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Bedroom colour scheme
Having insulated the external walls and replastered, time to think about colour schemes for the bedroom. Flooring is down (light oak laminate), and skirting, picture rail, and architrave is all being primed and given a base coat.I'm contemplating doing the woodwork in a dark red, and the walls, door, and windowsill in a…
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Steam Washing/Cleaning wood (mainly) before painting
I have two things that I wish to paint/stain. The fence on one side of my garden has never been painted or stained. I would like to use 'Ronseal' on it, but there's green algae(ish) on it. I'm thinking that steam washing would handle this without damaging the wood. Also, I have wooden decking which I believe has been…
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Who is responsible for the wiring between National Grid and Meters?
I own a Leasehold in an Apartment that has 4 others all together. All of the meters are in the communal area as you come in and each has their own meter. I am trying to get a Smart Meter and I have had both Octopus and British Gas out who have said they can't do it because of the wiring leading to the meter. (This is after…
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Leasehold - Building insurance
My flat requires extensive repairs following water ingress from an adjacent commercial unit in the same block. My flat will be inhabitable for around six months owing to the kitchen and bathrooms having to be removed. The buildings insurance does not mention alternative accommodation and my contents cover is so low it…
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Cat flap in an external wall
We are having one of our external doors bricked up, and would like to install a cat flap through the wall. I'm struggling to find much information on how you achieve this and what you need to purchase. It is a case of buying a cat flap with two halves, and then creating some sort of tunnel through the wall? Can you buy…
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How to fill old vent hole in external wall
I have installed a new tumble dryer that doesn't need the vent hole. I want to fill the vent hole back up to avoid the chance of critters/anything coming through and it seems wise to avoid any small drafts. My wall is external, brick, no cavity, with an external render. Can anyone link me to the specific products I need to…
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Electrician advice please
I am in the process of buying a house and this is the fuse box, can you tell from the picture if this needs a full re wire ASAP or could it be left a while? I know it’s hard to tell from a picture but this is before I can get an electrician out to inspect, I’m just looking for general advice, and the possible cost of a…
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Protecting boards from rot
Good afternoon, I am in the process of moving two raised beds. Generally they seem in good condition other than one side bottom board on the inside and possibly the end. I was thinking of painting it with bitumen rather than replacing the board as it all matches on the outside. is this a good idea, or is there a better…
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Combi v conventional
Which of the 2 above would add more value to a 3 bed 3 public room semi? It's conventional at the moment. If it's combi, how much would it cost to rip out the whole old system including all tanks but keeping the immersion tank, new 'good' boiler/ radiators/ all gas and water pipes? The upheaval involved is putting me off a…
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Replacing immersion heater
Hi. I have an old immersion heater and both heating elements need replacing. The tank is probably over 30 years old. I've had a quote from trusted plumber to fix it which is under £300. He did mention that as the tank is old, and they can split, is probably very scaled up inside, I may want to think about replacing it with…
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Deposit & payments for garden room
Advice on how much deposit is a general rule of thumb nowadays for bespoke design & build of a good quality garden room? Also is it the norm for requests of percentage of total cost on 1st day, after 1 week & on completion. Always thought a deposit & payment on completion - am I out of touch with today's way of working?
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System upgrade - Combi, Unvented Tank or Gravity fed system - HELP!
Hi everyone, I'm in need of some opinions please :smile: My partner and I currently live in a 1980's house with a 20 year old oil Grant boiler. We have 1 bathroom and one downstairs toilet and we don't have any children, We have a gravity fed system at present, with a cold water tank and expansion tank in the loft, and a…
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Downstairs toilet glugging
Back again. Never ending in this house. Think its a blockage. My downstairs toilet has started to glug when the washing machine empties. And the last few days its either be close to over flowing or draining so hardly any water in it. I have no draining rods so wondering what I need to do sort it
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Help to buy Scotland-Home improvements
We bought our house 7 years ago with help to buy (Scotland). We're now wanting to do some home improvements, just converting the garage but looking at the website it seems we aren't able to do this without having paid the help to buy back, Has anyone done a garage conversion or any major home improvements without paying…
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Gravel and brick edging footpath
My partner and I are looking to building a nice gentle curve footpath in the back garden with bricks for edging and gravel dotted with stepping stones along the fence towards the shed: We did notice that there's a slight slope towards the house of -3 degrees (roughly 14cm height gap) and a length of 200cm before it levels…
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Samsung American style fridge ice maker replacement fix didn't work (RS68N8220S9)
Hi! I'm trying to save some cash by repairing our Samsung American-style fridge freezer. It's a Samsung RS8000, model number RS68N8220S9, bought just over 3 years ago direct from Samsung. The ice maker has started making a very loud, repetitive clicking sound when depositing ice into the dispenser, and the mechanism does…
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Electric Hob Help
Hi all I currently have a gas hob and an electric oven, ordered replacements from AO, and when they arrived the fitter wouldn't fit a new gas hob because my splash back is made from a wood material/MDF and the plug socket was too close into the 'hot zone'. The hob hasn't been replaced for years I suspect so obviously the…
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Cavity wall insulation query
Hi all Forgive me if I am posting in the wrong place. We have a big issue with mold in our home , it's everywhere, despite doing everything we possibly can it keeps coming back, I am at my wits end. I was recently talking to a neighbour who asked if we had cavity wall insulation, had this a few years ago on a government…
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New boiler - Vaillant or Worcester?
So I'm thinking I'm going to need a new boiler and wanted to know what make is potentially better. I always sway towards Vaillant after having one in my old place from new and it being fault free for 11+ years. However, I hear people big up Worcester boilers and the warranty is better. Which do people prefer?
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Thames Water - Build over agreement
Hello, I have an extension being built on my house end of this year, we have had the drawings made by an architect and have the builders in place already. They have done a drainage survey cause the extension will be built over a manhole which needs to be re located and have sent us new drawings of the proposed ground floor…