r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Advice What could have broken conservatory window?

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2 Upvotes

I have come downstairs to my window like this. Only the outer pane is broken. I can’t see any blood, feathers, balls or projectiles. I also did not hear any loud sounds. Does anyone have any ideas?


r/DIYUK • • 21h ago

Help with replacing oven

1 Upvotes

My Oven has just broke it’s a Bosch HBG634BB1B which is a 16amp I’m looking to replace it with a Bosch hqa574bb3b which is 13amp. The oven is wired to a junction box that then has a thick wire to a red rocker switch and that is then wired to the consumer unit which has a dedicated oven circuit that uses a Hager ada323g b32.
Will I need to alter anything or can I just wire it into the junction box?
Or should I get a like for like replacement and stick with 16 amp?

Any help appreciated.


r/DIYUK • • 21h ago

Stripping wallpaper has exposed a loose metal strip along the edge of a plasterboard wall – what is it and how do I fix it?

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1 Upvotes

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I'm currently stripping old wallpaper in my flat, with the intention of preparing the walls for painting.

Along the edge of what I believe is a plasterboard wall, next to a cupboard door frame, I've uncovered a long, thin metal strip.

A few things I've noticed:

The metal strip sits flat against the wall, right along the edge, rather than wrapping around the corner.

It only appears to be present on one side of the corner, not both walls.

As I've removed the wallpaper, the strip has started coming away from the wall. This section of wallpaper was much thicker than other parts.

If I press the strip back into place, it springs out again.

I'm wondering whether the wallpaper was effectively helping to hold it in place.

I'm concerned that continuing to strip the wallpaper around it will cause the whole strip to come loose, turning what was supposed to be a straightforward decorating job into something much bigger!

A few questions:

Does anyone know what this strip is? Could it be a plaster stop bead, some sort of plasterboard edging, or something else?

Should I continue removing the wallpaper around it, even if that causes it to come loose?

Can the existing strip be resecured and filled over, or would it need replacing?

Is this a manageable DIY repair for someone relatively inexperienced, or something best left to a plasterer?

I'm keen to get a reasonably smooth finish before painting, but don't want to make things worse unnecessarily.

Any advice would be appreciated. Photos attached!


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

to panel or not to panel?

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5 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I’m doing some panelling on my staircase which is still in progress. I’m in a dilemma of whether I should panel the left wall or not and have it symmetrical or just keep it to the right side. Any advice would be appreciated!

I’ve generated an AI image of what the left side would look like if i were to get it panelled…


r/DIYUK • • 22h ago

Plumbing New kitchen mixer tap spurting small amounts of water after use. Possibly related to a leaking hot water isolator valve?

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1 Upvotes

I just got a new kitchen mixer tap fitted by a plumber a couple of weeks ago.

I asked him to fit it as it's really tight and awkward trying to get access under the sink.

Since then it spurts out about a tablespoon worth of water in one fast motion every so often. Possibly just once within an hour of it last being used.

Is this likely to be a fault with the tap or possibly a problem from installation?

I noticed that the hot water tap handle (on the left in the photo) doesnt seem to align in the same position as the cold water tap when switched off.

Could this be an issue?

Is it worth paying for this to be reinstalled with a replacement tap, or is it fine to live with it assuming it doesnt get much worse over time?

If left, is it likely to get worse and if so, how bad?

The same plumber is coming back to do some other work including fixing a leaking hot water isolator valve feeding the same tap. Could this be related to the issue above?

This is the tap bought from B&Q (DIY.com)

https://www.diy.com/departments/enki-alpha-kt123-brown-brass-construction-dual-flow-kitchen-sink-mixer-tap-for-basin-with-twin-levers-swivel-spout/5056487006344_BQ.prd?&&&&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=24364164700&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxeq2qsvBlwMVmoBQBh14-RwvEAQYASABEgI_PfD_BwE

Any advice appreciated on this.


r/DIYUK • • 22h ago

Asbestos Identification Above the fire - asbestos maybe?

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1 Upvotes

r/DIYUK • • 22h ago

Time to call a stonemason?

