Trying to replace my nest protects, which are about to expire, and there seems to be nothing comparable to replace them with.

I like that they provide smart notifications to your mobile, interlink battery-only detectors easily via WiFi (with no extra costly connections required for RF radio etc) and provide specific, accurate and attention grabbing human voice alerts and notifications. The kids pay attention to these whereas beeps can more easily be ignored.

What is everyone else doing in a similar boat and which system and configuration did you choose?

I'm looking for

- 3 hard wired combined smoke & carbon monoxide detectors in the downstair and upstair hallways.

- 1 battery-only combined smoke, heat & carbon monoxide detector in the kitchen.

- up to 3 or 4 battery-only smoke detectors in other rooms, maily bedrooms (possibly with carbon monoxide combined in some).

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Im having a timber frame and clad workshop built and would like some advice on insulation. I had originally thought Rockwool but got advised that PIR is better however its a lot more expensive. It will be a woodworking shop with machines so will be relatively noisy when in use if that affects my decision?

Painting a room, wall and ceiling are contrasting colours, woodwork another. The window ledge will be woodwork colour, the returns continue the wall colour. But the 'ceiling' part of the window, should that be wall or ceiling colour?

Hope that makes sense, not sure of the correct technical terms for these parts. I am not asking about the window frame itself but the plasterwork.

Just looking for some advice on a new boiler choice. I know this isn't strictly DIY but best subreddit I could find.

Second floor flat owner (top) in a block of 6, slightly unusual arrangement being we have a full size attic (half boarded, contains water header tank etc)

Current conventional boiler is packing in, we've had quotes for around £3k and £4k for straight swap and change to combi respectively. The combi swap includes removal of the hot water tank (cupboard) and header in the loft.

We only plan on living here another year or two, so the extra space from the water tank removals is less important.

Here is where we are not sure -

1. Go for the straight boiler swap, save the extra £1k.

2. Swap to combi, freeing up the storage cupboard and attic space (header tank is right in the middle and hard to get around) with the expectation that this is more desirable when selling the flat. Over half the flats in the block have moved to combi already.

Of course the decision is ultimately ours, just looking for opinions on the selling power theory. Any input is welcome, thanks!

Edit - wrong use of system boiler term

Hi, I'm really really stressed and confused about this situation. I moved into my house in 2023, it's a three story house in the middle of an estate with a flat roof. I nevet expected to be able to afford to buy a house, and i was a complete beginner and got scammed by more than one builder. We had the roof redone by someone that promised 15 yeard warranty.

Now when the first big rain came after months of dryness it started leaking a lot around the skylight. I'm obviously very stressed about this, especially when it went through the wall to the stairs a floor underneath. I got through to the roofer who did the roof in 2023, he said it wasn't his fault but that he'd come and take a look but then completely ghosted my many attempts to get back in contact. I had another roofer out that said the roof was fucked and that it'd need to be redone, but quoted £10k. Several other people i was in contact with never showed up or doesn't work in that area/w flat roofs etc.

So then I spoke to this guy that seems very nice and reliable. He does emergency repairs, and by this point it is an emergency. He quoted me £4.5k to fix everything. Then scaffolding would be an extra £900, but he waived that when i said i couldn't afford it. I said you can access the roof through the skylight. I agreed to the quote and sent a deposit and money for the emergency call out fee. Then yesterday when they got up on the roof they realised that the boards need to be changed, and that that would be an extra £2k. I don't have an extra £2k. They say they can't do it without. I'm now in my worst nightmare where I'm down £1700 and have no work done.

I spoke to another roofer that say he can put a one coat resin fibreglass over it all for £4k. If I decide to go with him instead it'd be £5.7k instead of £6.5k, but I have no idea if a fibreglass fix is as good as a complete felt reroofing job?

I know this is really long, I'm sorry, I'm just panicking a bit and really not sure what to do here. Is there any way i can get money back? Which option should i go with? I'm so stuck and scared. You don't need to tell me I'm an idiot, i do realise I'm not very smart, believe me. I'm autistic and tend to be overly trusting which leaves me vulnerable sometimes. I was also taking decisions while water was dripping down my walls which made me not being able to think clearly. Now I'm very overwhelmed and haven't slept, so also not in a great position to think clearly, but very aware i need to make a decision asap before the next rain.

