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So today I started putting on some Leyland trade oil based Eggshell, it is supposed to be matched to F&B Hague blue, but when it went on the wood it looked almost green. The walls by comparison are a really nice inky blue. Both colours were mixed on the same machine by the same person. The...

I’m looking at this property as a development opportunity. It looks like some time ago someone has painted all the Accrington brick, with textured masonry paint and it is starting to come off. The property is by the sea, so presumably it was painted to rectify spalled bricks, I’m thinking it...

Hi I have a property and I am looking at the possibility of extending the first floor over a small flat roof garage and porch to the front of the property. The porch and garage currently extends from the front elevation by 2m. Is this likely to require planning, as I am not increasing the...

I’m on a with a renovation project, a complete house, so there’s a lot for me to get through. In the hallway I’ve stripped the paper and found that the last guy appears to have scored the wall in diamond patterns (presumably to strip the paper last time) they’ve made a bit of a mess of the...

In May I will be building a house in Sri Lanka, we are doing voluntary work out here and we have found a family who desperately needs a home, so we want to build them one. I’m an experienced developer in the UK, having both built from scratch, as well as renovated plenty of properties. I’m very...

Just this week I've had about 20 UPVC Windows fitted. All the windows to the rear of the property ( which we plan to have rendered) have not had trims or sealant fitted, only expanding foam. The installer says this is because the window reveals will be rendered. I'm not convinced. Is it...

The brickwork on the back three walls of our house are very badly spalled and a surveyors has recommended rendering them. They are accrington brick however, so I beleive this poses some problems regarding getting a decent key on the surface. One plasterer had suggested attaching EML mesh...

I'm about to refit my bathroom and something I have noticed is that the floor in there is very unlevel. It seems there is a sag/dip in the floor, generally running to the centre of the room, which in parts seem to be out by almost an inch. I have attached some pictures. http://1drv.ms/1GCTDWC...

I'm in the process of specifying a new kitchen worktop for a property development I am planning. In the past, at home I have had corian installed a couple of times and I must say I do like the product. However quotes for this job are coming in at around the £2k mark and I don't wish to spend so...

If I was to replace an entire roof on an occupied house, presumably I could shelter the property with some form of scaffolding/tarp arrangement while the work is carried out? Can anyone point me in the direction for an idea of rough comparative costs for a basic perimeter scaffold and one which...

I'm looking at a property which is currently split into two flats and I'm wondering about the viability of adding another storey and potentially a whole extra flat in the roof space. At the moment, as you can see from the attached pic (bottom one), there is a substantial twin pitched roof. I'm...

I'm in the process of finding electricians to do a first and second fix on a pair of houses that I am building. I'd like if possible to get them in on a day rate however i could just do with getting a rough idea on how long some general tasks would take a pair of qualified sparks so that I can...

Last year we had a new engineered dark oak floor installed, and unfortunately it was laid before all the building work was complete. A year later the floor still has patches (and quite clear demarkations where masking tape was) where the building dust is still in the wood grain. We're...

Hi there any tips for wallpapering on to bare MdF? Do I need to use an MdF primer or I have seen others suggest pasting just the MdF and leaving for 24hours. Any thoughts from anyone experienced doing this? Ta

We have a house built in 1898, and we live by the coast in Lytham. Our cellar which runs the considerable length of the house has been partially filled with rubble. We know some of the house's history, and we know for sure that the cellar was once full height, but no one knows when or why the...

We've recently had some pretty extensive work done on our house, including a new boiler, and the removal of a gas fireplace and aga. We have asked for certificates for the gas work but the project manager is telling us that we would only need gas certificates for work carried out if the property...

hi, I currently own a McKeller router, and it has been pretty handy so far for putting nice bevelled edges on things and widening the occasional hole. I'm thinking of making a couple of window frames for internal parts of the house, and I was going to try and put a very acurate and long...

Hi can you help me. Im blocking up an existing open fireplace. I've got hold of a terracotta pepper pot style chimney cowl. I was wondering whether these are usually cemented in place or if simply placing the cowl into the chimney pot should be sufficient? It's a pretty heavy thing and the bit...

I'm in the process of designing a wardobe with sliding doors for the bedroom. I'm trying to think of nice ways to finish the edges of the sliding doors, which are likely to be made of MDF, and I was thinking of some form of mitred metal frame made from 'L' shaped steel strips. But there are two...

Hi I recently restored my first sash window and it was a time consuming process to say the least, as I removed all the built up paint and added new staff and parting beads with built in draft proofing. The advice was to prime the windows whilst out of the frame, but to paint the windows in...