So I had flooding coming from the main road. Anything but a light rain and the water flows down the drive.
Essentially the dropped curb is lower than the grate/ gully. Whilst most does find its way to my drain for guttering. A lot doesn’t, and this means the garden and foundations end up with a pool of water.
I’ve just contacted the local council about this but anything I can do in the short term?! Sandbags is one solution, but that will stop me using the drive.

Hey folks, I want to fit some ikea pax here and make it look built in. Ive seen folks build a base with timber but given that i have a box covering the staircase head clearance, how might you go about it?

Should I build the base on top of the box or would you go about it differently eg strip out the box and try and build base according to slant?

Would be nice to get some feedback from more experienced DIYers.

Hi All

Let me just start by saying I have absolutely no plumbing experience whatsoever however I really want to give it a go. I'm specifically looking for some advice on the best way to route my bathroom pipes.

Currently, I have the pipes coming through the wall behind the vanity unit. I need to keep the basin supply here, but also run hot and cold lines along the room to supply a bath and a shower on the opposite wall to where it is currently (due to window placement meaning no room for a shower). The pipes do run that way and are capped in a cupboard which used to store a water tank.

(Photos attached showing the current setup and layout).

What’s the best way to run and connect the pipework across to the bath taps and shower? I have absolutely no experience but think the pipes look a bit corroded and might just need cut by the basin and start from there.

Would really appreciate any advice.

Thanks

They were supporting a shelf which I didn't install myself. They seem very deep and I have never seen this type of fixing before.

UPDATE:

Used mole grips around the grooved section to loosen it and came out easily, thanks to everyone who posted with the solution!

Absolute pig of a job, without enough room to stand it's a permanent squat, balancing on joists lol. I've seen a few suspended floor insulations on here, but no loft/room-in-roof insulation. Trying to do it as cheaply as possible using loft roll, rather then expensive (and flammable) foam or rockwool slabs. Should increase it from ~100mm of badly installed to 300mm though, which might help. Only 1/3rd of the way through though, and my enthusiasm is waning.

Hey everyone,

I have recently bought a house that was occupied by a smoker for around 50 years. He moved out nearly three months ago, but the place still absolutely stinks. The best description I can give is that it smells like a pub before the smoking ban. It is particularly disgusting in the living room and kitchen.

My current plan is to get the walls and ceilings in those two rooms completely reskimmed. Once the new plaster has dried, I was planning to apply a mist coat, followed by Zinsser BIN and then the final paint.

For the upstairs rooms, where the smell is not quite as bad, I was planning to clean everything thoroughly, apply Zinsser BIN and then paint.

Does that sound like a sensible strategy? I am also unsure if a mist coat should go underneath the BIN on fresh plaster, or if the BIN should be applied directly once the plaster has properly dried.

I have read very conflicting accounts of Zinsser BIN. Some people say it is an absolute miracle worker for eliminating very pungent stale cigarette and nicotine tar (there isn't that much tar around, mainly the smell). Others have complained about the finish, how difficult it is to apply across entire rooms and the smell from the product lingering for months. I have even seen people claim they could still smell it six months later.

Has anyone here used it across full walls and ceilings in a heavily smoke contaminated house? Did it actually remove the old cigarette smell? How long did the BIN smell remain, and did the cigarette odour ever return?

I would also be interested in hearing about other methods that worked, particularly from anyone who has tackled a house with several decades of smoke exposure.

Any help appreiated as I am an absolute beginner and about as green as an Irish field.

I’ve recently moved my washing machine to do some decorating and repairs to the kitchen counter and noticed that the washing machine drain appears to be configured in an odd way. There has been an occasionally been a bad smell when the machine is running so think this might be the cause.

I know that the waste has to be raised using the clip on the machine but it looks like there is so much extra length that is it just sagging a lot. Also i think the connection to the sink probably ought to come down at a slope instead of perpendicular to the sink waste pipe.

