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Hello, The third bedroom of our home is quite cold, it has 3 external walls and two windows. It's a 1930s house with solid walls and as it needs some wiring and redecorating I'm going to take the opportunity to improve the insulation to the external walls with Celotex PL4000. Firstly, should I...

Hello all, My in-laws boiler shut down today, no hot water from taps or CH, error code E9 which is overtemp I think. Pressure gauge is zero, tried refilling but the gauge only shows a slight increase and then the water just flows out of the copper pipe on the outside wall. Am I right in...

Hello all, Having a bit of a dilemna at the moment. We're selling our house (2 bed terrace) just now, or rather have sold it, subject to contract. It was rewired about 5 years ago, we haven't got certificates for it, back then I don't think I understood that we should get any. I know better now...

Hello all, I've stripped our back bedroom of all old wallpaper and I'm down to the original plaster (house is nearly 100 years old). It's sound but quite sandy, so I've been pondering how to stabilise the plaster so that it is primed ready for new wallpaper to achieve good adhesion. What's...

Hello all, I want to board our loft so I'm looking at suitable products that will offer some insulation and a good solid floor, installed over mineral wool between joists. Combined foam and chipboard slabs are very expensive compared to using separate slabs of PIR and then boarding over with...

Hello all, I've fitted new mixer taps to a new bath and basin, they are the waterfall type. However, the pressure is far too high, such that when turned on fully the water will reach the other end of the bath!  I am aware that fitting ball restrictor will reduce the flow but not the...

Hello all, I'm redoing the bathroom and will be using quite a large tile (400x300) on all walls. Two internal walls are plastered and are nowhere near flat, so to save me some pain later on I think it's best it comes off to be boarded to give me a nice flat surface to tile on and extra...

I'm planning a new bathroom, to be lit using downlights (x4) and a fibre optic 'starlight' ceiling (separate systems/circuits). I want to be able to dim the downlights to highlight the starlights when IN the bath. Is there such a switch that is zone 1 safe that's not a pull cord...

Hello all, We have a Zanussi condensing tumble dryer which has started tripping the RCD on the fuse board. Not the MCB for the utility room plugs. It trips when the dial is turned from the stop position but before the start button is pressed, which I thought was strange. It's not the...

Hello all, How do I go about joining two dwarf brick walls at a 90degree corner where one is level and the other is on a 1in60 fall? Thank you!

Hello all, We're upgrading our shower from an 8.5kW to a 9.8kW (@240v). Consumer unit currently uses a 40A Crabtree MCB (61/B40) and wiring is 10mm with no more than a 6m run, surface clipped. Crabtree don't make a 45A replacement, which is the rating advised in the shower manual. Will the...

Not sure if it's allowed on the forum, but can anyone recommend a plumber in Birmingham (I'm in B34) to extend pipework and fit supplied basin, bath and electric shower above? New to the area and don't really know anyone to ask. Many thanks.

Hello all, We have a new ceiling light fitting that originally came with four G9 20W halogen bulbs. Is it perfectly safe to replace them with 25W bulbs which are, for some reason, much, much cheaper? Thanks Jim

I have a pneumatic dual flush mechanism (Mark Vitow) that won't give a half flush. Despite adjusting it every way I can it empties the cistern whatever I do. Is there a trick to it? Is it faulty? Or is it just crap!? Thanks.

Hello, We have a hole in the wall where there was a back boiler and fire. We have a flueless, wall mounted gas fire to fit, obviously right on the hole in the breast. The gas supply sits at the back of the hole and will therefore need extending to the front and enter the back of the fire...

Hello, We have removed a back boiler from the chimney breast in the living room, so now have a big hole, although neatly square. It's too small for a log burner, which we thought might have been fun but the associated costs of widening the breast will probably make it prohibitively expensive...

As title, what's the difference between the 210mm Rage3-S and Fury3? Anyone know? I can't figure it out if there is one. I can find the Fury in stock but not the Rage. If I'm not missing the bleedin obvious I'll buy the Fury! Thanks folks

We have a double socket on the living room side of a dividing wall to the hall. Is it allowable to install a spur through the wall to put a single socket on the other side directly opposite the double? The wall is two bricks thick plus plaster, boxes are 25mm. Seems daft to bury cable to the...

Hello again, I have a query about a proposed cable run through our kitchen. A new electric oven (3.8kW) was installed by the previous owner, the feed for which was surface mounted in trunking back to the CU by the front door. To reduce damage and the need to replaster we're not bothered...

We're in the process of getting quotes done for a house rewire. I was told today that capping is required for all cables in walls that are buried less than 50mm. Is this correct? I was previously under the impression that if RCBO protection was installed then capping wasn't necessary. I've cut...