Search results

Apologies as this will be a bit of a numpty question... but.... Had a scare tonight when my daughter appeared from her bedroom holding a cheapo hairdrier that had been plugged into a bog-standard extension lead and had started sparking and scorched her bedding ! The cable had been crimped and...

The cross-door (480mm) bottle shelf, collapsed out of my Samsung fridge door yesterday (taking two bottles of bubbly with it!). The plastic (Acrylic ??) has snapped off at the "slot-in" point, and sheared along half its length. I have searched all the usual spares sites and eBay and no-one...

I had to replace the grill element on the oven today and noticed that the wiring was a little "scorched" (see photo) presumably by contacting the heat pipe going up. Its not damaged or perished but its a bit disconcerting. I would like to shield the wiring before reinstating. What would you...

I have an old (25yr) Kinder Flamebooster coal effect NG fire in the surround shown in the picture. Not been used for a few years. I have asked a few fitters (& Kinder) re. getting the fire serviced, perhaps with new coals, etc - but fire is obsolete and no one has a manual describing coals...

I have a masthead amplifier on the TV aerial that is fed in the normal way via a PSU and coax cable from behind one of the TV's. Next week I am having new windows installed and the "powerback" coax cable which goes through the old window frame will be the devil's own job to remove unharmed...

I posted last week that my gas meter piping is not earth bonded. So, is it actually my responsibility to have the work undertaken? Surely as I dont own the meter it is not the responsibility of the gas meter owner - Transco? -to undertake the work? After all it was they who didnt do the...

Just discovered that my gas meter is not earth bonded. I know that I need to run 10mm earth cable from the pipe on the house side of it to the earth point on the consumer unit. Ought to be fairly straightforward as the meter is in a cupboard at ground level in the porch and the CU under the...

I need to cut some 2-3 mm thick plastic piping, would either a metal or stone angle grinder disc do the business - and which would work best ? Or is there another one you'd recommend ? It's the smallish 115x22 disc size I need - the thinner the better. Cheers John

Bought a Pampero ceiling fan + light from B&Q this aft. Just looking at the wiring instructions ahead of fitting tomorrow. It's to replace a standard looped in ceiling rose. I note that the fan has a simple wiring block with just 3 terminals, L,N & E . Instructions say to connect all...

My downstairs toilet has recently developed classical water hammer symptoms. As the cistern reaches full and the valve switches off, the pipes rattle and bang for about 5 seconds. No other toilet or tap in the house does this. The float valve is about 3 years old and is the plastic type with...

My shower door fits to the cubicle via a strip of magnetic rubber material - present on both surfaces. It is about 8mm wide and appears to be self-adhesive. I have made a few repairs over the years with araldite but now it really needs replacing. I have googled about but cant seem to find...

Hope this is the correct forum for this Q. I am decorating an old wooden window frame and it is sealed to the wall with what looks like red mortar/cement. Well half of it has dropped out and I will need to redo it. But what do I look for in B&Q or Wickes ? Neighboiur says it is red mastic...

My concrete gate posts are peeling badly and need stripping and repainting. I spent an hour this evening with a blow torch and scraper and managed about 10% of one post ! Is there a better/quicker way of getting the paint off ? Would paint stripper work ? What about a power washer ? Anything...

I have had new black plastic guttering fitted recently and where it joins onto the neighbour's system there is a leak at the join. I want to remake the join - which I am assuming contains no sealant ! I have searched the forum and there are quite a few recommendations (Cerefit, plumbers mate...

Apologies as this is a re-post from last year, but I haven't sorted the problem yet ! Every time we flush the upstairs or downstairs toilets there are 2-3 seconds of gdunking and thunking at the end of the cycle. This started after I had turned the water off at the internal stop to fix a...

Both of my toilet cisterns make an annoying loud "gdunk, gdunk, gdunking" noise when the valve closes. Is this air in the system or a problem with these new "quiet fill" water input valves ? Anyway to stop it ? Thanks for any tips John

I have had to replace the ceramic tap glands in my 5y old Bristan kitchen tap. Unfortunately the tap glands stocked in B&Q turned out to have a longer spline than the ones I removed and hence once refitted the tap handle stuck out a cm or so from the tap body. I cut off 5mm and refitted but it...

I have a 20y old Garador up and over canopy garage door where the spring in the spring pack unit (PN57/1) has snapped. Is this an easy DIY fix or does it require specialised knowledge or kit (e.g. spring compressors?). Would it be a case of replacing just the spring or would you replace the...

I removed a radiator in the bathroom to redecorate and refitted at the weekend. I noticed yesterday one or two drips an hour from the cap nut. I tightened up a couple of mm and now it's dripping even more - 1 drip a minute ! Have I damaged the olive or thread ? Should I try tightening...

Just removed a radiator for decorating. The water was nasty black with a scummy sheen to it. Anyway, I have washed it out with running water and will refit over the weekend. Should I add something to it - one of the many treatments I see in B&Q etc. If so what would you recommend? It's a...