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I have a room where a new sand-cement screed was laid some months ago. However the screed is dusting and abrading because its a high traffic area. I had intended to tile the room, but as I am getting the house ready for sale I may not have time and may just put down some cheapish foam-backed...

My kitchen floor is concrete and there is a hollow near the exterior door caused by traffic. The area to be filled is like a short passage way just over a door's width and only a few feet long, so it only has to be brought up level with the kitchen floor at one end. The area to be filled is less...

I live in Cornwall and have had a replacement floor installed in the dining room (about 13 sq. metres). The old floor was excavated, a DPM laid, 4" of concrete, and about 2" of screed. Unfortunately the guy made a hash of it and the screed crumbled and had to be removed. I have had several...

I inadvertently raised this question in the Electrics UK forum, so am posting it again here. I am considering installing a thermal store hot water cylinder which will be powered by an on-peak immersion heater only. It's for hot water only and there is no central heating. It needs to supply a...

I am replacing an old vanity unit in a bathroom with a modern pedestal basin, but I don't have enough spare tiles to cover the wall behind the vanity unit. As I don't want to re-tile completely, I would like to remove a couple of rows of tiles from a wall which is tiled to about three-quarter...

I have a room which was decorated years ago with very thin foam insulation sheet, Anaglypta-type paper, and then painted. I am removing all this down to the bare plaster which I intend to paint with matt emulsion. However one wall is clad in chipboard. When the old decor is removed the joints...

I need to install a new hot water system to replace an old cylinder which has now been removed. I previously raised a thread about alternatives (LPG Britony II, unvented cylinders, etc.) for which thanks to everyone who gave me advice. However I only recently became aware of heat banks. Would...

I have a TT installation, the power coming from an oversail, and consisting of a 100A fuse, an 80A RCD, and an 8 way Wylex CU with wired fuses, each with a colour-coded replaceable base. All circuits are radial. I am considering replacing the fuses with Wylex type B MCBs, and bought a 20A...

I am preparing a kitchen cupboard and the worktop for an LPG (propane) hob which will be fitted by a Corgi reg fitter. The hob instructions state that there should a 5mm gap between the worktop and anything beneath. I assume this is to prevent a gas buildup in the cupboard should a leak...

I am having to alter the electrics in the kitchen for a new kitchen units installation. I will get a qualified electrician to check it out and connect up to the consumer unit, but I would like to get an opinion if what I am doing is likely to be OK. There is an existing radial circuit which...

I am having an LPG gas hob fitted in my kitchen, and want to make sure all the electrics are in place. The installation consists of just over 3m copper 10mm pipe from the hob to the propane gas bottles outside the kitchen, and I presume the pipe should be bonded to earth. The igniters will...

I have just taken delivery of the worktops for my new kitchen, two lengths 3m x 600mm x 26mm in Acacia wood from Homebase. I chose wood because, although it is much more expensive, I figured I could join it using a butt joint with the tools I have rather than the expense or difficulty of a...

I have a room approx 3.5m x 3.5m. There is an opening to the kitchen at one end, and a door to the hall at the other. But these are at different levels, the hall end being 10-15mm lower than the kitchen end. A dpc and concrete base is already laid, and I now need to lay the screed. I...

I have recently had a new floor laid consisting of a DPM, 4" concrete, and about 2" of screed. It was too big a job for me to do, so I got a quote from a builder who had done previous work for me which had been done quite well. When the floor work started the builder only showed up once, and the...

About 12 years ago I installed a cooker with a gas hob connected to a propane bottle using parts obtained from a small retail outlet. I am installing a new kitchen and now need to dump the old cooker and install a permanent gas hob in a worktop. Unfortunately the place where I got the parts has...

I need to join two sections of wooden worktop at a 90 degree angle. I would like to do this using my existing tools without buying a biscuit cutter or router. Also the worktops are only 26 mm thick which seems very little for toggle bolts. Can I just butt join them, using battens near the...

I have replaced an old concrete floor using a builder as at my age I couldn't face all the physical work. The floor is about 13m square and was a thin layer of concrete over what looked like old lime mortar on top of rubble. This was dug out and the new floor has a DPM, about 4" of concrete...

Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated. My house is late Nineteenth Century and has a central hall and living room off to the right both of which have suspended floors. On the left is a dining room and kitchen with concrete floors, and I need to replace the floor in the dining room...

I've recently fitted a new toilet (Twyford's Albany). The problem is the seat won't stay put but gradually moves out of alignment. It came with plastic washers and they tend to slip even with the wing nuts tightened as far as I dare. I tried replacing the bottom washers with domed rubber...

I currently have a very old hot water tank installed on the ground floor which used to run of an Aga - now it just has an immersion heater. I would like to replace it with on-demand water heating. There is suitable location in a utility room adjacent to the kitchen. I don't have mains gas, so it...