clive’s buildteam.com blog

Hi Charlie, a very good question. WD40 doesn’t always work in loosening locks. A more permant solution to stiff locks is using graphite. If you take a pencil and rub it on the key in question, then insert the key, you will usually find that this loosens up the lock.

Well a temporary solution would be to rub down and paint over the area with a water blocking paint, something oil based usually works, or tile the area. Temporary solutions are unfortunatley  just that and the only way to cure the problem satisfactorily is to damp proof, or in your case I think ‘tank’ the room.

You’ve essentially got 2 options: 1. invest in one of those inflatable balloons or 2. board off the chimney with timber. Personally, I’d go for the timber option - it’s the old fashioned way, and it will give you a more secure finish (I have heard that the balloons tend to deflate after a year or so). I’d use 18mm MDF board - make a template out of cardboard, cut your MDF to size and hold in place using 2×1″ battons fixed to the inside of the chimney breast. Depending on the size of your breast (as it were), you may struggle to get a drill to the timber at right angle. In which case, I’d use no-nails to fix the batton back. Remember to allow the no nails to go off overnight before fixing up the MDF.

The method of constructing floating shelves depends very much upon the span the shelves have to bridge. If it is narrow say 300-500mm you could probably get away with some thick MDF. If the span is more you will want to either use much thicker heavier timber or build a frame for the shelf and clad it with MDF. You can also buy specially made brackets which are two prongs which are attached to the wall and are designed to penetrate into the back of the shelf supporting it in this way. Please call me with your dimensions and I can give you some more specific advice.

This all depends on personal preference and budget. Personally I think that the ‘all’ glass option looks best but as is often the way it’s also the more expensive. The whole idea of the side return extension really should be to make your kitchen light and bright while increasing the space, full glass therefore acheives this best.

Ahh thats a tricky one. I prefer Eddy but Buddy was certainly more popular overall. My favourite of all is Elvis though. The King.

Sarah, I use wedging strips. Ask in any timber merchants they should be able to help. They usually come in pine so with a little stain you can get them pretty close to the colour of the boards.

For a big hole, I cut a piece of plaster board, larger than the hole which will just fit through. A small screw put into the board will then help you to pull the plaster board back and with the help of glue (gripfill) fix it inside the hole. The hole will then be shallow and much easier to fill. Another useful tip is to mix a little PVA into your filler then when it dries you shouldn’t be left with the annoying periferal cracxks which you often get.

I use strong grease, Black and White hair wax is my current favorite, it’s very similar to Vaseline, in fact it contains vaseline.

The water isn’t draining away quickly because your hair is clogging things up I’m afraid. This is straight forward to sort out with one of the ‘off the shelf’ products which dissolves the blockage, after about 15mins the bath will no longer be ankle deep.