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My sentiment exactly. If we changed them to "smart" smoke detectors, is it a simple change from a wiring perspective?

The CO2 sensors are not "wired" into the smoke detectors. They're all battery operated and scattered around the house (where we have fireplaces, kitchen, utility room, etc.) The noise that comes out these things is piercing - really gives the nervous system a jolt. Not a great way to get woken up and the poor cats got the fright of their lives.

Yes, all of them are exactly the same. I don't see a single one that is optical.

How can you tell if wood worm is really gone? We have some beams in the house (see attached) that are not looking in great shape. We've just sprayed them with woodworm treatment to be on the safe side, but is there any way of telling whether wood worm is gone?

We've been in our house now for a year and we have 8-10 of these smoke alarms throughout the house. This morning we were rudely woken up when all the alarms went off. We rushed from room to room, and there was no fire, semblance of smoke or anything that might have triggered it. Within 2 minutes, the alarms went off. Do we need to have them inspected and checked out? They were installed about 3 years ago, and it says replace by 2027 on the lids. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks cpd and onoff - I’ll do as you and screw through the back into a cross beam to allow movement. This has all been very eye opening.

Your workmanship looks great. Would mastic be an option, and then we paint over it?

We used Cuprinol fence paint.

We were thinking of going with this paint and would use the corresponding primer then that Ronseal recommend: https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/ronseal-10-year-weatherproof-wood-paint-satin?gclid=CjwKCAjw1_PqBRBIEiwA71rmtY2tkQf2LLau3HzOJFaODA8y_6FGweSyElgR7VQmBAOaYqjpeofUShoCYk8QAvD_BwE Our latest complication is that they have a colour called Duck Egg, and we need to make sure that it's a very close to our PVC windows that are chartwell green. Nothing in life is easy these days - too much choice and selection makes everything quite complicated.

That's even more annoying because, if memory serves me correctly, the wood wasn't that cheap. We'll seal it with battens and apply another coat of protection. The work never ends.

The other option is https://www.ronseal.com/for-home/doors-windows/exterior-wood-paint/superflexible-wood-primer-and-undercoat/ Difficult to decide.

Is this stuff good as a primer, and would it do the job we need it to do: https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinsser-b-i-n-shellac-based-primer-sealer-2-5ltr/10130

My wife will be very pleased that you have suggested this, as this was her idea. We use galvanised, rust proof screws that we've used on our log store and they've been awesome.

LOL - I did mean to write shrunk.

Sure, I'll try to post these later today.

When we get strong winds, we can hear the grill flapping around - in fact, we have another one a few metres from there that leads to the guest bathroom. I just don't think they're great quality and strong winds are able to get in, because the plastic flaps are not very strong.

We commissioned a guy to build us a shed in our garden. The wood has obviously expanded, but it seems to have expanded an awful lot. I think he said that he made a biscuit joint to keep the wood together in the doors to prevent this kind of thing from happening. The gaps are now about 1cm wide. I was thinking of buy 5cm wide slats and placing them over the gaps because the shed's not watertight now and we keep our outdoor cushions in there. Is that a good idea?

You've all scared me off smart meters

Does that mean the fuse box? If it is, it's on the other side of the wall in the hallway.

May I ask why they need replacing? Are they not accurate?

It looks like a relic. Not sure how I'd establish the age really.

Thank you for the great advice and apologies for the delayed response in thank you.I have printed this reply out and will definitely refer to it when the time comes to commence with this project. Can you please elaborate - when I go to the hardware store, what should I ask for to make lime mortar? Do I need building sand for that too, and what would the ratio be? Yes, I think. So I'll end up with a "wonky" slanting wall - is that what you meant?

Thanks Ferdinand. I suspect this is a cheap grill. On an unrelated note, there are some bricks above the fan that need repointing. Can I just mix up a cement mixture and fill it in?

Moving it down would help, but getting a tad tired of the escalating bills, and this sounds like a pricey option according to Dave. I've found the draft culprit - it's the extractor fan exhaust.

We have a cabinet in our kitchen where our electricity metre is kept. The previous owners, as with many things in the house, did a horrible patch up job of 'insulating' this cabinet with bubble wrap as we get occasional drafts during the winter. It's a real mess inside - at least there aren't crisp packets, product packaging or splodges of silicon, which is a bonus on this occasion. I was going to use some board around it (and then paint it), but they cut a crescent shape as part of the top board so that you can see the metre and take readings, so I can't extend that board because it'll obscure the metre and I won't be able to submit readings. This is doing my head in - does anyone have an ingenious suggestion that will allow me to draft proof this cabinet?