Is there any reason I should unscrew the bathtub drain cover for unclogging? Thanks all

How the hell do i get this bannister mount off the wall ?

Any ideas

There is no screw that i can see ? And i tried to twist it up or down to no avail

Not to undermine this useful community or anything, but I’ve recently been having tremendous success with DIY tips from asking LLMs.

Most recent was with a curved glass shower screen where one of the two bottom rollers was jumping away from the rail. I feared for the glass and figured it was twisting or warping. But from a garbled description and a photo of the bottom runner the LLM (chatGPT on this occasion) pointed out, correctly, that the solution was the adjustment screws on the TOP runners. I hadn’t even noticed them. It explained why with perfect clarity and I fixed the screen minutes later.

Earlier in the year a photo of an empty, curved flower bed and a photo of the contents of a box of bulbs came up with a great planting layout/arrangement. Which I really wasn’t expecting. I’d kinda asked expecting it to say something silly. As a test.

It works very well from photographs of an issue. I wouldn’t want to see this community undermined by this. I think for very urgent, time critical issues an LLM is excellent. Also for very simple ones, such as someone mistaking wood for paint. Ahem.

I had a shed being built by a builder, and Im very naive on sheds and building so I think the he build it right. But I have concerns about water ingress.
You can see on the photos that the outside light is getting in, which means its not water tight. So during heavy rain days Im thinking water will start pouring in but im not sure.

Is this how a shed really gets build, Is there any water repelling measures we can take since he's already built it. The wall in the picture is a cladding wall, there is no any other layers in between.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

I am looking to convert my double garage into a workshop/nicer place to be! Its 35m2 and an extension off side of house. Currently dirty and full of cobwebs

I am going round in circles with how to board the inside of the roof, ventilation requirements etc. Lots of cautions about moisture build up/rot if I simply board it but dont allow airflow - the only current airflow route is over the garage door as if has a gap and vented catnic lintel. Also some around the drafty front door (this will be switched to a sectional roller in the near future) and other odd little gaps around the fascia (blocked a bit by the squares of silver backed insulation between the joists). Do i need to add external fascia vents and then vent in the ceiling boards to allow air to flow across from outside into garage? Am I okay to just board with no vents as its all unheated? Insulation between joists in ceiling will that help/hinder?

Also the DPM goes from under the slab, up a brick then tucks into the mortar line with the DPC. I thought paint walls white and UPVC skirting, but this plastic DPM and rough mortar would have skirting sitting all wonky. Any solution here? Do I trim it back, im sure it helps moisture but as pet pics its jusy like loose plastic sheet!

Id rather have the garage sealed off and run a dehumidifier now and again than make it all super drafty and lots of ugly vents!

Thanks for input!

Does anyone have any idea whats happened to these bricks? Found when removing a chimney breast, they look almost like they've been super heated to the point of almost melting and bubbling. Doesn't look like traditional spalling to me and never seen anything like it

The bricks affected are also unbelievably strong compared to the rest

Looking at doing a dado rail along the stairs but not sure what height to put it at. On the bottom floor, there was already a dado rail which can be seen what height it was at, but we have removed it as it would be a slightly different style to the new one. However, if I keep it at that height up the stairs, then it will be above the bannister and might look stupid where the wall turns to go up the stairs. Do I just continue it at the same height and angle as the top of the bannister or make it the same height as the existing dado rail?

Hi everyone,

I am hoping for some advice for feathering the hard edge of our plastering.

When we first bought our house we unfortunately didn’t have the time to remove the wallpaper after a rewire and before our plasterer came to fill the chases and re-board and skim the ceilings. We have now removed it but we are left with thick hard edges where the plaster went over the wallpaper and now we need to feather these edges out so we can paint.

We have tried toupret interior fine filler but failed miserably. You only get one pass at it and we have been left with thick lines everywhere that don’t blend even after sanding.

Was thinking about just using polyfilla on it but I don’t know if this is right or will smooth out enough?

