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  1. J

    Mini retaining wall repair

    I have a low concrete retaining wall and a 1.7 meter (5.6ft) section is failing. It's 25cm (10inch) tall and 15cm (6 inch) wide. The wall retains a slope that holds terraced veg beds. The wall is 1920s era and about 15m / 50ft in total. The section that has failed looks deteriorated compared...
  2. J

    Decking posts in solid chalk

    Am building a deck, ground is solid chalk. How deep should I sink the posts? It's not that that tough to dig out, apart from the occasional lump of flint. Decking is on a gradual slope, floor level to around 50cm on the far end. Should I still go 600 per support, or can I reduce a bit. If...
  3. J

    Wireless contact sensor?

    Alarm system has a door chime and sensor on the front door. Decorating / stripped and painted door and added new architraves and left the sensor and associated cabling dangling to one side. Is there a wireless direct swap option available? I see wireless sensors compatible with certain...
  4. J

    Primer that doesnt raise the grain

    Is there a primer that doesnt/minimises raised grain on pine? Long story with damage during transit and quick replacement, I have all new unprimed pine skirting boards fitted. I'd like to minimise the effort painting these and if there's a primer that won't raise the grain (much/at all) please...
  5. J

    Stopping drafts while skirts are off

    Prepping for a new parquet floor being laid over the suspended wooden ground floor. Now the skirts are off, I have a chance to block the gap between the floorboards and wall before the ply is laid. I was originally considering something like compriband (until I saw the cost per m and the...
  6. J

    Render / screed estimator

    The forum sticky for the calculator is down. Need to cast a hearth. (62cm×35cm) + (86cm x 32cm) = 4,922 cm squared * 6.1 cm deep = 30,042 cm cubed Can someone translate this into KG bags of cement and sand and a ratio? I'll tile on top. Many thanks
  7. J

    Mini cooper light cable connector

    2016 mini cooper petrol 1.6 Wife forced into a flooded road a while ago and the rear offside light cluster (brake, indicator and reverse lights) stopped working. Took the assembly out and it was soaked. Dried it all off and it works. Now it intermittently stops working. Took a look and the...
  8. J

    New rads, crosshead manual value / not a trv

    Replacing the radiators. Wife wants these, which are manual / not TRVs. Is this a bad idea? I understand how a TRV works (wax melt thingy reduces the flow when the desired temp is reached). Can't say we ever adjust our TRVs. I can only imagine these may be inefficient (e.g., too much heat)...
  9. J

    Advice : Persistant Leaking windows after rain - next steps with installer

    2 years ago I had a medium sized local / "reputable" company replace the windows in the house. They're a flush sash upvc profile. I've had persistent issues with 3 windows. About once or twice a year, after heavy horizontal rain, I get damp patches on the bottom corners of the wall under the...
  10. J

    Suspended floor insulation

    Sorry for flogging a dead horse, however... I have a suspended wood ground floor and will shortly have parquet laid on ply, around 50m2 Underfloor is 4x2 with about 4 inch to the subfloor, so could fit a max of 4inch insulation. I had the idea to insulate and discussed it here after reading...
  11. J

    Floor insulation - article

    Planning to insulate suspended ground floor, inspired from threads here. Basically add some netting, whack in loft insulation, dont encapsulate cables, job done, time for a beer. Read this article https://www.eco-home-essentials.co.uk/underfloor-insulation.html Says loft insulation (non...
  12. J

    Insulating central heating pipes - no space for tubes

    Having new floor laid on ground floor and taking the opportunity to install insulation. Just loft rolls stuffed between the joists. I can't use the foam pipe tubes on majority of the central heating as the pipes are too close together. Ffs. I guess I could cut the tubes in half and tape it...
  13. J

    Column radiators - how cheap is too cheap

    Wife wants column rads. Prices vary. As an example, a double bar 600x1400 (ish) ranges from £250 to £800, average around £400 E.g. Plumbworld "Park lane" £249 Amazon huiyang £220 Toolstation arlberg £368 Radiator outlet £399 Column rads £400 Stelrad £524 Just rads £800 All apparently BS EN...
  14. J

    Column radiator brands / suppliers

    Can anyone suggest good brands? Where do the professionals buy these from? Searching the Web has a wide variety, from chinesium tat on on Amazon to boutique bathroom suppliers. Can anyone help?
  15. J

    Pipe thermostat for 2nd extractor

    I've recently had a large shower put in the bathroom. The existing timed extractor fan comes on with the light and works fine for baths. However, the condensation is too much for it when we have multiple showers. I read on here about using a pipe thermostat to control an extractor fan. In...
  16. J

    Grout sealer

    What's everyone's thoughts? Tiler said no need. He used white BAL grout on bathroom wall tiles. It looks stunningly clean and beautiful and want to keep it that way. Thoughts or suggestions?
  17. J

    L N label upside down?

    So wife has a LED mirror. About to wire in the cable and there L and N sticker for power in. Looking at the wiring, I think this label is upside down. Reasons 1. The blue N on the LED driver feeds back to the chock block terminal with L. 2. The brown L on the LED driver feeds back, via a...
  18. J

    Staining tiles to change colour

    Can't see any previous threads with a definitive answer. Has anyone stained floor tiles specifically matt porcelain floor tiles? I don't mean paint, but stain for a durable finish. From sandstone to grey or black. Random Internet diy posts say it's easy. Sand it, prime it and apply stain...
  19. J

    Wood front door step paint

    Can anyone suggest a decent paint for a front door step made of wood? Guessing a floor/stair paint.
  20. J

    Pipe lagging / insulation with no space

    Central heating pipes on the ground floor have no lagging. Subfloor is well ventilated (read that as same temp as outdoors). Before winter kicks in, I want to lag/insulate the pipes. However, they are all in very shallow notches and the pipes are mm's away from the floorboards. How is best to...
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