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We've got a few rooms with downlights, and after a few years a number of the bulbs have gone. They are GU10 LED bulbs. I have removed the dead ones and sought direct replacements, but I am struggling to find them. In the kitchen and the bathroom I have 4.3w dimmable bulbs, although they are...

Hi all. I'll begin by saying I am hopeless with modern computers so please excuse me if I am asking a stupid question or missing something obvious, or I am providing far too much useless info. I am after advice on: 1) a computer to run Lightroom (that is all I want from it) 2) a way to easily...

Hi. I bought a cheap samsung TU7000 TV for the spare room. It's only real purpose is to allow me to watch the NFL on a Sunday night once everyone else is in bed. Plan was to disappear off to the spare room, stick on a pair of bluetooth headphones so as not to disturb the rest of the house and...

Hi all The southern boundary of our garden is a large laurel hedge, 4m-5m high. It means a lot of our garden is in heavy shade all year round. The owner is finally going to cut it to 2.5m this autumn, but we will still be left with a good few meters of garden in heavy shade all year. The photo...

The picture tells the story really. THe back of my fridge ALWAYS grows this lump of ice, and always in the same spot. This lump is about 2 months old now - every now and then I get a knife and lever it off. Any guidance on: 1) what causes it; 2) how to stop it; and 3) how to best remove the...

Hi all We have surrendered 90% of the house to our kids, but are claiming the front room as a TV room. I want to put a telly on the chimney breast - the spaces either side are too narrow to accommodate a TV really. I set out my plan below, along with a few specific questions - any guidance (or...

Hi all. Ive got a 1930s house but most of the drains are new due to work we've done over the last few years. We occasionally get drain smells in the utility room and some of the bathrooms. The drains used to block up quite regularly- 2 or 3 times a year. The blockages seem to have stopped now...

Hi all. I am building a closet with hardwood ply. I had intended to sand and finish the ply with osmo oil and leave it at that because it's quite attractive stuff, but my wife has overruled me and wants an oak-like finish, using contact paper. Seems sensible enough, but any advice on whether it...

I have a standing desk. It's decent and I like it, but it is not office-quality and so wobbles a bit from side to side when its in standing position. Which makes the monitor wobble about a bit which in turn makes me feel seasick occasionally. I'd like to wall-mount my monitor so it stays...

Hi all We are about to have the builders in to mess about with the downstairs layout of the house which involves replacing all of the doors and the door stops. We will likely do the loft in the next few years so even though the drawings dont show it, the builder suggests we fit fire doors now...

Hi all The valve on the pipework to my water tank is hot and making a buzzing noise. Is there anything I can do to stop it - I assume that it is a problem. If not - can it wait, or do I need to get a plumber out asap? I've taken a quick video, here: Any advice gratefully received! Thanks

Hi all I've borrowed a roof box and have managed to break the arm at the back which holds up the lid. Not sure how I broke it, I was super-careful with it as it's not mine, but broken it is. I attach some photos to show the damage, and would appreciate thoughts on how to repair it or what sort...

Hi all. I want to cross-batten the loft space in my 1930s house before insulating and boarding. Headroom is not an issue - there is at least 3m in the main part. Sounds silly but how do I join the timbers when I cross-batten? Toe nail? Angle bracket? Truss clip? Up-side-down joist hanger? Any...

Hi all I've got an old x3 which has a large panoramic sunroof. I rarely use the sunroof. It leaks. a lot. This is, apparently, very common for this model. As I understand it, the problem isn't so much that water gets through the seals and into the car; but that the pipes that drain the water...

Hi all I'm building some built-in wardrobes and using 19mm walnut veneered MDF for the internals. They are pretty basic wardrobes: approx 1.2m wide, with 2 hanging rails in each and a shelf above. There is a vertical panel in the middle of each wardrobe dividing the space into two, to support...

Hi all We have PP to do a two storey side extension on our house. It will leave a 1m gap between the extension and the extension to give access to the garden (and because the general rule is you want to stay at least a meter inside the boundary for a two-storey extension). On the other side of...

Hi all. 3 years ago we built a single storey rear extension with a flat roof. It was a parapet roof, with capping stones, finished in a light thru-colour render. Like this: It looked great at first, but after a short time some issues became apparent. Firstly the capping stones didn't really...

Evening all. I've been a virgin media customer for so many years that the frequent price rises mean that my fairly basic package costs about £85 a month. I am sure I can do better and have been playing around with comparison sites but I keep tripping up because I don't understand enough about...

Hi all We had new turf put down about 2 weeks ago. It's taken quite well and has grown so I gave it its first cut today, taking very little off it (it's still probably 5cm long). Can I cut it again tomorrrow, taking it down to say 3-4cm? I am not going to be able to do it for 2 weeks so...

Hello all, I'm putting in a new kitchen on the bank holiday weekend. The job for next week is tearing out the old kitchen (which I think will be easy); and re-laying the floor (which I think will be hard!). I've read up and done as much research as possible on how to do the floor and I...