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The bathroom extractor fan is a ceiling-mounted rectangular Greenwood Airvac, approx 23 years old (original). It still works but has always been quite noisy. It vents via flexible 100mm duct travelling through the loft space and out of a soffit vent with a gauze filter inside, also 100mm. I was...

Like this? https://www.toolstation.com/ct1-adhesive-sealant/p85802 Can you use it to attach the cloaking fillet, and to finish/smooth it off?

Daughter's house has uPVC double-glazing throughout that's probably 10-15 years old (fitted for the previous owners, before they bought the house). Doesn't seem anything serious wrong with it, reasonably wide gap between panes, no internal condensation etc but it wasn't well finished by the...

Helping a friend add insulation to their loft. It's a 1995-built detached house in the South of England. It has ~ 100mm of the old style yellow insulation. Most of this is in good condition without signs of damp or dirt. I'm adding 200mm Knauf roll over it and boarding the middle section. A new...

On previous emptyings, I've found a small amount of magnetic material amongst the black muck. I would about a quarter of a teaspoon after a year. I think our system is in reasonable shape at the moment but suffered from a minor leak a few years ago which probably diluted the inhibitor over time.

Yes, I've managed to get a small Bahco on it before, but it's awkward as the handle is angled to the jaws. l would like to find a better tool. Is it similar to any other plumbing fittings?

Yes, I know that. I've drained it several times before. It's also important to switch off the CH/HW, close the top and bottom valves, and remove the magnet first, and have something to catch the outflow!

This is our Fernox TF1, which was professionally installed for us a good few years ago. The plastic end cap is also intended to serve as a key for the brass drain valve. Space is very tight due to the position it's been installed, and the plastic thing is not easy to fit and turn with your...

Good question. It's a fairly primitive-looking MEM one from c. 1995 when the property was built. Will look up the model when we (finally) can visit her.

Daughter has replaced most of the bulbs in their house with LEDs, initially cheap no-name ones from https://cpc.farnell.com/. Many of these are the "candle" style ones in fittings that take 3 bulbs. We saw a lot of early life failures. Thinking that "you get what you pay for" we've gradually...

One obvious thing: the wiring is old-colour-scheme and the wiring is in good condition. I really want to reuse it, not change wiring colours for the sake of it (to the new, stupid brown/black/grey nonsense). Also: forgive my rant: the f*@king builders in 1999 originally mis-installed it by...

Hi, We have two smoke alarms - one in the downstairs hallway, one on the upstairs landing. They were builder-installed when the house was new in 1999. They are on a linked system. Behind each alarm is a plasterboard-type wall box with a terminal strip. There are four connections to this: Earth...

That would be needed if I hadn't already got the sticks out. I included an "after" picture in the original post. I also mentioned we have a cowl now - the sweep fitted it. Perhaps you just skimmed my original post? I will fit a CO detector too, the gas-safe eng also recommended I do that. One...

Thanks. I agree the cowl removes the main problem. If he sweeps it again in a year or two, I suppose more stuff could come down (cobwebs etc) which could collect there. The idea of backfilling is to avoid that. Had a gas-safe eng out to service the fireplace and give us his opinion. He agreed...

We have a gas fireplace as shown. Recently got the chimney swept (there was a lot of sticks and birds-nest up there). Got a cowl fitted to stop them coming back. The sweep said it wasn't right that we had a void at the back of the fireplace (which was also full of sticks). A lot of awkward...

Thought I'd write this up, for the benefit of others with similar symptoms. Miele engineer visited. The pressure switch in the base of the machine was tested and found to be working OK. Tide-mark in the switch chamber indicated machine was not filling fully. A further clue was in the water...

We've got an outside halogen security light that no longer works and is 5 yrs+ old. I think it's a 300W but won't know for sure until I borrow a ladder and have a look. I've got one of these to replace it: http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/2124157.pdf It's a sealed unit, with a L / N / E...

Hi, We have a similar fault to that described elsewhere. Checked inlet and drain hoses, and the sump area. Impeller under the non-return valve looks clean and turns with the expected quarter-turn magnetic lump. Impeller just visible in the slot at the back also turns freely and looks clean...

Thanks. Initially I wanted to do nothing irreversible. But I was wondering about, maybe in a few months' time taking some length off the copper pipes so that the hose loops go (re-doing it with new olives).

Happy to oblige with a picture. The space is pretty tight where the pump is fitted, this shows the two outlet hoses. The basic principle was "stop the leak, and get the HW back on". I put the cable ties (loosely) around the front one to help keep the entry/exit points to the couplings straight...