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I'm looking to replace laminate with carpet, but once I take up the laminate there will be a gap of 11-12mm under the skirting. I'm guessing carpet plus underlay will be of a similar thickness, or a little more, but once it tucks down behind the grippers is it going to be enough to hide the gaps?

I'm about to refurbish the downstairs loo so need to cap off the water pipes (hot, cold, loo) for a couple of weeks while I do the work. I'll eventually be fitting flexi tails to these pipes so shall I just cap off with 15mmx1/2" valves (like these...

I put down "Krono Original" laminate in our bedroom a couple of months ago but we find it makes a lot of annoying little clicking/ticking noises when walked on, presumably coming from the joints. I used 3mm foam underlay so I'm guessing the noises are due to the laminate flexing slightly on...

I'm planning to replace the downstairs toilet in the next couple of months. The waste comes out the back of the pan into a 90 degree bend, then down into the plastic pipe set in the concrete floor (house is about 20 years old if relevant). Am I right in saying that all waste pipework is push...

I'm replacing the central heating pump union valves. The new ones came with red gaskets so are those enough to create a seal? When I removed the old valves there were rubber seals in there, but I don't know if they were off the pump (and therefore need to be used along with the gasket) or were...

I had some pipes to replace/reroute at my mum & dad's house today. In the past I've always shyed away from soldering and used compression fittings, but thought I'd give it a go this time. I swotted up on the web (clean with wire wool, paint flux on the pipe end, fit together, heat for 15-20s at...

I'd like to replace our HS3 with a more reliable make/model,as I seem to be replacing it every couple of years. I realise I'd have to replace the entire unit (valve & actuator) but I'd like to know whether these valves are "universal" with regards to the wiring, and if so what model do you...

Our house is a Redrow, built in 2000, and since moving in 10 years ago have always had a problem with soundproofing. It's a quiet estate but the windows are bad enough to hear people having a conversation as they walk past outside. There are a few shift workers nearby, and we're constantly being...

I'm going to be putting up a 6'x3' decorative screen vertically (see www.screenwithenvy.co.uk), using 100mm wooden posts (their posts are far too expensive). I don't fancy using post spikes as they look difficult to get perfectly positioned and vertical - vital for this job, plus it would also...

Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes. We have one of those vertical log edge retaining walls between us and the neighbours, put in by the builders when the estate was built in 2000. The ground on our side is around 18 inches higher than theirs. There is also a fence on our side of...

Our house (built around 2000) has a hip roof. Most of the loft is filled with trusses but the central area has a series of inverted 'V' joists going up to the top of the roof, creating an open area approx 8'x8'. I was considering turning this into a small, occasional use room (office/man cave)...

Hi all, our garden has a five course retaining wall between a patio (upper level) and lawn (lower). It is a bit unsightly so I was thinking of rendering it. The bricks seem very smooth so not sure if it this possible? If so, how would I go about prepping the brickwork - cleaning, roughing up for...

I'm thinking of doing away with the stairs carpet, and would like to paint it all with gloss, except for the treads which would have a dark stain. Pulling the carpet to one side I can see that the stairs have been painted with a grey paint (the upstairs floors are all the same). What is this...

Hi all, the cupboard alone is 25kg, and the wall is breeze block with a 50mm gap between that and the plasterboard. Looking for suggestions as to what fixings to use here please...

I need to remove the worktop in our utility room but there are four pipes from the boiler that pass through holes drilled in the worktop. There isn't much wiggle room (a mm or two at most around each pipe) so any tips for getting the worktop out while minimising the risk of damaging a pipe? I...

I need to replace our toilet fill valve (bottom fill, brass shank) and I've noticed that most on sale have a 1/2" thread. I've measured the thread sticking out of the bottom of our cistern and it's more like 3/4" dia. Do we have an "unusual" size, or do I just buy one with 1/2" and put it down...

We have a problem with noisy neighbours - shift workers coming and going at all hours (engines running, doors banging, and one car with a loud exhaust). The exhaust is particularly bad as it's not only noisy but reverberates through the house. Our house already has uPVC DG from when it was...

We had a Worcester Greenstar combi boiler installed in April, which had been working fine until a couple of weeks ago. Now, several times a week it stops with an "EA" error code on the display (the Wave app shows a little more - "EA 56"). Pressing the reset button fixes it. I emailed Worcester...

We have one of those "wooden post" retaining walls between us and the neighbours (their property is a couple of feet higher up the hill than us). The wall is the kind with the round 4" posts hammered vertically into the ground and nailed into each other. It starts about halfway along the front...

A few months ago we had our conventional boiler replaced with a combi (Worcester Greenstar 29Cdi classic), hot water tank removed, etc. Most of the hot taps around the house are now pretty much at mains pressure, but the hot bath tap seems like a trickle in comparison (although I should time how...