-
Central heating system - welcome advice
Hi I have an approximately fifteen year old Glowworm Hideaway 80B with a F&E cistern in the loft, and have been having problems that I cannot get to the bottom of. The issue is that heating only turns on if the hot water is turned off and then on again in a certain order (and only if there is cold water to heat in the hot…
-
Worcester Greenstar Ri Annoying Fault
It's about 5 years old with no displayed fault codes on the model. The system is open vented with 4 zones, 3 x CH and 1 x HW. 3 weeks ago it went to lockout with the green light flashing. Reset and no further problems. Yesterday it did the same first thing in the morning. The pipes were lukewarm so it obviously had briefly…
-
Rated tradesmen sites - No responses
A couple of years ago I used Rated people.com and Mybuilder for finding trustworthy people to do various plumbing, building work. I always got good responses. What a contrast today. Nothing. Not one reply or response to posted jobs. Even directly inviting a tradesmen to a specific electrical job they do not respond. Does…
-
Ideas Please??
Hi we are in the process of buying a house in need of refurbishment, The bathroom is minute, and we are hoping to add an ensuite somewhere. The house is a semi, with the adjoining property on the side of Bed 1 and 3. Can anybody come up with ideas where we may be able to fit a small ensuite? we are really struggling to see…
-
Boiler programmer switches on and off - help!
Hi all, Noticed that there was no hot water this evening so looked at the boiler programmer and the screen was blank. I reset it and the display returned so I then reprogrammed all the settings and pressed the button to switch on the water for an hour and randomly the display light switches on and off repeatedly and I can…
-
Help with new light fitting
Having installed one ceiling light in my kitchen, I'm trying to do the second. However, there are two cables coming in from the void. Each is identical with a live neutral and earth (blue brown and yellow/green). Nothing was connected to the loop on the ceiling rose. The new light fitting only has room for one L and one N…
-
LED Bulbs to Save Money...Voltages...
Lots of halogen downlights in my flat, recessed into the ceiling. All currently MR16 halogen bulbs, 50W, 12V. Each bulb is plugged into an individual 12V transformer. Looking at swapping the halogen bulbs out for LEDs. However I gather LEDs are unlikely to work properly with the existing 12V transformers because the…
-
How to reduce noise on wooden flooring?
Hi. I'm moving my family into a new home where the flooring in the living room is wooden (oak, in case it's important). We have a two-year-old and a five-year-old who obviously run about when they are playing (as well as dropping stuff on the floor all the time) and I am worried about upsetting the neighbours (it's a…
-
Overcharged for work?
We hired a roofer who said our chimney pointing would be a 2 day job. He said £550 fixed price- no scaffolding required. Based on this I felt it was reasonable and we booked him in. Day one he cancelled due to sickness. Day 2 he arrived at 10am, half an hour break and finished at 2. 3.5 hrs work..... Where do I start? It's…
-
New small hot water tank or combi boiler??
My kitchen sink and the guest room above it are a long way from my hot water tank, so I waste loads of hot water drawing it through the long length of pipes. I reckon I run the tap for 20-30 seconds to get hot water, and probably do this around 10 times a day. I am considering having a small hot water tank with an…
-
Problem with glazing complany
We needed a new window on the landing - the old one was nasty and rotten when we bought the house and we've only just got around to sorting it. So someone from a small local glazing company comes and quotes us for a new window, which was to be a fully opening fire escape window. Fella came to fit it and when he'd finished…
-
Can I mount notice board on side of kitchen unit
As the title says! We have built an extension with a large, open plan kitchen/living area and one of the sides of a larder unit faces into the lounge area and would be perfect for a notice board. I've found one that is perfect but it's quite big (100cm x 50cm) and expensive so don't want to make a mistake. If I can do it,…
-
Extension Potential: Who First?
Obviously I need full PP.... but, in order to submit that I need to know what I am wanting permission for - and that's where I get stuck. I know where the extension will go, but I don't know how big, or what the layout should be. It's a tricky plot, with considerations for width/length and light entering into it. It's also…
-
National Geographic subscription
Hi all, sorry wasn't sure where to put this, hopefully it's okay! I bought a National Geographic subscription in July, as a gift for my OH. At some point during the process purchase, I was told that delivery would be 8-12 weeks. This seemed excessive, but I went ahead with it anyway. At the end of August I received some…
-
Washing machine - time to call in help ?
The last couple of times I've used my washing machine, I've noticed that when I open the door there's a small pile of suds on the rubber seal. The washing also feels as though it's not rinsed properly (I usually do another rinse - again a pile of suds). I've checked the filter and wiped round the rubber rim (lots of suds…
-
Best way to fill in hole in render?
We have noticed a damp patch on our internal wall – our gutter is leaking and where the water runs down has worn a hole in the render. Obviously the gutter needs fixed but whilst waiting I do need to fill in the render – the hole is the size of a plum and as deep at least – what’s the best thing to use? Should I use one of…
-
Tree/Shrub roots blocking drains help?
Can anyone advise? Drains blocked 3 times in a matter of months. So last time paid Drain Doctor to come out and clear and put CCTV down to have a look at cost of £180. They advertise fixed charge of £149 but omit to tell you it doesn't include VAT. For some reason the guy didn't put the camera all the way down to the…
-
Best tape for carpet repair?
DH has asked me to get a recommendation for the 'best' tape for putting over frayed bits of carpet. It's not going to look pretty ... On a dodgy carpet join at my Mum's house, I used grey gaffer tape and just replaced it and rolled it down hard at regular intervals. Any improvements on that?
-
Blocking Smell from Next Door
So, I live in a 2-bedroom mid-terrace; we moved in about 18 months ago. First house, my wife had a good feeling about this one. As it turns out, as well as being terribly noisy, the young family next door on the end also cook terrible-smelling food and apparently have their extraction fan pumping straight into the space…
-
What tradesman do I need for window locks/sash jammers etc?
My doors are wooden and only have one deadbolt on them and the windows do not have locks (they're normal white pvc double glazed). I've been reading about sash jammers and thought they would be a good idea for the windows. I'm not sure what I should get for the doors. I've been looking around for someone to come and fit…
