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Hi, I have had some building work done which involved moving my back door and putting a window where the door was. The house is rendered with a smooth finish and the openings were cleanly made with a disk cutter. What I would like to know is what sort of render bead you would recommend...

I had an oak floating floor laid in my (large) lounge last summer. During this recent damp weather it has expanded more than the expansion gap allowed for under the skirting. I did query the amount of expansion at the time but was told it would be enough :roll: This has caused it to lift...

Having put up with a noisy heating system for most of the winter so far, I have finally concluded that the problem is a scaled up Heat exchanger on my Glow worm Ultimate 120FF. There is currently some X800 (Ferroquest) circulating. I have two questions - How long can I leave this in the system...

Hi, I posted an earler thread here related to a problem with my CH system and followed the advice. However, I think the problem is a little more serious and I would like the opinion of some of the regulars on here before I go chopping the system around. Original issue was (and still is)...

Hi, My CH system is playing up. (Gravity fed system with Gloworm Ultimate 120FF, two motorised valves, bypass valve and TRVs on each rad.) The symptoms are kettling every 10-15 minutes. This has only started in the last couple of weeks. I have read the FAQs and checked a few things and I...

Apologies if this has been asked before but I can't find it. How do you fix the socket back boxes into concrete block? I have cut out and channelled the wall for the cables but find screw and plugging to be a pain. Do you use expanding foam or hardwall instead or is screw and plug best?

Hi, I have tiled above my worktops and grouted. The tiles are sealed travertine and the grout is off-white (jasmine). The worktops are a dark cherry wood. I left the gap at the bottom of the tiles free of grout as I assume a flexible sealant is required here. My question - is there...

Hi, I have an existing fireplace that houses a real fire although I have never used it. I want to install a gas fire in the opening. Given that it has a proper chimney, do I need a flue liner? reading the blurb from the fire manufacturers, I would say I have a Class 1 flue (ie existing chimney)...

Hi, I have fitted a new Hardwood Carolina back door. The door came from Howdens but just about everyone seems to do it. It did not come with the glass which is four identical pieces that are roughly shaped like slices of pizza. Is this something my local glass place will be able to cut from a...

Hi, I have recently refitted my kitchen which was a total strip out, floor up ceilings down etc. I have replaced all my internal window sills with MDF window board (219mm wide I think) with a bull nose. I have one more to do but the recess is a little deeper than the rest and I need about...

Hello, I've read a fair bit on this forum about real wood floors and it appears that the route preferred by most if laying on a concrete floor is to lay it floating rather than glue it down to the concrete. I want to lay around 50m2 of oak which is around 110mm wide random length T&G...

I have a new 'I' section steel I need to box in with plasterboard and am trying to workout the best way to do it. Above the steel is a wooden wall plate which leaves around a 1" ledge of 'steel' along the length on both sides. My plan is to place battens along the wall plate which will...

I am installing a 600mm Diplomat oven in a standard under counter oven housing. There are virtually no instructions on how it is mounted in the housing (either with the housing or the oven) but a useless diagram showing the oven just slotted into the gap. I have worked out the stability screws...

Hi, I have had a minor disaster with some self levelling compound. I mixed up and poured around 25m2 of Mapei Ultraplan Eco onto my concrete floor on Sunday late afternoon. Yesterday (Monday) it was OK to walk on and I did a few minor jobs and it looked good. This morning (Tuesday) I walk in...

Hi, I want to put a socket under a wide window. The nearest socket on the ring main is on an adjacent wall about half way up the wall and is fed by wires dropped vertically from the void in the ceiling above. Just to make it complicated the area marked with the red crosses has a load of pipes...

I have a wall in the kitchen (which is about to be refitted) that is reasonably smooth after removing the wallpaper but not quite good enough to paint. I am going to glue and skim. At one end of the wall there is a curve which is worst at the bottom of the wall where it is about 3/4" out in the...

I am about to embark on a major kitchen refit which involves pulling up a large tiled floor, moving and renewing pipework to a number of radiators which have had the copper put straight into wet concrete in the late 70's. Having drilled through one of these pipes by accident and having to renew...

Apologies if this in in the wrong category. I am about to refurbish my kitchen and I have a 4 oven AGA which is in an old fireplace. The fireplace is boarded out above the AGA with something painted white. Could be wood or could be fireproof, but it has been done in sections quite badly and...

I rendered a wall a couple of weeks ago and forgot to pick up my feather edge when I went home. Of course when I did it was covered in dried on render (sand + cement). I have chipped away a large portion of it but want to clean off the residue. Anyone got any tips on how I could do this or do I...

My sister lives in the country in Devon and her electricity supply comes to a pole about 400-500yds from the house in a field. On the pole is a single pole breaker and a fuse (60A) in a ceramic holder. From here the live and neutral go back up the pole and then overhead through trees and over a...