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I’ve hacked off a hard sand/cement plinth below my DPC which was trapping moisture. In doing so, I’ve damaged a few bricks. Can I use a lime render to finish / protect the bricks below the DPC? I am planning on digging down 10 or so inch and filling a channel (maybe 5 inches wide) with gravel...

I noticed a bit of a musty smell coming from my daughters bedroom as of late. Nothing obvious so I pulled out the furniture and found this on the carpet. It was damp to the touch so I’ve cut it out and sprayed it with mould killer. In the process of letting it dry out. Now - what is it and how...

I’m renovating an older house with solid concrete floors which are not insulated. In rooms where I have carpet, a thick underlay has been just about sufficient. I am now doing a downstairs main bathroom where I will have 10mm porcelain tile finish. Is there anything I can put under these...

Hi - I’m considering altering the conservatory by taking off polycarbonate roof and glazing, and replacing it with a timber frame, lightweight roof and finishing with cement board and render. We’d like to take the external dwarf wall skin to DPC and build off that. How does one secure the...

I've bought some BAC50 from the internet and propose diluting it down 25:1 in a large spray bottle and giving my roof a good soaking to kill the moss. My question is: is this stuff okay on the leadwork? I have flashings and a very small portion of flat lead roof. If this stuff will degrade it...

We have a solid concrete floors in our 1960 built bungalow. I am assuming, given the year, they're not insulated and in any event they're freezing. We're about to renovate the lounge and was wondering how we could best try and insulate the floor with only c25mm of build up. I was thinking of...

Would it be okay to treat my entire roof with BAC 50 to kill the moss? I have plain concrete tiles covering most of it - which should be fine. But - I do have a small section of lead roof. Will the BAC 50 do it any damage? thanks!

Hi We're looking at re-doing our aging bathroom in the new year. As we didn't fit it, and there's not much we like about it, we're going to strip it all out and start again. If we have a blank canvas - what's the most cost effective way to tank the bathroom where we would like a walk-in shower...

Hi Just taken original skirting off in our ground floor bedroom, ready for renovation. Behind it, I can see the DPC and the concrete floor finishes a couple of millimetres below that level. There’s no evidence of a DPM lap (1960 floor) and there was no DPM in the dining room which we dug up to...

Hi We’re renovating a room with a chimney breast in it. As it’s an external wall, the plan is to put stud work against the back walls and all the way around the chimney breast, fill with 50mm of celotex and plasterboard it. This has 2 advantages: (1) it should be warmer and (2) the small...

Hi - am I right in thinking that a dormer window which faces the street requires planning, irrespective of its size and shape, whereas the back can be done within permitted development rights? We’re going to build both at the same time, so need to get all permissions first. Thanks, Ben.

Hi Can anyone tell me a good way to clean stone mullions inside please? We have some black spotting and don’t want to use anything which might damage them - so thinking no chemicals and “natural” cleaning agents? Any recommendations and methods most welcome. Thanks, Ben

Hi We're currently re-landscaping our garden. In doing so - I've come across the soakaway which takes the rainwater from the extension roof. The roof isn't particularly big and the soakaway itself is relatively large (approximately 1m x 1m and probably 0.8m deep filled with large rubble...