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What is the best way to connect a load bearing knee wall to rafters in a loft? If I cut the stud on an angle, and attach them directly to the rafters, any downward load will tend to push the tops of the studs into the room, so I am looking for the best method to prevent that. I don't want to cut...

I am thinking of building a covered patio attached to an outbuilding in the yard. I am planning to use polycarbonate roofing sheets, and frame it is pressure treated wood. For the posts, I don't want to use wood, because they always rot at the bottom, so I was thinking to use concrete fence...

This may seem like a dumb question, but is there a standard electrical box for lights in the UK? I am renovating and drywalling ceiling and am wondering what to do with the light. I am from Canada, and there all lights have a standard electrical box that looks like this: All fixtures have the...

Does anyone have any experience with insulating plaster? I have a 1930s house that is solid brick upstairs and the walls are cold. I redoing the upstairs and I was thinking to knock off the old on the outside walls and redo it with around 25mm of insulating plaster. Any recommendations on...

When I first moved to the UK, ring circuits seemed a bit unusual, we only use radials in Canada in house wiring. Although ring finals seem to have a lot of benefits, I don't think they would be legal in Canada with a 2.5mm cable because you cannot use a 32A breaker to protect a cable rated less...

Happy New Year! This post is for anyone interested in researching options for a DIY thermal store. Parts list: £430 300l standard Telford buffer, comes with dual stat, TPRV, 3kW electric immersion £145 Nordic Tec Ba-23-40 165kW plate exchanger with insulation £52 FS-05 flow switch 22mm...

I need to bed some ridge and verge tiles, never done it before, but I was thinking to use the same mix I used for stuccoing (rendering?), which was 1 part cement, 1 part lime, and 3 parts sand by volume. I was also thinking to put a wee bit of SBR in it to aid in adhesion. Does this sound...

I am roofing my workshop with these as they match our house: https://www.wienerberger.co.uk/product-range/roof/tempest-44-natural-red.html They have two little holes at the top to screw into the battens. On our current roof from the 30s, they are not nailed down at all. Having said that...

I have a wood frame outbuilding that sits on a concrete foundation that comes out of the ground around 30cm. I would like to waterproof the concrete on the outside including the part below the ground to the footing. Is there some kind of cement-based tanking that one can trowel on like render...

I am doing a roof on my workshop and trying to decide between a wet and dry system for the ridge. It seems plastic never lasts as long as they say it will, so I am leaning toward a wet install. Are there any clips (stainless) that can be used to mechanically hold down the tiles, and then...

Does anyone here make molds to cast ornamental plasterwork? I have mostly used latex which is brushed on in layers, but the molds tend to shrink quite a bit when they cure, and it distorts the casts. The liquid latex is pretty cheap though. Has anyone tried any of the other molding...

What is the best way to "glue" small items of plasterwork to walls and ceilings? In Canada I used drywall taping compound, or all-purpose compound with a little PVA mixed in. This was on drywall, whereas in the UK it is more damp, and the walls are plaster. So I was wondering how it is done here.

I have some walls that need skim coating because wall paper was removed and bits of finish plaster have fallen out. In places the base coat has also fallen away. I was going to PVA the walls and fill any deep holes with bonding plaster, and then skim coat the lot. What is best for skimming to...

I am new to UK wiring, having done quite a bit of DIY in Canada, and was looking over the rules here. I am looking at BS7671:2018 543.7.1.203 and it looks like circuits with sockets where the earth leakage can exceed 10mA require two paths to earth. This comes naturally with a ring circuit, but...

Do you need to notify building control if you install a buffer tank in a central heating system?

I am trying to determine how much 45C water can be generated with a water cylinder and a plate exchanger under the following assumptions - 300 liter cylinder at 70C - 210Kw plate exchanger (rated @40C delta?) - plate exchanger primary flow of 30l/minute - fresh water infeed temperature of 10C -...

Looking at plate exchangers for a DIY heat bank. Anyone have experience with either of these brands? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07F1HKH2S or https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hrale-Stainless-Steel-Exchanger-Plates/dp/B003JLQK9M

Does anyone have experience with this company: https://thermal-store.co.uk/thermal-store-price-lmt.php I am looking at their LMT 300 litre store with a DN32 hot water coil that has a 6.3 square meter surface area. I can't find any information about the company or where the tanks are made. They...

New to the UK, and I am pouring a grade beam for a workshop that I am building. In Canada (the land of basements), concrete forms are made of 3/4 plywood held together with snap ties, that have slots in them that you slide flat metal bars (waler bars) that hold the forms at a fixed distance...

I live in Norfolk and the best price for cement I can find is at Wickes at 4.20/25kg bag. A bit shocked as I just moved here from Germany and you can get basic cement for 2.50/bag in any do-it center, even cheaper if you go to a contractor place and buy a lot. I need around 180 bags, so it...