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We are about to move (if the flippin' solicitors ever get their act together) to a new house. It has a decent, relatively recent, sectional concrete garage which we want to use as a workshop/utility space. Unfortunately it was built with an up-and-over door only with no side door. From what...

I am planning to convert a large landing into an extra bedroom. Basically, aside from things needed to comply with building regs (new window etc), this will consist simply of a stud partition between two side walls (with a door casing incorporated, of course). I am intending to construct this...

We are presently house hunting and one of the properties we are interested in is a semi-detached which shares access to the front of the house (footpath only) with the adjoining property – i.e. a single path skirts the front walls of each property and divides each house from its front garden. As...

We are currently looking at buying a property. There is one thing I have noticed (we are nowhere near the survey stage yet). The gas pipe enters the house at floor level just beside the front door, then is immediately routed around the frame of the new door leading from the hallway to a side...

I'm just about to embark on my first proper project since acquiring a router. I want to rout curved edges on a long length of 18mm MDF (to give a D shaped edge). I assume that a "standard" rounding-over cutter can be used, but I'm not sure about something: Once the first edge has been...

When I had the house rewired a couple of years ago, sparks put me in a dedicated circuit for integral garage/workshop. This is a radial featuring 2 twin sockets on a 10A MCB. Don't know why he used a 10A breaker. Cable is 2.5mm TE, surface mounted (just pre-17th edition!) Anyway, most...

I am about to embark on the conversion of my landing into a small 4th bedroom (8' x 6'). This will contain a built-in, enclosed, cabin bed which will make the existing light switch difficult to access. Wiring a new switch is no problem as loft access is easy and the new cable can be brought down...

I'm currently decorating my kitchen but I have a bit of a problem fixing things to the walls. I am struggling to find the right fixings to use. It would appear that rather thick blobs of adhesive were used to attach the plasterboard to the brick which has left a gap of up to half an inch in...

As part of my living room refit I am considering blanking off the existing fireplace and fitting a surface-mounted flueless gas fire on the now solid chimney breast. I understand that a vent needs to be provided to prevent condensation in the flue but, unfortunately, the installation guide...

I am planning to strip out and refurbish my lounge and I am considering turning the whole thing around, blocking up the existing fireplace (with or without chimney stack removal - not sure yet) and placing a flueless fire on the opposite wall. I know the 15mm gas feed to the existing fire...

About 25 years ago a new house was being built on a plot of spare ground at the back of our garden. Ground levelled. Foundations laid. Damp proof course fitted and walls built to, I suppose, ground floor level. Plant hire lowloader arrives to collect JCB. Where is it? In the back garden of...

Been playing with my shiny new electric nailer. Banged a few 30mm staples into a bit of wood then decided that, actually, that was quite a nice bit of timber; better hang on to it. Right... need to get those staples out. Where are the pliers? Can't be @r$ed going back out there; what is...

I'm currently refurbishing the dowstairs loo which has no extractor fan at present. I've already sussed out the wiring etc. (thanks to electrical forum). By far the best place to put the fan, in terms of cable routing and access to outside wall for venting, is in the wall of a large cupboard...

More a point of interest than a query really. I have recently had to fix my combi boiler - a Potterton Puma 80 - for a fault which has been very intermittent for the past 5 years but which has recently been occurring much more frequently and has got to the point when I can't rely on the...

I am currently refurbishing a small downstairs toilet which was created in a former coal store (now accessed via utility room built onto side of house). Having removed existing rear partition wall (made of hardboard and contiplas!!!!) I have found an 18" deep void containing a small chimney...

I want to use a small heated towel rail (only 60W) as a general heater/damp preventer in a tiny (4' x 2'6") downstairs toilet. I would like to use a thermostat to control temp - believe it or not it DOES get too warm in there with towel rail permanently on! Question is this: Heater is...

I want to install some PVC T&G cladding in downstairs toilet. Will be sticking to existing, dry and mainly sound emulsion over plaster skim (will be made good where necessary). Was thinking about using solvent free Gripfill - more because of the smell rather than a problem with the material...

I want to install a timed fan in existing downstairs toilet (currently no fan at all). It would appear that it is now necessary to feed this via a 3A spur. I know this could be done by feeding the toilet lighting via a fused spur, but this would kill the lights if there was an overcurrent...