SilverShadow

Many thanks for your sound advice 😀 We opted against oil filled in case of leaks & preferred to avoid free standing units. We're hoping to sell the house later this year - we wanted something sturdier than just a free wheel oil radiator, but didn't want to break the bank either. Electric rads seemed like the best choice. Great to get your input to help with the decision making 👍 Shadow

Am guessing, but contemporary for £300-£350 might be a bit tricky 😉 Tbf, its not space age, but still a long way from the old cast iron rads of yester-century Was there something specific that would meet the price range & just be a wall mountable unit with simple installation? 🤔

Thanks for that. I think I will probably opt for this one - heats a room 50% bigger than ours, so should be fine: https://store.rioheating.com/products/rio-eco-1500w?variant=36968783446080&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoeemBhCfARIsADR2QCsk1DSYaPooFAGu1PzBzgWtPk8fd9hSeesXyYozzuGJX1t-3hHtnMAaAiIXEALw_wcB

Thanks for that - guess I'll need to invest! 😉 I wasn't sure if an angle grinder would be too ferocious for such a small tile. Best get some strong clamps for the tiles while I'm at it I guess 😀

Good call with cloud services. I know some folks control their heating/lighting with generic 3rd party apps. So was hoping I could use similar

Thanks for that - guess I'll need to invest! 😉 I wasn't sure if an angle grinder would be too ferocious, but I guess the diamon blade will keep cuts nice & clean

Hello again all, As part of our ongoing home renovation I'm looking to tile the kitchen. I bought some funky small hexagonal porcelain tiles (about 50mm in size) on a matted sheet. They're about 5mm thick I've been trying to cut them, but having no luck using a tile scorer and manual tile cutting tool. Unfortunately I'm just getting cracked and chipped tiles (see pic). I've tried the old score & press down over a pencil, but they're pretty tough suckers I don't have an angle grinder or wet tile cutter to hand, & a jigsaw tile blade did nothing much to it Im guesing tile nippers like in the 2nd pic is the way forward, provided i've scored deeply enough 1st? Keen to try and find the right tool before I end up with a porcelain rubble heap 😉 Many thanks for reading Shadow

Hey there - thanks for replying Don't really have anything specific in mind yet, but these seemed to fit the bill https://www.heatershop.co.uk/dimplex-q-rad-qrad100e-electric-radiator-1000w?cat=6170 https://www.heatershop.co.uk/harmoni-lugo-hs1100-electric-radiator-1100w-wifi?cat=5980 From what i can gather, something around 1kw+ should be enough for the room I was considering adding an element like you mentioned. But was hoping for something with a decent display/programme options & controllable by WiFi (not sure what there is)

Hey all, Back once again, for more sage suggestions from you savvy bunch We have an attic room that we'd like to add an electric radiator to. Can anyone recommend a decent one around the £300-£350 Mark please? Seen a few by Rointe, Harmoni, Haverland, Dimplex, etc & they all look great. But I know in real life some are better than others in terms of build quality/reliability, etc A little about what it's for: ● Attic room, 3.5 × 2.5m2 ● 1 double glazed Velux window ● Minimal insulation between sloping roof part of room ● Part of a terrace A little about what we'd like: ● Wall mountable ● Around 1kw I'd guess? ● Decent warranty ● modernish design (to match our house look) ● if possible, also controlled by WiFi (tho we'd prefer a 'non subscription' based app/solution for that) I also wondered how easy it'd be to buy/fit a decent controller with WiFi to this, as it matches the other radiators we have: https://www.bestheating.com/milano-aruba-electric-white-horizontal-designer-radiator-single-panel-635mm-tall-choice-of-width-91838 Anything I've missed please feel free to ask Many thanks for your time 😀 Shadow

Cheers guys I've added pics - if that helps give a better idea

Hey again Thought i'd drop a line to you guys - see if i can gather a bit more of your expertise Our house is an old 1930's terrace, which has what i'd call 'smooth faced' (not porous) brickwork. Over time this has become marked, and i wondered what ideas you might have to reduce some of the marks to make it a little more aesthetically pleasing. I've enclosed a pic (not our brickwork) to give you an idea of what 'smooth faced' is referring to.... The marks we'd like to remove/reduce are: Scratches - folks have etched into the brickwork (the scratches are a bright terracotta & stand out a mile), so anything we could do to reduce the contrast of the scratches (maybe something we can apply/rub in) Other bricks have old masonry paint / window sealant everywhere, which looks very messy - i think there are masonry paint removers, so wasn't sure if anyone could recommend a reasonably priced brand or alternative method of removal? Happy to add any further details if required Many thanks for your time Mark

