Questions tagged [uk]
Questions specific to DIY projects in the United Kingdom. Use with any relevant project tags (i.e. [electrical])
221
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How can I use this welder with 16A/230V two pin plug in the UK?
I bought a Sherman™ DIGITIG 200GD from Amazon a month ago, sadly it came with a European 16A/230V two pin plug.
I've been so focused on making sure to meet stringent safety measures for my humble &...
13
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8
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Is it possible to replace just the antique locks or will I need to get whole new doors?
In the house I bought the doors are old but ok. However, the handle & locks are very old and we prefer to replace them. I am referring to the doors for the rooms inside the house.
Now the question ...
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Scale of installing electric cooker wiring
I live in the UK in a 70's terrace with absolutely none of the electrics from fuse box to kitchen required to run an electric cooker + hob. There are no spare holes in the fuse box.
I'd like an idea ...
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Timber-timber joists joined in an unusual way?
I have an upstairs room that I am renovating in a loft-converted house, having recently moved in (UK). The house is from the 1950s, and was originally a 1-story house without the loft. It was upgraded ...
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How deep should I dig to lay 20mm thick porcelain paving?
I've seen various different recommendations for laying porcelain paving slabs. The main difference seems to be whether a concrete layer is added on top of the hardcore.
Most guides (like this one) ...
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47
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Shall I worry about these cracks in wall?
I have a few small cracks in different places in the house. Most of them around doors and windows and they are horizontal or vertical, which I think they are pretty common and nothing to worry about.
...
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28
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UK heating system, manual bypass valve - what's the standard operating procedure?
In the heating system with the following schematic, a manual bypass valve is always closed (otherwise radiators will not heat up properly).
However, as far as I understand, this means that when both ...
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Noisy non-return valve - does this heating schematic make sense?
I am in the UK. I have an existing closed (pressurized) heating system with a boiler downstairs and the rest of the works + hot water tank in the cupboard upstairs.
Problem: when lots of radiators are ...
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3
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2k
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Insulating a wooden shed to provide strong heat rejection
I'm getting a large new shed built in my garden and I'd like to insulate it to make it a bit more comfortable to work in.
The shed comes with stud framework on the walls, so my plan is to use OSB to ...
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135
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Can anyone explain how this wiring could work? (UK)
This is how a bathroom lightswitch is currently wired... it works. But how?? (There's also a fan isolator switch supposedly connected to an extractor fan in the bathroom, but it apparently does ...
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How can I stop water flow in a pipe if the valve isn't working?
This cold fill is in the closed position but the water still runs. If my house has a stop tap, I can't find it (spent half a day looking, not mentioned in papers when I bought the house either).
I ...
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2
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184
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What is this mains water/mains electricity switch in my UK kitchen?
What is this fuse-protected electrical panel with on-off switch and indicator light? It bears the label MAINS WATER SUPPLY.
I have tried leaving it switched on or off for long periods of time (weeks ...
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1
answer
67
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What is the most important component for the airtightness of a room?
I have looked at the UK building regulations and it says that timberframe cavities should be airtight to a minimum of 0.6 changes. This is for new builds, not renovations which is my case.
Looking ...
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Any prescribed zone or similar concept for extra-low voltage/DC and data concealed wiring?
Is there any concept of 'prescribed zones' (née 'safe zones') - or interaction with those for concealed mains wiring - for other concealed cables?
- 143
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98
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Why are my heat radiators only partially heated?
We moved in to a house around 6 months ago.
I noticed that our radiators were not getting too hot so went ahead and bled them.
I managed to eventually get water out of most of them however a couple of ...
user146829
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1
answer
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One way Light switch replacement help
I am trying to replace my current light switch with a new one
Click for full size
But getting a bit lost, old one has 2 brown in COM, 1 brown in 1WAY and 3 blue in LOOP do you know how that should ...
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2
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1
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140
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My latch allows to double lock from the outside... why, and is it safe?
I am a tenant in the UK.
