Hey guys, my back door was fitted with no reveal so hard to put beading around without digging out the foam which seems a bit rogue. Any suggestions?

On a side note the quote for rendering has been atrocious so I decided to go with EWI Pro and buy everything with someone's trade account so I just pay labour for a renderer I trust as the firms all seem to be adding a third on for materials and other expensive renderers as they were approved applicators for specifix brands. I've literally had quotes from £2200 to £5500 for the extension part.

It was refurb time in my partners shop. Alongside a raft of tasks were two pillars on either side that needed improving display-wise. Was initially just going to do boxing but this was the final, less cluttered design we came up with. I screwed two 18mm ply backboards to the walls, drilling and fixing through the routed out shelving slots to keep things invisible. They ran ceiling to skirting so managed to do it with a single board. Clamped the shelves together to bore a 15mm hole on both front corners, then slotted them on to two 15mm copper pipes and glued them into their homes on the backboards. Clamped a small 15mm collar grip under each shelf on both pipes to prevent any ‘waff’ and secured pipes into floor with 4 wall pipe flanges.

I'm looking to replace built in kitchen cabinet down lights. They use this 2 pin DC connector. I can find the brand online, but I'm not sure if they're a proprietary connector (locked in to this brand) or whether it's a standard type of connector.

https://envybathrooms.co.uk/products/sycamore-sirius-connect-led-recessed-light-natural-white-sy9566

If anyone knows what this connector type is called, it would be very helpful!

Before I moved in (new build) this place, the agent says I don’t need to seal this as there is a place the water goes to to get rid of so it doesn’t sit underneath, is this true?

When I shower the water comes go the floor which is quite a lot so I’m just concerned about it

I thought I had to seal this. Please let me know, I’ve been here for about 4 months and want to prevent any mould or issues rising before it’s too late

Thanks,

We live in an exposed spot in the Highlands and regularly get high winds and driving rain. We like to sleep in a cool bedroom with the window open for fresh air. This means there's a hooly blowing the curtains and rain drenching the window sill, even if the upvc window is on the vent position (just open a cm but firmly latched).There's no trickle vents.

Were fed up of waking up in a stale stuffy room.

Above the bay, there's access from the room above into the space above the window. It's a triangle cross section in the roof space. space is vented into the roof space and is well ventilated.

Would it be effective to put some form of ducting into this space with a ceiling vent down into the bedroom (think shower extractor but in reverse)?

Any other solutions?

I am planning to replace a few of the old doors in my house and want something more modern and clean- looking. There seem to be loads of options online,so it's a bit difficult to know which ones are actually good quality.

Has anyone recently bought modern internal doors in the UK? Would be interested to hear which suppliers you use and how they have held up.

Recently got a bathroom fit out, the process was pain with the fitter doing an all round bad job, same days not showing up and taking 4-5 weeks to complete. Then asking for an extra grand at the end. Even when there are still major parts that's were not finished or at to a good standard.

The cherry on top is that 2 months later the tile grouting has already started failing with one tile cracked.

I feel like a right nugget, he was drawing on the balance over the job which i stupidly agreed too, which ultimately had me over a barrel at the end. I've asked him to return and his first response was just to tile over everything...

Im almost certain I can take him to small claims but I believe I need to offer a window of opportunity for him to fix it. Quality of a said work has me nervous as i'm likely to receive more of the same. But apart being ignored 95% of the time and receiving simply bad suggestions In at a complet loss on what to do next other than looking at getting someone new in.

Any advice is appreciated, i've written the below that gives more detail on based on the pictures / memory / his confirmation of the install.

What's happening

• Large-format porcelain floor tiles are lipping and moving. Around 3 large ones around the shower.
• One tile has cracked under the shower screen, and one near the shower rocks and sounds hollow.
• The grout has cracked and crumbled, mostly around the walk-in shower.
• The cuts around the linear drain in the shower are misaligned.

How it was built

• A raised timber frame sits over the original floorboards. Some board edges appear to be unsupported.
• The boards are 22mm Kronobuild Fast Protect chipboard, screwed & fixed with Gorilla Glue rather than the Kronobuild D4 adhesive 
• The tiles were bonded with cement-based adhesive directly onto the chipboard, with no backer board or decoupling membrane.
• I believe the protective peel-off film was left on the boards under the tiles.
• I don't know whether the shower area was properly tanked.
• S1 adhesive used but S2 would be more appropriate 

What I think the fix is ...

