Search results

I have a small internal job to do where I need to stick a thin strip of pine to a couple of zinc plated metal brackets (pine strip is too thin for a mechanical fixing). There won't be any load on the join besides the weight of the stripwood itself, so I'm pretty sure one of the adhesives I...

Is there any definitive interpretation of Part J regarding the proximity of skirting on the front of a chimney breast to a wood burning stove? I did my research, and concluded from section 2.18 and associated Diagram 21 that there was no minimum, with skirting shown "less than 200mm". My HETAS...

I've got this roller blind cassette from a botched order that I want to repurpose as a cover for the mechanism above a sliding door. I need to remove, or bend back, the circled bit that sits proud. Any ideas how I could do that? It's aluminium I think so should be pretty soft, though it doesn't...

I'm laying a tiled hearth around my wood burning stove. I want it flush with (or a few mm above) the finished floor surface. We're putting down engineered wood over underlay, which will raise the finished floor by 17mm from the concrete slab. Say I use 6mm tiles in the hearth, which with 3mm...

I've just been advised by the engineer doing my boiler service that the utility extractor vent (that LABC insisted be added for sign-off) is in breach of building regs because it's less than 300mm from the boiler flue. That all seems to match other advise I see on the forum. The part I found...

Finally gotten around to doing the living room in the new gaff. It looks like the French doors were made by widening a single door. I pulled away damp and crumbling concrete from the floor with my hand until I got to brick. There's no sign of the slate DPC which is present in the centre (and is...

I want to top-fit 3 x roller blinds in the recess of a 3-pane sliding door. Each blind will be 1.8m wide, 2.1m drop. Naturally we have a massive great steel spanning the gap above the doors with dot-and-dab plasterboard stuck to it. I've been put off drilling up into steel lintels by a...

I need to raise the door a bit. I can't find a how-to on the internet that matches this particular hinge. Any ideas!?

I have a load of concrete in my garden - a former shed base 3m x 2m and a path of sorts 1m x 5m - that I want rid of. Who do I call? As in what trade would achieve this in the most efficient way? I have a quote for £1,300 from the guy who laid my patio, but it feels steep and he clearly didn't...

I need to do a couple of short runs of lighting cables along an outside wall. I'd like black trunking, which I only found in plastic. Is normal PVC trunking ok to use outside?

I just bought a bathroom cabinet off Wayfair. Instead of the shaver socket advertised it has a European 2-pin socket inside. Whilst I could just buy a 2-pin Euro to 2-pin shaver adapter, would that be "safe" and would my electrician even be permitted to install this thing into a UK bathroom?

I have goal-post style steel frame in my extension. The uprights are buried in the internal blockwork with only the one flat surface standing slightly proud of the internal wall. The walls are being dot-and-dabbed with plasterboard. How should the steel columns be fire-proofed? Is it OK to just...

Another day on my renovation project, another job I want them to re-do :( With the best intentions the plumber spoke to the tiler and agreed to set the bath rim at the height of 1 full tile (600mm). The better half is only 4'10" and the kids even shorter, so it looks like they'll need a step...

Seeking some insights to help me go into the difficult conversation with my builder. I have had a sand-cement(+fibres) screed floor laid in my extension, over wet UFH. The screed was levelled (+3-5mm) to the concrete slab in the original house. This resulted in a slab that's about 40-55mm...

I'm having extensive building work done on my house. The contract includes a new roof and on my request additionally states "to include chimney repoint". I thought that meant raking out and redoing all the pointing. They've instead patched loose and missing pointing. I'd guesstimate about...

I have a 20+ year old Potterton Suprima 50. It's just started leaking from the bottom. Guess from reading around that the heat exchanger has cracked and likely beyond economic repair. Question is... How to stop the leak? Might it stop on its own now I've turned it off? If not, do I have to drain...

I want to relocate the toilet in my first floor bathroom, however I'd need to put a dog-leg in the toilet waste running through the floor void to achieve this. Is that OK (or does it need to be straight?), and if so would a 30cm offset be achievable in 40cm (per drawing)? Thanks James

Hi, I have a leaking rad valve on a radiator that will be torn out and replaced when I have building work done next year. So, I RTFF and found guidance on "packing the valve" with PTFE tape. However before I dive in and give this a go I have a few questions: 1. My valves are twin-entry...

Hi, Anyone have any idea what this thing is. I found it about 4" below the surface of the soil. It wobbles but I gave up trying to dig it out of the heavy clay soil once I was a spade depth deep. It is some kind of drain? Thanks James

Hi, I've got planning permission through for a large extension to the tired old house I've bought. It currently has a 19 year old Potterton boiler and micro-bore pipe-work to very sluggish rads with corroded valves. It'll be next spring before we can start the building work, which will include...