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In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving

Archives for December 2014

OH dropped meat slicer into sink - how long to dry out?
OH was dismantling meat slicer (Kenwood) into its component parts to wash when slippery hands caused him to inadvertently drop section containing the motor into the washing up bowl. (Its OK it was unplugged at the time.) Any suggestions on how long it should take to dry out before we can safely use it again?
slimline electric wall heater, (Narrow)
Guys struggling to find a retailer that does this. Im after a slimline (ish) electric convector heater, (lets say no more than 2 inches deep, including gap behind wall brackets. Standard height (ie it is not a restriction) and no more than 500, maybe 600 mm wide at a push. Does anyone have any recommendations please?…
Vaillant VCGB282EH Not Firing Up
I have had this boiler since new and it has been regularly serviced with parts replaced when necessary. It had an external expansion vessel fitted march 2014 and recently it has had a new pump fitted and the servo and surrounding tubes cleared/checked. The boiler runs great in the day giving us heat and water but each…
Help water leaking from my bath into flat below!
I have recently bought a leasehold flat and I have water leaking into the flat below. I have opened the bath panel and ran and ran water but no leak whatsoever. Its definitely coming from my flat as If i run the water for a while I saw a drip in the downstairs flat. I don't know what to do.Its not really bad but taking up…
Combi boiler shower
I recently had a Vaillant Ecotec 837 boiler installed. I went for the most powerful boiler I could to give me a decent 'powerful' shower. The boiler is capable of giving 15.2 litres per minute of domestic hot water through a 35 degree temperature rise. I could have gone for the smaller 831 boiler as this was more than…
Builders estimate
Hi all,hope someone can help We have had a new bathroom installed by a builder we've used before and his estimate was £2000 and £700 for materials,realised it was an estimate and could go up,he found problems with the floor and drainage which he said in an email would cost another £800 including materials which brought the…
Crack on recently installed double glazing
[IMG][/img] Hi, I had double glazing installed in my flat about 18 months ago. Recently, I was cleaning one of the windows. Then, the following day a large crack appeared.(see pic) I wasn't aware of the crack the day before. Is this a common sort of problem with double glazing? Is it typical of glass cracking in a certain…
Advice for downstairs bathroom please
We live in a two bedroom semi with a downstairs bathroom which we want to renovate. We have already added an en suite shower room to the larger bedroom and are now thinking of getting rid of the bath in the downstairs bathroom and just keeping the toilet and basin. The downstairs bathroom is very small and we never use the…
Decorative panels for interior insulation
We haven't lived in our house for long but in the last week have become aware that some of the solid walls are astonishingly cold. Ideally we'd have them insulated internally. But we have now pretty much used up our budget and my patience with finding reliable people to do work. So I'd like to put it off for a while. I was…
102 mm hole cutter
I need to cut a 102 mm hole in the soffit of my house for a bathroom extractor fan. I thought I could drill lots of little holes from my loft but I cannot get close enough from inside the loft so I will have to do it from outside up a ladder :eek: I only have a battery drill so will I be able to use that to drill the hole…
buying a new sofa
thinking of buying as new sofa, so i'm after peoples experiences of DFS and SCS. quality, value for money that sort of thing.
1 half of double oven dead?
The larger part of our electric built in double oven died just now, top part still works as does the LCD clock, but not the lower part. Any ideas please?
Anything in your house only you seem to like?
Any quirks or characteristics you have in your house that only you who live there seem to like? Any decoration styles? Random question I know but I was thinking if anyone else has any. We have a feature fire place that we did making triangles with Frogtape, painting the triangles in with 3 different colours (grey, light…
Liming Wax
Quick question Can I use liming wax onto matt paint to seal it? I've painted a piece of furniture and what to give it a bit of a worn look, so hoping the wax will help Thank you :beer:
Cavity wall insulation causing damp ?
HI I am not sure if anyone can help ? We moved into our house approx 6 years ago and while the house was very dirty and unloved there was no signs of damp / mould at all. About four years ago we had cavity wall insulation installed by one of those government grant schemes. Since then the mould / damp problem in the house…
Large ceiling cracks
Hi, we're redecorating our hallway and have taken down the coving around the ceiling. When doing this I have found some quite substantial cracks in the plaster - see photo. It's a 1930s semi, and this crack runs along the inside of the un-attached exterior wall. I've seen hairline cracks in our downstairs ceiling before,…
Double Glazing Issue, Leaking around windows
Hi again good people of here I am after some advice for my mother this time. Basically, she had new windows fitted a few months a go and now, when it is wet or raining, water is seeping in around the edges somewhere and causing the wall around the windows to get damp.. it is clearly visable as it turns the emulsion darker.…
Insulate pitched roof porch
Hi I want to insulate the potrch, its freezing now and I think there is no insulation at the top, is there a way to remove the pitch roof a little and insert insulation or would I have to take the white cardboard roof off that you see from inside the porch
Council botched Job
Not quite a home issue, however the local council have decided to create a public right of way along our boundary fence, which we dont have an issue with. As part of the works it was agreed the council would supply a new close boarded fence. At the time we raised concerns as our land is a good 2foot higher than the level…
Freezer not freezing
Hi all First up I have to confess that I have no knowledge of how things work sorry :o I have a Proline mini freezer, a table top one, which has stopped freezing all of a sudden. It has worked fine til now, and 2 days ago I went to put something in and noticed stuff was defrosting. Luckily I had space in the main fridge…

