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Best way to fix phone cables to plaster? Need to move my router and conventional hammer-in cable clips are useless on plaster.

Apologies if this is an embarrassingly rookie question. I'm making a unit to go in my van. I want to hinge the lid but because the whole thing will be up against a side wall I want the lid to slide forward slightly as it is lifted. What hinges should I look for? See drawings (Presumably I'd...

The main switch has gone on my electric lawn mower. It was fine a few weeks ago. Pretty sure it's just dirty or corroded contacts. Rather than buy a complete new switch assembly, is there a contact cleaner that's safe/effective for mains contacts?

I'm renewing a small failed zinc parapet roof with fibreglass. It is drained through a small tube formed from the zinc. The tube is only about 35mm wide and the top regularly gets blocked with leaves so I plan to install something 50 or 60mm. The problem is it's tucked tightly in an awkward...

The reversible latch in this replacement mortice lock just spins round. How the hell do I fix it in place? I can't see anything to allow its spindle to be fixed in its mounting. Also the [bit the key turns] has clearly got itself in the wrong place and I can't see how it can sit anywhere else...

I need to temporarily paint over a series of unsightly damp blobs about 1m above ground level in a party wall, pending a more permanent fix, probably to an issue at roof level. It's in a rental property currently in void and I need to get some money coming in to pay for the root cause repair. A...

Replacing 6" mortice lock but hole slightly too small for new one. Does the panel recommend drilling, chiselling or both, and if chiselling what should I be Googling for to get one long enough? Basic chisels are too short and fancy longer ones seem to be at antique prices. Sorry if this sounds a...

Sorry, my original question looks a bit 'duh' now. Plumbers Mait to seal to slightly different-sized rainwater fittings?

I'm putting in dual light switching in my garage. The new switch will have to go in a position that will be quite hard to find in pitch dark so I was thinking of getting a neon one. Ideally this would need 4 core + earth 1mm cable but I'm struggling to find anything that exactly matches the...

I have a single door into a block-built outbuilding. The door opens outwards. What kind of hinges should I use so the door can swing round 180 degrees but end up slightly proud of the wall in order to leave a little clearance for a thin weatherboard? I've bought some cheap steel parliament...

I need to enlarge drainage holes through two Bath stone parapets on my house in order to prevent them repeatedly blocking. The task is made more challenging by the hole being in an awkward corner and, because it's at an angle, the channel is about 9" long. Best way to go about this without...

So, I'm starting to draw up the shopping list to replace my leaking, end-of-life zinc flat roofs with fibreglass. Both parapet, one 2m x 2m area with no access, one approx 1.5m x 0.65m that could potentially have a chair put on it occasionally. I'd like the new surfaces to be around for a couple...

I have a 2m x 2m area of old metal (aluminium?) flat roof which is leaking in two small areas, badly enough to have brought an area of ceiling down. Seen from a few metres away, the roof looks sound enough to be worth keeping. Is it likely to be worth repairing, if so what's the best way? Or...

I'm installing a length of 10mm cable to my kitchen for a future electric oven (it's gas at present). In order to get the most disruptive work out of the way at a rare moment when I have the house to myself, my plan has been to put the cable in situ ready for a qualified installer to connect...

How should I secure a new 10mm cable that I need to run behind my kitchen units? Should it be in trunking or just secured to the wall, if the latter what fixings are advised? There's a hot water pipe down there as well so even at the most primitive common-sense level it would need to be kept...

My garage doors are the standard swing-out slatted softwood type. At the moment they are attached by three rather insubstantial strap hinges. It would be a simple matter for a fairly determined thief just to undo the screws and help himself. And yet, looking at other garages, I'm surprised how...