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Hello I've found some solvent based varnish which suits my project made by Blackfriar. It's a coloured light oak varnish, but they only make it in Gloss whereas we would prefer Satin. However in the same range they do a clear satin varnish. Can I just apply the coloured gloss, but then paint...

Hello I've built some new shelves in the kitchen from plywood and would like to apply a veneer surface followed by varnishing. Once the veneer is stuck down, how would you go about trimming the edges? Is it worth buying a special trimmer or just use a very sharp chisel? Thanks Robin

Hello For some time I've been noticing a slight odour in the toilet and today discovered that the sealing filler on the waste pipe has shrunk leaving a slight gap. It's been there over 30 years so perhaps not surprising it's shrunk, please see photo. Which sealer do you recommend I should use...

Hello We accidentally made a small drill hole about 3mm in our 21.5mm floplast condensate pipe and I was wondering how to fix it. It's in a awkward place to cut the pipe and fit a joiner so perhaps we can permanently patch such a small hole? My first thought was to cut a joiner up to make a...

Hello I have a water meter under the kitchen sink and want to upgrade the pipework. I know water companies have strict rules that customers should not tamper with their meters, however the pipework I wish to change is on my side of the meter. The meter has a compression joint on the top, and...

Hi I am planning to renew the skirting board in my kitchen and the moment there is no covering on the floor. Eventually it will have vinyl lino at one end and a thin pile carpet in the dining area at the other side. Should I leave a small gap between the skirting board and the floor and if so...

Hello A simple question just to satisfy my curiosity! I need to have the bonding replaced between my consumer unit and the incoming gas pipe, which are next to each other. I know this is done so that the copper pipes in the house are earthed, but what potential faults can cause the pipework...

Hello Yesterday I decided to clean the magnetic filter on my combi boiler which was fine, but sometime later I discovered water leaking from the bottom of the boiler. I assume that I must have disturbed the joint where the rad return pipe connects to the boiler, since that's the only pipe that...

My water company recently came to replace my Water Meter and the plumber used all push fit copper fittings. He told me they couldn't solder joints anymore because the water company insists that after soldering a joint they have to watch it for an hour afterwards to make sure nothing catches fire...

Hello Due to some kitchen alterations I need to reroute my condensate pipe from a Vaillant EcoTech Boiler. This is a fairly simple job, and it has a good gradual drop, I just have one question. The old pipe is fairly loose where it connects to the underside of the boiler. I assume there is no...

Hello I have an old Wylex Fusebox which has some re-wireable fuses and some MCB upgrades. I know there is no great advantage in upgrading rewireable fuses to MCB's other than they can be reset quickly. They do not offer RCD protection. However can you tell me, do MCB's react quicker to a...

Hi We are building an alcove in the kitchen with sides made of 18mm plywood. We'd like to add some shelves which are reasonably strong, enough to hold a microwave. What supports would you recommend for the shelves please? The supports need to be fitted from the inside, so we thought about...

I would charge it slowly for a day, then disconnect the charger and most importantly let the battery cool down for a few hours. Then measure the output voltage. There are charts on the internet that give the following capacity levels: 12.89v+ 100% 12.65v 80% 12.41v 60% 12.0v 30% So if you never...

Hi I'm planning to extend a ring main by breaking into the ring using Wago connectors and boxes. The extension is quite short and I'm only adding one socket, however the cables will need to be chased into plasterboard. Is there a minimum parallel distance you would recommend between the...

Hi On a socket tester what is the correct measurement for N-E voltage? If the socket is wired properly should the Neutral to Earth voltage be zero? If there is a small voltage present, why does that happen and what is an acceptable maximum please?

Thanks for your replies, which all make perfect sense. I thought the network operator only was allowed to remove the main fuse, hence my question.

I have always wondered how electricians work with live wires when changing consumer units? Presumably you don't pull the main fuse that belongs to the network and so have to connect live incoming wires? Do you wear thick rubber boots? I should point out I am just curious, I have no plans to...

Only a couple of days. It will be in the warm weather, so won't be using the boiler much. I'm not just moving the pipework, also rewiring and plastering behind them, so it would be handy to have the pipes out of the way for a couple of days.

I am doing some alterations on my kitchen. The boiler condensate pipe from the upstairs boiler passes behind some kitchen cupboards on it's way to the drain. I need to reroute the pipe which is not a problem. For a short while, until the job is finished, is it OK to cut the pipe and collect the...

I'll check the cable later to make sure, it looks like standard ring main cable. Yes it is a rewireable fuse. Obviously I couldn't have a double oven running on this cable, but the current single Bosch oven is only 10 amp.