Search results

Hi Chaps, Does anyone have any tips for the best way to treat external wooden cladding (on a sun room). The boards are redwood v-lining. I replaced the boards on one side of the sun room two years and treated them with Ronseal Trade 10 Year woodstain, but now I notice this is already starting to...

Hi Chaps, I'm thinking of putting in a 3KW handwash for a new bog and want it wired to an RCD for safety. There's already a 30mA RCD for a 150w power shower. Could the handwash be wired into that or does it need its own separate one? Cheers, Reg

We've just removed some kitchen cabinets to expose a 22mm cold water pipe behind. They're all insulated with the usual foam tubing or lagging strips on some bends. The weird thing is that when the insulation is removed, the pipe is wet. Not just here and there but all along its length (about...

The oil boiler has suddenly stopped working, no lights, nothing. The programmer on the wall is a Drayton LP722, which is pretty old. Its digital display is active and the red lights are on, indicating that the water and heating are switched on. However, there's a cable (obviously) running from...

Our water stopped suddenly yesterday and I found the problem outside where the mains pipe to the house had detached from the external stopcock. Someone in the past had bodged it in with silicone or something. I want to repair it properly but not sure how because I can’t identify the type of...

I hope someone can help with this as I'm stumped. It's raining hard at the moment and I've just noticed that water is slowly dripping out of the main fuse box and a small black box next to it. By fuse box I mean the grey box that the main electricity company cable feeds into and which is sealed...

Can anyone recommend a good fungicidal wash for interior masonry walls? I've found a few washes but most seem to be for exterior use, so I'm not sure they can be used indoors. I'm needing it to deal with a black mould problem. The underlying cause has now been sorted we think but we're left with...

Hi Guys I'm trying to turn off my external stopcock. It's an ancient one but I've got it moving. I'm leaving the kitchen tap on to see when the water stops, and what happens is the water keeps coming off and on as the stopcock rotates. It's as if the stopcock is acting like one of those...

Hi guys I have a Riello RDB oil burner and it has developed a leak. The burner is running fine but the oil stink in the house is bugging us all. After removing the red cover I can see that the leak is from the junction where the long thin brass pipe joins the oil pump. I've tried tightening it...

I'm moving a radiator and have cut the pipes to it. Inside the pipes there are big flakes of hard black crust , some up to 5mm across. Some of these are neatly curved, so must have formed on the inside of the pipe and come away. It can't be limescale because this is a soft water area so I think...

Hi guys, I wonder if anyone has any ideas on this. I'm insulating an internal wall with laminated plasterboard, using dot and dab. It's my first time using this technique. I stuck the first board up last night as a test. It seemed nice and solid, but this morning it's loose and obviously hasn't...

I'm about to flush my vented central heating system and I know I have to prepare the expansion tank first, but I'm getting different advice. Some say I should join together the tank's feed and expansion pipes, but others say I should cap off both these pipes. Anyone know which is right? Any...

This is a basic question but I think many will be curious. Could someone clarify how the system for notifiable electrical work actually operates? Assuming I'm going to do a notifiable job myself (DIY)and be a good boy and follow the rules, I understand that I have "notify" building control...

Hi, I'm fitting an extractor fan with a timer and I'm considering the best order to fit the components. Does this order look right? mains>Switched FCU>Fan switch>3-pole isolator>fan This would have three switches in effect. Any way to reduce the number? Thanks guys.

Hi, I have two questions about an timer extractor fan set-up I'm putting in the bathroom. The important point is that the fan itself is not in the bathroom. It's an in-line duct fan and is located in the loft void above, so there are no actual electrics in the bathroom. According to the...

I want to give my CH system a good clear out with a stronger cleaner since it seems nicely gunged up. Sentinel X800 seems to fit the bill but so does Sentinel deposit remover. Does anyone know the difference between them? Any advice greatly appreciated. Reg

I know that supplementary bonding is supposed to be safe, I get the Faraday Cage analogy, and I've read the DIYNOT wiki but I'm still struggling with the principle. According to the Electrical Safety Council, the definition is as follows: "Supplementary bonding The connecting together of the...

Hi, I wonder if anyone can clarify this. There's an electrical water heating appliance in the loo. As you can see in the picture in the link below there's an earth symbol above a screw next to the power cable. Presumably the appliance is earthed through the main cable so does anyone know what...

I'd be grateful for your opinion of this RCD wiring setup in the house I've just moved into. The RCD is for a shower (a power shower, not one that heats the water itself). At the top of the RCD, the live and neutral are attached and run to the shower. At the bottom, the live and neutral come...

Sorry this is quite a small point but I wonder if one of the experts out there can help me get it right. I want to insulate an internal wall. Thermal boards would be nice but not readily available where I live so I plan to put up battens, then insulation material (polystyrene board or Wickes...