Search results

Morning all, Had central heating fitted to a cottage that had only electric rads previously. One of the walls is a plastered cob wall (that's mud bricks, basically, with hazel spars) with vertical wood stanchions. The wall is a bit uneven, though not excessively. The cob won't take screws. My...

Morning all, Period cottage with solid stone walls. It had an inglenook but with an ugly 1970s brick fireplace built within it. I've now removed the fireplace, revealing a very pleasant inglenook on the inside of an exterior wall. I don't intend to put in a burner for the time being, but to...

Morning, I have started to remove a nasty 1970s brick fireplace, very solidly built and goes back a long way. I thought I was doing ok with a hammer and cold chisel, but haven't actually made much impression. An SDS drill with a chisel bit doesn't achieve much. Could an expert tell me please...

Morning, I have a thatched property with very old (but generally good condition) lath and plaster ceilings in the bedrooms. An insulation contractor has successfully got the council to agree to installing loft insulation for free (the loft has never previously had any insulation). But they want...

Morning, I want to lay vinyl over existing ceramic tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. I won't be removing the existing tiles as that would disrupt too much installed furnishings. I know that I need to avoid existing grout lines showing through the vinyl. What would anyone think of these...

Hi Recently bought a thatched cottage. It has a current electrical certificate, 10 year validity, valid until 2022. There is an observation on the certificate about cabling in the loft. This was before the days when the cat 1, 2 & 3 was introduced. My insurer is ok with this, but I want to...

Morning, I have a gently sloping single storey lean-to roof, made from roman tiles, with a skylight which actually comprises a glass roman tile. It leaks in heavy rain. I am not going to attempt to improve the sealing to the tile. I don't actually need the light offered by the skylight, so I...

Morning On a house that I am attempting to buy, the previous owner supplied me with a domestic electrical installation condition report from 2012 that has the comment: 'no line - neutral insulation resistance test on lights'. Should I be concerned about this, from a safety point of view ? I...

Hi I am going to remove blown concrete render from a wall, and rerender with a well known proprietary silicone-based render. It is essential that it be breathable. I have been advised by the contractor that the mixture: 4 sand : 1 lime : 0.5 cement (or possibly 1 lime : 1 cement)...

Hi I have a 1919 house with some damage to the brickwork after having removed the render. What is the best mix to use ? : 5:1:1 sand:cement:lime or Natural Hydraulic Lime NHL 3.5 ? Would the latter be durable enough ? Same question about the mix to be used for repointing...

Hi 1919 house which has never had the floor dug up and replaced by concrete with a dpc. Its got quarry tiles on top. Just a very slight sign of damp coming through the edges of the quarry tiles in a few places. Not enough to make the previous owners do anything about it for the last 94 years...

Hi On a 9 inch brick wall of a 1919 house, on the ground floor, I have some penetrating damp coming inside due to water getting behind damaged render. I intend to cut the render horizontally 6 feet above the ground, and remove the lower 6 foot of it. The brickwork is likely to be damaged. I...

Does anyone have experience of using this product ? Is it better than the traditional lime ? Does anyone have knowledge of how many rain-free hours or days must exist after its application, and the minimum ambient temperature to avoid damage ? Is it as breathable as traditional lime ...

Hi Got a small semi built 1919 with slate roof, very small only around 25m2, no roofing felt. Perhaps the roof goes back to 1919. The slates are all intact but look rather 'weathered', with ragged edges, not the clean edges as in the pics posted in a recent thread by johnb829. All of...