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My garage roof has always just drained directly on to the ground through the downpipe, it has never been connected to any drain or soakaway. As I'm getting a new driveway done in a few weeks I decided to connect it up to the existing rainwater drain. There is a gully connected to the original...

I'm building some new steps outside to the back door as the ground level is about 50cm lower than the door threshold. Steps being built out of concrete blocks and finished off with sandstone paving to tie in with the patio. I wasn't sure what is best to infill the blockwork with - either...

Doing a bit of digging close to the house (built in 1910) ready for building some patio steps to the back door and came across a small diameter open clay pipe in the ground. The internal diameter is about 2.5 inches. I'm not sure where it runs and assume it is no longer functional as there is...

I'm in the process of laying a DIY patio with 25mm smooth sandstone slabs. I did consider hiring a specialist Stihl type masonry saw for the cuts, but at £30 for a weekend and knowing I would probably end up needing it for the next 6 weeks at the speed I work, I decide to purchase a 125mm angle...

I'm having to build a short retaining wall for a raised patio, in order to take up the slope in my garden. At it's minimum, the wall will only be 100mm high (above ground level) and at the maximum will be 300mm high. Once built, I will be backfilling with compacted Type 1 before laying the patio...

I have just had a new inspection chamber installed along with a new soil pipe ran to the house, which involved digging a trench about 600mm deep. The new plastic soil pipe was bedded in gravel and then backfilled with the excavated sub-soil (clay/stone), I now need to dig some footings for a...

I want to install a raised patio to replace the existing tarmac surface in my garden. This is probably going to be a DIY project as I can't even get anyone to come round and quote. The existing tarmac surface is not level, so I plan to install the patio so that it lines up with the highest...

I am in the process of renovating my bathroom and looking for some advice on tiling the walls (I'm tiling floor to ceiling). I have used Fermacell tile backer boards on a new timber stud wall - the place I ordered them from had ran out of Hardiebacker, and I was offered this as an alternative...

I am in the process of renovating my kitchen and my next task is to sort the flooring out. I have just had the wall knocked through between the kitchen and utility room to create one larger kitchen, so I now have two separate concrete floors to join up. The concrete floor in the kitchen was...

In my 1930's extension, the solid wall has an existing DPC but the concrete floor has no DPM. The concrete floor is below the DPC level so currently gets damp. I intend to follow the liquid DPM/self-levelling 'stickys' on the Flooring thread, but wondering what to do with the section of wall...

I am in the process of replacing the lead water main coming into my house (built in 1900) with a 25mm MDPE pipe. The trench is dug to the required depth and just need to bring the new pipe into the house. As I didn't want to dig up the original tiled floor inside, I decided to bring the pipe...

I am considering knocking through the wall between my kitchen and utility room in order to make a bigger kitchen, with a universal beam/RSJ to support the opening. To make things a little unusual, the kitchen is part of the original house built in 1900 and the utility room is part of an...

I am planning to lay a new concrete floor soon and getting really confused by what gravel I should buy. I am planning to mix it using cement, sharp sand and gravel (as opposed to using ballast) and already have the cement and sharp sand. I did get some 20mm gravel delivered but returned it as...

I am meant to be laying a new concrete floor today in my house to replace an old floor I dug up. I really struggled to find on the internet what gravel you are meant to use in the mix, but eventually ordered some "20mm" gravel and also some pea shingle - about 850kg of the 20mm and 250kg of the...

I have a 1930's extension on our house which was originally built as a small scale dairy, and more recently used as a workshop. I want to make it a bit more of a useable room as currently there are a number of problems with it - it is solid wall of only 6 inch, no heating, damp...

I decided take up an old concrete floor in a 'workshop' attached to the house and put down a new floor. The main reason for this is because it was in very poor condition and damp - this was built as a 1930's extension and was used as a small-scale dairy. If I had the chance again I probably...

I need to replace a roof to an old 1930's extensiondue to leaks, and wanted to stay with a tiled roof. However, my roofer has explained that the pitch is too low for tiling and requires a flat roof. I measured the roof at about 12.5 degrees pitch so thought I could go for Centurian low pitch...

I want to block up an external door in an outbuilding connected to my house and trying to decide whether to lay the bricks directly on top of the existing concrete blocks layed in to the floor or to lift the two concrete blocks and create a mini foundation before laying bricks. The...

I have had one side of my house completely repointed last week, as it was in quite bad condition. I asked the tradesman to use a lime mortar as the house in an old Bath Stone building. Although he used a lime/sand mortar I believe he may also have added some cement to help it cure. My...

I have recently moved in to an end-terrace Victorian house which has some minor damp issues internally. I am getting the entire 'detached' side of the house repointed as it is not in great condition and what to ensure there is no penetrating damp. I also want to reduce the ground level as...