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I would like to have a log-burner installed in my period living room - it's an 1860s brick house with a large chimney breast. Putting in a modern slate hearth and panelling out a rectangular recess with fire-board wouldn't really fit the vibe of the room but that's how I've always seen it done...

My solid-brick Victorian house has rising damp on the north exterior wall. Historically there has clearly been an injection DPC but it has failed - most likely bridging as the external wall was rendered on top (now removed) and the ground level outside is higher than ideal. I've got a quote to...

I have several isolated damp spots on plastered walls/ceilings - typically up to a foot in size - which are typically linked to historic water e.g. a slipped roof slate. The problem is that once it has got damp, it just keeps sucking in water from the air, etc, and I cannot tell which may still...

I was looking into the Quinetic light switch products and like the principle, but when searching for them on Amazon UK I only see products by ECO-NEWLEAF. A bit of googling says Quinetic is only sold by TLC-Direct. The products look near-identical and I don't want to get into a mess of...

I had never twigged that one reason fibreglass ladders are preferred is the heat/electrical insulation properties. How much safety does it actually gain if you should happen to do something dumb? All metal ladders I've used have plastic/rubber feet - how come these don't give the same...

This rather nice mixer tap partially failed.. turning the lever to shower has no effect now. I don’t know if this might be fixable, but I cannot see any way to access it?

My new property constitutes a 4-bed detached Victorian house in about 1/2 acre of land on the edge of woodland. In the main garden, separate from the house, is a log cabin building approx 11x7m. It was formerly used for a business and has a kitchen & bathroom, it could well be used as a...

I've an 1860s Victorian property with a very spacious loft, which has already been converted (decades ago) into a big room, ensuite, etc. A couple of Velux skylights were added but I think it could be done much better. It's the original roof and it is getting to the point that it could be...

My garden paths and drive need some attention, the gravel has mostly disappeared over the years and it gets a lot of weeds. I am debating between simply dumping more gravel on top, or digging it out and lining with a membrane and starting over with a nice gravel bed. But it seems like...

It seems the battery is flat on my old Countax C300 H tractor mower - again, it was charged quite recently and previously would last all winter without a charge. So I wonder if I need a new one. I don't know anything about mower mechanics and though I guess it's basically a small 12V car...

I own a 11x6m log cabin, and one feature of this construction is the exterior walls grow and shrink over the season, which means pipes, window apertures, stud walls, etc must take this into account. It is all wired and plumbed including a large washroom, to which I want to install a shower...

I bought a house in 2017 which has what appears to be a full loft conversion - windows, a bathroom, a proper fixed staircase. As I recall the previous owners (who used it as a bedroom) said it was done when they bought it ~30 years previously and there is no documentation as to whether it ever...

Our Victorian house is adjacent to a woodland and there are quite a few bats around. I know we have them (or have had) living in the roof as we see the odd sign and even found a deceased bat a couple of times. I'm aware there are quite strict rules on this but the house has the original roof...

I've been converting a detached Victorian greenhouse into a garden room. The floor is fairly rough concrete slab (no damp-proof) with one end suspended and one resting on the ground. I had planned to paint the floor to start with at least, but I wonder about doing it better. There isn't really...

We have quite bad black mould on the walls of our bathroom (solid brick walls) that has slowly got worse despite a trickle ventilation fan (and a very draughty sash window!) and it has now spread to the ceiling. We periodically wipe the walls but the ceiling is artex or similar textured finish...

My old 2nd fix nailer (16g) died and I am thinking of migrating to the Dewalt version as I mostly run XR kit. They do two 16 tools (DCN660 and DCN662) which seem near-identical except one is straight and the other angled. Other than the fact I already have a bunch of straight 16g nails, having...

I have the R18N16G Airstrike battery nail gun from Ryobi. There's a misfire issue and I already ruled out a jam. All the advice suggests to remove the magazine and lubricate but I cannot find an exact guide for this model, I've removed all the obvious bolts and the damn thing won't come off, it...

We've had winter tyres for a few years on our last two cars and always meant to get round to fitting them permanently on their own wheels, but ever did. It's that time of year again and I'm keen to get it done finally, but our local garage doesn't want to handle sourcing them. It's not an area...

I have panelled this garden room with beech-faced ply... ceiling and walls, finally getting near the end (there will be trims and things to hide the joins) I plan to treat it all with preserver (Sika guard) having been caught out by mildew before, but this can be over-treated with stains...

I bought some Hyena waterproof boots from screwfix a few years back as I don't like rubber wellies - they were sturdy with a good sole, nice fit and metal toecaps but one developed a leak, and so did the replacement. Shame as I really liked them. I live in the country and we have a stream so I...