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Radiator replacement - should we go for higher BTU than needed?
Looking for some advice on radiator BTU sizing. We’re looking to replace a standard radiator with a vertical one in our upstairs spare bedroom/home office because it works better for the layout of the room. Using online BTU calculators, the room seems to need around 2550–2650 BTU. The plumber gave us a couple of options…
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Slow water leak
Just looking for advice on the next step - having exausted all indoor possiblilties. I've just received the quarterly bill from South West Water and it shows we used over twice the amount of water compared to usual, and compared to the same quarter as last year. I looked at the water meter out on the path and the little…
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Spent 30 years in double glazing. Here's what really happens when a salesman visits your home
So, I've been lurking on here for a while and decided it's time to actually be useful. I spent close to 30 years in the home improvement industry — double glazing, windows, doors, conservatories the lot. Trained salespeople, managed teams, sat in on more kitchen table appointments than I care to remember. I'm not in it…
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Water Hammer dilemma - particularly regarding costs
Having read a few threads on this topic, I can see this is a common and frustrating issue. I am in a rental, the lady below me owns her flat. Almost every watery thing causes water hammer. Very bad from the shower in particular and I hear it from washing machine, but kitchen taps by washing machine also cause some noise.…
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Leaking under basin
The flexible pipe under this basin is spurting water. I have zero plumbing skills so is this a diy job or had I better call a plumber?
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Is this termites?
Hi, we live in a Victorian terrace and had a new engineered wood flooring laid over our floorboards about two years ago. In the past two weeks we are finding a pile of grey thick 'dust' near the copper pipe that goes from the floor to the radiator. We vacuum the dust and a couple of days later it reappears. There are ant…
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PIV positive air pressure systems for dust management
Anyone tried a PIV (positive air pressure) system for reducing dust? We don't get condensation, but we live next to a main road and the dust is quite bad. We have cavity wall insulation and double glazing. We have a couple of extractor fans that were installed with the insulation. So air is coming in other ways,…
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Money Moral Dilemma: Should I pay a builder's VAT bill months after the work was done?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks… I’ve been sent a £1,584 VAT bill by a contractor who did work in my garden over a year ago, and more drainage/building work in August. At the time, he didn’t charge VAT for either job as he wasn’t VAT-registered. He now says he had to register from 1 May and needs to charge…
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Is it possible to repair without replacing laminate floor?
there is a small gap between the laminate flooring, can this be fixed without replacing pl?
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Ideas for keeping cat off front garden!
My neighbours cat is constantly on our front garden and driveway seeking attention from school children and passers by on a daily basis. It has got to the stage where crowds of people are standing on my front garden stroking the cat as if they have never seen one before it feels like an attraction at the Zoo. I have tried…
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Advice and experience of wool duvets please
I'm thinking of getting a wool duvet as I'm fed up of my duvets getting clumped and trying to get mainly natural fibres. Some claim to be good in cold and warm weather. I'd welcome experience and recommendations, particularly ones that can be washed at home , or if too large at the launderette. Many thanks
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How to remove old metpost
We are getting a new fence installed across the back of our garden, and we are starting to remove the old one (the fence company charges £600 to remove the old fence apparently!). We have an old metpost that is firmly stuck into the ground and just will not budge. If my measurements are correct, it has about 1ft stuck into…
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Windows and Doors Classic
Hello What are the rough prices people have and for Windows and Doors? We've had the classic £23,500 down to £12,000 within a couple of phone calls for 6 new units (one is a bay) and two new UPVC doors. Very subjective but is this a relatively okay deal?
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How to solve this toilet connection
Been living in my house 14yrs never had a problem before but in 5 months had 2 rats come up from sewer pipe into the downstairs toilet pipe and chew through the flexipipe. The reason the plumber did a flexipipe is height difference between the pan and pipe on the wall which is cast iron and sits lower. Note this is toilet…
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Extension wall cracks
We have a single storey extension approx 20 years old. It was redecorated last year and since then the room has been used a lot more, with the heating on in winter. It is south facing so gets hot in summer. Recently small cracks in the plaster have appeared on one wall only, which is partly internal, partly external.…
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How to attach to shed roof?
I have seen a decorative item I would like to attach to my shed roof but don't know how to. I assume if I screwed it onto the roof, this would cause a leak, due to damaging the felt. I have attached a picture of a similar item.
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Painting Door Threshold
I’m getting new carpet fitted and want to pain the door thresholds white as currently they’re varnished. I’m going to sand the thresholds but should I also seal them before painting. If so, what’s the best product to use?
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New bathroom help and ideas please
We are at the very early stages of looking at having a new bathroom fitted. We have a compact bathroom, shower over the bath, vanity/sink and toilet. Only window is a single velux. We have a low pressured system and combi (oil) boiler. The ceiling is mainly slanted as it goes into roof space. We are considering a wet room…
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Skip Hire and Permits
Looking for some advice - I want to hire a skip but the road I live on is "unadopted" - as it's a new build. My local council want £50 for a skip permit for putting the skip on the "highway" Is an unadopted road still a highway - or is it private land, and therefore as long as I get approval from the builders / management…
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Rear Garden Child Friendly Landscape
Hi all, having had so much incredible advice on the bathroom, I am back to pick brains on the garden! Main isuses with the current setup and new toddler in the house, is the sharp drops, slippy slate and no garden segretaion. Playing with online design tools - we quite like the idea of replacing the slate central area with…