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Moving gas meter !
We are in the middle of a house renovation and our builder suggested that we move the gas meter from the kitchen to the garden. He will get a gas safe engineer to do the job. Can we do that? I read some where that it is illegal to move gas meter yourself but that was in an old internet thread. Has things changed? My…
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Fitting a shower screen/uneven tiles
Hi, we have a glass shower screen to fit. It's a Kudos single panel screen and our last screen leaked badly. The bathroom is new, I'm concerned about the tiles and how to create a good seal to the wall. The tiles are similar to these :…
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Responsibility for water pipe repair before stopcock
Hi, I live in Scotland and own a small flat in a shared block (8 flats). We have a housing association factor who deals with communal repairs and building insurance. Recently I had a large water leak which has flooded my kitchen - I had to get the leak fixed myself as the factor claimed it wasn't their responsibility.…
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Is this asbestos and how to cover?
Hi everyone, Currently doing up a house and in the kitchen there is this alcove where I think the old flue used to be. There's a lot of plastic cladding screwed into the wall which looks hideous. So, on removing the cladding I came across this yellowed foam type stuff (images linked) and I have two questions:…
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B&Q Laminate flooring - any good?
Hey folks, Rennovating my new home and I am coming upto the flooring stage. Its my first house so the whole rennovation has opened my eyes to the amount of choice there is for EVERYTHING! My brother is a builder and he suggested using Howdens. He has Howdens laminate which looks great and he hasnt had any issues with…
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Landscaping project - deposit
We are having our rear garden landscaped later this year. We have a designer and are working towards the final presentation plan stages. We have had quotes from two landscaping firms - one of whom was recommended by the designer as she has worked with them on projects in the past. There wasn't much in it between the two…
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Signs of subsidence?
Hi I had someone come round to have a look at some work I wanted doing. Although not related to what he was quoting for he look out of the upstairs window and noticed the pointing on the outside brickwork had gone. His first question was has the house moved - I nearly fainted and was shocked that I had not spotted this. I…
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Builder asking for too much money upfront for extension and shed builds
Hi all, Can I please get some advice from you all.. I am doing a single storey extension (extending the existing lounge) with a bath/shower room in the corner on the side and a brick built shed at the back of the garden. I have been quoted £43.5k for the works, which I THINK is reasonable. Anyway I have narrowed it down to…
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Neighbour's creeper growing over my conservatory roof
We moved into our Victorian house around 25 years ago. Five years later we had a lean to conservatory with a glass roof constructed in the side-return. This was built from the top of the party wall which is around 7 feet high. This was all carried out with the explicit approval of our neighbours at the time who planned to…
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Small 2 bed, 2nd baby on the way..
Morning all! Just after some advice. We currently live in a small two bed new(ish) build. We've been here 3 and a half years. We 'bought' the house through our local housing association and shared ownership scheme. We're pretty much stuck in it - we would need to sell at the price it was valued at when we moved in,…
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Rising damp on internal wall, concrete floor
I've started decorating in my living room and notice that the skirting in the middle of one of the internal walls has started to rot. The wallpaper peeled off really easily, and I could see faint water stains up to about a foot above the ground. The plaster seems sound. I've had one guy in to give a quote. He pointed out a…
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How to remove old tile adhesive
I need help with removing the adhesive that is put in between tiles. The adhesive is mostly on the edges of the tiles, but I had forgotten to clean it and now it's a pain to clean. It works with a sharp tool, but it takes way too long. I was wondering if there was an alternative method, some chemical component or something…
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Builder Dilemna
I have been having some very bad luck with my loft conversion and am finding that my usually sucessful calm and considered approach to life's many challenges is deserting me. Below is posted an email to my builder this morning, his reply and my reply to his. I apologise for the length of my post but it is a lengthy affair.…
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Quick question about the need to replace a baythroom SOIL PIPE
I have had a quote from a builder to refurbish my upstairs bathroom. He seem like he knows what he is talking about. In his quote he has stated the need to remove a soil pipe that connects the toilet. Trouble is, he said this may be tricky as would need to possibly cut the wall in the kitchen to be able to remove it - it…
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Thames Water Garden Leak
My garden has been saturated with water for over 2 years. Thames water have told me it is a leak on the supply pipe in the street but don't know where the leak is. They have undertaken many repairs in the street but can't find the leak that is effecting me. They said they will pay to channel the water away from my garden…
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Powrmatic Air Conditioner?
Has anyone ever come across this company before or ever encountered the below air conditioner? http://www.powrmatic.co.uk/products/air-conditioning/browse/view/product/vision-2-3/ It is basically an air conditioner without the external condenser unit. According to the website it is relatively quiet at 27db-41db (max…
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best value for display quality photo prints...
Hi folks, I may need to post this to a specialist photography forum, but here goes! I have an old but venerable Epson photo printer, rated highly back in the day and quite capable of archive quality prints up to A3 in size, but... the ink cartridges are very dear. Do you think I'm better off getting my fave photos printed…
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garage roof replacement
Trying to find someone to replace corrugated (probably) asbestos sheets on my pitched roof garage. I’ve contacted 2 specialist nationwide firms who are always advertising everywhere (danmarque and VSF) and they charge around £2k which I don’t really want to spend so I’m hoping to find a local roofer or similar. The high…
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Repairing solid wood flooring
So, the inevitable has happened and there are a few minor dents and scratches on our wood flooring and I wonder if anyone has any good tips to repair/minimise the issue. I am taking really minor, such as the odd knife being dropped in the kitchen to cause a slight dent, tiny pieces chipped off as a result of day to day…
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Shed roof pitch too shallow, need advice to stay with pitch
Hi everybody I need some advice and guidance, I’ve mucked up a few years back and now I am sort of having to resolve the problem I’ve created. I either must have done the job well first time or more likely the materials I used saved me for this long, what I am talking about is the shallow pitched roof on my timber cabin…
