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I'm not able to spot a circle of mortar. I'll have a word with a few neighbours, see if they can shed light on where the pipe was, roughly. And thanks for the info regarding the decking. Looks like I'm going to be busy for the next few weekends.

That's a good idea. I'm not sure how I would do that though. Regarding the decking, would I have to break through the concrete in the corners to anchor it down, or could I just sit it on the concrete?

Thanks for the replies. To be honest, I was just thinking of leaving the concrete for the most part, and painting it, and/or putting down some artificial grass (we have a 1 year old who loves running around). While it's not the nicest thing to look at, it is a relatively good, flat surface, so...

Hi all, I live in a terraced house with a small back yard and I'd like to do something with it to make it useabale for sitting out if we ever get any nice weather. The floor of the yard is the thing that's got me stuck. I have attached some pictures to show the problem. About 80% of the...

Apologies for the delay in replying to this. In the yard there are several drains. There is a drain for the bathroom sink wastewater, which is in close proximity to the concrete lump. This does drain into a hopper head, as you suggest. There is a second drain, which serves the kitchen sink...

Vinn, thanks for all the information. I have spoke to a neighbour who knew about the concrete cap. As suspected, it was some sort of sewage pipe; a big one apparently, 8 inches in diameter. The other houses on the row didn't have one, however. Not sure why that is. Apparently, the previous...

Thanks for all the replies. So I should just leave this well alone then. Glad I checked first! As for the absent gutter, I'm not sure where the water goes when it rains as I haven't thought to look before now. I will check next time it rains heavily. It definitely doesn't pour from the roof...

Are they really? The rooms in them have much lower ceilings so I assumed this part of the property had been added on at some later date. What I thought was the extension also has a separate loft space. If that is the case, does this mean that the section of roof at the back which doesn't have a...

I've uploaded a few more photos. There is no gutter on the original part of the house at the back... Is this conventional? I've had a look at a few houses down my road and they are the same. In the top left corner you can see that the water-resistant cover is coming away, and I'm assuming that's...

Seems like I need to give next door a knock and see if they can fill in any of the blanks. I've been in the house less than a year, and I am realising just how little I know about it. The house was originally a two up, two down, as was the rest of the row, and at some later date they were all...

Yeah, it's stuck down. Before being informed it may have a pipe in it I had given it a good kick and it didn't budge at all. The downcomer hypothesis seems like a reasonable one. We actually don't have a drain from the gutters on our property at the back; we must use next doors... Come to think...

I've attached a couple of photos showing the offending bit of concrete. The wall with the window visible is the external wall of the rear reception room, and the wall to the left is the yard wall. There aren't any radiators on the inside of the external wall in the rear reception room...

Thanks for the reply. I'll take a photo later and upload it.

Hi, This is a bit strange, but in my back yard is a lump of concrete that I want to remove. The floor of the yard has been concreted over and it looks like whoever did the work has filled a bucket with concrete, upturned it and let it set. I'd like to remove it if possible, ideally without...

Thanks for the replies so far. We did clean the inside, but that obviously was nowhere near sufficient. We've certainly learnt many lessons with this item. There is also a bad bodge repair on the structure that we hadn't noticed until this occurred.

Hi, I have recently bought an old kitchen cupboard unit which appears to have/had an infestation of woodworm. I'm unsure if it is an active infestation (I haven't actually seen any "fresh dust"), but have moved it outside as a precaution. I was thinking of treating it anyway, using some...

The house is approximately 100 years old. The doors do look to be in very good condition. Would they still look in such good nick after dipping if they were 100 years old? There are 8 internal doors in the house, 5 of which look like the photo I posted. The other 3 are a glazed 2nd entrance door...

I've tried the white spirit vinegar, so will see how that goes. Fingers crossed it does the trick. I'm not sure if the doors are original. I've had a look at the hinges and the rebate in the door frame extends about an inch higher than the actual hinge. I guess they were either lowered, or the...

Ha, well we're all the way over in Liverpool, and having just been rinsed by the solicitors/mortgage brokers it's gonna have to be a DIY job (as soon as she lets me). Thanks for all the advice.

Ok, that doesn't seem as bad. What would be used to fill the recess? Putty?