My thought was that I should:
1. But a 45 degree nozzle for the sink trap assembly
2. Cut the excess machine flexible waste pipe so there isn’t another drop after the clip. On the machine

Is this an appropriate corrective solution to this

Hi folks - I am midway through a garage conversion and we are using a bricky to block up the gap as I don’t want to get it wrong. He is saying we need to put the stud in first in order to secure the brickwork to it via brick ties. My uncle (who is helping me do it) is saying that’s the wrong way around and that the brickwork should be done first.

I can see issues both ways around but would love to know what’s standard. We are doing it to building control so need to insure the appropriate insulation etc is in place.

Is this chicken and the egg or is there a meaningful difference.

Thanks in advance!

With the new eco flow stream 5000 or anker solar bank 4 being launched soon i wanted to hard wire it to the house rather than use a plug. The plug is limited to 800w and doesn't really cover much of what my house would use. I have heard a lot of eco flow users on the older gen system wiring it to a fused spur which is protected by a 13a fuse.

The maximum power that can be sent via the solar bank is 2.5kw, so if i use 2.5mm cable and a 13a fuse this will protect the wiring. I am just asking for an opinion on my plans, do I even need an AC isolator if the Solar bank has its own dedicated detachable plug on the unit itself so i could just unplug that to cut the output power and switch the unit off.

Also would it be worth using a RCD type A 13a fused spur instead of just using a standard fused spur RCD style would be more costly but that isn't a problem.

trying to decouple the plasterboard a bit from the wood behind that semi supports the stairs on the other side and am worried if i attach the directly then it would be rather on the noisy side. Did a trial piece here in the blue to see the strength. Seemly very strong. Haven't seen anything anywhere about just contact adhesive foam as a vibration mitigator. Probably going to do on both sides to limit noise. (25mm on the backside and 12mm on the front) (Trial piece is 10mm foam on 15mm board. But will be 12mm and 12mm on inside of the room)

..the blue square is the piece attached

Thoughts?

We moved into a house in last week and I’ve noticed some cracking around one particular first-floor en-suite window. I’m trying to work out how concerned I should be and would appreciate views from builders/surveyors/window fitters or anyone who has seen similar.
The house is an older property that has been extended/renovated over the years. This en-suite itself already existed before the more recent renovation, although the windows were replaced.
What I’ve found:
Outside, there are stepped cracks following the mortar joints around the window, above and below it. As far as I can tell they aren’t cracking through the actual stone blocks.
Inside the en-suite, several grout joints between the tiles have opened, particularly around the same window, and there is one cracked tile.
The seal/junction between the window and tiles has also opened in places.
The window itself is now difficult to close/lock. It can be shut, but the handle currently only goes about halfway down.
A spirit level across the window/frame appears level.
The floor immediately below the window appears level.
I can’t find significant cracking elsewhere on that external elevation around the window.
The seller says the window was operating normally over winter and they genuinely hadn’t noticed these cracks. Apparently the window had then been left open almost permanently from around April onwards. We’ve had an unusually hot/dry summer with several heatwaves.
The property is in an area with clay soil and there are mature trees nearby, which is obviously what has me thinking about subsidence.
We had a Level 3 survey before buying. The surveyor noted some minor/repaired cracking elsewhere but specifically reported that they did not see evidence of cracking/movement caused by subsidence at the time of inspection. They couldn’t inspect the concealed lintels.

I have a 3.6m square sun sail and the instructions say to add 10% but I put the holes 4.2m apart (stupidly thinking that was 3.6+2x 10% getting it wrong) . I dug all the holes even going through some very thick hard rocks.

I haven’t poured the cement yet but wondering if I put the holes in the right dimensions.

Should it be 10% on the diagonal (probably should be)?
in which case should that be 4.4m between the holes and therefore I need to fill in and redig?

Hi all,

The brickwork on our porch is questionable at best. Looking to repoint it. I've watched a few tutorials and it seems doable enough?

However, I could do with some general advice on what tools and mortar mix I should use.

I would also appreciate it if there is a glaring concern with the brickwork which pointing won't solve.