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MSE News

Ofgem proposes new 'no standing charge' Price Cap – but Martin Lewis warns vulnerable customers need to be opted in or it won't work
Ofgem has today launched detailed proposals for a major shake up to its Energy Price Cap that dictates the price over 80% of homes in England, Scotland and Wales pay for their energy bills.
Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to cut overdraft rates for millions but hike them for others – here's what's happening and full help
If you're a Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland current account holder, the interest rate you're charged for using your overdraft could change soon as part of a fees shake-up. The Lloyds Banking Group, which owns all three brands, says millions of its customers will pay less after the changes – but a "few" will pay more.
Warm Home Discount expansion confirmed with millions more eligible for the £150 top-up this winter – here's what we know
Around 2.7 million more low-income households, including 900,000 families with children, will become eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount this winter, as the Government has confirmed it will remove the existing 'hard to heat' eligibility criteria. The extension has only been confirmed for winter 2025/26, with further changes possible for future years.
Martin Lewis: At last a chance to fix Council Tax flaws impacting millions – debt collection, difficulty challenging your band, discounts and more
Major flaws in the Council Tax system in England could finally be fixed in future, as the Government has launched a wide-ranging consultation to review hideous debt collection practices, the difficulty of challenging your band, the overly complex and horribly-named Severe Mental Impairment discount and more. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, who has long campaigned on these issues, shares his response and analysis.
Energy complaints to be dealt with more quickly and Energy Ombudsman to get new powers under Government plans
If you have a complaint about your energy firm, it may be resolved more quickly in future, as the Government has announced a raft of proposals to strengthen consumer protections in the energy market. The planned changes include giving the Energy Ombudsman new powers to force firms to comply with its decisions – but it's still very early days. Here's what we know so far.
Warm Home Discount expansion confirmed with millions more eligible for the £150 top-up this winter – here's what we know
Around 2.7 million more households, including 900,000 families with children, will become eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount this winter, as the Government has confirmed it will remove the existing 'hard to heat' eligibility criteria. The extension has only been confirmed for winter 2025/26, with further changes possible for future years.
Base rate held at 4.25% – here's what it means and when it might be cut next
The Bank of England has held the base rate at 4.25%. Below we explain why, when it might be cut, plus what it means for your mortgage and savings.
Applied for South West Trains 'boundary fares' compensation? Act now to claim it
If you applied for compensation from South West Trains before the deadline in January 2025, you now need to provide your bank details to the claim administrator so it can be paid to you. Here's what you need to know.
Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payment this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.

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In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving

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