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Hi, I'm looking for some advice and recommendations for a security camera to monitor the gate area of a field. There is no power source so it would have to be battery and/or solar powered, and would need a PIR sensor. I would also like to be able to store recordings on an SD card but also get...

I have to paint the outside walls of a house once the weather improves. It's been painted before and the walls are some sort of rough texture. The walls are in reasonable condition but the north-facing wall is covered in some sort of reddish algae or lichen. What I'm wondering is how to go about...

Had a radiator pipe corrode underfloor and need to replace the section. My preference would be to solder a new pipe in. However, the existing pipe is wet and I can't see any way to dry it. I've drained the system but the pipe still has water inside. There's no give in it so I can't drain the...

Hi. I know there's a lot of info on dry lining out there but (typically) not quite what I'm trying to find out. Basically, on a wall that's damp (penetrating) and will stay damp due to the cavity wall insulation getting wet, we have been given this as an option: "Take off plaster, frame wall...

Hi - wonder if you could advise? We have a 1920's bungalow which has always had some damp, but we've not bothered about it until now as we're coming to sell and the home report gave it bad marks for that. So we've had 3 people to look at it all with different solutions. As we're aiming to...

Hi - if anyone has any thought on this it would be appreciated! A water company has just replaced the pipe in our road to increase the pressure to the houses. They were using a digger right up to our front gate - the digger has managed to crack the concrete front step and gate post! Whilst this...

I want to paint some woodstained exterior window frames with white gloss and was wondering on the best preparation. Some of the frames are a bit flaking but others are quite sound. I was going to give them a good rub down and scape off any flaking stain and prime any bare areas, but was...

1. What's the best thing to use to treat a garden shed? I've tried water-based shed treatments before but have found they start to flake off after a few weeks, and a year later it looks terrible. They seem to be OK for rough timber but the shed is neither rough nor smooth (somewhere in the...

I've got two 6-foot iron posts in the garden (old washing line posts) embedded in concrete, which I want to remove. I was wondering if this drill would do the job of breaking up the concrete...

Hi, I want to paint some walls that have had wallpaper stripped from them. I know that I need to wash well to remove all the residual paste, but have 2 questions: 1. What happens if all the paste is not removed (i.e. I miss a bit)? 2. How long does it take for anything to go wrong if it is...

Yesterday I painted a cornice with 2 coats of Johnstone's white matt emulsion. Today when I looked at it there were some brownish droplets on the cornice and the paint hadn't dried. This only occurred in a few places - the majority is fine. Any ideas what the problem is and how I solve it. I can...

I'm just about to strip some wallpaper and then put up lining paper. Do I need to size the plaster even though it's been papered before, or is sizing just for fresh plaster? The current paper has been up the best part of 20 years.

I'm planning on replacing all the old radiators in my house. I have a combi boiler and was wondering, as it might take a couple of days, is it OK to drain the central heating system but leave the boiler on so we can have hot water? Obviously I'd turn the boiler to 'water only'.

1) I want to replace the (old) single radiators in my house with new double ones, and also fit TRVs in place of the existing valves. Should I put TRVs in every room or leave one or more room without? 2) How do I go about adding inhibitor to the system once the work is done? I have a combi...

I have to re-paint a bathroom ceiling. At present, the paint just above the shower is flaking off. Not sure what was used, just a matt emulsion I think. I was just wondering what would be the best paint to use to prevent the peeling occurring in future. Is there something better than 'kitchen...

I'm planning on painting the exterior walls to a house. Not sure of correct name for surface - it's a textured render with stone chips in it. My problem is I'm not sure if I need to treat with stabilising solution before painting. It has some sand-like material which can be rubbed off with my...

Two questions: 1. I've got to paint some exterior woodwork (fascias, bargeboards etc). They have previously been painted white (about 7 years ago) and are in fairly good condition. I want to paint them white again, so do I need an undercoat and topcoat or will two topcoats be OK. Also, any...

I've got a ceiling to paint (about 5m x 4m). The room has a set of patio doors at one end. I gather it's best to start painting at the end with the doors as most light comes from them. But should I paint in strips lengthways away from the doors and work my way across the room, or in strips...

I want to paint some T&G walls with an oil-based eggshell finish. The walls look to have a coat of varnish on them. My questions are: 1. As the wood is varnished, I take it I don't need to apply knotting? 2. Do I need to sand the wood first? 3. Do I need a primer? 4. Do I need an undercoat...