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1 Upvotes

Some of the sandstone on our house is fucked. Been left for years by previous owner so keen to restore what we can. Any temp fixes for some of this to stop more issues or case of getting an expert in? Anyone dealt with similar? Thanks.


r/DIYUK • • 22h ago

How to run underfloor heating?

1 Upvotes

We have just moved to a house which has underfloor wet heating downstairs. It has continuous hard flooring throughout but split into rooms with doors and each room has its own wireless thermostat to control the heating in that section.

We are unsure how to run the heating as I’ve heard it should be tested differently to normal radiators. Should we just enable every room and leave it running continuously? Should we disable it in rooms not used much? Should we program it to go off/lower overnight?

Very confused what the most efficient method is given the huge gas price hikes.


r/DIYUK • • 22h ago

Victorian Skirting Boards

1 Upvotes

anyone got any idea what’s going on with these skirting boards? I started lightly sanding the glass in prep for repainting but it’s all chipped away to reveal this black stuff underneath and then possibly the wood underneath that. worried I should stop sanding or sand more…not sure..first time renovating and it’s an old Victorian house. any advice appreciated!


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Advice Floorboards on top of tiles?

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2 Upvotes

I can’t work out if this a terrible idea, I think it is but not sure why? Just moved in and wanted to take up the tiles from the kitchen area and floorboard so the whole area matches. Ended up taking up all the floorboards anyway as there was some rot and a crazy drop in one corner. Where I’ve got the joists to a rough level now is perfectly in line with the top of the tiles… can I just drill, rawl plug and screw directly on top of tile? Or remove tiles, bit of ply and then screw in?


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Advice Glass shattered but no obvious impact

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6 Upvotes

Woke up today to find one of the glass panels on my cabin completely shattered, but there doesn't seem to be any obvious impact.

Any ideas on what can cause this?


r/DIYUK • • 23h ago

Silicone render

1 Upvotes

Wanted some opinions

I’m working on a render job (I’m new ish to the render game)

I’ve hit the stage of priming and 1.5mm top coating the wall.

The weather is horrific for weeks. I’ve only got one day left.

Forecast shows it’s raining in the morning but past 10am it’s dry up until midnight.

Assume I’ve done the job by 5pm. Would the 7 hour window be enough for the light rain not to ruin the final top coat?

I’m worried as scaffolding costs are rising week by week and weather won’t stop raining for another two weeks and who knows what’s waiting ahead of that.


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Advice Filling deep chase in wall

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32 Upvotes

I know this is a poor job of chasing into the wall. I now need to rectify it - please may I get some advice on how best to fill, as there’s a quite a deep hole in the brick in places, is bonding and filler enough?


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

My front room is so cold, any ideas how to find out why?

3 Upvotes

I'm thinking heat must be escaping through somewhere. I had a chimney which has been removed and boxed up. It's the biggest room in the house but has X2 radiators to compensate for that. It's north west facing. When I go in there in the morning if feels like a window has been cracked open all night. I had brand new windows fitted, double glazing.

No damp issues.

Any advice on how I can find out the cause? We did have the loft insulated last year which helped a lot but it still feels like it's bleeding heat.

Are there any companies that might help me invest what the issue is for free? I'm wondering whether purchasing a heat gun may be an option.


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

How to cut correct angle

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2 Upvotes

r/DIYUK • • 23h ago

Advice Window surround cracks

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1 Upvotes

Any suggestions?


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Advice How to remove this easily?

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2 Upvotes

Toilet seat has been fixed down with what looks like a wall anchor. How can I easily remove this? It's very tight to get behind the toilet.


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Advice Making good and boxing in piping

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2 Upvotes

We've recently renovated including a full rewire and replumb. We've been left with this in the corner of the upstairs hallway— a rough hole where the ceiling meets the cornice, with three cables coming out of it. One is in trunking, two are loose, and the dado rail has been cut around them.

Getting the original tradesmen back isn't really an option, so I'm looking to fix this or get a new tradesperson in for any part that needs one.

What I know: - The cables in trunking are electrical and they run down into the consumer box downstairs in the living room. The other pipes are plumbing. We have the same mess in the downstairs room. - House is early 1900s, walls are rock solid. Ceilings are lathe and plaster.

