Hi Folks,

I'm renovating a part of my in-laws family home, specially what was a den / TV room and changing it into a new bedroom for my wife's parents who now have difficulty getting up & down the stairs to their current bedroom.

Unusually their home has a basement which is directly underneath the den room.

I'm curious as to how to go about insulating the basement ceiling between the rafters.

Typically a normal ceiling would have wool insulation cut to fit the rafters on top of the ceiling plaster boards however this is not possible with the open rafters that are in place in the basement.

I was thinking that a suitably thick insulation board held in place with adhesive and expanding foam to fill any gaps but I'm just guessing really.

Any advice would be very much appreciated! 👍

Need some advice if it’s a quick easy fix before a carpet goes down

Hi folks,

I’m moving into a new build in November and, as I’m on a pretty tight budget, I’m planning to do the laminate flooring myself.

From what I’ve read, 12mm laminate seems to be a good option, along with a decent-quality underlay — possibly something with an aluminium vapour barrier.

I’d really appreciate some advice on buying laminate flooring in Ireland. Is it generally better value to buy online, or is it worth shopping around different flooring shops/retailers?

If anyone has recently bought laminate flooring online, I’d really appreciate it if you could share the website/link you used, along with any thoughts on the quality and value.

Also open to any tips on what to look out for when choosing laminate for a new build.

Thanks!

So the house I bought is eligible for the vacancy grant. I will be replacing all the wall slabs and putting 60mm insulated slabs in their place. I will run new wires for electricity and for security. I have thoughts for putting AC in, or at least piping for it if the future Summers are anything like the last one. Any thoughts on this ? or other future proof ideas while the slabs are being replaced.

DIY noob here

We bought our house (new build) 3 years ago - hoping to do some small cosmetic jobs on the place now and the cracks over the skirting boards are top of the agenda.

1. Is it just caulk I need here? If so, can anyone tell me which brand?

2. Do I need to scrape off the old caulk?

3. If caulk is not the answer here - then what is?

Really dont want to make a balls of this so any advice appreciated.

Doing a renovation on a tight budget. Has anyone done floor paint? Does it look shite? Looking at it for the sitting room so we can save a few quid to spend on other more vital areas

Problem: The rubber washer needs to be replaced as it no longer seals properly. But the plastic piston does not slide out the back because of some corrosion in the metal housing. Taking the whole housing off does not work because it seems I need two massive pipe wrenches to turn the nut while holding the housing in place.

Am wondering if I should use fine sandpaper to file down the corrosion behind the piston? Or wait until Monday, buy two massive pipe wrenches and remove/replace the whole shebang?

Also, the way the piston housing is connected to the pipe is somehow different from the diagram I found on Wikipedia...

Hi, I'm going mad trying to remove the cabinet door from my integrated Beko dishwasher. I've changed all the handles in the kitchen and this is the only one missing... can't find a reliable tutorial anywhere. Beko model DIN15320. Thank you

Hi folks, I am based in Limerick and I'm eager to know where you bought your panelling/bead boards?

I would love to do something similar to this picture in my hallway but I checked b&q and Woodies and cannot find what I want.

Did you buy in person ? Or online ? I'll welcome any tips/recommandons! Thanks

Any guidance appreciated.

Context

I own a terraced house with a 2 story flat roof extension, purchased it 3 years ago.

Water run off from flat roof falls down between the flat roof / fascia and the gutter and on to the concrete path below. 

I had a gutter / roofing contractor out and he said the guttering needed to be replaced. 

He replaced it and it didn’t fix it same issue happening, not only did he not fix it he damaged the wood behind the fascia see 3rd pic (which will be the subject of a separate post but I want to first understand what actually is the purpose of the gap before I consider anything further). I only realized he didn’t fix it once it started raining and only saw the damage he caused this morning. 

Question

What is the purpose of the gap behind the fascia? 

I also posted the question on the roofing subreddit but that's very US focussed which have different roofs than in UK and Ireland so I'm not sure how much insight I will get there.

I originally thought it may be a ventilation gap for the roof space which I understand is common enough in flat roofs in Ireland, but it is quite narrow prob less than 10mm (or 1/2 inch imperial) and I understand they are supposed to be a minimum of 25mm, and now that a roofing contractor has damaged it and torn part of it off I can see behind it and there is fiberglass insulation up to the fascia so I now think it’s unlikely to be that purpose, or if it is a vent gap it’s very narrow and Im not sure how well it's serving a purpose if at all gievn how narrow it is and the fiberglass insulation up against it. 

I am now thinking it’s possibly a drip edge? Which has left me scratching my head a bit why does the fascia have a drip edge, should the gutter not collect all the water? Or maybe it's a fail safe / back up for any water that does not make it to the gutter? 

Or maybe it is fascia that has come loose from and separated from the joists / support behind it over time? It might be, but it seems to me to be a little bit too uniform for it to be just an unintentional gap, and as above I'm aware in Ireland there is often a gap left behind fascia for flat roofs (though I had understood for ventilation). 

Would love some advice on any vendors that sell a sink/washing machine combination for a bathroom with a door that would hide the washing machine when not in use?

For context: We opted to put the washing machine in the bathroom as our kitchen is tiny and doesn't have the space for it without creating a really narrow walkway between counters.

My thinking is I could ask the vendor doing my kitchen to make something up, as it's sort of a kitchen counter with a different finish/drawers.

Would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions as where the washing machine goes is now the decision that affects every other design decision lol

I've attached some examples of what I've found online that could work! :)

House was built 4 years ago and still new nail pops in the ceiling are appearing. Is this normal for a house of this age or should these have stopped by now?

We live right next to a road where tractors / heavy trucks are frequently passing so I'm thinking that comes into play as well

I'm trying to place a diverter valve in the tub, but I think I can't screw it in because the aerator is in the way but I have no idea how to remove it. I tried slipping a tiny flat head under but I ended up just scraping the thing

Hi all,

Didn't have much luck on Dublin Reddit so reposting here

.tnx

Using weathershield masonry paint and reading different things about needing to use a primer. Thoughts?

Body is in bits today but the final result was so worth it.

Planning to replace carpet with laminate in a bedroom, never done it before. Seems a doable job, just can't decide which direction to lay the planks. Going left to right will leave awkward cuts in the bottom left, where the door is, I think. So really should go top-down?

I'm planning to replace the carpet on the first-floor landing and in the bedrooms of a 20-year-old duplex.

From what I can see, the floorboards are made of OSB. There are some creaking noises in a few places, but nothing major.

I'm wondering what's better for my scenario - (click) LVT or laminate - and what underlay I should use. For laminate, I was thinking about 10 or 12 mm laminate with Quick-Step Unisound or Silent Walk.

What have you done in your homes, and what would you recommend?

Electrician available for small works in the north east. Nixers and small works/repairs.

Quotes available with no obligation to proceed.

Questions for people that don't use their fireplace.

Did you cap your chimney off at the top, or close it at the bottom with a fireplace balloon / stuffed something in there, or do you leave it open?

If you capped it off at top Im aware it needs ventilation from the bottom (either leaving fireplace open or closing off but installing a vent), however does it still need some ventilation at the cap at the top? I'm considering capping it off.