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I think its time to replace my 20 year old boiler. It still works, although takes longer to fire up than it used to. I'd like to do it before it fails, and of course a new one ought to be more efficient anyway. The boiler is on the wall of my 'integrated' garage with my workbench below and I...

After years of a drawn-out refurb of my house I have finally come to request LABC completion only to be told that I should have fitted mechanical ventilation in my new (relocated) utility room. On the basis that (a) there has been no such ventilation in the room for several years and no...

I thought I'd do this post for the benefit of diyers who have not used an SDS drill. Like most people I have a rechargeable hammer drill. Mine's a middle-range one, 18V lithium, so can handle most jobs with relative ease. It is light and convenient so I always use it first. Over the...

I have just finished a DIY plumbing job. I did a bit of solder ring & push-fit plumbing recently when I had to change a monobloc kitchen tap with different tails, but it has been over 10 years since I used any compression fittings. Also back then I was only using 15mm. This job I needed to do...

I'm planning to install an air-conditioner so will have to drill a 90mm hole through a cavity wall (brick & concrete block). I have done lots of DIY but not this job. Based on a bit of research I think that I'll buy a diamond edged core bit rather than TCT because even though it's only the one...

I have a project where I need to build a simple wooden frame to support a static load of no more than about 150kg. I'm not great at woodworking so I plan to just bolt lengths together to make the structure. I am trying to avoid over-engineering it (as I tend to do) but am starting to doubt my...

There are 3 power showers in our house and I had a bigger hot water tank put in to cope, but it turns out that the cold water tank empties before the hot water tank does! So I plan to put in a second cold water tank. I am at a 'pre-planning' stage and would like to seek some advice before I...

I want to board part of my loft just for storage reasons, however I also want to improve the insulation. Looking at info about insulation I believe that the recommended depth of glass fibre type is 170mm. My joists are only 70mm high. So this means that I'd need to screw down lengths of 100mm...

I have just had a new staircase fitted. It is made of American white oak and is to be exposed (i.e. not carpeted). My joiner and carpenter have both told me that I will need to treat it, but have not provided any details. I have very little knowledge of wood (it comes from trees doesn't it? :))...

Do I just need to plan for 6-core alarm cable for a sounder? Are there any that need LV supply, i.e. twin & earth? I see that it is typical to fit a dummy box as well. Why? Seems to me that must burgulars would expect the box on the front of the house to be a real sounder and the one at the...

So I need to run lighting cable along/through my joists to the point where the light fitting will be. Then I need to get plasterboard tacked and skimmed to make a nice new ceiling. So the wiring needs to be out of the way when the plasterboard is tacked, yet accessible for when I drill a hole...

We have decided to put in-cabinet shaver sockets in our new bathrooms, having seen the one that Shades Furniture sell. It's a bit like those angled worktop or under-cabinet socket outlets that you can get for kitchens, except that they are two-pin instead of three. The problem is that the...

Just had a new bathroom fully plastered and I want to paint the ceiling before the bathroom is fitted and tiled. What pre-painting preparation do I need to do?

Moving from planning my structured wiring into the installation stage, I see that I really need to install two 'distribution' panels in my house. This is so that I can pull cables from the garage CU to the downstairs cupboard (equipment room) and also the loft, and also cables between this...

(I shall ignore all of those who tell me that downlights are a fleeting fashion). I finally got around to testing some lamps as part of my grand design for my lighting system. The design uses a combination of 'more efficient' MR16 halogens and 11W CFL downlighters. First I tried the CFLs...

I finally rigged mine up to see what they are like in my lighting design and was annoyed to find that one would get hot, flicker and then go out. I persisted by switching it off and on again. It would stay on for a while then got out. I nearly gave up but then found that it stayed on for an hour...

I am effectively a competent DIYer doing a lot of notifiable work on my house during extension/renovation, including replacing CU, adding new circuits, work in kitchen, bathrooms etc. I have just received a statement from my LABC that since I have demonstated competence (in all aspects of...

Please?

After reading the comments on here about dust-storms with "proper" chasers, I decided to try out one of the alternatives. http://www.screwfix.com/prods/11900/Hand-Tools/Builders-Tools/Builders-Basics/Wall-Chaser I must say I'm rather impressed. The tool directs the bit underneath the top...

My house has chipboard floors and I am having the bathrooms refitted. Since I want tiled floors in the bathrooms and since none of the chipboard is moisture-resistant, seems like replacing the floor with plywood before tiling (including electric underfloor heating) would be the best idea. I...