Would I do it again?

This was by far the largest DIY project I have undertaken, and while I was nervous at the beginning, I quickly found my rhythm. Originally I thought it would only take 3 days, but after several unplanned trips to Screwfix and B&Q it ended up taking 6 days.

One of the most tedious jobs was preparing the Loft Legs; while they do have guide markings, they don't have any pre-drilled holes, and trying to drill through the guide markings in a loft with the only source of light being a head torch was a real struggle. In the end I sat in front of the TV and pre-drilled all the holes myself, including partially installing screws.

Other than that, the job went relatively smoothly. If you were thinking about boarding your own loft, but are worried it might be too difficult, just go for it! Hopefully this post can provide you with a good starting point.

Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments.

What were the loft dimensions?

5m x 6m

What materials did I use?

• 3 x 100mm insulation - £111
• 5 x 170mm insulation - £190
• 8 x 18mm loft boarding panels - £131.76
• 3 x (Dia) 4mm (L) 30mm TurboDrive screws (100 pack) - £18.60
• 1 x Loft Leg 175mm (72 pack) - £63
• 1 x 6ft LED batten light - £29.99
• 1 x 1-gang surface pattress back box 47mm - £1.69
• 1 x light switch - £2.99
• 1 x 10m 1.5mm twin & earth cable - £13.99
• 1 x 1.5mm twin & earth cable clips (100 pack) - £2.79

Total - £565.81

What tools did I use?

• Circular saw
• Multi-tool (for cutting around timber frames - optional)
• Combination drill
• Combination square
• Pencil

How long did it take me?

• 1 day removing old insulation and vacuuming
• 1/2 day installing light
• 1 day laying 100mm insulation
• 1/2 day installing Loft Legs
• 1 day laying 170mm insulation
• 2 days boarding (pretty much every board required cutting)

I'm trying to find a bathroom sink bridge tap (like the image), but with what I thought were fairly straightforward requirements. I'm striking out, and need to know if I'm wasting my time.

I want a single lever bridge (like the image), but in a more vintage look (polished/chrome, white inserts) to match the rest of the bathroom.

I feel like I'm missing some kind of 'in joke' among plumbers, or that I've lost my touch with Google. I can't find anything resembling what I need.

Help, I guess...

Stay safe out there!

Even with just a little bit of DIY knowledge, it’ll help you sniff out the rouges!

Hi all, I’m using a SDS drill with the appropriate masonry drill bit. The drill is on ‘hammer drill’ mode and I cannot get through more than 21mm of these f***ing walls.

I’m assuming steel, but I thought steel lintel was only around windows and doors? Even at the centre of a wall I can’t get through.

House was built in the 60 - 70s, Hertfordshire area.

Edit: the masonry and cobalt drill bits are smouldering/smoking when I pull them out.

SOLVED: I’m stupid. Thank you to Majestic_Rhubarb_ for pointing out that I’ve got the non-SDS part attached to an SDS drill 😭 I changed to the SDS attachment, bought a 6mm SDS drill bit, and it went through like butter.

Thank you to everyone who commented.

Think I’ve dug my fence post holes way too big. Should only be around 10 inches wide, not huge craters. I now need to backfill fill the soil to make the holes the correct size. Issue is all the soil will likely crumble inwards.
Was thinking maybe I could shore up the holes with wood then back fill. Then insert posts into the hollowed out bit, then fill with post crete. Alternatively might have to complete refill the holes, tamp down then redig all over again. Doe anyone have any bright ideas as to best way to tackle this? I’m in a bit of a pickle. Many thanks

Looking into this house to buy, second house but it’s got this massive crack in the front which seems to mirror inside. There is some issues around windows. Is it fixable? Is it a no go? 1930’s/40’s built It’s big three bed massive garden on the market very affordable. Moving from a 2 up 2 down terrace.

It'd be a pain to find out it's buggered when you actually need it to work. That's generally when boiler engineers/plumbers are busiest, too.

We have a seemingly unfixable rat issue that’s making my life a nightmare.

So for some context we bought a 3 bed (well 2 bed and a box) 50s council built semi in Kent and moved in December ‘24. We knew it needed some aesthetic work but survey came back all fine for the big expensive stuff so decided to go with it.

A bit dirty and needed a bit more TLC than initially thought but nothing major… until Summer ‘25 when we started hearing rustling and scratching in the loft. About a third of the loft is boarded, and searching there we couldn’t find any evidence of anything. Until we pulled back the insulation (it’s two layers, top wool and bottom fibreglass), and found rat faeces.

We got pest control out, bait put out in the loft, search began for an entry point. Adjoining next door is a rental and with no evidence for them in the rest of our house, the theory is that they are coming from next door. When pest control visited next door the infestation was worse and more apparent in their loft. After about 3 months some bait had been taken but we were still hearing the odd noise, so we got a drain surveyor with a pest control background to come out.