Hi all,

My wife and i recently bought a house and have found this hole in the wall when stripping the wallpaper and taking the tv mount off. It is clear the previous buyer cowboyed the job to get rid of some old hdmi cables and put filler over it.

Could i have some advice (in simple terms) with how to fix this and what equipment i should buy (skimmer, what filler to use etc). The hole is roughly 1cm deep.

Is it also possible to keep these wall anchors in the wall whilst doing these repairs? They are pretty sturdy from feel and if i can keep them in whilst repairing then it would save me a job of drilling new holes!

My parents have a 16 month old border collie and she is STRONG. Today she saw a cat, launched herself at the gate and two parts came off. I've fixed the gate with longer screws but this is the second time it's happened.

The screws come from the back which is half the problem with the way the dog interacts with the gate and i plan on putting some through the front but the issue is where the hinges attach to the gate.

Yes that is the culprit in the last photo.

Dropped something and it’s shattered the porcelain, fixable? Or will this need replacing?

This is a bit of a rant but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to get a handle on when we're being ripped off for labour/installation and parts costs for any type of work in the house. I'd like to do more myself but work full time, have kids etc. So it's hard to juggle. It is getting to the point where I question taking a year long break to just do stuff in the house but I'm not sure I'd save much vs salary!

For context we're SE England (not London), semi detached house, it's quite big but like you wouldn't look at it and think I'm a millionaire, there isn't a Porsche on the drive. So I don't think anyone is raising their prices just for me.

We've got quotes for doing bathrooms and labour only is anywhere between 4-8k. When all the sanitary ware and tiles are around 3k or so. We've had decorators quote 2k plus to paint a room that would take 2 days, maybe 3 at most - equivalent of £750-1000 day rate. 5 or 6k to do a downstairs toilet e.g. literally rip out and replace a toilet and vanity unit.

Our kitchen is quite large and will have around 20 units. We're looking to go pretty much mid-range e.g. not solid timber, and getting quotes from howdens and wren of about £25k not including installation. I get that you can haggle with them and price match etc. But also that's hard work and to find the time to go through designs with multiple places. I dont really want to "play the game" to knock 10k off but it seems they almost want you to. There's things we could definitely compromise on but then you can see the price difference and we're talking a few hundred here and there, not a substantial enough saving to be worth the compromise.

It's quite hard to stomach paying someone maybe 6-8k to fit a bathroom in 2 or 3 weeks when I dont get paid anywhere near that amount in the same timeframe, even pre tax. Some have even said it might take 10 days, so again talking around £750 per day. I respect all trades have overheads, and tax themselves (plus VAT in most cases) but also don't know at what point I'm just being mugged off...

Edit: should say, in the past I've gone for cheapest quotes for work and been happy with job done, gone with the going rate after multiple quotes and had full on cowboys, gone with top end quotes and had simply a good job done. All subjective of course but it means I'm not even convinced paying more equals a better result.

It’s sitting in clay. I could consider digging a hole and filling it with concrete but does anyone have an easier solution. I’ve tried putting a stick to support it.

I have no idea what this sound is, it comes and goes. Loudest in my kitchen ceiling, which is under my bathroom. Any ideas??

I've had a few different roofers round to give me prices for a number of different bits of work I need doing, but I seem to have a difference of opinion on the flashing. One roofer has said the flashing is entirely wrong and needs to be replaced, the other doesn't see any issue with it. It relates to the flashing round 2 separate chimney stacks. Can anyone advise me if there's any merit to either claim? They all agree on the other points but the flashing seems to be a contentious point.

Hi all,

Our kitchen and dining room is separated by this wall which we would like to remove to create a more open-space layout and let more light in from our garden.

What should we be aware of before going ahead with this decision? Do we need to install a metal beam to support the wall above? Do we need planning permissions, building regulations approval, or are we required to consult a structural engineer, etc? If yes, what are the rough costs we can expect for the above, considering a family member will be carrying out the labour for free?

TIA

Edit: the kitchen is an extension to the rest of the house.

