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I built a hot tub control system, both the plumbing and control system: it's like I'm back in Engineering school :-). But I have an issue I can't solve and need some thoughts. Tub itself is 145 diam x 110 height, about 1800 litres. Pipes are 1' bsp screw fittings, or 28mm solder-ring and...

Hi, We built our own wooden hot tub this summer (our house in Sweden we just finished building earlier in the year). ~1.6m diam using 45mm thick staves (width ~140mm), total height ~1.5m. We had the boards cut at a local timber mill and milled convex/concave locally too. Capacity 1800L. Secured...

I am planning a 3m x 1m suspended bulkhead in a kitchen. Ceiling is concrete (not pre stressed). Bulkhead will house lights (6x 2-lamp recessed multiples) plus some led back lighting plus fire detector, etc. Not sure how far suspended, depends on the light fitting requirements. Not (yet) sure...

Hi, I'm doing an alarm install as part of a whole flat refurb, using 8 core shielded wire (with a texecom 24). I have a couple of places where I need to join alarm cables (either because I can't put cable all the way through, or I have to cable and stop before something is finished)...

I have a power and lighting circuit on a large room that has a concrete ceiling and floor, and breeze block walls, and a number of 5A lighting sockets (for lamps) that sit right next to 13A double sockets for the power. I'm not sure on the best way to run the cables. Rather than run the two...

Hi, for a kitchen radial circuit supplying a total of 5.2kw of fixed load (dishwashers, washer/dryer, hob, etc) plus two 2g sockets, this would normally be fine for 4mm csa on a 32a rcbo, however the circuit passes through 2m of ducting with other circuits so derating brings it below 32a, and...

For a radial lighting circuit (that runs along the top of wall around a room) where the circuit has a number of round 2A sockets (at usual socket height) - is the best practice to run cable down to socket and back up to top of wall, or just take a spur from the cable down to the socket. Cables...

My builders are laying 65mm of screed (over slab + 20mm kingspan + wet UFH pipes), and they're using aggregate (stones) in the mix. I'm comfortable they know what they are doing (having seen the process they are using) - but I don't understand the pro/con of using stones in screed - I thought...

I am rewiring a front room/kitchen will be LABC approved. I have five circuits that run from a CU in hallway cupboard - these have to run in screed for about 1.5 m (two door widths) L shape due use of full height doors, concrete ceiling etc. Circuits then run up 2.4m of stud wall, along 4m...

We have a 60A wylex CU with meter tails being T&E (16mm probably) length 7m out of our flat through a utility room and into a common meter room, all circuits on 60a fuses and isolators. I am (subject to my LBA approval :-) upgrading the CU as part of a part-rewire to a Hager 17th ed, which is...

I am working on a spec for our property. One large room will have a single lighting circuit (6a radial on 1mm csa, oval in plaster) and single power circuit (32a radial on 4mm csa, oval in plaster). We are putting in 4 floor lamps that can be dimmed by home automation (KNX) (max capacity of the...

I suspect the answer is no, but I'll give it a try. I'm redoing my flat, constructed circa. 1972, ceiling is concrete sitting on pylons, I'm on the lower ground floor of five floors. The bugger is that I want to put a pendant light in the dining room, and put a bulkhead (with downlights +...

Our lower ground floor flat (built early 1970's) is slab and screed. We pulled up the 70mm screed (in which water, radiator, electrics, phone and television were all routed in pipes) in half (40sqm, one large L shaped room) as part of a gut and refurb (moving kitchen, redoing plumbing, rewire...

Hi, I am renovating a flat, floor is concrete slab on ground, over which there is 70mm screed - we are removing 70mm screed (and all the service pipes within it) and re-laying with 20mm insulation (and new water plus elec service pipes) and wet UFH clipped in this then rescreeding. I'm sensitive...

Hi, I am doing a very small bit of DIY to render an external wall in the back of our London flat. So far, I've had to remove some of the top bricks and scrape out a tree that was beginning to grow (it had bedded itself in the mortar and already leveraged up the top row, trunk outside the...

Hi, I am looking at replacing 4 patio doors with JELD WEN Clifton product - the quality and guarantees look really good, the product comes supplied ready to drop in in frames, and they have to be wooden products due to the nature of our building. I have a reliable builder who I'm going to ask to...

Hi, We are redoing an entire open front room of our lower ground flat (room itself is ~25sqm), and as part of it, moving a kitchen from one side to the other, but want to make best use of our very limited funds. We will rewire the room entirely. I'm thinking about doing the rewire myself...

Hi, We are doing as much as possible refurb of a back room of our lower ground floor flat, and need to break up and replace the screed (to put underfloor heating in) - what's the best way to break up screed - a sledge hammer? Apols for the novice question! M

I'm doing a complete refurb on a 3bed, 100sqm flat, lower ground floor. It may be used for rental purposes, so I want to put in a good fire alarm system. Property is lower ground, so has external exits to both front, rear of property and internal door within the building. I looked at the Noby...

We have a coal vault external to the front of our london victorian lower ground property that we want to turn into lockable storage, it's about 2m(w)x2m(d)x1m(h). Looks pretty easy for me to get about 20sqm+ of meshed membrane and water/dampproof it myself, with plaster over the membrane, and...