Hey there, handyman heroes (and of course the handywomen out there too 😀) I was wondering if anyone knew any online kitchen worktop companies (or places around East Mids) that sometimes sell off offcuts for worktops? I'm looking for a 300mm × 100mm solid wood beech strip offcut, and places only seem interested in selling it by the full length (ends up at >£200 for needing a flimsy bit less than a foot square! 😂) I'm sure these places must have damaged tops they'd consider selling a tiny piece for £20 or so. After all, they sell plenty of smaller samples 🤔 If not I guess maybe some Woodward mill might know, or worse still make the bit out of a beech choosing board 😛 Thanks for your time Shadow

Thanks for the heads up 😀 Those look like they could do the job, so I'll see if I can find some find mesh to fit inside 👍

Thanks for the replies 😉 I shall consider the solvent option, but was concerned about the H&S aspect. Looks like it's best to do with protective gear & not hungover 😉 I'll have a look for nitro mors, but did see this peelaway as a potential one? https://www.peelaway.co.uk/130/1868/peelaway-1

Hey all, A quick post from me to all you DIY gurus out there 😉 We're looking to strip our landing banister of several layers of old gloss. We were wondering if: a) a heat gun would be the easiest route to remove the bulk of gloss? b) when removed do we need to treat the wood before applying a wax or stain? c) any other problems or concerns when removing gloss to leave a natural wood finish? Many thanks for your time Shadow

Hey there, Just a quick bit of advice from you gurus please 😀 I'm in the process of doing a bit of light renovation around the house, and was wondering if anyone knew whether I could buy this sort of air vent with a metal finish? Hoping to get something in brushed steel, identical to this (vent & mesh) Does anyone know of some good brands/suppliers to try please? in addition, it looks like these are simple pull/push fit, as there are no screws I can see. Is that correct? many thanks for your time 😀 Shadow

Thanks for the suggestions guys. In the end we opted not to go ahead with the house purchase & won't need to worry about it Have a great Xmas all 😁

I did see Homeserve do something similar. Just wasn't sure if it includes waste drains outside the property

Thanks again MarkC for your sound advice 😁 May I ask, what the £800-1000 estimate represents please? (a small length, 7m, or the full length 14m)

Cheers Dave 👍 we're hoping not to exceed the £2-3k mark, to get the 14m drains replaced Depth of the pipe is up to 1.1m, if that makes a difference, as to whether to go via excavation/ trenchless 🤷‍♂️ Our approach may depend on whether we have to rip the porch down tbh

Thanks MarkC - appreciate it's hard to know without seeing it 1st hand Tbh, I think we'll have to excavate around the connections, regardless of resolution. What would be your 'gut instinct' as regards very approx price? I'd read online, that moling might be possibly £800-£1200, for this sort of job? 🤷‍♂️ Would that be for drag buster or full excavation?

Hi there, Here to gather valuable insights from you gurus & those 'in the know' 😁 A CCTV survey has shown the 110mm clay waste drain (running adjacent to the house) has failed at several areas along it's 14m length between manholes (offset joints, up to 1x pipe diameter thickness). The drain is private, 7m of which lies under a concrete pathway, upon which is also a 2m side-porch. It has 2 pipes joining for kitchen/bathroom drainage (under concrete path) Seems like there are a number of options available: • Replace: excavate & re-lay • Repair: drain sleeve lining patch • Replace: trenchless (eg: moling, pipe bursting) • any other suggestions Ideally prefer not to rip up the concrete pathway / porch, unless the costs & merits of doing it really make sense Does anyone have any clues as to cost £/metre, which would give the greatest longevity? I'd love to know your thoughts / experiences / costs for trenchless work, as this seems least intrusive (unless it costs a bomb) Many thanks

Absolutely understand and many thanks. Tbh, a chat with their technical team will probably be a good start. Depending on their answer will see where we go. But sales team alone will not cut it for us

Thanks for the great insights As I understand (from theirs and other websites) they drill boreholes several metres down, at regular intervals (1 metre apart is the norm). Then with a long nozzle they pump the resin at high pressure, which seeps through the soil filling gaps. Once inside the resin permeates the soil, expands and sets. The resin itself (I think I read) is hydrophobic (if that's the correct term?), so all treated ground isn't liable to heave or shrinkage. I share your concern about what happens to the soil underneath, but the company we found have approval by the BBA regarding treating clay soil with resin injection https://www.bbacerts.co.uk/ On an earlier post I uploaded their report, endorsing this company for such work. So I'm hoping it's fairly legit & above board 🤷‍♂️

Hey again, Sorry for another post - I don't seem able to keep off this thread! May I ask: in order to ensure the foundation method is suitable & all work compliant, what would the recommended process be for selection & any sign off of work? (I'm thinking in terms of having the right paperwork & assurances to reduce insurance snags or resale worries) Can we just go to a reputable structural foundation company and say 'fix it' & use their surveyors/engineers, or does it really need additional SE to dictate the approach, oversee/review the work for full assurances? Such a huge minefield....🤔