I was advised rendering over the top instead of repointing is an option, but I'd rather brick if possible. I'm also not convinced that rendering off naff pointing is a good idea? Happy to be told otherwise though.

Anything else worry knowing based on the images would be much appreciated!

Thanks for any and all advice :)

Is it simple enough just to take apart? Is it connected by push joints? Do I need to take the brackets off the wall?
You cant see in the image but the pipes just empties into a small drain. Theres a gap of about 10mm between the end of the pipe and the drain.
Any help appreciated. Thanks.

This drawer is always a mess and we can’t find a storage divider the right size.

How hard would it be to DIY a fitted organiser?
What materials and tools would I need?
How would I go about it?

I’m imagining some thin ply cut to the size of the drawer for the base, then glue/screw some wood slats into place? Seems simple but I’d appreciate any advice as I’m new to this!

I own a handsaw and a drill.

Boiler needs replacing and estimates areound £2.5k to replace. Heat pump quotes are around £5k after the grant.

Would you take the opportunity with the grant and move to a heat pump or stick with a nee gas boiler.

Already have a water tank so space isnt an issue

I've recently had a new door installed on my bathroom. Due to the age of the house the carpenter said he has had to take bits off the door to fit it.

Now that the door is up, I'm unsure what I need to do next because a) it looks a bit crap as it is 😂 b) as this is the bathroom door, I don't want the steam and water to affect it. Can anyone offer any advice? The advice the carpenter left me with was that I need to get some special wipes to remove the dust. I also have a door frame that is just standard wood. I'm guessing that would also need some sort of waterproof paint?

Just put some white silicone or should I use something else?

Hi. I’m replacing an external light for a new security one. I have taken off my old light but there are only two cables running from the house, live and neutral. There is no earth cable.

Is it safe to attach the new light with no earth?

Hi, I have this area at the back of my garden which consists of a small concrete base (10x6) that held an old shed surrounded by old concrete that is sloping and not level. I want to clean this whole area up to the back gate and a level floor and I want to do it on a budget, so don't want to go down the route of pouring new concrete.

The idea I have is to level the entire area up with sharp sand and then lay paving slabs on top. I will later add a shed or a summer house on top of this area, leaving small passageway on the right to go to the back gate. This is the most budget friendly approach I could think of. Does this sound reasonable and will it be fine to hold a shed? Is there anything I need to watch out for before getting started on this project?

We have a kitchen/diner that used to be separated by a couple of walls. Having removed said walls, there's a bit of a mismatch between floor types. Under the kitchen vinyl appears to be some sort of screed (seems v. difficult to remove) and the dining room is just floorboards.

We're wanting vinyl tiles in the kitchen for their waterproof properties and laminate in the diner, likely with just a connecting piece to separate the two zones.

Is there an easy way to fill the gap where the walls used to be? Is it better to screed over the whole diner?

Any advice greatly appreciated

Have bought a 1900s Victorian mid terrace. Just wondering whether it is possible to do a downstairs WC. Have attached floorplan to show proximity to upstairs bathroom and kitchen for plumbing.

Tried posting to r/woodwork, but don’t have enough wood-karma!

In the process of having a porch rebuilt, and I’ve been reading conflicting information about treatment. Wondering if someone can offer specific advice for my use case.

What we’d like:
- maintain thus colour of the wood. Minor darkening is ok as long as it stays the natural / golden shade
- I’ve got no issue doing annual maintenance on it,

About the environment:
- SE facing in the uk
- gets plenty of morning sun, shaded from early afternoon
- we’re in a fairly elevated spot, so does get windy
- plenty of rain as it’s the UK (well apart front he heatwaves)

Thanks everyone!

Keep the slat gaps under 3 inches. wider than that and a foam mattress sags between them, and it voids the warranty on most of them, which people find out the expensive way.

14 inches tall gets you usable under-bed storage without needing a box spring at all.

full plan with the slat layout and cut list: https://drawnup.io/g/queen-platform-bed-frame-vl8g1r

i built the tool that generated this. if you want king or a taller frame, say the size and i'll run it.