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load bearing wall had buckled
Hi, I wonder if anyone could help or had a similar problem? I was having work done on our flat and I received a call from our Builder saying that a load bearing wall had buckled and to contact our Structural Engineers asap. We are a basement, Victorian flat with 4 flats above. The Structural Engineer arrived and confirmed…
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Bathroom tiling help
Ok I know this sounds daft but I want to check what is right before I start tiling. Do I start the tile level a couple of mm above the bath tub or do I have the bath tub level come halfway up a tile. Tiles are 20cm by 25cm. At most it will be about 8m2 of tiling. Expected delivery of bath suite is 26th August so should I…
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Uncovering and reinstating disused drain
My house is a very typical 1930s 3 bed detached. I am in the process of uncovering a drain that has been covered over with tarmac. There are 2 downpipes coming from the roof gutters. One goes to the back of the house and the other is at the front. We have a car port between our house and the neighbouring house. When the…
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Do i have to lift shower tray to check waste pipe?
Hi, I have a upstaris shower which has been causing me water leakage problems for a while now, I have posted about it before. Fed up trying to sort it out myself as I am not good at diy so probably will have to call in a plumber. Just wondering as regards the square shower tray itself (not plastic) if I wanted to check the…
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small rectangle of quartz worktop - good supplier please?
Hi I'm looking for a small section of piece of quartz worktop for an island - just a simple rectangle about 1m x .8m), so don't need templating etc. and just the most basic edging option. Can anyone point me to a good but cheap supplier? I'm in Bristol? Some of the online quote places are creeping into 4 figures!!! Thanks…
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Disadvantage of a bigger boiler?
I've asked this on the gas and electricity board but have been told you guys might be able to help also. Apologies in advance for the long post... We are about to install a new combi boiler and new central heating system are are trying to decide which boiler to go for. The house is a 3 bed detached with secondary glazing…
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Shower mixer broken... what do i do?
Hello everyone. We currently have a very old mixer shower in our bathroom that has been running fine for some time now. Yesterday it decided it didn't want to turn off. I took it apart and can see that its the part called 'plunger plate' but the parts for these showers are now not available.. and i don't think i can find…
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Boundary Line
Sorry if this has been posted before but is there anyway at all we can find out the exact position of our boundary line? We have just purchased the house which is late 1930's and all the documents from the solicitor just show a rough line - not exact & not to scale. The reason I ask is we have just found an old aerial…
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Where can I get decent cleaning gear (like Fly Lady stuff)?
I am trying to get my house a lot cleaner as it has fallen into a state due to me feeling not so good healthwise. I've started to have a look at the FlyLady website to start organising my house again and have noticed that the cleaning tools look really useful. Where in the UK would I get something like: 1. A rubba scrubba…
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Insulation above a suspended wooden floor
Hi, I have just moved into a property that was built in the 1920s. It is built on a slight slope and the majority of the downstairs is a suspended wooden floor. This is a LHA house and although this is not my property I intend to make it my home. As such we are responsible for decoration and light maintenance. It appears…
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What do I need to get in writing?
Just about to (finally!) sign up a kitchen fitter. I have received several quotes. Do I need to get anything else in writing? I am thinking about timeframes etc. All the guys have suggested about a week for the work, but do I need this in writing?
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bathroom contractor asking for further interim payments
Ok, so I'm starting to worry & wondered if anyone could put my mind at rest please ? We bought a bathroom from a local independent retailer. They have approved fitters that you make separate arrangements to pay ( the cost of the work is £4,000 fixed). We've been asked for and have paid £3000. For that, we have had the…
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Building Quote changed after quote provided
Long term lurker, first time post so be gentle please :) I'm having a double garage with two single doors converted into a double garage with one wide (17ft) automatic sectional door fitted. This involves the removal of the central pillar and a new catnic lintel fitted-total cost including good quality door £2500 (some…
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Bedroom configuration options?
O.k, so we've had the architect out tonight to discuss the room configurations. We currently have a 3 bedroom house with 2 extremely large bedrooms and one box room. Ideally we wanted 4 bedrooms (this is our forever home) and hoped we could fit 2 bedrooms in the loft. But this isn't going to be as planned. We also really…
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Johnstones Ultra High Opacity Matt Paint
I'm thinking of using Johnstones Ultra High Opacity Matt Paint - Brilliant white, to emulsion walls and ceilings in the hall/staircase. My main reason for considering this product is because it says it has a high opacity and so is likely to cover well. Also it costs a good bit less than Dulux Trade, depending on where it's…
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Need to put something on wall to cover patch
The feature wall in my living room has a squarish patch of paint that is a slightly different colour to the rest of the wall. It's too late to repaint the whole wall (the flooring and rads are all on now). So, I need to hang something up on the wall to cover up the patch, which is around 18" square. It's close to the…
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Furniture needs touching up - What sort of oil/wax
Hi everyone, Just got a sideboard and it needs a little refresh, and there is one spot which looks like has gone back to wood, or faded a little too much. Its solid oak so what is the best way to restore this, aslong as it looks the same all over i'll be happy Pics are below…
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Wardrobes glued to skirting!
For some reason completely unknown to me (apart from the chap seemed to be fond of glue everywhere) the previous owner of our house has made "fitted" wardrobes secure by gluing (with some very strong glue I might add) some standard DIY shed wardrobes onto the skirting. Any tips on how to get these off, preferably without…
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Potential lead paint on stairs - solutions?
As the title says, we (ok, I) pulled up the nasty carpet on the stairs to find several layers of even nastier green gloss paint. The house is Victorian so i'm not taking any chances with sanding it. I know that it is possible to use a heat gun or paint stripper but i've also read that you can paint over it. I wouldn't have…
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New stronger floor in loft space
Evening all, would REALLY appreciate some help on the following. First off, basic floor plan of the loft: Hard lines are the walls on the first floor underneath, joists on the first floor landing run left to right so does that mean the central wall running front to back is 'load bearing'? Total loft dimensions are 5.2m…