I live on the first floor (2nd floor in US scheme), there is no fire exit and the flat is big enough for a couple.
The latch on my flat's door is the Ingersoll 'Classic' ...
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13
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3
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3k
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Bang sound and breaker has tripped, anything else to check?
Today I heard a moderately loud "bang" sound whilst in the house, similar to someone dropping a heavy book, and the upstairs sockets all lost power (sockets has its own breaker). I noticed ...
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3
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120
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How can I make a section of skirting removable for cable access?
I have a lot of cables, junctions, etc. behind the skirting board I want to be able to access it in the future, without ripping apart the board again. I was thinking magnets, some click holders, or ...
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2
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98
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Can I unscrew this pipe cover behind an access panel?
I just want to double check I am not going to unscrew something and get a surprise. I want to find the water shut off for my bath, which a plumber turned off today while I was out of the house (the ...
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2
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133
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What is this kind of radiator bleed valve called?
I managed to shear off the middle bit of my radiator bleed valve yesterday, just by turning it with a key.
The bleed valve went into a hex nut, which is ~11mm across.
I don't absolutely have to ...
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171
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Light switch wiring [UK]
In my house I have a series of single and double switches Like the one in this picture
I would like to change them to smart switches because of the light bulbs I have installed. Now when I look at ...
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3
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143
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Can 18/2 wire be used in the UK?
I'm in the US and creating a table lamp for a relative in England. I have a UK standard plug and had planned on using 18/2 lamp wire. I of course want the lamp to be safe. The lamp will be using a 40 ...
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104
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How best to insulate against heat loss from house to garage?
I have a utility room with an internal door leading to the garage. The utility room is warm but loses heat through the door into the garage. The garage has a roller door made of pretty thin metal with ...
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1
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1
answer
81
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Paint bubbles and comes away when overpainting with new paint - any solutions?
We've been in our newbuild (2017) a while and wanted to redecorate and change the colour in one of the rooms.
We cleaned the walls (drywall/plasterboard that still has the original builders' paint on ...
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0
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88
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Can I turn a ceiling light into an overhead projector mount?
I want to put a projector into one of the rooms of my new place. Is it possible to remove the pendant light, convert it into a UK mains outlet and still use the light switch to provide the power? Or ...
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86
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Should I trim my bathroom door to improve air extraction?
Current situation
My bathroom looks like this:
The problem is that I face some mild humidity issues (on ceiling and tile grout), as it is difficult to extract air after having taken a shower.
Indeed, ...
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2
answers
84
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Does my smoke alarm battery need replacing?
I live in a flat in the UK. The flat is about 6 years old, and I moved in 4 years ago.
The flat has a built in smoke-detector, and over the past few days, it has started 'going off' for about 10 ...
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318
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Can I use a 3-pin plug for double insulated appliance?
I haven't been able find a rewirable unearthed (as in 3-pin, one of which plastic) UK mains plug. (I didn't think before hand, but I suppose they're not allowed by BS1363 since you could then too ...
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158
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Thermostatic Shower Mixer letting cold water into the hot system
For a while my house was plagued with sporadic bursts of no hot water from any of the taps, despite the pressurised hot water tank being full of water heated to a skin-blistering temperature.
...
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1
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1
answer
42
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Securing loose lampholder to lamp base
I have replaced the lampholder on an old lamp. The lampholder came with a double ended screw part which looks like it is intended to clamp around the top hole along with the nipple. However the hole ...
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84
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Can an outside 13A socket gang be connected via a new junction box on an existing outdoor supply?
This is in the UK. We have a 240V outside electrical supply via a dedicated consumer unit:
The cable is 3 CORE BS5467 XLPE SWA ARMOURED CABLES 600/1000V
https://www.powerandcables.com/product/product-...
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287
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How can I avoid damaging power cables in a concrete block wall?
I'm in the UK and in my garage I have a couple of sockets on the wall. I want to hang some things on the wall and I don't want to accidentally drill into the cables. How is this installation likely ...
