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Hello, I have just discovered cracks in two drainpipes just below ground level, one of which gushes water when the bath is drained, and the other does the same when the upstairs toilet is flushed. This must have been a problem for some time, as there was a large cavity in the soil adjacent...

Is there such a thing for a sunbaked windowsill? Maybe an undercoat or suchlike? I'm currently stripping the paint back to bare wood to start again. Thanks!

Hi! I've removed the plywood board covering a fireplace, in order to replace it with plasterboard so it can be skimmed. Lo and behold, dodgy looking bricks! They can be jiggled slightly but I'm reluctant to interfere too much. In your expert opinion, should I worry about them, and if so...

This new house I've bought has under-roof felt in tatters and missing in parts. I'm wondering if it is OK to tack new felt to the underside of the rafters? Or should I tack it to the battens, and around the rafters so there is no space? As an aside, there are about 50 frost-damaged tiles...

The house we are trying to buy had blocked drains which the vendor paid to clear and then have CCTV inspection. The report has come back that there are three displaced joints, two circumferential fractures, a circumferential crack (probably the same thing?), two locations of root ingress...

The survey for a house we are buying amongst a million other things states that the lead mains water supply should be replaced by copper. I know the issues regarding health, and am prepared to discount them in my decision. However its not clear to me if the other justification of pipe...

Hello! One year ago I had plumbers install a new combi boiler (Worcester Greenstar 28i junoir), radiators with thermostatic valves, and chose a wireless digistat (WorcesterDT10RF Programmer). All very nice BUT I haven't been able to make the house stabilise at a comfortable temperature! I...

I want to change the knobs on my solid wood doors to levers, and have a large stumbling block. I presume I need to fill both of the cavities pictured with wood before I can install the new handles? Does anyone have any hot tips to get me through this dilemma? Many thanks, Tim...

Hi, I wonder if anyone has a suggestion for me, I need to stop soil collapsing from the neighbour's property onto my patio. http://www.tjbeauregard.plus.com/patio/Patio.jpg The most distant slab is missing as I will fill the space with gravel as a drainage aid. There is a reasonable...

What is the best glue to stick uPVC to wood? PVA or something specialised? Thanks in advance!

Hi, I bought a house in 2005, along with a badly scale infected variegated Euonymus (probably japonicus aureomarginatus). As I'm trying to be organic as possible, I've been using the organic scale spray from the garden centres, the fatty acid products. Trouble is, the bush is 8 feet tall...

Crisis at 4pm yesterday (it never happens at 9am), missus smelt gas, turned it off, and called the helpful people from British Gas. Engineer from Wales & West Utilities came and turned it on, confirmed a leak and turned it off. Served a notice that it mustn't be turned on until the leak is...

The pots that they come in are the same, and there is a £3 difference for a 2.5l pot. Obviously the colours are named differently but the shades look the same to me. If they are the same then I wouldn't need to worry about the quality difference, and save a few bob. Do you agree? And if they...

I need to make small curved and straight cuts in floor tiles to make them fit the bathroom doorway and bath edge. I tried with a (cheap) tungsten carbide blade which fits my jigsaw; used water to keep it cool but took way too long to make any headway, the jigsaw marked the tile and finished off...