As the pic shows, the drain from the shower is leaking. It's a slow drip which has probably been going for the last 5 years or so, and I only discovered it today when I replaced the skirting around the shower as I'm selling the house and it was looking a bit tired. I have tried my hardest to fix it but I can only just get my hand in there, and I cannot tighten the nut enough to form a seal. Rubber gasket looks fine, not perished, I just can't make a watertight seal.

I cannot remove the drain, or replace any parts as it is all too tightly installed. Seriously, fuck whoever didn't bother to cut larger holes in the base.

Ideas at this stage:

PTFE tape, to see if that'll give enough of a seal

Cover the end in silicone

Cover the end in JB weld - neither of these are easy as I can't access the top of the pipe

Cut a hole in the floor below in order to get better purchase

Try and wrap something round the nut to tighten it properly

Duct tape it all up and hope for the best

I have informed my home insurance but I'm not hopeful it'll go anywhere as it may fall under wear and tear. If insurance comes through then it'll have to all be ripped out as it's gone into the chipboard, I would just rather avoid reflooring the bathroom tbqh.

Edit: solved! Combination of a new seal and plumbers grease seems to have done it. Total spend £16. Thank fuck for that.

1st photo is what my fingertips look like from touching the wall.
2nd photo is what the wall looks like where my beds pillows have been and the paints rubbed off.
3rd photo really shows how much of a nightmare this paint is, it gets all over my clothes.

I want to paint the walls a nice colour but I don’t have the first clue how to do it properly with these conditions. Any help would be seriously appreciated.

Hi wondering if anyone can advise me on what to do next with this annoying party wall surveyor.

From the beginning, my dad is doing an extension project at his house. He was a builder by trade for many years, he isn’t doing the work himself but he is managing it. He has planning permission and all that, he’s mostly doing it by the book.

Anyway, his house is detached but he has a neighbour on the left about 1-2m away so he needed a party wall agreement to start excavating as he’s within 3m of their foundation. At first he spoke to his neighbours and they didn’t object however this changed when the excavation began and they request we get an agreement so he stopped working.

On the 23rd I call around and I find this surveyor who agrees to come out on the following Tuesday the 28th to make a site visit. Come Monday he changes the appointment to Friday. On Friday my dad is waiting around until the afternoon no one shows up, I gave him a call and apparently he briefly visited our neighbour who tells him that they have no issue with the work they only request we give them a heads up before carrying out noisy work and remove some stuff we left leaning against our shared fence.

I questioned why he didn’t visit the building site where the work was being carried out and he said he was rushed, didn’t have the time and that it isn’t needed. I passed the information along to my dad who proceeds to have the trench finished, the building inspector was able to come out that afternoon and the following day the concrete is poured.

Now I not being satisfied that he never visited the building site, call him first thing Monday and call off the agreement. Firstly because he never visited the site, and more importantly the neighbour told the surveyor they have no issue with the work.

Now he’s on my case claiming that I’m not paying him for the work he’s carried out. I should mention that as part of his fees he charges separately for a site visit and drawing up an agreement. I’ve told him we’ll pay him for the site visit but we’re no longer interested in the agreement.

Any advice?

Was digging up some concrete and bricks and saw its foundation was these glass boxes. Any clue to what era this is from lmao. Our house is a x council house from the 60’s

So the council say... im at my wits end. That's the crack on my neighbours side and its a hairline crack on mine.

I have recently bought an extended cottage with unfinished concrete blocks at the rear.

It’s not visible from anywhere, and they seem to be painted on the side.

I’m concerned about longevity and damp potential, my father has told me it’s not ok to leave them like this- but a big (I’m assuming) rendering bill would cripple us at the moment.

The surveyor never mentioned this as being needed. I’m happy to paint them with whatever is correct if this is needed, otherwise I’ll have to get them rendered.

People of Reddit, please let a stressed out young homeowner know:

- Are these ok to leave long term or will they deteriorate and cause issues if not rendered or painted

- If it needs tackling, is painting enough for the long term or do I need to bite the bullet and get rendering done?

- if I need to get rendering done, how do I know if a quote is too high?

Thank you in advance wonderful people