So, apparently this is very flammable and useless as insulation. What should my plan of action be to get rid of it?

Yes that's an asbestos water tank in the background, joy. This will be wrapped up in the appropriate stuff before working up here.

Hi! I need some help please! Trying to put up some curtains at my new flat and when I drill using my McGregor Combi drill, it only goes in about one inch, when I’m trying to drill about 2 inches, this is about 10cm above the window, I’ve tried 4 holes a few cms each side and none let the drill go any further☹️ I’m using a HSS drill bit. Anyone got any advice? It looks like metal is what I’m hitting. I’m going mad over here! Appreciate any and all help please!🙏

Edit: forgot to ask, could it be something electrical? I’ve asked the landlord but he says he’s clueless about what’s on that wall as he’s actually never even been to the flat he says. Trying to make sure I don’t get a shock or something?

Hi all, when we moved into our first home last year our survey noted that one of the purlin joints had been installed upside down (house is a 1960s semi) and needed strengthening.

We didn't immediately get this sorted as we figured that it'd been that way for 50 years so unlikely to change dramatically in the short term, and we could save up before dealing with it.

Went into the loft for the first time in ages and noticed that the joint has separated about 1-2cm since the survey was done, so now obviously we want to get it sorted before any damage occurs/it gets any worse. Feeling like idiots for not doing it sooner.

Is this something that can be done DIY, or are we best off finding a carpenter/roofer(?) to sort? I assume the latter, but not sure if anyone has any experience with this sort of thing.

Thank you!!!

Pics attached of survey photo and recent photo.

I bought my maisonette a couple of years ago and I’ve decided to board out the attic, so I finally got up there to measure it and found two apparently plumbed in radiators, four double-gang plug sockets and four what appears to be vents which have been poorly taped over. Could anyone shed some light on what it could be?

Extra background on what I know about the previous owner. He was an elderly man previously involved in the commercial fishing business and sold up when he couldn’t live independently. Just in case anyone thinks it might be the remnants of a grow house.

Hi all, we moved to this house two years ago and the loft timber has been like this all the time. Should I be worried? Initially I thought there was a leak but I put some newspaper there and couldn’t see any wet paper, so I assumed it’s not leak. But these timbers keep worrying me. Do we need a roofer to come over and have a check? One roof checked and thought it’s condensation, but I am not 100% convinced.

Spent yesterday carefully taking down a mature tree in our back garden. I used my scaffold and reciprocating saw to slowly cut each branch into manageable sections and then attacked the trunk in chunks. Top of the tree was almost at roofline, so knew I needed to take my time. Great sense of accomplishment once it was down and stump treatment was applied.

I then got over confident…

Went to tidy up some leylandii trunks that were around 2.5m tall and had been too big for my old saw blade to get through. A chunky 1m section ended up toppling down uncontrolled and obliterated my food waste bin. Very glad it went that direction instead of straight onto my head.

Remember, wood can be really heavy and can cause serious injuries if it hits you, or equipment that you are using. Thank you food caddy for your sacrifice 🫡

My other tip for anyone contemplating a similar task: branches tend to look quite a smaller than they actually are when you are looking up at them!

Hi all,

I'm looking for some external advice after being left unhappy with the position of the toilet in our newly refurbished small bathroom.

To my mind the toilet sits very close to the wall- it is 9cm away. If I sit on the toilet naturally my shoulder rubs the wall, and I'm not a large person. Seems uncomfortable not just odd. The gap the toilet sits in is wide enough for a 20cm gap on either side (which I think is the recommended clearance).

The external soil pipe is cast iron (into the wall rather than the floor) and I guess a real pita to move. My question is whether the fitter could (should?) have used diagonal pipe/offset/Flexi connectors within the wall (which was rebuilt for the renovation) to gain the extra 10cm? Or if even a 5cm gain would make a substantial difference to feel? And what can we do in retrospect now that it's been done this way- any options?

The fitter is holding firm on this being what I requested and there's no flaw in the installation (though I feel we should have been warned). So I guess we'll probably have to lump it. I'm looking for a sanity check here and any pragmatic options.

Anyway, I know it may be impossible to tell without hands on inspection, but I've attached photographs any thoughts much appreciated.

Seen on amazon, apparently the price history has it at £650 before. I was looking at batteries for a DeWalt tool I bought recently but for the same price I can return the DeWalt tool and get four Makita tools plus three 5Ah batteries. Is there any reason not to go for this?

EDIT: Okay yeah, it's got to be fake. Seller has just joined and has no reviews. Sad times </3 Thanks everyone

I'm about 3mm out, must I move the brackets or?

The flat above us has a water waste pipe facing the brick that’s just flooding the shared yard. Surely this can’t be right?

Got a chimney breast removed and the flooring guys said I need to fill this and bring it up to level. What's the best way of doing so?

I was thinking either bricks but it won't be perfectly level.

Thanks!