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216
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Rewire a ceiling light to a double socket
Is it legal and safe to remove a light fitting and use the three standard wires to wire up a double socket or gang plug? I want to mount a projector exactly where my light fitting is in the way.
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Why do British houses have "indoors" windows in some rooms?
Example:
I've seen this many times. Apparently, it's a thing that in the UK, they have rooms with windows that lead to other indoors areas, located high near the ceiling.
What is the purpose and ...
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2
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Merge wires to fit into spotlight
I'm changing a ceiling bulb into a spotlight and ran into a problem. I have 3 neutral wires, but my spotlight only has 2 holes. I tried putting the wires in together, but there's not enough space to ...
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2
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Contractor work caused a water leak in the house - UK
I’m renovating a kitchen, together with small hallway and a cloak room toilet. I hired a company to do all the work although I now realise I don’t have a formal contract with them, only with their ...
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Installing Aqualisa MD 110 BSM - rubber gaskets above or below the bath?
I'm about to install Aqualisa MD 110 BSM bath/shower mixer. The installation instructions can be found on Aqualisa website here and the specific step I'm querying is at the bottom of page 25.
The ...
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147
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15mm to 3/4" BSP flexible tap connector
I am about to set up a new bath mixer tap, which has standard 3/4" thread connectors. My water supply is a standard 15mm pipe with isolation valves fitted. I was planning to get compression 15mm ...
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438
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Should I trim a door to fit a 1930s doorframe or reset the frame?
What you're looking here is a 90 year old door frame. A previous owner threw the original door out, encased the old frame in laminated chipboard and put in a sliding door. I've bought a brand new ...
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107
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Type of UK House Construction
not sure if this is the correct forum for this, so please let me know if it's not 🙂
Is anyone able to recognise the construction type of this house? I know it's concrete construction and likely built ...
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Is my gas supply likely to travel through the floor or ceiling? [UK]
Our gas supply enters the property at the front and can be seen entering the wall cavity. The boiler is currently in the kitchen at the back of the property. To reach the kitchen is the gas pipe ...
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Potential Cause for these Bay Window Cracks in Victorian House in London
Two diagonal \ and / cracks at lower part of bay window.
Can not tell if they are visible from inside as there is wall paper.
None of the neighbours seems to have any cracks.
Crack width seems at most ...
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2
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100
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Should newly added house steps feature insulation?
I’m building steps from my house to the garden, where previously there was decking.
I’ve already poured concrete for the steps base, leaving underneath a layer of MOT sub base which I compacted.
Plan ...
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3
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104
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How should I connect wiring for this ceiling light?
Firstly, for context, I should say that this is British wiring and in a fairly new home. I have a ceiling light that I have to replace. Annoyingly I couldn't get a clear view of the wiring in the ...
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1k
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2 way switch operates opposite to my preference
I have two sets of 2 way switches in my new home but I prefer the lights to be off when both ends are in the "off" (as compared to regular switches) position. Conveniently there is one ...
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2
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116
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Help identifying a plastic pipe at the base of the house
Last year I removed a patio because all of its deck was rotten, underneath I found a pipe - pictured.
Now I want to lay a concrete base for brick steps because the drop from the door was way to high. ...
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Should I fill this gap between floor boards and wall?
Currently fitting some new skirting board, I have the opportunity to fill some gaps that exist between the original floorboards and the brick wall. (1930s build). I'm considering squirting some ...
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152
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How do I add an external power socket to a lighting circuit?
I'm installing some ELV garden lights and would be grateful for some advice on connecting up.
I'd like to control them from a spare light switch (the 2nd switch controls the exterior wall lights) just ...
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2
votes
3
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260
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What are the safety concerns in running low voltage wire to LEDs behind a wall?
I've been using some fairly cheap 22AWG wire for running between flexible LED strips and their transformers. Some 24V some 12V, but all well below the amperage rating for this gauge.
The wire says it'...
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