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Keeping outside vent when replacing vent holes with extractor fan?
One bathroom has those passive vent holes through the wall, with a grille on the outside. I want to have an extractor fan installed. I would like to keep the current outside grille, because it's above a conservatory and would probably require scaffolding to get at from the outside. Could our installer simply put in the…
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What are the rules/guidelines on external CCTV
After a spate of burglaries in our area, we have got some CCTV cameras for the outside of the house, front and rear. Are there laws, or guidelines, or unwritten rules for how to position them? I am thinking around capturing neighbours' homes/cars/gardens. The back garden isn't so bad, as we have fences or trees shielding…
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Bath Waste Outflow Leaking for a Second Time
Back at the beginning of September I had a leak underneath the bath that turned out to be the waste outflow so I had Dyno plumbing come and repair it, took a couple of hours as the bath panel had been tiled in by the previous owner so the plumber had to smash through it. Total cost was £220 and he replaced the bath waste…
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Cheap, Discrete and Possibly DIY Ways To Exclude Draught Coming Through Windows?
Hello everyone, The flat I currently live in was built very quickly and cheaply. One of the results of this seems to be that the windows, in particular those in my bedroom and bathrom, let through quite an awful draught! Are there any simple, cheap ways that I could reduce the amount of draught coming through that is also…
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BTU in radiators
I am looking for a new radiator for the kitchen, I want to upgrade it from a single to a double. Looking at radiator specs - does the higher the BTU number mean more heat for the room?
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Bled rads now no water?
I've just bled a couple of radiators and the following day there was no hot water. I checked the pressure and sure enough it was low. So I topped it up and the boiler fired up nicely. BUT no water is coming out of any of the hot taps. The cold water is fine and the heating is working but not a drip from any hot tap. Its a…
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external doors requirements. leasehold
Hello, I ‘own’ a leasehold flat on the 1st floor. because of the grenfel tower disaster the freeholder asked us to change the main entrance door to the flat at the eyewatering sum of £1000.00 as according to them they don’t comply with building regulations in regards to fire safety. those were here when we bought the…
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Boiler: Grey wires from valves connected to N instead of L. Does it matter?
I'm mapping out our heating system in preparation for some changes. I don't know much about these things, but I'm learning. It's an S plan. I noticed that the grey wires from the water and heating valves share a screw connector with the neutral wire coming from the boiler. Looking at schematics of what an S plan is…
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Radiator valves broken- any advice?
Hi everyone My radiator valves are broken (old radiators) When I turn them on with plyers they start to leak Any tips please?
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Confused about architect/surveyor's job
Hello, Looking to get an extension built on my house I contacted an architect who came around to have a look, said he didn't see any particular issue with building an extension, took a couple of photos. I asked him how much it might cost me, and he said he would contact someone to find out. He e-mailed a surveyor who sent…
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Fitting laminate... but already got carpet laid over old laminate
Hi, When I bought my house it had some cheapo laminate in the living room which appeared to have been fitted fairly well. Just before my daughter was born I did the paranoid parent thing and invested £500-odd in a carpet and nice underlay as I had visions of her falling on the floor, etc and figured carpet was a softer…
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Manky/damp smell in house
The house has a slightly odd odour and has done so since we moved in 2.5 years ago. SWMBO can't detect it (which is unusual for her). I got the keys two months before we actually moved in (first home) and noticed it then. Have only been able to notice it in colder months (which might correlate with the heating being on).…
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Burst pipe on moving day!
As the title basically. The house has lain empty since January, other sides solicitor said house had been heated through winter. Husband went yesterday after collecting keys and decided to turn on the heating to see how it worked, continued to wander round the house and heard a drip and before he knew it there was floods…
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Replacing a fireplace surround with tiles
Hi, I’ve been doing a bit of digging online and can’t seem to find any advice on replacing a fireplace surround. I was thinking of replacing my ugly marble fireplace surround with a nice flat tiled wall using split face slate tiles. The idea is to leave the current firebox in place but rip out the tiles around it, and the…
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Water coming in through air brick
We are in a 1930s semi and have noticed some quite disturbing water ingress through the air brick / vent in the upstairs north facing bedroom. After periods of medium or heavy rain there is blatant drip marks down the wall and the carpet at the base is soaked. I can't put my finger on what the issue might be. The vent is…
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Gallow Bracket Cost only
Hi, Does anyone have a idea of the cost is just installing gallow brackets. I dont mind doing the grunt work of removing the breasts myself. All the costings I seem to find online are for the full removal. I'm getting 3 quotes or so, but nice to have unbiased opinions. I live in the north east of England (Newcastle) Thanks
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Boiler sometimes doesn't heat water when it should
Our new house has a system boiler that pre-heats water to go into a hot water cylinder. It seems that for some reason, the boiler sometimes doesn't actually heat water for the cylinder, even though it should. Grateful for any suggestions for what to try. The boiler is a Baxo Megaflo on an S-plan arrangement, with two…
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warrenty?
Hi, Bought an indesit washing machine from Argos 18months ago and it has occurred a fault. I am sure i read somewhere that you can still get it repaired under a certain act but i might be wrong? Can anyone confirm or advise on this before I contact Argos please? Thanks
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Problem Fixed: Domestic drainage problem. DIY, Plumber or Drainage Company?
Thanks everyone. I have found the problem. I opened the drain cover in front of the house and found a football sized lump of soggy tissues. That must have moved down a pipe into the inspection chamber since I last looked. I have removed it and everything is now flowing as it should. Thanks again for taking the time to read…
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Macerator faulty - quiet replacement
We have a Saniflo Sanitop 2 macerator that is over 10 years old (probably nearer to 12 years old). It has been humming a lot, but then eventually, after many retries, spins up and pumps out the waste. I am sure it is not blocked and I'm guessing the discharge pipe is not blocked because when the macerator spins up it…