EDIT - To confirm, I know how condensation works, I just thought it was not that common to see so much of it on double glazed windows. I've always had single glazed windows in the past - The other reason I was surprised by it is that nobody sleeps in this bedroom, we sleep in another room with the door shut so it's not moisture from our breath - Also other double glazed windows in the house like the kitchen are fine

- Victorian terrace house in North-west England

- Temperature dropped to around 4 degrees last night outside, around 17 inside

- Generally we take measures to avoid damp (regularly open windows, extractor fan and window open when using shower, extractor in kitchen)

- Had some windows replaced last year: Swapped single glazed windows for double glazed in 2 bedrooms, the bathroom and the lounge bay window.

- Currently the only single glazed windows are the patio door and one upstairs bedroom

- Kitchen had already been double glazed for years

With all this, I am surprised we are seeing quite a lot of condensation on the new double glazed windows? Is this normal?

In the photo, the water across the bottom is on the inside.

The water that goes higher up is on the outside.

There doesn't seem to be any water in between the two panes.

Looking for advice to easily add an inlet connection for my dishwasher. There's currently a bunch of plumbing under the kitchen and a washing machine. Picture is of that. I tried getting one of those y pieces to split the valve but it is angled towards the wall and there isn't enough space for it. I was considering replacing the valve with one of those tee with two 3/4 connectors but there isn't space above. The options I can think of are

- 90 degree 3/4 f to 3/4 m to redirect the tap, no such piece I can find.

- split hose (found some similar things for like mixing hot and cold) but no suitable hose I can find

- a very short 3/4 hose to DIY such a hose. Plenty of extender kits online but the pipe is always like at least 1.5m and I need more like 0.3m

Anyone has any idea or suggestions? Ideally I wouldn't want to touch the copper piping, only attach to the existing valve

Hi! I’m replacing some of the rotten wall plates (the timbers that sit on dwarf walls and span horizontally through the room) and joists in my living room.

I’ve cut out the affected parts of the wall plates and replaced (mortar bed on top of brick > DPC sheet > mortar > treated c24). Now I’m adding the replacement joist pieces but unsure how they should actually be attached? They’re 4x2” timbers so I can’t exactly drive a screw through the whole length (I’d imagine it’d split?). Do you use some sort of 90deg bracket? Or does the weight of the floor on top just hold it where it needs to be? Thanks in advance 🙏

Moved into this house 6 months ago. The counter appears to be made of iroko wood, I'm assuming it's a veneer a few mm thick. This part of the kitchen counter had some pretty bad black spots from water damage, so I sanded it down and thought I'd bring it back to life.

First I tried the worktop oil left behind by the previous owner; thats the Ronseal Clear Worktop Oil. Guh, it hurts my eyes! I didn't let that one soak in, got some white spirit straight on it and sanded it down again.

Second try, I went for the Osmo Polyx oil tint in satin amber. That's been left for 24hrs and now feels bone dry. Its still pretty ugly though. And nothing like the original lustre, warm colour you can see above the grey ducktape line.

I'm at a loss. That original honey sheen, I'm now thinking it's a varnish? What should I try next?

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Uploaded this first in /furniturefinish but thought I'd repost it here for you guys to have a crack at it!

We are adding insulation between the joists under our suspended timber floor. We have started taking the floorboards up and found this wire for a socket pinned to the joist nearest the wall. We think with electrical building regulations (we are in Scotland), it should be fine for use to move it to be attached under the joist instead so that there is not a long length contained within the insulation. Is this correct and what would be the most appropriate way to attach it?

Can someone help me identify the correct brand and series of flush plate that will fit with this cistern ? I looked inside and could not identify any branding name.

I tried installing a Geberit Sigma but doesnt seem to match perfectly. As you can see the previous owners did a hack by adding cable ties from the white rods to the black pieces as the white rods do not fit perfectly into the black pieces.

I’m guessing I need to undo one of the top couplings - is that correct? Thanks in advance

Looking for advice on how to fit solid ash planks on suspended sub floor. The rooms currently sound like a drum after insulating under the floors using PIR boards, and would like to dampen that too if possible. Fitted in the areas shown on 3rd pic, direction shown. The longest run will be just shy of 9m

This shower install is a year or so old, I'm going to redo the sealant this weekend. How can I prevent the mouldy corners from happening again?

Hi planning to board and insulate my loft. Just have an issue currently where the drop/height between joist and bottom boards are only 8cm tall. I understand that insulation comes 10cm, will I have to raise this, to then add insulation perpendicular on top?

Also regarding the boarding I plan to use some CLS timber frames going perpendicular to the current joists, but will cross insulating the first 10cm layer cause me issues?

If I was to just add some CLS timber to the current joists (in the same direction) then add 30cm insulation without cross laying would that work?

Also what air gap should I keep between top of insulation (30cm) and boards, I’ve heard 5cm is ideal?

Looking for some advice as I can't find much online.

I'm looking to tile 1 bathroom wall. The tiles we have bought are quite heavy per square metre.

Roughly 20-21kg.

The wall itself is in good condition, it's a solid brick wall with what I believe is a skim of pink gypsum plaster.

Am I right in thinking these tiles will be too heavy for the plaster? It's not plaster board, it's the solid brick wall shared with next door.

What options do I have? Thanks