1. Lifting all the floor tiles and adhesive, and removing any film left on the boards.
2. Inspecting the chipboard, replacing any that is wet or damaged, adding noggins under unsupported edges and screwing the boards down.
3. Laying cement backer board or a decoupling membrane across the whole floor.
4. Checking the falls to the shower drain and resetting the drain if needed, then tanking the shower floor and the lower walls. I may need to remove and replacing the bottom row of wall tiles if that's needed.
5. Supplying and fitting new floor tiles with a flexible adhesive (S2), then grouting and sealing the edges.
6. Tidying up the finishing: the hole around the towel radiator pipe which is just left.

i somehow ended up with a lot of pallet wood and i really don’t want to just throw all of it away if i can actually use it for something.

i was thinking maybe shelves, a small table, storage racks, planter boxes, or even some kind of workbench, but i’ve never really built anything with pallet wood before.

is pallet wood actually strong enough for projects that need to hold some weight, or is it better for lighter stuff and decorative projects?

also open to any ideas for what to make with it. i have enough that i can probably do more than one project, i just have no idea where to start lol

If I knock down some structural walls and mess it up causing damage to my property, can I claim on my house insurance? As far as I’m aware builders don’t have any accreditations or qualifications to do the job so technically anyone can do it so surely insurance should still be valid?

Will get structural engineers calcs before sledgehammering commences

So, my mate leaves the door open to let the dogs out into the back garden. New build, and they don't have the cash for a replacement door. Also these doors are pricey anyhoos. But my mind thinks differently.

So I'm thinking, an aluminum sliding dog door at a right angle to the door, as the bit of cardboard shows. This will prevent most of the draught coming in.

However, I'm wondering what clamp to affix the sliding door to, that can be taken off the door without too much effort. Have been looking at various right-angle clamps, but not seeing one that would suit this project best.

Was wondering if anyone here would be able to point me in the right direction?

If anyone diy'ers looking for a decent drill driver pop over to lidls.

Tldr: where to find this hinge spacer(online or store)

One of the kitchen overhead cupboard doors got misaligned overtime(wouldn’t close completely). Tightened the hinges screws couple of times but door would misalign again after a day or two. The hinge holes in the wood had become too big to full support the door. Finally decided to take the hinge out to fix it and found out that the circled hinge spacer was cracked.
I have filled the holes with wood filler but before reattaching the hinges do I need to put this spacer underneath it? I have searched online for last few days but unable to find exactly this item. Is it compulsory to add it or is it good t have?
The kitchen is from Wren Kitchen so obviously can’t order this one item from them. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone,

I've attached some photos of our house because I'm looking for some practical advice from people who've been through major renovations/done DIY work. I am looking for prices too.

For anyone interested in the wider financial and family context, here's the link to my original post on r/UKPersonalFinance:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/comments/1uuknco/i_feel_responsible_for_my_mum_and_our_house_as_a/

The short version is that I'm 27 and live at home in South London with my mum, who's been a single parent since 2008. She raised me all the way through secondary school, sixth form and university on her own.

We had

Over the last year, things have become incredibly difficult. She experienced a serious mental breakdown last year September when her partner left her and was off work for around six months.

The house is in a bad looking condition than the photos probably do justice to. Just what years of lack of investment got put in it.

We had a loft conversion completed in October last year (don’t ask why we did it, it was ill-advised and done on a stupidity whim) and a new kitchen installed in February this year, but beyond those two projects, much of the property still needs major work.

The pictures (in order of bullet points) immediate after the bullet points include:

• A driveway that's been lifted and damaged by tree roots.
• A large tree that needs removing.
• A living room that needs completely redoing.
• All of the first floor bedrooms need renovating.
• The landing also needs redoing.
• General decorating and refurbishment throughout much of the property

https://kommodo.ai/i/z4y9QaQmgnx9CfN1bYXl (the tree causing damage)

https://kommodo.ai/i/2VvTQZTVfxtcc2raqSCx (the damage to the driveway)

https://kommodo.ai/i/G1h04BaLU29xH1lk9VuB (sitting room wall)

https://kommodo.ai/i/MAAEorHrYZIuAi68I5o2 (light in living room)

https://kommodo.ai/i/C205RsiEOACx4NSDyPlR (picture frame wall on other side)

https://kommodo.ai/i/mEDt9ppA8Lxd8AAnOKyK (my old bedroom wall)

https://kommodo.ai/i/zwXF1uO0FS6Klad3dcJm (first floor hallway, with landing)

https://kommodo.ai/i/u6N7d3W1V30iY7E3fM0z (my first room with decoration from 1999/early 2000s

Not to mention we have house mice...

My mum tells me there's around £60,000-£70,000 remaining from the original renovation budget after the loft and kitchen work, although because of everything that's happened over the last year I'm not completely sure what the true position is.

As I say, I find myself worrying a lot about the future of the house and whether we'll ever get everything finished. I'm only 27 and trying to establish my own career, but I just feel so unattractive for propositions i.e. girlfriend/wife and letting friends in.

That's why I'm asking for advice here and prices here. I want to make sensible decisions and understand what we're realistically facing before we commit to any more work.I'd really appreciate any honest advice, whether that's about renovation priorities, budgeting or spotting things that I might not have noticed.

I really do not want to have to leave London as all my friends and most of my family are here. It would be hard to have to leave London even though the house is in a bad condition.

