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I've been left with a gully that isn't high enough for the level of our patio, see photo. It needs to go up roughly another 200mm. The end of the gully is male, going into a socket in the pipe below: The gully is made by Aquaflow. The pipe diameter is 160mm. I can't seem to find a...

I've got square pipe sticking up from the ground, cemented in. And putting in new downpipe which I want to be round. I've seen these square-to-round adapters which are always shown with the square bit at the top. I assume they can be used either way around, I wasn't sure if there might be a...

I've now had a couple of builders suggest to me the idea of an 'ambient' roof system for a flat roof, where you ventilate on the warm side. The idea apparently is that you have your insulation tight underneath the deck, then a gap underneath that, then plasterboard ceiling. This cavity above the...

Just got a new EPDM flat roof installed by a professional. I'm looking at it and I know nothing about rubber roofs. I see these patches at the corner of the roof light and another long one. I guess this is normal to make the rubber fit around the raised portion of the roof light? What I...

We have an integrated double garage which has no insulation, and lots of gaps down the sides of the garage doors, etc. Gets very cold and dusty. Since I want to relocate the freezer in there, I need to raise the temperature and make the space generally nicer and cleaner. Was starting to...

Bit of a long saga*, but today the water company came out and fitted a new stopcock at the roadside, because they said the old one might be leaking. The chap said it would be much better to have a new stopcock anyway because the new kind are much easier to turn on/off than the old ones. Anyway...

We have an area of flat roof approx 4m by 4m. It's pretty old, appears to be felt with grit on it. There are a couple of areas where it dips, which I know means the timbers have gone underneath and we're planning to have a new roof put on, add insulation, etc as part of a larger building...

We have a flat roof, which is over a single storey extension at the back of our house, and is currently covered in felt with no insulation. Local roofing company has suggested removing the boards, then adding an extra layer of counter-battens to provide airflow. Then place 18mm board, then...

So I want to drill some 25mm holes in the top of my desk, to put cables through. The desk is 40mm thick oak. Just wondering what kind of drill bit to buy? Do I want one of these: http://www.screwfix.com/p/hex-shank-holesaw-arbor-9-5mm/11336 plus one of these...

We have a Mira Excel bath shower mixer, new a couple of years ago. Has been a great shower, up until about a week ago when it suddenly wouldn't go above luke warm. We have a pretty new Vaillant combi boiler feeding it. I hadn't touched the boiler that day, and no other plumbing changes that I...

The twit who fitted our wood burning stove cut the rubber boot too slack, so there is a few mm gap round it and rain comes down the side and into the house. I've asked the roofer who is working on the house to change it for a new one. He has suggested he could make up a lead flashing kit...

We have a very large loft space that I've floored out and have cut 70mm celotex to fit between the rafters, with 50mm breathing space (we also have new breathable felt). At first I thought the boards would just stay in place, but I guess the drop in temperature is affecting the wooden rafters...

We're currently in the middle of our fairly large refurbishment project which involves converting the loft of our bungalow. We've decided we need to get a new roof – the old tiles are over 90 years old and many becoming porous. Plus it has old, non-breathable felt and some of the batten...

We're about to get our large bungalow roof completely re-done with new felt and battens and new tiles. We need about 1500 tiles. I prefer clay to the concrete tiles and the roofer bought round a couple of samples of clay tiles, one costing £3 each and one for £1.50 each, which were Koramic...

We're about to fit this engineered wood flooring (http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/flooring/wood-laminate-flooring/real_wood_top_layer/-specificproducttype-oak/B-and-Q-Real-Wood-Oak-Flooring-Life-Bevel-Brushed-1-05Sqm-9586562) in our entrance hall and 2 downstairs rooms. Managed to order a whole lot...

I've been wondering about this for a while and thought I'd ask people here. We've had a couple of rooms plastered – very good plasterer. But I always seem to find a few spots and areas where the mist coat doesn't seem to 'stick'. After the plaster has dried I prepare for painting by giving...

Our tap in the garden screeches like crazy as you turn it on, although it quietens down when you reach full flow. Mains pressure in our house is high, so that may be part of the cause. What would be the best way to try and fix this? I noticed that there is a a double 90º bend in the pipe just...

We've been having a lot of work done to renovate our house over the past 18 months and I've ended up employing a fair range of tradesmen directly – rather than going through a builder who then sub-contracts. Thought I would share a few of my observations/experiences. (1) I found I could save...

We had a new bathroom sink mixer tap put in a few months ago. It was one part of those sets from B&Q. After it was installed we noticed that the tap occasionally judders fairly loudly when turned on. And at other times it sort of catches with a bit of force and no water comes out until it is...

When going to remove a radiator, so we can decorate our hallway, I noticed that the TRV was wobbly - so that the joint between the TRV and the vertical pipe into it was moving, even though the nut was fully tightened. Also noticed it is prone to leaking a bit. On the other radiators in the...