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...well I think it's the damp course. There's a plastic sheet embedded in the wall above the second course of bricks. Underneath there the bricks are painted with a black substance. The whole lot seems to have been constructed on top of the concrete base which overhangs the brickwork about 8...

I have a large garage workshop and want to build a small room in one corner by creating a new L-shaped wall. I was wondering what the best way to construct this was. I have a fair bit of (DIY) experience at building stud partitions but what are the best materials to use? The garage is dry...

I want to remove a double glazing module (from the side of my front door) and replace it with a solid UPVC panel and cut it out for a cat flap. I'm unsure what I'm asking for (and where) to buy the replacement panel. Obviously I don't want to have to buy an 8x4 sheet of something! I assume I...

I have a large brick-built garage on a concrete floor. It is, sadly, not particularly watertight and I'm trying to sort it. The 'pedestrian' entrance is a normal upvc external door and when it rains it leaks around the bottom. It's hard to see exactly where the leak is coming from. The...

Does anybody know where I can get UPVC mouldings in DIY quantities? I destroyed a couple of the facings around my kitchen windows removing tiles - some comedian had fitted the facings over the tiles. The Jewsons and B&Qs of the world don't appear to stock it. Thanks.

Had my central heating in bits and found everything to be full of the black gunge! Now it's going back together can someone recommend a good treatment to clean it out and then a good inhibitor (or what's the best thing to do with it)? I've had a good look around and I'm a bit overwhelmed with...

I am fitting a (single) kitchen sink with a (Ikea) sliding waste bin drawer underneath. There isn't a great deal of clearance between the two. I'm pretty sure a conventional trap that sits right under the sink drain will foul the drawer. I've had a good look around and can't find anything...

We've been doing a lot of remodelling in our house involving replacing and relocating radiators. It's all done with 8mm microbore. So far, everything I have touched has broken or leaked - the system must be 20 years old and turns out to be in bad shape. I have new radiator valves to...

Today I drained my central heating system to relocate a radiator. Everything went fine and I filled and bled the system. Within a couple of hours, the pressure has gone and there is a pool of water under the (combi) boiler. I didn't go near the boiler. Where might I have gone wrong?? I'm...

I am about to replace a wooden fence in my garden and am contemplating a style. Anyway... I've noticed that lots of wooden fences made with vertical boards have a wire running a few inches from the top stapled to each board. What's it for and why do I want one?

I have a substantial brick-built workshop/garage. One wall is letting in substantial amounts of water when it rains and the brickwork is damp. On further inspection, outside there is an earth slope running down (the bad way) at about 30 degrees from the next-door property which is a good...

I plan to remove a 1.3m gap between a room in my house and an existing extension. The wall in question is the old outside cavity wall. I know that the "inner"part of the wall supports the upstairs floor joists. I have no idea (yet) how the extension joists are supported. There is no wall...

I have inherited a bit of an electrical mess in the Garage/Workshop behind my house and am getting around to sorting it out. It's currently wired with a plastic CU (broken and held together with gaffa tape) and then everything else wired with T&E in plastic conduit up and down the walls and...

I've used a compressor for years without know much about them... The other day the regulator on mine got a smack and broke off. I've removed the broken bits from the tank output port and obtained a new wall-mounted one. The trouble is that I'm not sure how to connect the two together. The...

I am building a summer- house in my garden and would appreciate some advice re. wiring it up. I need to have a couple of lights, and a couple of sockets. The most I will run is a small electric heater. I plan to run the feed to the summer house from my garage using a catenary. Burying the...

I'm looking to replace my boiler with something less rubbish. We currently have a Halstead Finest where the name is clearly wrong as it's rubbish. It's just a small two bedroom end terrace so I don't need anything massive but good HW performance is a must. The thing must fill a bath in a...

I have a Halstean Finest (47-333-06) combi boiler. No DHW. I had a look and the pin on the end of the diverting valve was not actuating the microswitch. The local plumber agreed that the valve is faulty, but wants the thick end of 500 quid to replace it which seems a bit steep. He did say that...