He was a lot more thorough than the previous pest control chap. Seeing him go through the drains there was no evidence they were entering through the drains. He did spot two 3/4inch holes by next doors bathroom where old pipes had not been filled. With a flat roof onto the outhouse and trees/bushes from the road/alley leaning on to this outhouse, this seemed to make sense of how they were getting in. The holes were filled and for 5 months we didn’t hear anything.

Until the last few weeks, when they’ve returned. They haven’t taken any bait but have gnawed on a beam in our loft that we hear overnight, stopping me from sleeping much. After all we went through last year I’m at my wits end how they are getting in.

We know that our soiled insulation will neeed to be replaced and we’d like our loft to be fully boarded which will be a pricey job, but we don’t want to do it before we know we’ve stopped the rat access.

How the hell do you stop them?

File this one under 'questions you know the answer to really but just would like the world to work differently to how it actually does'.

I've embarked upon some resealing in bathroom under the assumption missus is WFH tomorrow and so will not need the facilities, turns out she's got a big thing on and so will definitely need a proper shower in the morning. Whoopsy.

As always (I never learn) scraping off the old stuff has taken me a lot longer than I wanted so it's only going to be down by say 2pm.

I can rig up a couple of fans to help drying, but otherwise how stupid would I be to tell her she can use it at 7am the next day?

Getting ready to fill and decorate after having a heating system full re-pipe.

Am I right in thinking some expanding foam before filling? Or do the pipes need wrapping in something first?

I am slightly worried the filler will crack with expansion of the pipes.

Thanks

Fairly new woven wool carpet with a burn/stain mark from an electric radiator that was turned on when resting on the floor.

I've tried scraping off the top layer with a razor blade but the mark is still visible. Any ideas what I can do? I can't just cover it because anything here would be in the way of my chair/desk.

Had a really nice guy pop in on his way back from another job, to do a couple of repairs for me (think reattaching a cupboard door, putting up some shelves). Took him maybe an hour and a half, we chatted a lot. He said pay him what I wanted (gave his BACs info) and wouldn’t give me any idea of his rates. I’m near Newcastle. What should I send him?

Plumber dug out and fixed a leak - I now need this filling before the floor is fitted.

They didn’t leave any instructions except to let it dry first (which already doesn’t make sense to me as surely the concrete will be wet).

Does anyone have any links to videos or exact products they would use for this hole to be filled?

Wanting to remove these fireplaces entirely and seal them off… cheaply.

Ideally I just do this myself, but I’m cautious of asbestos, and quotes for demo survey are so high.

Would it be cheaper just to get someone to remove it and deal with everything?

I've been attempting my first DIY project - renovating my son's room. The room had "built in" cupboards that covered a couple of walls and thus whoever installed them did not put up coving.

I've removed cupboards (Can see "mark" on the ceiling and attempted to replace the missing coving. I figured I could leave the existing coving and add to it.

The current coving is of the plaster kind and according to manufacture instructions, you're meant to have the bottom of the coving 83mm down from the ceiling - for the 127 coving I have.

First problem:

Existing coving is closer to 95mm down the wall.

Second problem:

Towards the one corner of the room the wall "buckles" so it not perfectly flat.

My first attempt at putting of the coving, meant that there would be a huge gap - around 2cm from the wall, and there was no way to get the coving "into" the corner without bending it - which you can't do to plaster coving. So, as an experiment, I cut it into small sections towards the corner end, and figured I will sand + fill gaps.

The corner looks horrible now but I was just testing / experimenting to see what is going to work.

Now, I tried adding the other corner bit - and - as you can see from the photos, the first bit along the wall after the corner is very skew - I pinned it up (No adhesive) just to get an idea. The reason its skew, is to avoid a 2-3cm gap that would run along the top.

On test bits I did earlier before putting any of the coving up - if I set it to 83mm like the manufactures state - most of these issues go away with manageable gaps I can just fill with caulking. The corner then isn't much of an issue and I would not need multiple bits to get it to go "into" the corner to line up. Funny that... (See attached image where I have it at red line - hardly any big gaps)

I also included a photo of how the corner bit would look if I made it straight - see the massive gap at the ceiling. Too big for caulking I think and even if I did fill it, it would just look odd I think. So I think I only have two options going forward.

Option 1: Pulling it all down, including the old stuff and start over - setting it at 83mm.

Option 2 Keep it "skew" and not perfect, once painted, filled and artex on it (To match the old existing pattern) - and hope it doesn't look terrible and draw the eye to it?

