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The problem being, there isn't one! Turned the shed light on the other night. there was a loud 'phut' and no light. I thought the shed circuit had tripped but the power side is on and I have confirmed power at the batten. I expected to fit a new starter switch but times have changed. There...

I have a Stewart Turner Monsoon 2.0hp shower pump about 4-5 years old. It has suddenly stopped working. The shower still works under gravity and there is a low hum from the pump as it does so. (I thought initially that this was the pump trying to run but it happens when the pump is switched...

Dyson cordless vacuum runs 5 sec after taking off charger, then stops. Put back on charger momentarily, take it off and it will run normally. Is there an internal switch that prevents the motor from running whilst on charge and is this sticking, preventing it running? Progressively getting...

I have two Aico smoke alarms (one hall, one 1st floor landing) which are time expired and need replacing. They are Ei151 TL which are now obsolete and the official replacement is Ei3106. Trouble is that Screwfix want £50 each for these. An alternative is Ei141RC (I already have one of these...

I have a new floor lamp with an E27 lamp socket. Fitted a 6w LEDlite and all fine for two weeks or so. Then, on switching on with the foot switch, there was a momentary flash, then nothing. This occurred each time so nit a burn out. I thought it was the switch but turned out to be the lamp...

I recently ordered teo 240/12v dc power supplies as part of a regulated twin rail supply from a reputable UK-based supplier. They were listed as UK pattern wall psu’s. What turned up had two flat pins and a pair of shaver adapters. I sent them back but wondered if they were actually legal in...

This house was built 1997 and we have lived here since built. Noticed recently a small dampstain on bathroom ceiling and checked the loft. The soil pipe vent is boxed in a corner of the bathroom, rises up into the loft space in (roughly) 150mm uPVC, takes a 90 deg bend to run horizontally...

My daughter and her husband are having a ground floor extension to a terraced house, roughly 5m x 5m. The floor will be suspended timber partly to reduce access problems for delivering concrete (no rear access except via the house) and partly to facilitate possible future installation of...

My block-paved driveway is now 20-odd years old and is edged with 150 x 50mm plain concrete edging units placed vertically and substantially haunched with mass concrete on the outside face. This has left barely enough soil depth for a layer of turf with the result that in the increasingly dry...

Has anybody come across a one gang socket outlet with a single USB socket (with or without a 3 pin square socket)? Nearest I can find is a one gang plate with 4 x USB's but a bit pricey at £23 + VAT. My daughter wants to plug in a NEST wireless thermostat - which still needs a wired power...

This fitting supplies an adjacent gas fire, installed about 20 years ago. It was looking very dull, and I am decorating so applied some Brasso. A small ring dropped off - see pics. I thought initially it came from the joint further back towards the wall but size-wise, I think it is from round...

I am about to invest in an insulated sectional garage door so would like to improve the insulation of the rest of the garage. The garage is part integral to the house so the rear half has cavity walls to support the cavity walls of the upper storey. The "bit that sticks out" in front of the...

Just mounted a 40" TV to the wall. I want to conceal the power lead and coax aerial flylead in a short length of mini-trunking to tidy things up. If I run them together in a single section, say 25 x 16, will I get "noise" on the aerial from the power lead?

In a fit of enthusiasm today, I bought 10 X 35w equivalent 12v LED lamps to replace the 50w halogen lamps in my kitchen down lighters. I never gave a thought to the drivers (there is a transformer/driver on each fitting) until I switched them on. They all work (with one exception). Question...

I have a 5ft fluorescent fitting (probably from Wickes) in my shed which has ceased to fluoresce. Probably been there 3-4 years. I have tried a new tube to no effect. It has a digital ballast rather than a conventional starter. I have confirmed there is 240v on the input chocblock to the...

I'd be grateful for some advice on this issue. Detached house was built 1996-7 under a version of the Building Regs that permitted use of thermal block for the inner skin rather than cavity wall insulation. As a result we have been seized on by the retro-fit industry for free retro insulation...

Ordered a chrome-plated Anglepoise lamp from Amazon as a Christmas present. Disappointed to find a 2-pin Euro plug on it. Amazon have made all the right noises and offered refunds/exchange/cost of a 3-pin plug etc. So happy there but just curious: 1. I believe it is illegal to sell any...

Grohe air button (EAU2 dual flush) stopped flushing the toilet. Button seemed to be working (blowing air) but could not move the valve by blowing. I had a spare discharge valve which I have fitted - bottom cradle with O ring into the base of the cistern, then bayonet fitting of discharge valve...

What is best practice when running T&E behind existing dot and dab plasterboard? I want to run a spur to an FCU from an existing double socket on a ring final. Plasterboards is on dabs over aerated concrete block, being the inner skin of a cavity wall. If I channel through the dabs, I reckon...

Can anybody help me identify the core size of an offcut of SWA? Moulded into the outer sheath it says " ELECTRIC CABLE 600/1000v BS5467-1997" then printed in white "1416 MT I P NO 13344031". The 1416 seems to be a progressive no as it is 1415 and the 1414 further back along the cable. I cant...