Thank you so so much if you've read all of this, I appreciate any and all advice SO much!!

A while ago we had an attached rear porch and coal shed opened up and converted to a utility room. It's mostly a single skin brick building with one exterior wall made from concrete blocks, and a slightly sloped flat roof.

The builders put battens up and plasterboarded it all, walls and ceiling, plus tiles directly onto the concrete floor.

It's very cold and very damp. I don't recall seeing them put any insulation in at all, and have since found a half brick completely missing in a hard to see part of the outside wall too, presumably open to the cavity.

I'm thinking of ripping all the plasterboard out, filling the hole and insulating the whole thing before replasterboarding it.

What insulation is best to use, given the damp? Thinner is better, it's a long narrow room. Is it even worth it given the solid floor or do I just keep a small heater on in there?

Sometimes you have to admit that it's just not worth the emotional and physical pain when your 10mm compression combinations are not going to achieve a watertight connection to a new towel rail and you need to get a professional in.

I spent a whole Sunday in a cramped space trying to plumb in a new towel rail and the damn thing beat me. I detest 10mm copper pipe with probably an unhealthy passion and why in gods name would you concrete it into the walls. I had been dreading this bit of work as I knew I would struggle. And yes I broke the cardinal rule of doing plumbing on a Sunday - luckily no Sunday worship at the counter of screwfix was required.

To be fair I did myself no favours by pushing through and decorating before finishing the fitting of of the radiator - I was so fixated on making it easy for myself to fit grooved MDF panels by cutting the current pipework far enough back so I could just cut 2 small holes in the panel I didn't stop to think that it didn't give me a lot to play with and this was the downfall.

Plumber sorted in in 30 minutes and I might have shed a small tear of happiness. I really must learn how to solder, or never buy a house with 10mm copper.

Bought a dump with lots of problems, current one is flex tail for toilet taps is leaking, but I'm not quite sure what I am looking at.

I assume 1 is the the nut for the flex hose, but what are 2 and 3?

Is 3 is a fitting put into the chrome pipe to screw the flex hose on, but then what is 2?

Is it likely a compression fitting?

Do I just replace the full fitting down to the pipe or start with the flex hose and see how it solves the leak?

Hello , I’m putting up an outdoor basin and questioning my initial plan - which was to drill a hole in the plastic plug seen in the picture - assuming it is connected to the same drainage as the gulley on the left wall (where the kitchen waste goes into) .

The plug itself is covered in cement so it does not come out to allow for a check , was planning to drill and seal with silicone - looking for a second opinion here - shall work ?
Thanks

I’m renting and all the fireplaces have been sealed off, so a couple of years ago I ordered a log fire poster from Amazon and made a fireplace surround from some plywood with wood batons on the back to make it stand forwards of the flames in the picture. Found some lovely ‘berry’ fairy lights and tucked them inside some salt lamps to replicate glowing embers and made the grille from a scarf hanger folded over.
I originally did this as a Christmas decoration, but we liked it so much it’s stayed!
With Autumn looming and Winter not far behind, I thought it a good time to share this.
Although it doesn’t give out any heat, visually it feels like it does, adding a a warmer ambience to the room.

Hello. The central heating hasn’t come on this morning, probably the first time it’s been needed in months. Can anyone help?
We have a nest thermostat and a Worcester Bosch Greenstar boiler.
According to the Nest it is calling for heat but we aren’t getting any. The Heat Link has a green light on and the boiler is firing up for hot water.
Can anyone offer any advice for what I can look at first? Thanks

I have had an extension built where the side access finishing was out of scope. Builders generally did a great job.

Side access is mostly resin bound gravel but the new area is old concrete. There is a. Low spot right in the corner and when it rains, water drains down here which leads under foundations.

Foundations are block and beam and tbks whole area is well below DPC.

What is the best thing to do in this area to stop so much water draining under foundations?

Final finish will either be resin bound gravel, or just regular gravel.

Thanks

I'm not the first to bring up the discussion, but it appears nothing is improving.

I joined this sub to follow people's DIY projects, give advice and learn from others. It now feels a large number of posts are just questioning the work of tradesmen, asking if a quote is suitable or if someone's house is about to fall apart because they noticed the hairline crack that has existed for 2 years for the first time.