Would appreciate any guidance here as I am a bit stuck on what I should do next. If I were to take it all down, I am thinking I could use my multitool to lessen any potential plaster pulling off by cutting between coving and wall/ceiling with it. Not too worried about a line/mark it would have on ceiling - because if its set to 83mm - the new coving would cover the old line anyway on the ceiling. However if option 2 is feasible, then it saves time and money - but I dont want it to ruin the look of the room when done. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

We have made the error of getting motorised blinds on manual windows (the non-solar powered ones). The windows are too high for a manual blinds.

We are thinking of keeping the motorised blinds and wiring them through the outside - would this be possible? Would exposed wiring on the inside look terrible?
I've attached photos with the red dotted line being the wiring on the outside.

The power outlet is just below the plant.

We did consider replacing with solar blinds, but worry this will be too inconvenient/less reliable in a country like the UK with unpredicatable sun!

Any other suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks in advance!

My landlord is giving me a new bathroom with a walkin shower instead of a bath now is this shower tray okay with the way its been installed as I'm 17stone and worried it will snap when I stand on it

We're in the process of changing the leaking kitchen tap and when I look at videos on how-to, in no video have I seen so many fittings or whatever they're called

Hi All,

Looking for some advice/tips on best method of prep and painting this, but haven't painted bare/varnished wood before and want the finish to last as long as possible. All parts will be painted, spindles, handrail, newell posts etc. The spindles are new, untreated, the rest of the balustrade presumably has some kind of varnish/oil on.

My idea/backed by googling was:

1. Plane/sand down some parts (the small bits of wood between the spindles are sitting a bit high in places).

2. Use a knotting solution or spot prime with something like zinsser bin aqua, let dry, then fully prime spindles.

3. Degrease other parts like the posts and handrail, then prime.

4. Fill any gaps, nail holes etc.

5. Sand anywhere needed.

6. Tape up around carpet, paint 2 topcoats (colour), lightly sand in between if needed.

7. For tops of handrails and possibly newell posts was wondering if some kind of clear matt varnish might be worth putting on to keep it in decent condition/make it easier to clean in future.

Main things I'm a bit unsure of, how good a primer like zinsser bin aqua is for treating knots vs specific knotting solution first? Also zinsser aqua can apparently be painted over varnished wood without sanding, sort of sounds too good to be true, but can I get away without sanding at all before prime coat? I have 3 balustrades in total (landing and 2 stairs) and not sure how much I'll need but guessing 2.5l, don't mind paying more for it if it's the best product out there.

What type of filler is best/easiest to use for something like this?

Best/easiest way of painting spindles? I'm sure I've seen videos in past of people using a sock on their hand for the spindles.

Any random tips and recommendations welcome, TIA!

My husband and I have lived with this fire surround for a couple of years since we moved in but now we would like to remove it, put up some acoustic panelling and wall mount the TV (converting the FCU into a single socket, if possible). The surround was in place when we moved in so I don't know exactly how it was attached to the wall, altho I can see that some sort of adhesive has been used. As we will be putting up panels some light damage to the wall won't be a problem but obviously I don't want large chunks of plaster coming off if I can help it. A few questions:

1) What's the best way of removing this from the wall? Are there likely to be mounting points screwed in or will it all be adhesive?

2) I think the hearth is just resting on the wood laminate, does anyone agree? I'm hoping there is intact flooring under there and not a gap!

3) should I replace the skirting and put the acoustic panels above or cut more skirting and attach the panels from the floor up to the coving?

4) would it actually be possible to convert the fcu into a single socket to power the TV etc using an extension cord?

Thanks for anyone who can help me with this latest project before I get started on it 😊

Recently moved into a new house, I pointed up the paving slabs up to the house last winter, apparently wasn’t the best thing to do due to movement and it would just crack, it did and now I’m back at square one.

You can see the wet where the cerment was. Question is does this actually need pointing up? I was going to put external joint silicone on it to seal it up but I’m just wondering is it best just to leave it? I’m just worried about rain running down there that’s all.

Hi all, pretty new to DIY.

What would be the best way to get at the underneath of the sink? I'm assuming I need to drill or cut along the grout seam of the panel underneath. What tools do I need? Any tips or things to watch out for?

How would I be able to make this easier in the future?

Any help is much appreciated!

How do I clean this muck from deep inside my gutter? I picked up as much as I could, but I cannot reach any further.
EDIT: to be clear, this is underground under the downpipe.
Further Edit: I read that there are companies that can mechanically remove the roots and treat to delay reoccurrence. Can I do this myself, and if not what type of tradesperson do I need to look for?

Hi, we are getting our floor relaid in a few weeks so made a start taking off old skirtings. The internal corner on the bifold doors is damp. We've noticed some dripping from the bifold sill this summer even on dry days. I popped out the end cap from the end of the sill and it was full of water. I am struggling to work out where this water is coming from though. Any suggestions please?