options. Just lay the parquet, don't worry about the subfloor...

Hi, I have just stripped back the plaster work on a wall that I've have performed a damp repair on. The issue i have now is that that state of the aerated concrete block (I think thermalite) is really bad. This wall originally had a render on it, that was stripped back by the pervious owner...

Hi, I am trying to determine what the method of construction is of this exterior facing wall, so I can then figure out what the possible causes of damp on the inside is. The building is an 1980's extension to a much older stone built detached property. The extension has stone on the front but...