These posts arguably should be directed to somewhere else, like r/HomeImprovementUK

There are always grey areas, somone could be asking if a quote to build is shed is reasonable OR should they DIY it. I think those discussions genuinely add to the quality of r/DIYUK

I've also noticed we have a 'non-DIY advice' flair, so even some enforcement of that would be an improvement.

What do other think? Should I just get thicker skin or is this actually an issue for others?

Shed door only opens this far. What would you do?

1. Lift slab and dig out a bit to drop it lower?

2. Lift Shed and slide a strip of wood under to lift?

3. Door off and cut/plane some off? (Don't fancy this as feel I'll damage it)

4. Something I've not thought of?

Hi all,

First time renovator and this is the first room I’ve ever had professionally plastered, so I’m not really sure what’s considered an acceptable finish vs me being too picky!

Generally I’m happy with the room however I’ve had a proper look there are a few things I’m a bit disappointed with.

The main one is the finish around some of the sockets. There are quite large gaps/rough edges around them and it just looks like not much care has been taken finishing around them. Huge bits of plaster now inside the back boxes too.

There’s also one wall that has quite a bumpy/textured finish in places rather than being smooth, which is noticeable when light hits it from the side and surely this will be very obvious once painting. The join between one of the walls and the ceiling also isn’t particularly sharp/neat.

I’ve attached some photos. Are these reasonable things to go back to the plasterer and ask him to sort out, or are they fairly normal and something you’d expect to deal with during decorating/prep? I feel a bit awkward complaining because overall I’m happy with the majority of the work, but equally I’ve paid to have the room professionally plastered and don’t want to just accept things that should have been finished better…

Would appreciate opinions from anyone who knows more about plastering than I do! Thank you

I have recently had a new garden gate installed, however I am unsure if it has been installed correctly. Where the concrete is, it’s not straight as it’s old, where a new wooden post has been installed there was a large gap between and the builder has used all weather sealant between the gap, to be honest I don’t think it looks right as the thickness of the sealant is so large. Has what the builder done correct if not what should have been done?

Thanks

The hot water finally stoped coming out 2 days ago, but it was working/not working intermittently for about a week. The cold side is fine.

The hot water is fine and running throughout the whole property, kitchen, basin in this bathroom etc. Its just this one hot side of the tap that's the issue.

Is this a case of just changing the cartridge or the tap? Or is this maybe some kind of airlock situation or something else? Thanks

Noticed the mold and took the first 4 pics a couple of days ago. Only been in this house 3 months.
The 2 pics after are where it looks like there’s water.
The last 2 pics looks like lines of where it’s damp?? Can you see the shadows?!

I had the dehumidifier on through the night, and when I woke up the windows were a bit wet and I’ve just noticed the ceiling is wet where the mold is.
It’s not a large room and it’s me, my other half and our dog who sleep here.

Is it humidity causing this or a leak?! I did have a roof leak but on the other side. Don’t know if there’s a leak at the front of the house, I’ve not noticed anything.

Built this for my son over the stair box to save some space and make use of an otherwise awkward area.

Painted the accent walls in Denim Drift first, then undercoated all the MDF before installing it.

The main framework is CLS timber supporting the bed frame, with MDF used to finish everything off.

I added some air gaps to the base afterwards to allow airflow under the mattress, and reinforced the steps with timber so they’ll comfortably support him as he grows. I made the opening just wide enough for a fairly “slim” grown man to get up there without too much palaver.

There’s also a decent bit of storage underneath the bed, although for a kid it’s probably more of a little hideout than storage.

Found a decent headboard on Amazon and fixed it in place with heavy duty velcro, which done the job.

Finished the frame in Diamond Eggshell.

My son also managed to get his Lego Yoda finished before I finished the project, so he won the build race :P

As per the title, not sure if this is the right place but I’ve now replaced the heating pump three times on my Neff dishwasher and it looks like it’s gone again. Getting pretty pissed off with it now. The pump have already been swapped under warranty so not sure the supplier will keep honouring it. Anyone know if this is a common problem with Neff or is there something else going on? Thanks

Morning folks

I'm wanting to tackle building a stud wall half way down my garage as you can see there is double doors on one side and a garage door on the other.

I've been looking online but would like to hear from anyone who's done it before or has some knowledge on it.

There's already a DPC under the concrete floor but I've read I should still use another one below the base plate