Any ideas what may cause these stains and how to remove them?

The wall was painted about 8 months ago and the stains were there from the beginning. The previous colour was a very dark blue so didn't notice them until the lighter colour went on. The wall was cleaned with sugar soap prior to painting.

The chimney flue is behind this wall so was thinking it could be soot seeping through but the chimney is blocked up.

Doesn't seem like damp or mould, don't really have issues with damp and mould for now at least!

I live in a Cornish prefab and need to turn the downstairs lounge into a bedroom for my disabled child, the only way to fit everything in is to have cupboards/wardrobes against an external wall that has always been really cold to the touch, I'm worried that damp/mold will develop behind it, will putting radiator foil either on the wall or back of the wardrobe prevent this? TIA

My kitchen shares a single thickness wall with the ginnel (1930's mid terrace) and I'm noticing condensation on the tiles and damp/mould on the lower untiled wall under the stairs and behind the kitchen units. I know I need to take it back to brick and replaster, but I've read some conflicting things about dpc and breathability. Will insulated plasterboard fix the condensation issue? Do I need to damp proof the brick first? Or will the impermeable foil on the plasterboard cause more damp issues down the line? Any opinions appreciated!

So I have a problem with my toilet cistern.

It keeps overflowing slightly, making wayer constantly trickle in tk the bowl.

I've tried adjusting the nut in the right, but no matter how finely I adjust it, its either ON, or OFF.

When it's ON, the water fills the cistern to the top of the overflow pipe on the right.

When it's OFF, it doesn't fill at all.

What am I doing wrong?

I'd rather fix it myself, since I think it's probably quite easy.

See pic.

I'm looking for an espag lock. I've watched a couple of youtube videos on how to replace these[1,2]. The guy in the videos starts off by saying "find out who the manufacturer is", then goes into what exact measurements you should take. I have those measurements, but the problem is that as far as I can tell my old lock I have doesn't have any manufacturer logo or name anywhere! Then I google for online stores that sell these things and can't find one with the right measurements.

I've phoned several physical stores in my area and they've all said "we don't carry that, better buy it online".

How would you approach this problem?

Thank you.

Here's a photo of what an espag lock looks like [3] just because, just because some people I've talked to knew what it is but not by that name.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HkPks3wlfY

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6h5Y85NjWY

[3] https://jcphardware.co.uk/maco-rail-inline-upvc-window-espag-rod-lock-mechanism-22mm-backset/

PS first time posting on this sub, forgive if I'm doing something wrong.

We are finally getting round to sprucing up our flat. In the bedroom there is horrible silvery 90s wallpaper which I want to strip so we can paint the wall instead. What do I need to do to get rid of the wallpaper and prep the wall for painting, and what equipment do I need to have? Please explain like I don't know the difference between a paint brush and a spade, ie idiot proof. Ideally I would like to do it as non-toxically as possible but I am too scared to use a steamer to take off the wallpaper because I am quite clumsy and it would be typical of me to give myself a third degree burn!

Getting a wordshop and a summer house at some point, the base will be timber frame, and the plan was to stick some PIR in between the joists, but when the shed is built and on the base there looks there is a small gap between them.

Timber Base

gap between timber base and shed base.

What should I use to block this up? I feel like leaving it would just negate the timber frame insulation.

I’m planning to buy this water softener from Amazon for £530. Is there any other softener of similar price that’s worth while?

We can’t tolerate hard water in our home as it affects our skin etc so I plan to bite the bullet and invest in one

Also how much is it to maintain monthly with salt? We live in London

I plan to fit it myself to save cost on the plumbing as it doesn’t look too difficult.

Our kickboard has fallen off and I don't know how to get it back on? There are screws but can't see anything for it to screw into. Any wisdom appreciated thanks!

Hi, I was looking to vinyl wrap my kitchen counters as I hate the ones in but don’t want to spend loads replacing the counters because we will probably try and redo the kitchen in a Few years. Only issue is one of the worktops is 92cm wide and I just cannot find anywhere that does wrap that wide, had anyone any ideas where I can look? Thank you

Hi,

I'm planning on fitting a radiator in the porch, but to do this I'll need to run the pipework into the cellar somehow.

I've drawn a bit of a diagram. At the moment the porch floor is back to the concrete pad. I'm going to put some self levelling down, then some 30 or 40mm jackoboard. I'll then tile onto this, bringing it in line with the main house floor.

