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I've discovered the TV signal is awful in a BTL property and found a suspect joint in the cable hiding in a corner - it's held together with duct tape :) I want to try joining this properly before venturing onto the roof or replacing a cable, what do I need? Is TV coaxial cable the same as Sky -...

I've been converting a Victorian greenhouse which includes a pretty rough concrete floor. I've been procrastinating for ages what flooring to use but come to the conclusion it is going to need smoothing out regardless first. One end is at ground level or slightly below and of course there is no...

We've had a nice stone flag path jointed by Jointex Easy Joint in the past - it looks good and is the thing the guy doing it has always used. I was going to get some to re-do a patio and path (22m2) But I noticed ScrewFix stock Sika Fastfix which appears to be the same idea and 2/3 the price...

I’m planning a 30m SWA cable run to a detached outbuilding. I’ve calculated 4mm2 cores are sufficient (2.5% voltage drop at 4kW so I can run a small heater). A small consumer unit will be installed probably 2 circuits (lighting and one or two sockets). I already have a conduit buried and don’t...

Our yard is something of the order 12x6m. It’s clearly been laid in multiple stages over the decades and been cut for access. Individual slabs have small cracks and between sections the joins have become quite wide cracks. We just had it properly cleaned and that seems a great time to address...

We noticed this radiator wasn’t getting warm. Bled it and removed the TRV. The pin has less than 1mm travel even after applying 3in1 and jiggling it several times over the last week. The pipe below does get warm now (before it was totally cold) so clearly there is some flow but nothing else...

I've only recently come across cordless caulking guns but it seems all the main manufacturers do them. It hadn't ever crossed my mind this would be useful, what particularly is the benefit over the old school manual type?

Our church had two of these fitted a few years back to replace a very old boiler (large Victorian style cast iron heating pipes). Historically we've never had hot water but are updating the kitchen and wondered if these can do that. We can't get in touch with the installer and I figure an expert...

I have this old stove which we removed from our house. I think it's regular steel not cast iron though it weighs a ton (I can barely lift it). We put it outside for a bit and of course that's when the rain came, while we were busy elsewhere. So now it looks like this: We're not sure what...

A while back I watched a guy build a nice work bench. Metal frame but the top was made of about a dozen lengths of 2x4 on edge, glued together to make a short of laminate. Then it all got planed smooth. I was wondering, it wouldn't look as nice but what about using kitchen worktop? It's quite...

We are doing something with long steel rods which will be threaded at each end. Unfortunately, the length we need they can't source in stainless. Most of it will end up inside but the threaded part and nuts will be outside. Is there any treatment I can use to stop the threaded end rusting? We...

I have a big 3-section extension ladder. It just about fits in my garage but takes up a lot of valuable room and is a pain to get in and out as the only place I have for it is ceiling height... getting it down solo risks tweaking your back! Is mounting some supports on the outside wall of the...

This is a venerable Mountfield, age unknown. It belonged to my late father and has been used to battle rough areas (brambles, cow parsley, nettles, etc) but has finally succumbed to rust - the entire corner fell off. If I want something like for like, tough more than pretty, what's a good...

We are going to need to replace our old hen-coop soonish and prefer the idea of something you can walk into so were reckoning a shed is a good starting point. But all the sheds I've seen are either really shoddy and flimsy, or incredibly expensive. If one was to build one, or get a handyman to...

I recently replaced all the LEDs in a 5-bulb fitting as the new ones we bought emitted a loud buzzing sound. The new ones are thankfully silent but I'd noticed the light level in the room fluctuates a bit. Looking closely, it seems all 5 bulbs are slightly dimming/brightening as one. Maybe every...

I'm sure I've seen these but cannot find them online. Picture a 2 part metal snap fitting. The female part recessed into a frame. The male part attached onto a lid or revocable wooden panel, sort of like a metal dowel. It takes a bit of force to get it to snap in or out. I've seen similar...

I have 10 old school-style lockers I use for storing tools, screws, workwear, etc in my garage. I mount small storage boxes and hole-board on the back. I've always wanted to fit lights and it seems a fun opportunity to make a little project out of it. The main thing I'd like to achieve is that...

In my garage a cable on the lighting circuit comes down wired into a side light used to illuminate a bench. Other than a switch on the lamp itself it is not switched, ie you must turn off the light circuit to remove power. I want to add a switch and I don't want to crawl in the roof to rewire...

Replacing a light switch I was testing and discovered the screwdriver lights up (dimly) when touched to the metal face plate even though this is earthed. Investigating further it seems the earth wire itself is carrying a small current. And presumably always has been... The wiring is quite old...

The west end of our paddock has a long, 8' fence. We have several fruit trees and bushes there and being rural, birds are a real issue - cherries or redcurrants or raspberries get eaten immediately - so much so I switched to golden raspberries which they ignore! I tried netting individual trees...