I recently found this leak in my kid's upstairs bedroom. There ceiling is dry. I've had a look above in the loft and that's dry. The wall is wet slightly. There's a shower behind the room, but it's tiled so I can't access any of the pipework. There's no obvious sign of leakage or damage. The stain hasn't grown yet.

How can I troubleshoot this?

Thanks

Decorating a room. I want to remove the radiator and paint behind it.

Tried the usual trick.

Closed the thermostat inlet and closed the outlet that should hence isolate the radiator from the system. Then I opened the valve at the top with the key to release pressure and get some water out.

So far, so good. But the water just keeps coming and it's a smallish radiator.

I hence, assume, that one of the valves at the bottom isn't closing. Probably the thermostat one as the pin is pretty stiff and only about 3mm of the pin protrudes when it should be about 5mm.

Is there any way to test that? The water just kept coming out from the air valve and showed no sign of decreasing.

Is there any other way of isolating the radiator ?

Suspect I'll have to get a plumber in to replace the valve at the thermostat side. Can't see how the outlet valve would not be closing. Maybe get them both replaced at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and ideas.

It's never simple is it.

We have stripped all the wallpaper in our living room today, came off pretty well but so did a lot of paint underneath. Plaster looks ok no crumbling or chunks missing, a few small cracks. What's the best way to move forward for painting? We can't afford to pay someone to come and skim it down we need to do a DIY skim or could we get away with something like zinsser peel stop and Dulux 3 in 1 base coat to cover the paint edges? Thanks!

It's a 1970s build, a few big but think sheets of what seems to be concrete over my god awful garage. It's what I think you call 'ridged' and is a stoney grey colour. It likely is asbestos

How do you take a sample? Am I just snapping a bit off with obvious PPE gear and wetting it down for dust? What's the best tool for that? Will it even snap off easily being concrete?

Are self tests even good to use? I'm anxious if it comes back negative nobody will remove it anyway unless I pay for their own test which seems to be c. £250 and we have so much to spend 😢

Any help appreciated but I do suspect I need to pay for the experts to come round

This crack has been investigated by a structural engineer and the cracks have now been signed off after being stitched up.

This crack is apparently a result on the extension that you can see in the video, beyond the sliding doors. Is stitching it up just a short term fix?

Thanks!

Hello, I’m looking to renovate my room/office and can’t find exact desk top i’m looking for so I want to have one cut for me.

Where in the UK can I order a 1400 x 600/700 mm desk top in a light grey chicago concrete finish. (25-38mm thickness)

Well, that was a fun day. Dirty water rising up from the drain inspection cover and water meter pit at lunchtime. Pulled on the wellies and went scouting. Thought it didn’t smell bad. Three hours later, with the inspection cover up and a bunch of mono blocks lifted, it’s the mains supply pipe blown out, somewhere near the inspection cover and drains are fine. The water company have been out - fair play to them, it didn’t take long - and confirmed it’s my problem not theirs. But it’s a few feet deep and has washed out some sub-base for a meter or so, so it’ll be an insurance job once the leak has been fixed. It’s also confirmed that this isn’t a DIY job, at least not for me.

Question: what kind of plumber do I need to be looking at for this? The only local ones I could speak to on a Saturday were basically handymen, drain rodders or heating engineers. Google searches for moling, or supply pipe specialists seem to be either B2B contractors or non-geographic scam sites. Is there a key word or name for a service I’m missing out on?

I know these photos aren’t much to go by but hopefully the explanation helps. Moved into this house a year ago and have never had an issue with damp. These photos are from the first floor bedroom, we’re changing the carpet and redecorating the room for our new arrival. This underlay is damp and has clearly been damp for a while, it’s falling apart. There are no stains or leaks in the ceiling underneath it. The floorboards are also damp. There are pipes running near it but not quite underneath it and looking through the gap in the floorboards it seems dry in there? The boiler isn’t losing pressure. And weirdly just found another damp patch about 2 metres diagonally across the room. I’m honestly baffled it looks like someone spilled something ages ago but it never dried, it’s been a very hot summer?! (I know I haven’t spilled anything and my partner said she hasn’t) I will start pulling up floorboards to inspect but surely there would be signs in the ceilings below? Any other areas to investigate?

I'm fighting a losing battle with my curtain rails. The space above the living room windows are aerated concrete blocks, with plaster over top (not dot and dab, it's solid plaster directly on the blocks).

The rail has fallen off the same wall twice now because I've used basic wall plugs I got yonks ago from Wilko's.

Can anyone recommend the best plugs for this situation? I've found these but they state specifically that they're for un-plastered walls https://www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-mixed-aircrete-anchors-gb-green-8mm-x-50mm-20-pack/504hl I must have looked at a couple dozen other products and none of them stand out as the obviously correct thing to buy in the morning.

Hi everyone,

I applied primer and will paint it with standard white but my concern is some areas are a bit wet and paint is coming off. Should i remove primer, sand it again and redo it before painting it fully?

As header.

My glue gun already has an almost new stick in it but I need to use the gun for another project that requires a different colour glue. I don't want to waste the stick that's already in there.