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I'm planning to replace a couple of basic single radiators with double ones (Type 22) and wondered if anyone can recommend a good brand. The main options seem to be Kudos Premium or Stelrad Accord Compact. Thanks.

This ball valve has started leaking and, if possible, I'd like to repair it by either replacing the rubber diaphragm, or the whole unit but without replacing the inlet connection (which has a captive screw which connects to the valve). However, although I've searched through many online...

We're re-placing a garden pergola made of wood which has seen better days. We were advised to use Chestnut poles for the vertical posts as they last longer than other types of wood - so have bought a set of these together with the appropriate number of bags of PostCrete. However, we've now been...

In our kitchen we have 8 concealed down-lighters in the ceiling – each with a Reflekto 185051 clear 36degree 2700K 12v 50watt halogen bulb (which are 45mm long). I am keen to replace these with an LED equivalent – but one which hopefully gives a light which is as similar to what exists as...

Our kitchen, where the family spend most of their time, has two radiators but they are not generating enough heat to make the room warm enough in cold weather. Can anyone please recommend a website, or programme, which will help me calculate what size radiators we actually need? (Our boiler has...

Hi We have a Halstead Boiler Eden SBX 30 (about 7 years old and worked generally ok over this period) which is playing up a bit. When heat starts being demanded it runs for about a minute and then trips. A few minutes later, it repeats this cycle, and so over a period of an hour or two it the...

Woke up in the early hours of Sunday morning to hear our shower pump motor running... To cut a long story short, it transpired that one of the flexible hose connections had broken (between flexible pipe and screw connector) and so water was pouring in to the kitchen below (and had been doing so...

SWMBO dropped something heavy on the kitchen worktop resulting in a chip about 20mm in diameter and 3mm deep. Googling turned up these people www.magicman.co.uk and so I just wondered if anyone had experienced their service and could comment on the standard of their repairs (which are not...

We have a Halstead gas boiler which has worked well for 5 years or so. Just recently I have started noticing that, occasionally during the night, the pump runs for short periods of 3-5 minutes. I've checked and the timeswitch is working as it should be, and certainly not coming on during the...

Our kitchen has a working surface made of a material designed to look like polished black granite with some flecks in it. It has a couple of joins in it from which some of the filler material has now disappeared (the surface is rock solid so it is not due to movement). I am very keen to fill...

Under our kitchen wall units are a number of small fluorescent light fittings which provide light to the work top areas. One of them, which takes a 14W T5 tube, is flickering and proving troublesome. Some weeks ago I replaced the tube but now the new one is flickering too. My next thought...

We've had a shower powered by a Salamander CT50 twin pump for 3 years and it's worked perfectly. Out of the blue the other evening, the pump motor started all by itself and would not stop without being switched off. There's nothing loose on the pump and no sign of any water leaks. I've also...

We currently have a (basic) digital thermostat in the hall which controls the central heating system. I've never been very happy with this as - despite having thermostatic radiator valves - the temperature is never ideal in the room one's in at the time. However, now that my wife and I spend...

We've recently installed a small fountain and pebble pond in the garden and the water is already beginning to turn green with algae. Can anyone please suggest the best and most economical way of keeping this at bay. There are no fish or plants etc in the pond but obviously we do not want to...

I wonder if anyone can help me with this? We have an electrical pump which runs an ornamental feature in the garden. For several reasons, it can easily be accidentally left on and it is only a matter of time before it runs dry and the pump burns out. I would therefore like to power it via a...

We have a SW facing wooden side door which gets baked by the sun in summer and catches all the rain in winter. Although it was only painted about 12 months ago and is generally in good order, I've just noticed that there are small cracks (about 0.5mm wide) along some of the joints. I'm...

Every so often our washing machine has water filling problems - over a period of time, the in-flow rate declines to a dribble and eventually stops altogether. Usually we then call a repair man who ends up unsticking the inlet valves. The repair man in question now seems to have left the...

I have a continuing problem with slow running hot water (all taps affected, gravity fed from a cold tank in the roof). We’ve never had the problem until the last few months and nothing has changed with our plumbing system. Having read other threads on this subject, I assumed we must have an...

During the upgrade of our CH system last year, our eminently satisfactory Honeywell thermostat (located in the hall) was replaced with a simple Drayton type (the sort with a large circular knob on the front). I have noticed, by listening to the clicks made by the bimetallic switch inside it...

Can anyone please advise me on the following? A few days ago, I noticed that the ball valve in the cold tank in the roof had started making a loud rushing noise when refilling the tank. It turned out that water was spraying out of the top of it and hitting the plastic lid of the tank - hence...