Search results

  1. J

    Number Plate Light

    I have a vauxhall vectra 1.8 sxi on a 53 plate. I noticed the other night that whan the car is unlocked the number plate light will stay on indefinitely (I presume) and will only go off when I lock the car. It also comes on if I open the tailgate only. Surely this isn't supposed to happen...
  2. J

    Pointing disaster

    Thermo and others - thanks for the advice as usual, I have learned my lesson the hard way over the last few weeks, as I had to drag out all the rubbish pointing from 40 sq. m of patio and have now done it the proper way. If i do say so myself, I had done a nice job on the patio, so i didn't...
  3. J

    Laying a patio - a few questions

    For the record, Sifu I had similar issues with my own patio about a month ago. I listened to the thermo and the advice is sound - wet bed for you! I laid mine on a bed of compacted stone dust over my hardcore, overlain by the sharp sand/building sand/cement mixture you described and it stuck...
  4. J

    Pointing disaster

    I successfully laid some flagstones a couple of weeks back, barring a few I’ve had to lift and re-set, but my pointing didn’t go anywhere near as smoothly. I looked around at the various bits of advice on the forum and decided to go for a 3:1 building sand to cement, brushed dry into the joints...
  5. J

    Dodgy paths

    Ha ha. Yes, it's been pretty grim and the path needs to dry a bit for you to see the surface. Incidentally, how would you recommend adding pictures. Should I put them up on a site like photobucket and provide links, or is there a way to embed them in the post?
  6. J

    Any concerns about outside wiring?

    Just another quick question while we’re on the subject….I got talking to nextdoor neighbour this morning about his external wiring. He’s got a spur from inside his kitchen – where he’s then got an 13 amp RCD FCU - and he’s got about 12m of SWA clipped along the top of his fence, which then...
  7. J

    Any concerns about outside wiring?

    I can't believe the guy with the washing machine, that's priceless. The irony of my situation is that the shed is only 10 feet away from the house, but the way the circuit is wired is up the garden, across and then all the way up past the original starting point and into the shed...like a big...
  8. J

    Any concerns about outside wiring?

    Thanks. I suspected that might be the case and it has worried me from a safety point of view too. A trainee spark friend of mine suggested some other options: 1. I have a redundant 30 amp shower supply with its own RCD on the CU, which he reckons can be spurred down to use as an alternative...
  9. J

    Any concerns about outside wiring?

    Hmmm, therein lies the problem I think. The initial run is 10m, then about 7 metres to the next socket, then a whole 20m to the shed. I have never run the tumble and used the other sockets at the same time, what do you think would happen if I did and is there something I can do to enhance the...
  10. J

    Any concerns about outside wiring?

    OK. As I understand, the kitchen sockets (from which the external sockets are powered) have their own labelled RCD (is this the thing with the trip switch on it?) on the consumer unit, because I can isolate them and they turn off the outside sockets as well. Furthermore, the 'fused spur' I...
  11. J

    Any concerns about outside wiring?

    Afternoon all I have 3 double external sockets (one of which is in my shed) at my house and wanted to make sure they are set up correctly, being as I don’t know who did them. I have a separate ring on my consumer unit for the kitchen sockets, of which there are four. Only one of those is...
  12. J

    Dodgy paths

    Yes, i'll wait until the rain stops and do one later on.
  13. J

    Dodgy paths

    Morning all I have paths around my house which are surfaced with rough concrete and they look very dirty and tired, as well as being a bit jagged and painful if you fall. I really don’t want to be hacking them away and replacing them, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of what I can...
  14. J

    A familiar patio question

    Thanks Thermo, that's what I was after. It now makes perfect sense to me that a bedding material that dries hard and bonds to the underside of the flag - as opposed to slightly stiff sand - is going to give a better long-term result. I'm not the type to get hung up on what my eyes tell me -...
  15. J

    A familiar patio question

    Hi all I've read and digested a lot of the infomation out there on the web - most notably pavingexpert.com and also a lot of the posts on this forum regarding bedding mixtures. Thermo - who appears to know his stuff - recommends wet mortar as opposed to 10:1 a dry sharp sand/cement bed...
  16. J

    Stud Extractor

    Yes it's a bolt with one of those star-shaped heads (well it was once). Somebody obviously tried to cut a slot with a hacksaw blade, to no avail, then snapped the stud extractor in there. I think i'll try the nail punch technique (with safety specs) and try drilling it again to extract...
  17. J

    Stud Extractor

    Hi all Whan trying to change the ignition coil pack on my Megane Coupe, I came across a rounded hex bolt, which I really need to extract. Trouble is, somebody has obviously tried before and snapped off the tip of a stud extractor in the bolt. It doesn't look like it goes very deep, but I know...
  18. J

    undoing somebody else's bad workmanship?

    Well this guy came on a recommendation! The toilet leaked because he split the seal, the bath waste leaked and he set the bath so close to the wall I couldn't turn the tap. He broke two tiles putting in the shower valve - meaning I had to replace them; and now this. I told the wife I should...
  19. J

    undoing somebody else's bad workmanship?

    Morning My ‘plumber’ has made a bit of an error. He installed a shower, tray and quadrant enclosure for me and it’s leaking like a sieve. First he didn’t bother to tighten the trap (oops), then I find water pouring from beneath the curved rail that sits on the tray. I spoke to him and he...
  20. J

    Bottle trap leaking

    Hi all I have fitted a basin in my bathroom with a pop-up waste and it’s leaking. There’s a nut that screws onto the rear of the bottle trap, through which there’s a rod with a ball on the end. It’s this nut that’s leaking. I’ve replaced it in case the nut was faulty, but it seems to have no...
Back
Top