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Kitchen ventilation: Outside fan to suck air out?
I had the following idea, but not sure I'm missing something: Would it be possible to have an external fan (i.e. attached to the outside wall were the outlet of the kitchen hood ductwork is) which 'sucks' the air out as an alternative to the 'pushing' fan in the cooker hood (which would need to be removed)? Would solve the…
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Dubious about 30 year damp proofing guarantee- any advice?
Hello, I've recently moved into a 19th century terrace cottage and I've found that the skirting board and wood block flooring below it are damp and damaged. They are soft and are beginning to look rotten in areas. This was not picked up on by the survey I had prior to purchasing, but the property has been tanked previously…
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Are different brands of kitchen cabinets interchangeable?
Have heard rumours that different brands of kitchen cabinet i.e. carcases can be used with different branded doors, so you could go to IKEA for your carcases and Howdens for your doors for example, any truth in this?
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Old cast iron bath, will a modern tap/shower fit?
I am refurbishing my flat and looking to repaint an old cast iron bathtub and fit a combined tap and shower head for hair washing. Does anyone know if the joined cold/hot taps and shower attach to what must be imperial hole spacing on the bathtub?
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Urgent please: Half way through Conservatory install.
Hi, Fitters have gone home, they are due back tomorrow to fit the glass. Looking at it, a few dubious things. I would be grateful if someone could help and confirm my fears please with the rafters to roof. At Point 1 rafter is 20mm above frame and at Point 2 it is touching frame leaving a triangular gap between frame and…
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Intruder alarm company has 'lost' engineer code
My home intruder alarm receives a maintenance visit once a year and a couple of years ago the engineer was unable to use the engineer code to get into the system. It subsequently transpired that a previous engineer had changed the code and failed to make a record and left the company's employment in acrimonious…
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Flatroof and Wet Wall Problem Inside and Out
Hi All. We have a garage attached attached to the side of our house. It has a flat roof which covers not only the garage but the porch entry to the main house. We had plans this year to change the flatroof to a pitched roof, convert the garage to a proper living space, but we had a difficult year and it didn't get done and…
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Looking after builders
We have builders coming this week to do a garage conversion. I have a week off work but am looking after my young child so will be in and out for most of the day. I have stocked up with lots of teabags, coffee, sugar, mugs and chocolate biscuits. The kitchen is right next to where they are working and I'm happy for them to…
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Porous driveway
We're going to pave over our front garden and we're going to be using a porous block to do so (Marshalls Drivesett Priora). I know the whole idea of using permeable materials is so you don't have to 'catch' the water run-off as it soaks through the block, BUT, our driveway would slope slightly towards the house, so I'd be…
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New bathroom
I am struggling to find a good plumber to refurbish our bathroom. I have seen few some are asking a fortune (one over £12,000) we have a medium size bathroom and have a budget of about £6,000 to include tiling. We live in Goudhurst near Cranbrook, Kent. Any recommendation?
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How on earth did this ever fit together?
Can anyone explain to me how on earth my shower arm was connected to the wall before it broke? As it doesn’t look like any of the ones I can find online, and the connection actually looks impossible... The relevant parts are in these pictures – I’ve shown them separately, then in the only possible way that I could see they…
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Rebuilding Chimney Breasts
Hi all, First post here, I've searched for an answer for this far and wide but can't find a response to this specific question. We've had an offer accepted on an 1890s 3-storey Victorian terrace, but our survey highlights a missing chimney breast on the rear 1st floor (leaving basement, ground & loft chimney brickwork in…
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Positive Input ventilation system, any good?
Hi all, I live in a 1st floor flat and every time it's gets cold outside we experience alot of damp on all of the windows in our flat apart from the kitchen. I have a clock in my living room that states that the humidity is around 50-60 and it's like that all year round (I have also tried an official device to check the…
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Which shower for my new boiler system.
We're in the process of a full house refurb and are coming to the part where I need to choose fixtures and fittings. I am having a 30kw 12.5l/pm Vaillant combi boiler fitted, my drama is which shower is going to be suitable. I've looked and searched and looked again, there's just so many options. I mm a bit of a shower…
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How to mix grout for paving slabs
Rather that paying a high price for ready mixed grout to put in between about 9 paving slabs, is there a way of mixing your own. What would I need and could I put the mixture between the slabs and lightly water in. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
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Boiler pressure
We have just run our CH boiler (a 15 year old Worcester combi) for the first time this "colder season" It needed topping up - my wife may have put a bit too much water in (to about 1.5 bar) Anyway - when run - it fairly quickly went up to almost 3 bar (red starts at 3 bar) Should we be concerned and how do we remove water…
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Kitchen Cupboards in dining room?
Hi all So I'm getting a new house and it needs a new kitchen. Because of my extra white goods (dishwasher and tumble dryer) the kitchen cupboard space is limited. I was going to knock through the kitchen into the dining room next door but we decided against this as we will eventually extend and the current kitchen will end…
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Planning permission refusal
Hi. We made an planning permission for 6m extension. It was 50% under planning and 50% under pre notification. Unfortunately the application was refused due to 45 digrees rule. The planning officer also said the other properties only has a small extensions. Can this be appealed? Thanks
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Tenants in the garage?
I am fairly sure that a neighbour has blocked off the bottom of their garden and have converted the garage into self-contained accommodation which is being rented out. What permissions would be needed to do this legally? Nothing showing up on planning. I'm probably not going to take it any further as I wouldn't want to be…
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Moss on the patio
Does this cause any harm? Or can I just ignore it?
