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Hi all, We just recently had a reclaimed parquet floor installed, we provided the wood(early Victorian). Overall it looks great and has sanded down nicely. It covers a 30 metre square area running between two rooms. In some places it doesn't look completely flat, is this to be expected with...

Hi I have widened an internal doorway in my house (Victorian Terrace) slightly, removing the wooden frame in the process. Above the doorway and across the width of the whole room, there is an RSJ. No fireproofing has been applied to the beam, I understand I can fit 15mm fireproof plasterboard...

Hello, I am renovating the fireplace in the front room of my Victorian terrace. I have dug out the old hearth which wasn't in a good state, and dug down a couple of foot of what was pure dust. The timbers are all nice and dry. I am now looking to fill it with cement and tile on top. To lay a...

So I have an old conservatory which is unusable for 11 months of the year due to being too hot or too cold. The current roof is poly carbonate, and loose with gaps in it. The whole thing is just under 3 x 3 metres. I would like a cost effective way to put an insulated roof onto it. There are...

Hi Looking for some advise on my central heating plumbing. I have an issue with a leaking plumbing joint. It seems to be losing about 100 ml a day through constant dripping. Is this a screw fitting or is it just soldered? I have tried Fernox LS-X leak sealer, but this hasn't worked and the...

Hi I have just pulled out an old 1980s fireplace from the front room in my victorian terrace. I am hoping to light the occasional fire using a firebasket with a built in back plate. I will buy a wooden mantel which surround the opening, and maybe tile or plaster over any exposed tile around...

I am doing some renovation to the front room in my Victorian terrace. The small 40 high area of wall underneath the bay window feels very loose and springy, on closer inspection it turned out to just be hardboard. When I pulled a piece away, I can see the unfinished brick behind it. (see...

Hi I am building built in wardrobes, and I want to use magnetic catches to hold the doors flush with the unit. How much pull strength do I need to go with? Each wardrobe as two doors, 42cm x 260cm, and about 15 mm thick, solid pine. They're not particularly heavy, but I would like the...

Hi Has anyone got any tips for removing small areas of masonry paint on an exterior red brick wall? A previous owner has mad a mess of painting pats of my Victorian house and I need a good solution to tidy it up. I've read a few articles which are geared towards cleaning a large area, but as...

I need to replace a garage door tumber, is it as simple as it looks\ are they fairly standard? Attached are photos of the lock on each side, I will aim to swap it out for this one...

Hello I have recently leveled my lawn ahead of turfing. As can be seen in the photo it has increased the height difference between my lawn and the neighbors. I want to reinforce this border so their side doesn't collapse into mine. I am thinking some treated timber fixed against the fence posts...

I'm about to turf my lawn and thought it would be a good opportunity to run some power to my shed. My plan was to run some swa 50 cm deep, and connect it off of a spur inside my house. At the other end I would just run a socket and light. I've read some conflicting information online, so my...

Hello, I am painting over an old Victorian gloss skirting board. As its very old I did a test, and a few layers underneath found lead. Because of this I do not want to sand the surface can someone recommend a good white satinwood paint and primer if necessary which I can use to go straight over...

I am about to have the second bedroom in my Victorian terrace re-carpeted. I have opted for thick underlay to go under the carpet. The original wooden floorboards are in decent enough condition, but I am wondering if there is any benefit to fitting some thin plywood on top of the floorboards...

Part of my bathroom is fitted around an old fireplace. I am re-tiling, after pulling the tile off of this one section he plaster is knackered. Is about 70cm high an 20cm wide, it crumbles away when you touch it. I just need a surface I can tie to, but its too big and deep for Polyfilla. Can...

Hi Just recently replaced the fascia board behind my guttering. I have found that two of the tiles are missing\ and or broken Someone had bodged it with some lead flashing but water is running down the back of the fascia board which will damage the wall. The tiles are fixed with a small...

Hi Have to replace the tiling in the shower as water has been running down into the kitchen. There was plasterboard over the wooden batons. Looks like someone previously tiled directly onto the wall previously. I am planning to increase the batons on the one wall and fit Aquapanels onto...

Hi I am having a room skimmed and need to take the radiator off the wall while this occurs. It has a thermostatic valve with a 1/2 " thread fitted, however I don't have a cap to seal it off. Can I just jam some washes and a few pennies into the cap and screw it on to stop it from leaking?

Hello I’m in the process of decorating Victorian terrace. The quality of the plaster in most rooms seems strong, but rough. We have decided to go the lining paper rout and leave the existing plaster in tact rather than strip it back. There is a problem area around a couple of the windows, as...

Hi, In the process of replacing a rotten fascia board that was behind my guttering. Once I'd taken the old one off, the gap in this photo is visible above the old sash window On the left there is a gap between the top row and the one below it. The gap above the sash window itself had a piece...