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Painting/treating eucalyptus wood
We've got a garden bench and its made from Eucalyptus wood, i was going to stain it but was told not to and to use a gel based stain and to wipe it on and not paint it on, is this right? And can anyone recommend a good stain/treatment for the bench to protect it and freshen it up please?
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Seasonal energy usage
I'm interested to know what proportion of energy (gas and electricity) is used in the winter, compared to the rest of the year. By that I mean fuel consumption rather than the amount spent - every bill payer knows that fuel prices only ever seem to increase! I've monitored my usage for the last 3 months and am predicting…
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Argos bed
Looking for a new double bed, Argos has a sealy 1400 pocket spring with 4 draw divan got just under £600, the bed doesn’t have a name so hard to compare with elsewhere but similar sealy 1400 are around £1000, are Argos beds of lesser quality? As reading on here and elsewhere people say to stay clear of Argos?
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Local merchants rip you off?
Yes, we should support them but at what cost? Fan on my central heating boiler has failed, Local merchant, £200 plus VAT 12 month guarantee. On line merchant £48, including next day delivery and 24 month guarantee.
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What temperature do you keep your house?
Looking for some rough guidance of what the best temperature is to keep house (I have asthma but also quite like being a little bit chilly) and whether it is better to heat each room quite well as as I’m using them or have a generally low heating on throughout...thanks
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Very small gas leak detected!
Engineer came out to service boiler and he detected a very small gas leak. Apparently, it measure 2 and if you can't smell it and as long as it measures under 4 there is no issues. What are these measurements? He did look to be honest, but he said next step would mean possibly checking pipes in walls etc.
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Soundproofing
Hiya, Does anyone have experience of installing soundproofing in a party wall. If so , how did you go about it and how successful was it? We are planning to build a cavity wall in our bedroom with timber battens and fill it with some kind of soundproofing material. Is that the right idea? Is this a DIY job or definitely…
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Company wants to check loft for mould
Some elderly relatives have received a phone call from a company purporting to be acting on behalf of the government. They want to come and check their loft for damp. My guess is that they'll 'find' some and will have just the product to fix it. Anyone else had experience of this kind of thing?
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Bedroom renovation costs
Afternoon everyone, We're getting our bedroom completely re done. We moved in 18 months ago (2 up 2 down) and have been doing bit up at a time. The following jobs still need doing: Plastering False dropped ceiling Floor (probably refurbished floorboards) Paint Electrical (More plug sockets) We've already spent £850 on the…
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Squeaky/creaky floor in new extension
The floor in our single storey extension is creaking in various places towards the centre (not round the perimeter it seems). We are going to be laying under-floor heating, underlay and then engineered wood on top. The builder says he has glued the tongue and groove chipboard/floorboard, whatever it is, and then put screws…
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Much difference at these shows??
We are hopefully completing on our sale/purchase in a few weeks and we would like to do a lot of alterations both to the structure and internally. We have tickets to the Homebuilding and Renovation show in B'Ham this weekend and to Grand Designs and the Ideal Home show in London over the coming weeks, does anyone have an…
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Chimney mortar on the hearth
Any ideas please, on why the hearth in the front room some mornings has a sprinkling of mortar dust - rarely bigger than a pin-head. Front room has an unused gas fire. Had put it done to the disturbance caused by next-door doing a lot of 'banging. Did wonder a few months ago if a bird got stuck down there, but then what.…
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One Shot
Has anyone used it? I'm confident that being 91% sulphuric acid it will dissolve anything stuck in my sewage pipe...but am very wary of causing other problems in the process, ie dissolving the pipe work. Although by the time I put it down the toilet, it will have been diluted somewhat. Is it a MSE solution or give me a…
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Numbers on a light bulb - meaning?
Am just fixing up things in preparation for my house, and took out the defunct bulb from my outdoor steps security light. The details printed on the bulb are: GE Biax 2D (embossed on the central unit) and 16W 830 (printed on the glass part of the bulb) The bulb has two pins, which clearly (to me) is important. I have found…
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Retrospective Building Regs - HELP
Three years ago I bought a 1930s style terraced house. It was advertised as a three bed with a loft conversion. Although I asked when putting in an offer if the loft conversion had been signed off, and was told yes, I soon found out, through the survey, that this was not the case. I still went ahead with the purchase as I…
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Flashing Light When the Switch is Off
Last night I was woken by our landing light flashing. The switch was off, but the light flashed on and off again every 7 or so seconds. Never really come across anything like it before. Turned the switch on and it was fine. Turned it off again and it flashed again. Have taken the bulb out so I could sleep but does anyone…
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Fence fixing question
Hi. I had a new fence panel put in but my neighbour's concrete post doesn't have a slot for my fence panel to sit in so it's moving in the wind. I need some way of fixing this. I can't drill into the concrete post but would probably get away with screwing something to the other fence. I did think of a U shaped bracket to…
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Palisade fencing?
Last week on Friday we complete on a house. Yesterday we realised that someone cut part of the plants and fence in the back garden and probably entered the garden. We change all locks and there was not forced entry into the house. We have neighbours on both sides but some tree area on the back with big level difference. I…
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Cooker hood extractor vent cover question
Hello, My cooker hood's external extractor vent cover has a 'louvre' type vent covering which means that a small draft is blowing into the kitchen from the cooker hood. I'm planning to replace the vent with new 'flap' type one (the type where the flaps lift up when the extractor fan is on). I've no idea how powerful a…
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Electric shower MCB went flash bang
Hi. My Mira sport electric 9kw shower stoped working, tripped MCB. I changed the pull switch but it tripped again. Third time I turned on MCB, big flash bang from it. Haven't touched it since! Instructions recommend MCB 40a. What is fitted is a B50. I'll be getting an electrician to look, unless someone here shows its a…
