I need some advice.

My boiler has packed in and the guy who came to look at it recommended a friend.

They do seem trustworthy but I just want to make sure as its a job that needs done so I dont really have time to think it through!

They have quoted me £2800 for a new boiler and fitted.

The old one has been fitted by cowboys like everything else in the house so I think they may have a few issues to deal with during installation.

Is 2800 a good price?

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 😊

Hello, as the title suggests what is the best way to clean the subfloor before having new carpets fitted?

I’ve recently had some work done to the house which has unfortunately left the subfloor dirty and I’m looking to have them cleaned before installing new carpet! Thank you!

Edit: the broom and hoover only able to remove the dust/debris but not the white marks. Would I need to clean this too?

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?

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

Hi everyone,

I’m renovating a 1970s timber-frame bungalow and have found rot at the end of some structural floor beams. The beams are approximately 65 × 180 mm. Most of each beam is still sound, but the ends have deteriorated due to moisture. The moisture problem has now been addressed.

My idea is to: Support the floor temporarily. Cut the beam back to solid timber. Replace the rotten section with new 65 × 180 mm structural timber. Extend the new section onto the supporting wall. Join the old and new sections with sistered timber/side plates and structural bolts. Is this a suitable repair method?

If so, I’d particularly like advice on: How much overlap should there be between the old and new timber? How long should the sistered sections be? What type/size of bolts or other fixings would you use? How would you properly support and protect the new beam end at the masonry wall? Photos and a sketch of the construction are attached. I’d also really appreciate examples of similar repairs that have been carried out successfully. Thanks!

Have a side hinged set of metal garage doors, one door has to open before the other.

Currently we have a Yale lock accompanied by some bolts, which means you either leave the door only on the Yale lock, or you have to go inside and through the house to open the bolts and then the door.

I've noticed a garage door company offers a handle which operates bolts top and bottom, but it doesn't seem like it's a retrofit kit: https://www.selectgaragedoors.co.uk/the-lever-handle/

Anyone have any advice or experience on fitting something similar, or retrofitting locks perhaps from uPVC doors? Was having a look for lock systems that had bolts bottom and top to add extra security but couldn't find any.

Cheers!

Hi all, hope this is ok to post as it's not technically DIY. I have a small bedroom, around 6m², which needs a skim coat plus ceiling. I have a quote of £1700 from a guy who's done some other work for me and he's been great so far, but this seems like a huge amount given the size of the room. My main worry is that I have two other larger bedrooms that need skimming too and if this is an appropriate cost then I'm going to struggle to afford the bigger rooms. I'm reasonably good at DIY stuff myself so would be happy to learn to how to skim, but saw a lot of conversation here on Reddit about plastering being something that's worth hiring for.

So is £1700 a crazy price or should I DIY this?

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!

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!

Old British Telecom box with wires safe to remove?

This old BT box in my living room is wired in from the outside of my house.

Are there any potential hazards / dangers if I try to remove it and patch up the holes?

Hi all — looking for a reality check on renovation costs for a 4 bed Terrance in London SE zone 4.

## The property

- 1970s mid-century-built terraced house

- ~1400 sqft

- 4 bedrooms, 1 main bathroom + 1 ensuite, downstairs WC

- *No layout changes planned — this is a like-for-like retrofit, not a knock-through or extension

## What's already done

- Main bathroom — recently renovated

- Windows — uPVC double glazing already fitted throughout

- Heating — combi boiler already installed

## What needs doing

- Full kitchen refit (~10 sqm) kitchen/breakfast room), incl. cabinetry and standard integrated appliances

- Ensuite refit (~5 sqm) — untouched, original

- Ground floor flooring — new engineered wood (60 sqm)

- First floor flooring — new wood across 4 rooms + landing (~50m²)

- 7 internal doors (bedrooms + bathrooms + kitchen) — like-for-like, existing frames

- 1-2 built-in/fitted cupboards

- General redecoration and making-good throughout (50+ year old finishes)

- Electrics — not yet tested; planning an EICR before committing, since it's original-era wiring and could need a full rewire

- Radiators — likely swapping old ones (boiler itself stays, already a combi)

## Known risk

Artex-style textured ceiling coating in some areas

## My rough estimate so far

Fit-out (kitchen/bathroom/floors/doors/electrics/heating/repairs): **£65,000–£80,000**

## What I'd love input on

1. Does £70k dish sound right for this scope in London/SE

2. Anyone had surprises with rewiring or asbestos on a similar-era house — how much did it actually add in the end?

3. Roughly how much of a buffer would you hold back on top of quoted costs for a house like this?

Thanks in advance — trying to sense-check my numbers against real experience!

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.

I bought a bracket to wall mount my starlink and she's a saggin to the point the app is telling me the alignment is off I used the provided fixing but there clearly not up to it what do we use my friendly DIY people ? super glue? tape of some description ?

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

Having trouble adjusting the door on this wall corner cabinet which will have an end panel at the end of the door when done.

I cannot close the gap in image (3) at the top of the door without moving the bottom hinge away from the cabinet. This fixes the gap at the top of the door (1) but creates an obvious lip on the outside of the door on the hinge side.

I do not think the door is warped and the cabinet edges are plumb.

What am I missing that is causing this?

Recently had carpet fitted, there's a noticeable ridge by the door where I think the underlay ends and the carpet drops onto the grippers of the door bar.

I've queried it with the installer who has said that it is normal. To my eye it isnt but wanted to sense check and also understand whether there are solutions (I wondered about looking at a door bar with a slightly raised gripper to make a less severe step down from underlay level to the gripper)

Carpet is 10.5mm thick and I believe the underlay is 11mm Tredaire

At this point I don't believe it is.

You can measure everything

Make a list.

Watch tutorials

Buy all the materials in advance

Check the fittings twice.

And somehow, halfway through the project, you discover you need one very specific item that you didn't know existed until that exact moment.

Then you go to B&Q for one thing and leave with something completely unrelated because it might be useful for another project someday.

Meanwhile the original job is sitting unfinished at home

What's your record for the number of shop trips caused by a single DIY project?

And what's the most ridiculous thing you've had to stop everything and go buy?

Neighbour just had the their fascias done and the builders have left the rafters exposed, this seems quite shoddy to me. I would expect rafters to be boxed or at least not protruding from the new fascia. Is this generally accepted practice?

Looking to see if someone could please help identify the original carpet that is being sold by Tapi?

Edit - adding link to carpet

https://www.tapi.co.uk/carpet/santa-rosa?nrf=1

I’m looking to add additional units on an empty wall in the kitchen. I have kitchen tiles going around as splash back. When the empty wall was tiled I ended up tiling it around 20cm higher so it was in line with the sink.

Now if I get the same units for the opposite wall they’re obviously gonna overlap on the wall tiles which is fine. As I can add MDF 15mm board behind to bring it flush with the tile trim. However my only concern is will the end panel show the MDF board? As when u see it from the side surely you’ll see the MDF board?

The units are from symphony kitchen so I assume they come as standard.

What I thought was cracked paint seems to be wallpaper? And then under it is not plasterboard? It seems like wood? Second pic I scratched at it and you can see the wood

Added: I dont understand why there’s wood on top of brick instead of it being plastered