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Dear Experts, I am attempting to connect the waste from a dishwasher. It is not next to the sink and the plumbing is awkward at the back of a corner unit. For extra fun, the drain goes into the wall relatively high up. I am considering running a length of waste pipe from near the sink with a...

A neighbour has a Vaillant ecoTEC plus combi. It appears completely dead, i.e. the LCD display shows nothing at all. I believe power is present at its FCU as the neon is on. I’m not familiar with this boiler. Does it normally show something on the display if power is present but the boiler is...

Dear Experts, I’ve recently acquired a free table. It’s in very good condition except for some water marks on one leaf - photos below, though they aren’t very conspicuous on a photo. It’s a shame because the other half is perfect. I’ve tried some silicone wax furniture polish which might have...

Dear Experts, I am dismantling my washing machine for the first time, to replace the bearings. (See: https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/hoover-hnf-7167-washer-flashing-light-code.575646/ ). I’ve reached the point where everything is detached from the tub - except I can’t remove the weights...

Further to my other thread about my failing washing machine… does anyone have any recommendations for a replacement? Current machine is 7 kg max (I think) and 1600 spin. I do appreciate the fast spin. The other function I use is the delayed start. Otherwise nothing special needed. Ideas?

Dear Experts, I have a Hoover HNF 7167 washing machine. This afternoon it got into a state where it was flashing its “start” LED seven times, followed by a pause, then flashing 7 times again etc. etc. I presume this is a fault code of some sort - does anyone know what it means? I’ve not been...

Dear Experts, I have occasional damp issues that may be due to the plumbing in the flat upstairs or knackered guttering and downpipes outside. (Both have been problems in the past, but I don't know what the source of the dampness I am currently seeing is.) One possibility is to test the origin...

So-called engineer said boiler’s fan had failed. But old boiler didn’t even have a fan; pilot light had gone out. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jan/11/we-were-charged-150-for-a-boiler-repair-that-didnt-happen

This isn't mine. Apparently it stopped working, so I suggested checking for a reset button. Response: "The reset thing doesn't seem to be a button but I did poke it. We'll see what happens". Can anyone who is familiar with these things confirm that that square hole above the word "RESET" is a...

Interesting piece in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/nov/23/smart-meter-wrecked-our-boiler-but-eon-wont-pay Apparently a boiler failed to restart after a smart meter installation (both gas and electricity meters). PCB needed replacement. I would probably dismiss it as a...

Can anyone please explain the rules - if there are any - for cables in ceilings? I know that there aren’t “zones” like walls. Does this mean I can bury wires anywhere? I suspect not...

Dear Experts, What is your favourite way to fix galvanised steel capping / channelling to brickwork, to be plastered over? I’ve seen “capping nails” for sale, but my brick is pretty hard and I don’t much fancy the idea. Screws seem like a lot of faff. I’ve tried gluing but it needs a...

Dear Experts, What’s the best way to make an access panel in a chipboard floor? It’s in the floor of a cupboard, to access pipes and cables. I’ve considered panels like these: https://www.screwfix.com/p/manthorpe-access-panel-white-243-x-193-x-16mm/20924 but I don’t think they’re strong enough...

Dear Experts, Would you expect this fitting: https://www.screwfix.com/p/floplast-push-fit-straight-coupler-white-32-x-32mm/11632 to fit this pipe: https://www.wickes.co.uk/FloPlast-WP01W-Push-fit-Waste-Pipe---White-32mm-x-3m/p/175666# ???

We all know about the potential for PVC cables to react with expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation. Does anyone know if the same issue applies to extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation boards?

Dear Experts, I have a simple radial circuit for an outside socket fed from its own 16A RCBO. It uses 2.5mm^2 cable. I’d like to also run the outside lights from this circuit, rather than the house lighting circuit. The lights are wired with 1 or 1.5 mm^2 cable. Do I need a 3A FCU? I would...

Here is what I’ve found under the step between the two levels of my ground-floor flat: There’s a lot of loose material in there. The upper floor is supported on about 50mm of concrete on top of a lot of stones with nothing holding them in. Then at the bottom there is the remains of a...

This is the light switch by my front door: Both the pyro and the white flex go outside. The pyro is the original but at some point one of the conductors has got broken off inside this switch box, and the flex has been run in its place. It’s not easy to get through the wall. The pyro takes...

Dear Experts, I am currently insulating my ground floor and need to decide how to run the shower cable. It runs parallel to hot water and central heating pipes. Currently all are just laid on the concrete slab. I’m filling the void with about 100mm of PIR insulation boards, with floating...

Dear experts, I’m insulating the floors in my ground floor flat; they will be floating OSB over insulation board over the original concrete slab. The flat has two different levels with a step in between: How would you reconstruct the step? (The old construction is a bodge.) There are...