The problem is that I somehow need to run the radiator pipework into the cellar to connect to the central heating system.

There was previously a radiator in the porch, and the copper piping was wrapped in some fibreglass style insulation and embedded into the concrete block. The piping was pretty ancient though, and also in the wrong place for the new radiator so I'm going to need to redo it.

Not sure whether to dig a channel into the concrete pad, and then run the piping through some sort of conduit, or maybe I could just cut a channel into the bottom of the jackoboard. Anybody have any ideas? Cheers

https://preview.redd.it/dm1pmglipryd1.jpg?width=789&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4fa649792803a6f6fdf6eb73efdb098819cfe80c

Hi! I recently moved to a new flat all by myself (yay!) and I purchased this bed. The metal slats are very far apart from each other and I feel like it would not be enough support for the mattress.

Do you have any ideas how to add wooden bed slates and which ones? Should I just buy a sheet a plywood? (There are no rails so I’m also unsure how to proceed)

I know it’s a bit of a stupid question but please help, I am so lost 😅

Hi. We have a small 3rd bedroom at the back of a Victorian home, which is my Son’s bedroom. It has 3 external walls, none cavity, and two double-glazed windows (one south-facing, one west-facing). The loft above is insulated well over the recommended amount and the windows were replaced last year.

The room has always been very cold in the winter and very warm in the summer. We have a tado smart TRV which keeps the room at a steady 17 degrees overnight, yet the air still feels damp and the walls cold to the touch. There is no actual damp or mould.

Insulating the walls seems like the last thing to do to improve it. But the room only measure 2.5m x 2.5m, so adding PIR boards + plaster to 3 walls will make the room feel even smaller.

Are there any slimmer alternative options? Even if they only make a marginal difference, it might still be enough. Cladding the outside would seem to be very expensive and probably requires doing way more of the house than just the footprint of the room.

What are my options? Thanks.

Had a family friend open up this kitchen fireplace. The second photo shows the current situation, first photo shows where the original lintel was and the supporting brickwork at the rear (which has now been removed). The rest of the photos show the shelf and up the chimney. Originally we agreed he should leave the supporting brickwork in place because he didn't want to mess with it, however, once he had installed the two lintels he decided that the brickwork was tied in sufficiently and he removed it without asking us.

You can see where the bricks in the support column were tied in below the lintel in picture 1, the brickwork up the chimney is covered in the original cement liner so I can't confirm how much of it is tied in. There is now a row of bricks unsupported - possibly tied in further up - but no way to confirm this. Had I known he was going to remove this, we could have installed a lintel here to support this row before installing the lintels at the front. We're now in a bit of a crap situation, with the row temporarily supported by some brackets which are ornamental at this point (150kg load each). The chimney stack is external and the original chimney which protruded from the roof has been removed. The exterior stack terminates before the roofline and is covered, so it is not structural to the house. The row of bricks above the bracket extends up to the top.

The family friend suggested it's fine as it is, but it's on my mind and I don't feel like just leaving it how it is. I think a flat steel lintel that extends all the way across would be the easiest to fit between the mortar of the bricks, but probably not structurally strong enough - unless the bricks are tied in only a few courses above. An angled steel lintel would provide more strength but is going to be nearly impossible to fit considering the space. Should we just put a smaller lintel in and rebuild the brickwork to support it within the space or is there a lintel solution suitable that I may have overlooked?

https://preview.redd.it/w2v4nvnxnryd1.jpg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d39c021e9d3f8c4321627e674c6620443422b2d

https://preview.redd.it/1bd89vnxnryd1.jpg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84fce162b28d657f117a0d3c407b62a3995eb75b

https://preview.redd.it/onc35roxnryd1.jpg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45fe61d3865f84e13afb7ffd84d4891bb831192b

https://preview.redd.it/vl1l1wnxnryd1.jpg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9aac97fd6b51e72f46064c3f3b94ec37a077b683

https://preview.redd.it/044somoxnryd1.jpg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=24128e28d5f5d1308595e997f6af5c6fb31672cf

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https://preview.redd.it/rqahzynxnryd1.jpg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f17ef65f177ec9288dfb6366a7c55e294ae4dab4

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Hi folks, I've got a rubber seal on one of our PVC doors that got ripped and is no knackered. I've Googled the hell out of it and can't find the same seal sold anywhere (picture provided for the curious). How important is it that these seals are replaced like for like? If I cant find that looks like Homer Simpson running, can i just replace with one that is the right width in the fitting track (5mm for this one at the top of the picture) and more or less similar the same width (8mm) and depth (10mm)?

