Search results

Eight years ago I installed some recessed ceiling lights in the upper floor of our thatched house and installed fire hoods over each one in the loft space. Ever since I've wondered whether I can increase the safety of this arrangement by installing a further box - made of plasterboard say - over...

When I turn on a filament light on one of my lighting circuits, it comes on OK, but after one or two seconds brightens a little. Flourescent lights flicker a little and after two or three seconds begin to glow steadily and gradually assume full brightness as normal. This behaviour only affects...

I need to put a bullnose on 18mm thick timber which will then be used as the top to some timber wainscoting. Can anyone offer any tips as to how I can do this easily and with reasonable accuracy with only basic tools such as a plane or surfoam?

I need to lower a power socket by about a couple of feet. It was original sited over a worktop in a kitchen, but the house has been revamped so that this is now in a living area and I'd like to lower it to be in keeping with other living areas. What is the best way of attaching the extra length...

I have a 2003 Mitsubishi Pinin and the engine monitoring light keeps coming on and off. Mostly it is on, but can go off for about 50 to 100 miles before it comes on again. I've had it checked by a Mitsubishi dealer and each time it gives an error code of P0421Warm-up Catalyst Efficiency below...

I live in an old cottage built in churt, a form of flint, bonded with lime mortar. The stone is very hard which makes fixing things to a wall a challenge. The traditional method which works well is to excavate holes in the mortar joints, drive in wooden pegs, and screw into those. This is easy...

I've stripped some old vinyl tiles from a concrete floor while renovating an old cottage. The tiles were laid about 15 or 20 years ago and most came up easily, the adhesive being dry and brittle. A few were still well stuck down, but about half a dozen came up easily with a runny sticky goo...

How easy is it to check if there is a leak in the service pipe between the outdoor and indoor stop cocks? I ask because I would like to eliminate it as a possible cause of a damp patch on a floor near an outside wall. I believe the service pipe runs nearby. The house is old and there is probably...

All the lights on a lighting circuit now fail to function, although a flicker was seen to continue from a fluorescent light after the fault occurred. I have measured a voltage of about 20 to 30 volts across the terminal of a switch suggesting (to me) that the circuit is intact and the fault lies...

Dry lining a wall with tapered edge panels and jointing tape seems easy and cheap and avoids having to skim plaster afterwards. However, how do you negotiate corners, especially those which are 270 degrees such as at window and doorway reveals? Do you just butt the boards and fill the gap, or...