Search results

Hi. I need to remove a radiator but just need to check - the lockshield valve seems to have an adjustable cover. It won't come off and has + and - signs on with arrows. If I turn it in the minus direction will that isolate the radiator? (Obviously also turning off the thermostat valve). I...

Hi We have a very slow (one every 1-2 minutes) drip into our toilet cistern, which is resulting in a very slow drip from the outside overflow pipe. I slightly adjusted the amount of water coming into the cistern so it doesn't immediately fill so far up, but this hasn't made a difference as the...

I've got an electrician coming on Friday, but would welcome any thoughts before then. Last night I opened my built in electric oven door and the house power tripped. I took the bulb out (it comes on when the door's opened) but this made no difference. It then got worse and was tripping the...

Hi We have a new wooden front door which is very well fitted. However, we have a draught problem down the lock side but the door is too well fitted for stick on draught excluder strip on the frame where the door edge meets the frame, as the door won't shut when it (foam or the spongy version)...

Just need to check a few things before attempting to insulate our kitchen roof space. We have just discovered it is not insulated at all. The kitchen is the old Victorian out house buildings - converted probably about 20 years ago. We've just gained access to the adjoining neighbour's out...

Just need to check a few things before attempting to insulate our kitchen roof space. We have just discovered it is not insulated at all. The kitchen is the old Victorian out house buildings - converted probably about 20 years ago. We've just gained access to the adjoining neighbour's out...

Being indecisive, so would welcome views from anyone who has used anaglypta panel wallpaper for below dado rails. This is going on one 5 metre (roughly) length of wall. The panel widths are 67cm repeats so will need to be trimmed somewhere. So, would it look better to start in the middle...

We had the front of our terrace house re-rendered then painted last summer (18months). Very happy with it. However, a couple of months ago we noticed a thin hair line stretching from the edge of the upstairs window recess across to the edge of the render (and it seems to take a step up nearer...

Hi Our terrace (red brick) was built in 1896. We are sorting out the fireplace, which is red brick, and I'm unsure what type of mortar has been used for the pointing. I read on the site that it could be lime based due to the age. There are obvious bits of cement repairs, but most of it...

Hi Am about to skim the upstairs hall/landing. The party wall is no problem but the other, internal wall is old plaster and lath. There are only a few small holes but a couple of areas are quite spongy, particularly on a narrow bit of wall between two door frames where I think the laths are...

Tonight our boiler decided to ignore requests to heat our hot water, instead it fires up and heats the radiators, even though the central thermostat is telling it to not do so. It's a Worcester Bosch condensor 25HE, only 3.5 years old, and running fine until now. I've tried hitting the...

We're re-tiling a bathroom wall and one wall is a bit wavey, though the plaster is pretty sound - just a couple of patches going back to the brick and some plaster finish has come away. The uneveness is particularly the case from the window recess edge to the rest of the wall as the frame is a...

Our electrician (from registered local firm, not dodgy) has just used the wire that used to feed an electric shower in the bathroom to wire the oven in the kitchen below. This has meant extending the wire with a junction box and then running it through the ceiling below. He has put this in the...

We live in a terraced row of 12 and are right in the middle. Recently (after having new kitchen taps fitted) we have developed banging in our water pipes when our neighbours use the water supply. At first it seemed to be just our immediate neighbours, but has progressed to include more of...

We had a latex screed put down on top of old terracotta floor tiles in our kitchen a couple of months ago. They laid the screed one afternoon and came back the next morning to lay the lino flooring. Ridges have appeared across the floor now. Having presumed the floor would be flat I'm a bit...