Invader75

That sounds about right. I know it's a finger in the air type question but roughly what kind of cost? Also, I'd read somewhere that insulating the roof and plaster boarding over changes the planning?

I'll try and get some but it's a regular 1930's semi. Skylight already installed but not much else apart from a few precariously placed bit of chip boards to store stuff on. I guess we'd like to be able to walk on it as HID would like to use it as a sewing room when needed. So floor would have to be a bit more substantial than say the LoftZone system.

Hi folks. We're looking at turning our loft into a utility room. Somewhere we can store things better and also have an area to set up my wife's sewing machine etc. We won't be using it to sleep in. I'm wondering what the basics would be to do this compared to a basic loft conversion using an expert. Previously I've worked on our house (installing kitchen, patios etc) with a friend who's more skilled than myself and able to do carpentry so I could use him. Or go with the experts! Any help would be very much appreciated. All the best

Hi all, I have some old secondary glazing panels that covered the stained glass window in our home. Unfortunately the clips that held them in place have "disappeared" so I'm after some advice as to how to secure them in place again.

Thanks. Turned them around and they work perfectly without any leaks.

Thank you. We naturally assumed hinges in the inside. That'll learn us!

Afternoon all. A novice needs some help (please go easy!) I got some patio doors from Freecycle hoping to save myself some money. Myself and a friend installed them but having never done it before I think we've put them in the wrong way round. Every time it rains, we're getting leaks into the kitchen. Can anyone confirm we've messed up or is there something wrong with the doors seal etc?

Great. Thank you. I'll order some and see if they work. 👍🏻

I saw these but was concerned they might not be strong enough.

Afternoon folks. I'm after some help. We have a big stained glass window in our hall/stairs area of a 1930's semi. When we moved it had glass secondary glazing installed. I removed them to clean and repair the existing windows. Unfortunately this was a while a go and I've managed to lose the fixings to hold the glass panels in place. Does anyone know what they're called and what I should be looking for? As they're glass they need to be substantial. Many thanks

Morning all! Please go easy on me. 😉 I've removed our old washing machine that gave up the ghost. Tried to fix it but too expensive. And also our dishwasher that was next to it, as we just don't use it. There's always been a bit of an occasional drain/fart smell that we could never work out where it was coming from. I figured it was the washing machine or dishwasher. I'm no plumber or DIY expert but this doesn't look right to me.

We don't have any neighbours. Looking for a solution thanks. 👍🏻

Thanks. Having spoken to the company who sold us the slate they advised not to use them at all. For example, I had a spare slate which I put underneath our old existing fire pit as we had it on the grass. Within a couple of hours the slate had completely cracked. Ideally looking for a solution with more space between the slate and the fire pit. Was thinking maybe almost a pizza oven/raised up wood fire oven type thing.

Morning all! Last year I relayed our patio. It was originally old cement slabs so we opted for Brazilian slate to match the rest of the garden path and other lower patio. Unfortunately after finishing we found at that the slates don't like heat from something like a fire pit. Unfortunate as we used to spend a lot of time out there doing exactly that with the old patio. So, my question is. Does anyone have any solutions to creating some kind of fire pit/raised fire type thing that would save any slates getting cracked and fire damaged?

Update. Took a while but got it all done. Only issue was after checking with slate suppliers, they don't recommend having a fire pit on them as they can crack. I wondering if there were any other options that people have used to avoid slate cracking?

Cheers guys. I'm flying blind on this. A friend is helping me lay it, but he's away. I'm in charge of ordering everything! ??‍♂️ If the area we need to patio is 21.60m2 and I need 1” Full bed, wet mix sand and cement (this is what's recommended by the slate suppliers), How much sharp sand and cement do I need to order? It is sharp sand I need right?

Do you know how I would work out quantities of sharp sand and cement?

No, old patio was down for as long as I can remember and no movement. Although the slabs were extremely thick and heavy. The new Brazilian slate slabs I have are about half the weight (same size) and half the thickness. I'd been advised to lay them on a mortar mix as they're not quite as heavy.

Afternoon all. I'm looking to replace our old patio with some Brazilian slate. The existing patio was extremely heavy concrete slabs that must've been down for 50 years. They've been removed and it looks like there's a hardcore base underneath, a gravel/sand type. Would this be ok to lay on top once it's been whacked? Is it cheaper to do cement/sand wet mix or buy slab mix? Factoring in the hire of a cement mixer, lugging sand cement, etc.

Thank you ??

Hi all, We're looking at having an plan kitchen diner extension that will connect out kitchen and back room together. Currently our back room has original 30's French window/doors. It's South facing so when the sun comes out, it's like a green house in there. Which is hand in the winter but almost unbearable in the summer. Would standard double glazing prevent this when it comes to our new extension or is there a new or existing glass that can reflect some of this heat? We'll be going for floor to ceiling windows (approx 11.5ft x 9ft). Many thanks

Will check whether it properly floats. When I do raise it up the pump kicks in. No obvious things it's snagging on. Emptied out and flushed through with lots of water.

Hi, We have a sewage pump fitted for my parents annexe to pump up the main drain. Over the last couple of months it's developed an issue and has stopped emptying out the tank. Initially we called out a local company to have a look at it. After a short while they said it started working. Since then we've had overflowing tanks twice. I've opened the cover and fished around with a suitable implement to raise the float switch at which point the pump kicks in. Each time I've made sure to flush out the tank with loads of fresh water from the the hose. There's definitely not anything that shouldn't be down there in terms of wipes etc. Only what should and toilet paper. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

hi folks, We've had a timber frame annexe build in the back of our garden. It's been built on ground screws. When it was installed they recommended that at least 3 sides have an air flow all the way around. My concern is that it's open for any animals who may fancy making it their home. Does anyone have any suggestions of something I can put in the gap that will allow air flow but protect from unwanted visitors? Thanks

Yeah, I've seen these. Don't mind something more minimal and simple (cheaper) as we've got 8 doors to find door knobs for.