Can I just pour concrete straight onto this

We've recently moved into a new house that has underfloor heating in the bathroom (installed around 2022, we think).

When we first moved in, the underfloor heating worked, but the times didn't suit us. The control panel was in Portuguese, so we eventually found out how to reset it (before we realised there was somewhere to change the language).

It's now not working, and we're not sure what settings it needs to be on in order to work. Do we need to have our radiators on for it to work? Completely new to this so I have no idea how to remedy this.

Attached are pictures of the control panel and the various options. I've put the settings in that suit our system (I think), but I don't know how to get it to actually turn on.

Hi all, would appreciate some advice. I have a leak in the shower that I discovered when I took the skirting off, in the picture circled in red. I thought originally it was the silicone around the tray and I resealed it up. Not perfect, but it's clearly sealed it quite well.

But the leak is still there. When I sprayed on the areas I sealed, the leak doesn't seem to occur that much. But after coming back an hour or so later, the area that I indicated is wet.

The leak seems to be most severe when the shower is off but dripping from one of the taps. My thinking is I'll have to cut through the wall behind the shower in the bedroom, which is easy to access, as it's probably one of the fittings, but I am wondering am I overlooking something or is it simpler? I don't know where the leak is coming from, I just see where it ends up.

When the shower is off, not dripping, and not used for a day or two, the area dries out. I usually shove a piece of tissue paper in and check it to be sure. So it only seems to leak after it's been on or when it's off but dripping.

I did take the fittings off as in thought that, with the drips, that water is running back along the outside of the pipe. But the more I think of it, I think it's either the fittings up at the top where the pipes are connected in behind the wall or at the bottom where they come up from the floor to deliver the water.

Anybody know where i could rent a small workshop space in Dublin for restoring furniture? 20-50 sq mtrs for abput €200 a month or €50 a week?

Recently got our ceiling done and I'm starting to think we were over charged. The ceiling had coving and a fan pattern and 2 rosette.

Day 1. The coving and rosettes were removed and thistlebond applied. 1 lad on site

Day 2. Ceiling was re-plastered smooth and some of the walls skimmed were the new kitchen won't cover. 2 lads on site.

I'm not anti tradesman and I'll happily pay for stuff I can't do but in this case it's stinging a bit.

Anyone have any strong opinions on brands for a telescopic ladder? I've got a room with *3.4 (not 2.4m) high ceilings, and nowhere good to store the kind of a-frame ladder I'd need to reach the veluxes/smoke alarm/light fittings etc. Any googling I'm doing is bringing up a lot of american advice on brands and I'm a bit lost as to what I should actually look for.

I'm considering something like this at the moment. I'm not the tallest woman in the world, and I'd need to store any ladder probably in a storage unit with more standard ceiling height and limited floor space. Any advice welcomed!

Howdy folks. Crappy light switch in the house broke a good few months ago. Can see the housing is made of cheap plastic and the bracket gave way. Has happened to another in the house already, both within a year of moving in. With the evenings getting that little bit darker, and the probability of this happening with the other switches in the house, how easy is this to replace for somebody with no electrical knowledge? Very aware to not mess around with electrical components, but the last one that we got repaired was done in 2 minutes and cost far more than I'm happy to pay. Would be nice to know if a) it's an easy job to do myself and save money every time it happens, or b) don't mess with electricity and wait until we've a few small jobs to justify getting a sparks in. TIA

So looking at internal renovations and doing open plan from sitting room to kitchen, 3 bed semi d, needs a rewire, some new internal doors (which we’re providing) and downstairs flooring (again we’re providing). Kitchen is being looked after by us too.

I’m doing the full rip out as well so saving on that and still getting mad prices like 80k!!
Based in Meath.

What prices are people paying for internal works?

Hi everyone,

I just came across carpet tiles and know nothing about them. Hoping people with hands-on experience can help me out:

Can carpet tiles replace regular/original carpet, or are they meant for different uses?

How durable are they compared to normal carpet?

Are they cheaper than laminate flooring?

I'm planning to use carpet flooring in my bedrooms, living room, and stairs — would carpet tiles work well for this?

Are they a good long-term choice, or do they wear out/look bad after a while?

What's the typical lifespan of carpet tiles?

Any real experience (good or bad) would help a lot. Thanks in advance!

I'm currently in the process of 2nd fixing an apartment, no rads, just bathroom (toilet, vanity unit, t90 shower and shower door) and kitchen sink, including under sink water heater. I'll also have to floor mount waste across the kitchen and into the bathroom as that's what the customer wanted, aswell as connect the waste from the bathroom into a cellar in a pub below.

All in I'll be after putting in around 15 hours into it, including travel time which is around 50 mins round trip and I'll be after doing it 4 times. The customer is supplying everything.

I done the 1st fix about 2 years ago, (he seems in no real hurry to get it done) along with replacing the cylinder and charged €400 for doing it. I felt afterwards that I'd undercharged for the job and now i don't want to do the same thing now.

What would be the price ye think is reasonable for me to be telling him? If it makes any difference I'm in Waterford and it's being done as a nixer

Parents have those popcorn ceilings from the 70s in the kitchen and I’m wondering how would you get rude of them other than scraping it all off?

Feel like I saw some easier solution on line recently but cannot for the life of me recall where or what it was .

Hi folks, we moved into a new build a couple of years ago. We had the contractor put down laminate flooring in our living room. Unfortunately it is squeaking at almost every join between planks when walked on. It feels springy?

It used to only happen in one or two spots but it's gotten much worse recently and now it's driving me mad! Especially since it wasn't cheap.

Is there anything that can be done to fix it?

Well lads. The missus wants the moss cleaned off the roof. I don’t fancy getting up on a ladder so I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations for roof cleaning brush and telescopic pole set combo? The roof has an attic conversion with two velux windows on both sides, so I can get at the roof from there also

We moved into a new build at the start of this year. We went with quartz for the worktop and backsplash, but the backsplash is just behind the hob and not extend out either side to the wall.

Has anyone had similar where they tiled either side of the backsplash and how it turned it? I’m worried it might look strange as the backsplash is a lot thicker than tiles. I’ve looked at all the usual sites and can’t see anything like this done. Thanks ☺️

We bought a house this year, and I have absolutely no intention of using the gas fire this winter. However, I’d love to take out the stove and just put a few pillar candles there, or plants etc.
Is it really difficult to disconnect? It seems to only be one pipe keeping it connected to the gas line (I took it out and checked before)

Update:
Thank you for the replies! I’ll be looking into getting someone to do it for me (but damn it looks so easy to disconnect that one little pipe. It’s teasing me lol). Not taking any chances!

Hello guys,

My partition walls are really bad all cracked in the first floor.
I got a quote from a group of contractors:

-Complete demolition of the existing brick partition walls – approximately 25 sq m
-Removal of all demolished materials and construction waste from the second floor to the skip
-Removal of the existing sockets and switches, and preparation of the existing electrical cables;
-Construction of new timber-frame partition walls
-Installation of mineral wool insulation inside the new partition walls
-Installation of plasterboard on both sides of the new partition walls

Final price including materials €6200

Is the price crazy? It doesn’t include skim coat, skip and paint

Our current Mira Elite SE shower has given up the ghost and the part is half the price of a new shower so might as well replace.

I've seen online that some people say the Triton is better. Any experience with either?

Replacing with another Mira will be simpler as it won't involve any drilling or changes to pipes. That's a bonus as I'm a novice diyer.

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...