Thanks for any help in advance. Keen to stop the cold drafts flooding in!

looking at a house purchase at the moment and its towards the top of our budget and my partner is concerned about the potential costs of renovation. The house needs a refresh throughout including new kitchen and bathroom, which we would be doing a lot of ourselves. The only problem to me is that there has been a sustained leak from the bathroom into the kitchen causing a minor hole in the ceiling and signs of damp on the wall. all expected in my book and once the leak is fixed the walls will dry out. new plasterboard will be required for the ceiling but this doesnt feel like a significant job to me. This photo shows everything. the bathroom is right above the leak, there is another room over to the left, so no sign that the water is coming from the outside.

https://preview.redd.it/3zas5upshryd1.jpg?width=2559&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68079ddda914d0a820b9a72c856b6ed593489b8e

obviously before we buy anything we would get a survey but i was hoping that someone might be able to put our minds at rest before making an offer. cheers

We just had our house fully refurbed and it all looks slick except for this…. the electrician did it right at the end of the job - it’s the power for a heated towel rail. Any ideas how to make it look like it wasn’t an afterthought please? 🤷🏻‍♂️

I posted recently about paying a carpenter to hang 5 solid core oak doors and got nearly 300 comments, 95% of which said it was an awful job.

The more I look the more issues I find. The carpenter is coming tomorrow to look, he's already reacted badly on the phone when I complained - said his chisel wouldn't cut so he had to use a multi tool, and that I bought the wrong locks. I used my cheap chisels on an off cut and made a very neat recess, the chisel cut fine. I emailed the door company they said the locks were fine for the door, and confirmed the quality of his work was well below average.

Today I just noticed little bits of cardboard wedges behind about half of the hinges. Some of them rolled up and quite thick, some less thick.

Is this an acceptable thing to do? The frames weren't perfect, but is it necessary to shim like this with cardboard? I've seen other threads with people talking about shimming with cardboard to fix doors, but is it ok for a carpenter to fit new doors (into old frames) and do this? On one the hinge recesses are too deep (not flush) and then it's shimmed, so surely that's avoidable

I also told him I needed to take the doors off to oil and seal the bottom. He said I shouldn't take them off as he's got them right, he seemed to not want me to take them off

Any advice? He's for an excuse for everything and I'm worried he will dominate the conversation/argument tomorrow!

It's turned into such a nightmare

I have a bulge on an internal wall of my house. Essentially I think the plaster slipped down and has dried significantly thicker than it should have, leaving a bulging section of plaster. How could I smooth this out before painting? Would it sand down with sandpaper?

Sorry for the gross photo. Our bath waste is corroded and I'd like to replace it. I'm only interested in replacing this visible part. Is that possible without replacing the whole pipe that leads away from it?

If so, is this something I can purchase in B&Q, and how does the sizing work? I've measured the diameter of the outer ring, is that the right way to measure it? Thanks

I have been recommended to layer my external wall with waterproofing paint to stop damp coming through my aged single layer wall in the kitchen - the builder said I could also get the mortar repaired, but it wasn't too bad.

If you recommend, which brand?

Our new home has a very good quality kitchen. However the colour of the doors and side panels are really not to our taste.

Barring replacing the kitchen (which won’t be happening anytime soon), our options are to replace the doors and side panels or go for a company that wraps kitchen doors.

However, how good are they? My concerns are, do they peel off and does wrapping leave marks?

Anyone have experience with these?

The doors and panels are currently flat/smooth and gloss.

I’m finally sorting the bathroom/en-suite and need to start looking at the walls. I have three stud walls and a block wall. I was going to use a hardi-backer type cement board, but googling suggests to not dot and dab this to a block wall. All the demonstrations show a nice level wall and them screwing the board to it. I don’t have a nice level block wall, it’s all over the place. Is it worth dot and dabbing with some thin plasterboard to level it out, and then screw the cement board to this through into the block?

Is there a better way?

Thanks :)

I've just bought my forst home and one of the windows is in a state. Im looking for a quick fix before replacing the window. What can I use to fill this gap?

I've tried looking at the best wood fillers, but there are so many mixed reviews, I'm not sure what to use.

Thank you in advance.