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Damp worries
Hi, I’ve recently viewed a house which I am worried has damp which may be costly to put right. When we viewed the house there was a lot of peeling wallpaper in the living room and some upstairs around the chimney breast and around the windows. There was also paint peeling on the skirting boards downstairs. The house was…
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Stripping paint off metal
Hi Folks - I'm planning to paint strip a fireplace surround and repaint it, so am looking for recommendations on the right product to use. The alternative would be to have it done professionally if the right products are expensive and/or don't give a good result. Thanks,
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'old' Baxi Boiler
I have an old Baxi Solo 2 40pf boiler which was installed when the house ws built in the 90's. To be honest apart from not having instant hot water like the modern boilers it seems to keep going with minimal repair costs. We only use the (+1hour) button for heating or hot water instead of using the thermostat and I was…
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Attaching heavy projector to top of wall/ceiling
We want to put out projector up at ceiling height either by attaching it to the ceiling next to the back wall (preferably) or to the back wall itself. The ceiling is a suspended ceiling on aluminimum supports with a structural steel/concrete ceiling circa 30cm above. The ceiling has an amazing amount of flex in it whenever…
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What's a good value for money vinyl flooring
I've got about 12 sq metres of flooring that I would like to cover. I'm not keen on carpet, real wood, laminate or tile for those areas. By the process of elimination then this leaves vinyl. It is a concrete ground floor with a wet underfloor heating system. It's not a bathroom but I want the floor to be able to handle the…
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Cracks in the extension, between walls and ceiling
Hi all, The house we've been living for the past two years was renovated just before we bought it, with a big extension added on the side. Now I've read that cracks between walls and ceiling in extensions are quite common, but nonetheless every time I look at them, I can't help being worried... do I have any reason to be?…
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Building work by previous homeowner
Hi all, I purchased a property in November last year. It included a garage that had an asbestos roof. The seller employed a local company to remove and replace the roof prior to selling. The roof is badly done and continually leaks. I was just wondering if I had any recourse with the builder. Initial discussions around the…
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Builder in breach of contract?
Hi maybe someone can advise us what to do.. we had a small extension built in Jan/Feb. Builder quoted for Spanish slates on roof as we requested and as per our PP, one day he got us and said Build Control Officer said our pitch was not enough for slate so we ended up with cheap concrete tiles ..without any price reduction!…
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Garden Wall options?
Hi everyone, We have had the garden excavated to a level surface and are looking for options for what I guess is a retaining wall approx 800 mm high at the back and coming down to 400 mm on the sides - the wall would be 3 sides of the square approx 7 metres long each. We have left just over 1 metre at the original level on…
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Rate my trader...
Advised to post here from another thread about the quality of some work I have had carried out (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6234967/not-happy-with-decorating-work-carried-out-next-steps) Main issue I have is with the skimming / paint finish, although its particularly hard to get a good picture of it…
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Kitchen tap turning when we switch it on and off
Hi all, I know absolutely nothing about plumbing but i cant call a plumber as we are shielding. Our kitchen hot tap keeps turning round everytime we switch it on and off. We keep tightening the screw underneath the sink but the tap still turns. I took a photo ( see below) and did a bit of googling and i think i need to buy…
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Soundproofing flat
We live in a upper floor purpose built, 50's flat. The flat below is rented out, and there's a non conveyor belt of tenants coming and going, some incredibly noisy, some bearable and some quiet. We never know what we'll get, but there's one constant, and that is that we always have to put up with more noise coming through…
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Outdoor water feature: will it go green? how to prevent
Hi, got a new water feature. Large water tank underground with submerged pump. Anyway, obvs its winter so not an issue now but when it warms up, will it go green? I presume it will as direct sunlight will hit it. My question is how to prevent it? There are no planting or fish issues. Its just a water feature TA
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Tile Painting
Hey, I'm looking to use V33 Tile paint to turn my green bathroom tiles white I also have a tin of gloss undercoat left from a previous job. Does anybody have any experience of painting tiles and whether they think that putting the gloss undercoat on first would help the tile paint adhere to the tile? I've tried to create a…
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Bathroom mouldy and cold
Hello, I’m looking for some help. We have recently moved in to our new home, as to be expected just a few minor teething problems. The shower room is one, it only has an electric handrail/heater in it, which am I right in saying it can be quite expensive to run? So we try and keep it on only as and when we are jumping in…
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Smart heating - what set up should I have?
Hi all I am looking to get either Hive/Tado/etc.. but want to know whether what I want is possible. Essentially I want to control the temperature in every room. Ideally, I would want a smart TRV on every radiator to control when each radiator is on or not. I currently have three thermostats - 1 for the downstairs heating,…
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Any ideas what this critter is?
Found this insect on a renovation project, measuring about 1mm in length. Any ideas to what it is?
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Mould on bedroom ceiling
Our spare bedroom has black mould starting to form on it, it is woodchip paper covered. It is pretty definitely caused by internal condensation - it is on a single skinned section of ceiling (do they call it skilling ?)We do use a dehumidifier when we shower but maybe not for long enough - but what is the best treatment to…
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How long does your central heating take to heat the house?
Hello, We have just had our warm air heating replaced with a combination boiler, pipes and radiators (70's 4 bed detached house) and would appreciate some advice from others with a similar system. Today the heating came on at 06:30. It was 1 degree outside and the stat said it was 14.5 degrees in the house. We set the stat…
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Artex Ceiling: Overboard or Skim?
Hi all, I'm new to this forum (and forums in general really), so forgive me if I've posted this in the wrong section! My partner and I have just purchased our first home (hoorah!). It's a 1955 bungalow. It needs some renovating, but it's not terrible. As part of the renovation, we're looking to cover up the artex ceiling.…
