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Hi I am in the process of decorating and I am trying to get some black stuff off the wall. It had been painted over by the previous owner. It seems bitchem like and tried heat and paint remover on it but it just goes sticky. I think the area may have had a cooking stove etc as the house used to...

Hi Rebuilt my chimney and installed a flue pipe. The woodburner has a side pipe entry with a removable cup at the bottom. I noticed today water under the bottom of the stove and removed the cup which was full of water. I can only think that the water has found it's way through the top of the pot...

Hi I have recently moved into a property which the previous owner has installed a free standing bath. I am looking to install a shower on the wall. The bath has a gap at both ends and I am concerned about water going down the side of the bath. The previous owner hasn't made the best job of the...

Hi I have been getting generally low pressure out of the hot tap on the kitchen sink mixer tap. it has got worse and sometimes just trickles out. All other taps have good pressure. I have taken the tap apart as far as I can but I cannot undo the nut holding the tap internals in the body. Do you...

Hi not sure if this a window issue but I am in this house for the first winter and I am getting black mould around the window frame where it meets the wall. The walls of the house are solid stone around 2ft thick. The house is in 2 sections and the more modern section with cavity walls is not...

Hi Someone, I believe the previous tenant removed the chimney stack to make way for kitchen units. In the bedroom above the kitchen it appears he has installed an RSJ to hold the outer stack. It looks like he has capped off the chimney at the top and a chimney sweep said this was okay. What...

Hi I have recently moved into the house and want to sort out one of the bedroom windows before it gets cold. I have checked across the diagonals of the frame and these appear okay also ran a spirit level and the window frame appears to be level. something appears to have gone skew and the...

Hi My wife whilst cleaning the sink this morning managed to remove the top off the strainer which had a badly corroded screw section holding it in. I have managed to get another strainer but it is a bit shallower than the other one so I will need to purchase another trap set to reassemble. The...

Hi I have covered up an Artex coated ceiling with new plasterboard and taped the joints and applied the joining compound. I spotted a lot of info on the Web about dry wall sanders and saw a deal on the Aldi site for a Scheppach sander. I had high hopes for using this as in general I had seen...

Hi I have recently moved into a former pub in Wales and one of the lower floors ceilings is a bit strange (to me) see pictures is anyone familiar with this type of ceiling and why it is done this way Cheers Dave

Hi I am looking to work on the roof of a coach house which ivy has run riot on an the roof is in a poor state. There is a sloping extension running from the house up to the coach house and this roof also needs attention. I am debating if the purchase of a 5 Meter high mini scaffold could be used...

Hi I am in the process of purchasing a couple of 5 bar gates that I want to hang across my drive to keep the dogs in as we have a main road outside. The problem is that the walls are not parallel to each other. I think gates have been hung in the past but the garden wall has been altered to...

Hi I have recently moved into a new property and working on several jobs around the place. I had a look at the house and shed drainage yesterday and the shed just drains down the wall at the moment. I discovered the drain cover under various slabs and mud. I am not sure what has been done with...

Hi I have recently moved to Wales and the property has an old coach house at the side of it. I am looking to make this good as it has been very neglected. The ivy has taken a big hold of the building. I have cut the large trunk through at the bottom but it is still all over the roof. I have been...

Hi I am going through the process of selling my house and my buyer after putting in his offer 3 months later decided to have a home survey performed. And one of the items highlighted was high damp readings in the internal roof void indicating water ingress from the chimney stack area. I...

Hi I am currently in the process of buying a house and have been in negotiations with the seller of a property in Wales. My wife loves the place but a surveyor's report came back last week and highlighted serious damp issues. The original asking price was 290k and we have managed to get it down...