Search results

I have 35 stepping stones placed around my garden, each with two 1W uplighters embedded into them shining upwards. Occasionally these units will get wet and short out, requiring them to be replaced. How can I efficiently figure out which of the 70 bulbs is causing the short given the moment I...

I have an existing installation of about 20 meters of LED strip lighting on my patio steps which needs replacing, and I'd like to DIY it. My patio steps are designed as in the picture. In blue are thepatio tiles. There's a small horizontal overhang of about 15mm, and then a small riser (I hope...

I've had the same installation of Tado and Ecotec boiler for about two years and have had no issues in that time, but at some point last night my boiler decided to keep the central heating on despite Tado being shut off (at least according to what the app was reporting to me). I can turn the...

We've recently heard a lot of scratching happening on our exterior walls which I thought at first might have been coming from outside, but I now think may be from inside the wall cavity. Assuming my hunch is correct and we have rats, should I be going to an exterminator, a builder, or perhaps a...

The new house we've moved into has a couple of tiny en-suites fitted in two of the bedroom - a shower, toilet, and sink - but the showers rarely get used as they're not too spacious. Whilst the showers don't get any use the toilets do, and whoever fitted them has plumbed the shower drain to the...

Didn't consider this to be strictly woodwork; can a moderator please move this to a different category if 'general' is inappropriate? I need to cut through some backboard in the back of my wardrobes to feed some power cables through. I can't remove the backboard, and unfortunately don't have...

I'm doing a bit of redecorating in my living room and need to make the right half of a two gang wall socket "disappear" - preferably flush to the wall. I'm thinking I can either pull out the existing pattress and reposition the entire two gang unit half-a-box-width to the left, pull out the...

I've been looking around for materials to finish off an Ikea wardrobe and make it look more "fitted" - I have a 50mm gap between the top of the wardrobes and the ceiling which I need to fill. I've visited Lawsons, Jewsons, B&Q, Travis Perkins, Wickes, B&Q, Homebase, a local timber merchant, to...

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. Please can an admin move this post if so. I'm having a dilemma on how to route some speaker cables through, or behind, the plasterboard in my living room. The plasterboard appears to be of the thermally insulated type - 14mm of plasterboard plus another...

I've taken down an existing light fitting with a view to replacing it with a nicer chandelier. The light which was removed was mounted to a 15cm long metal bar with protruding ends, and the bar itself was affixed to the ceiling using rawlplugs and a couple of screws. What's left is what you can...

I'm trying to locate the studs in a plasterboard wall to mount a 75" TV but so far with no luck. I've attempted to use a stud finder, but upon drilling into the wall where it locates a stud I'm finding no more than the 15mm plasterboard seen in the pics below. It seems to be locating "studs"...

I've managed to scratch what appears to be some sort of varnish coating on a wooden kitchen counter at my new house (although it appears to be a varnish of sorts it's really really thin). Pictures below. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve/remedy this?

I'm looking to replace an existing metal 30mm single gang back box with a dual gang one, to accommodate a LightwaveRF light switch I'm fitting. It has to be at least 30mm to accommodate the LightwaveRF modules, and I don't wish to chisel out the existing cavity to accommodate a 35mm deep box...

I'm trying to install a Lightwave master/slave combination for my stairway lighting. The master, downstairs, is a three gang Lightwave switch. The existing wiring to the gang that drives the stairway lighting consisting of... - Brown - Blue - Earth (The above are all in one core) - Blue (no...

Our toilet's recently started leaking. A picture of the of the slow fill valve that's installed is below. With the float fully raised, water still trickles down the plastic outflow pipe to the right of the foreground of the picture. It's not much, but it's noticeable enough. I've taken the...

So I've taken the punt in buying a Nest and have consulted the wiring diagram for my existing Digistat and what the Heat Link requires. I've got these available in the wall... These connected at the Digistat... And here's what I presume is the relevant diagram from the Nest manual... I...

We've recently moved in to a new build apartment which I understand has communal heating for the entire building, controlled by a Digistat +2 thermostat installed near the front door. Before we go ahead with the purchase I've been researching the necessary changes which will be required to...

Our Prima F boiler's getting on to be about ten years old or so and makes one hell of a racket when what I presume is the motor kicks in. The noise can be heard throughout the house and it rattles the flue in the alley way terribly. Here's a video demonstrating the noise... Does anyone...

I've recently had a chap come round to take a look at my upvc french doors at the front of our house which seem to catch in hot weather and are ok when it's cold out. He took the door apart and came to the conclusion that the door hadn't dropped, but packed an extra (think it was 1mm) wedge...

I've just gone ahead and tried to re-paint some radiator covers. I've not primed the wood as they were previously painted in white already, so i simply sanded them down and dusted them off. The finish is somewhat spoiled by a number of tiny little bubbles all over the surface and i'd like to...