Should the pipes and cables be boxed in together or kept separate? And how can I make this look better?


r/DIYUK • • 23h ago

Advice Want to put up some shelves but worried about cables and pipes inside walls

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0 Upvotes

I want to add shelves that are in the area above the radiator in the first pic and just above the monitor in the second. The one above the radiator is 75cm and the monitor one is 80cm

3rd pic is to show crap ton of plugs below monitor

4th pic is shelves

Wanted any advice on if I should worry about cables and good cable/pipe detectors?

Been considering either the draper 13818, hilka 3 in 1 or bosch truvo detector


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Electrical Swapping out dumb thermostat for smart while keeping original (also dumb) programmer

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2 Upvotes

I have a dumb wired thermostat. I wanted to swap it out for a smart one but keep my original programmer.

My thinking was to set the programmer to always on, and use the smart thermostat to call for heat as needed.

I've been doing a lot of Googling but can't find a clear answer if this is possible.

Ideally I'd like something which is Home Assistant compatible (and as a huge bonus, doesn't require yet another hub). I have a SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus | ZBDongle-P but haven't found anything which would be able to leverage this.

It looks like this _might_ work:

https://www.screwfix.ie/p/tado-x-wireless-heating-hot-water-boiler-programmer-smart-thermostat-starter-kit-white/408ee?ref=SFAppShare

Anyone have experience doing something like this?

This is my current programmer:

https://www.ephcontrols.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/20180621_R27-HW_OpIns_JW.pdf


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Advice How to remove old screws stuck in wooden furniture/wall?

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1 Upvotes

As the title states, we are dealing with some old screws (20+ years) holding a wooden frame in our kitchen that we need to remove. We are struggling to remove one in particular that holds it to the wall - we suspect that the people who put it there pushed it too far and the bloody screw is completely stuck. We tried with a hand screwdriver, and then with an electric one, with no success - the screw head is damaged a bit and it won't move. Picture of the one screw that we were able to remove in case that helps.

Any advice on this? We badly need to remove that frame so we can remove that antic dishwasher. We're trying to do a clean job instead of breaking everything but will do what is needed.


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Damp around Fire Surround

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2 Upvotes

Have had this ongoing issue for years now. We keep throwing money at it and never get any results. We've had the chimney repointed. Roofers up to check flashing etc. We've had rain caps fitted to the stacks. I've had my phone in the chimney when raining to see if there was any water. The fire surround is limestone which we never bothered to seal over the years so I purchased some water based sealer for the surround in case it was the surround absorbing moisture from the atmosphere and affecting the plaster.I also tried putting some on the affected area and repainted. We've had local damp 'experts' who removed plaster and replasterd. We had another guy come out who did something similar. We have expensive farrow and ball paint which I managed to just peel off like a sheet of elastic on the patch you can see in the picture. Once there's no paint and there's just bare plaster the patch dries out. When we had the plaster removed the brick was bone dry. It's a real flame gas fire we never use. The chimney was swept years ago before we ever had the surround and fire fitted. There is no debris or soot in the chimney. There's a couple of other small rogue spots behind the mirror on the chimney breast. Could this be where soot in the chimney is absorbing moisture from the atmosphere and causing the issue. It's basically looked the same all summer when we basically had months of no rain. Sorry for the long post.


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Door fitting the handle - does anyone know what I did wrong with the top screws? Screw seems to hit the latch for some reason and broke away the wood on the door. The handle also came with 4 other screws I dont know what for, 2 with screws on both sides and the other two just longer

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1 Upvotes

As i screwed in the top screw for the door handle bracket, it pushed away the bracket and cracked the wood on the door, same happened on the right hand side


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Plumbing Filter?

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1 Upvotes

Originally removed shower head to clean limescale but found a dead …filter thing? This filter thing is corroded but I can’t see a way to remove it, should I replace it, if so how?


r/DIYUK • • 1d ago

Any way of dealing with this without having to feed new pipes from inside? Can't get at them without removing the toilet

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1 Upvotes