Search results

I need replacements asap and can not wait for online delivery. Does anyone know if any nationwide bricks and mortar stores sell large stuff?

I want to prep my floorboards for painting but I do not want to sand the old paint off which is probably lead paint. Does anyone have any advice for such a scenario? I was considering layering a few layers of undercoat and then light sand. Would this work do you think?

I've been stripping the staircase. I started with the gloss paint which is coming off fine. I uncovered the newel post which was boxed in. It looked a very dark brown but not shiny like varnish. I put paint stripper on and now its like tar. Its a nightmare to get off i which i didn't start! All...

I ripped out a electric fireplace and blocking the chimney but with a whole in it looks like a price of plasterboard but not pink like gypsum more like cement. I didn't like the look of it so I've but the fire back in place. Does this sound like asbestos? I've attached some images.[/img]

I'm in a old mid terrace. With three storeys. There is 11 radiators 3 of which i would call large single and 1 medium sized double. We have a large 35kw a rated boiler. From what i have read this would run around 20 radiators. Would it be more efficient to add more radiators so they are not...

I've touched on this before but i was finding it hard to explain so i've got some crap drawings to help :) My house is on a hill with the house ground level higher than the rear garden. In picture one (not to scale!) you can see the garden cut in 2 levels with a car port at the rear with...

I've been stripping wallpaper from my walls. You can see a mark where a dado rail was and above this there are patches of grey stuff that i assumed was paint but its a odd colour. I was hoping someone would know what it is and the best way to remove it. I started to sand it but its slow going...

The side return ground level is higher than the kitchen ground level. Not only that there was a step increase increasing the ground levels further. i dug out the step today then dug a little deeper looking for a slate dpc but couldn't find one. I think I got to the footings paniced and filled it...

I've just attempted to put a curtain rail up but the upvc panels go to the ceiling. I've taken them off to see what I can screw into and found nothing just a big void. Surely this isn't right. Do I need this rendered or something?[/img]

My house is the usual shape Victorian terraced. With the side return. The ground floor is on two levels you step down to what is now a kitchen diner at the rear. The ground level seems to have bee risen also and there is no sign of any airbrick in the rear side return. I will install one, but...

I want to learn and practice plastering on some block walls in my garden. Should i coat the walls first? I would like it if i can knock it off easy so i can re-apply and keep practicing.

I do not really like the branded 'decking timber' you find in the big sheds with the grooves in. Can i use plain timbers? My mother has the grooved stuff and its slippery as anything so if the grooves are there they are not doing much. Would should i look for that will last externally kiln dried...

My new house had a crazy paving style front yard. when laid they raised the ground level covering the slate DPC and level with the air bricks making it easy for rain water to run in. There is damp on the wall and this is the culprit i suspect. The house is on a hill and if i lower the ground...

My new house has raised the ground level of the house and covered airbricks and the original DPC. I plan on digging this out back to ground level and put some drainage in. I'm worried i will put a spade through the mains wire coming in or pipe work or something. Would a live wire and pipe...

I've had a damp guy in regarding a dpc. He mentions suspected fungal decay in joists but as not lifted the floorboards to find out. Is it any way he could tell this without lifting floorboards?

I'm in a process i purchasing a house. The survey as come back with high damp reading. I've just had a damp guy in who recommends a damp proof course. I do no like the idea of them just re-plastering half the wall will this just look rubbish? I'm considering hacking all the plaster off myself...

I have lovely floorboards in my new house except in the kitchen diner, where there are tiles. How would i go about laying reclaimed floorboards? I understand the need air circulation so would i have to lay joists and mount on them? Can you rip the tiles up and lay them on cement? Could be...

I don't know where to start. Can you speak to a planner first to see what the likelihood of getting permission is? how much does the whole process cost?

I understand that amongst other things if the development need to be less the 50% of the original outside space. If i was to knock down the original outside toilet and coal shed, could i add this space recovered to the extension? Also the outside toilet is a lean to at the back of the house...

I'm in the process i buying a new home which has had a recent boiler change. The original is in the kitchen and the new directly above it on the first floor which i assume has been tapped into the same flue. Can i but a log burner in where the old boiler was and use the same flue as the...