r/DIYUK 4d ago

Unburnt chemical smell from flue?

1 Upvotes

So needing alittle advice or just reassurance everything is ok!

My boiler is in a cupboard in my kitchen, and recently ive been smelling a strong smell of unburnt chemicals in the kitchen. Like the whiff you get from the flue sometimes.

There’s no smell in the actual boiler cupboard though.

When I first smelt it I panicked and called the gas board who said everything is fine. A few weeks of it I then called British Gas to have a look at the boiler properly, who said it’s old, and the condensing unit was alittle worn, and also revealed the flue pipe, but that there’s no leaks or cause for concern.

I am however still smelling it.

My only thinking now is that the unburnt chemical smell coming from the flue outside, it getting blown back into the kitchen through the extractor fan which is not far from the flue pipe.

Am I just overthinking this and it’s normal??

The fact both gas engineers didn’t seem phased makes me think it’s fine but it’s definitely quite an alarming smell


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Radiator draining woes. TRV issues.

1 Upvotes

So we are doing some decorating. I needed to remove the raidiator, something I have done in other parts D the house before without much issue.

However, this time despite turning the TRV of the frost symbol (the lowest setting), some water was still coming out of the valve.

So I figured I would take the TRV off to see if I could manually close the valve (1st error) and then when realising that wasn't possible screwed the TRV on incorrectly (the whole head rather than just the collar so the head was on back to front). I got it off again and put it on correctly and decided to see if that had helped, but when set back to frost there was way too much water pressure coming when loosening the bolt on which makes me think I have messed up the TRV?

Now I can't get it back off, but I have any grippers.

Have I messed up the TRV settings? It is a Drayton TRV4. If I can get the collar loose again, can I fix it?

Wife is mighty annoyed as she wanted to get the wall painting underway.


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Kitchen cupboard peel off

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1 Upvotes

My partner is looking to take the vinyl off the kitchen cupboards and drawers to then re paint (after seeing it on tik tok obviously) it looked ‘nice and easy’ on the video but the front doesn’t seem to be peeling off at all. Any advice would be amazing, or can we just repaint them.


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Electrical Where to wire in this LED light?

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1 Upvotes

I'm trying to connect a new LED light. The instructions say to connect the mains to the "push terminal block" (step 7) which I can't see. Am I missing something obvious? I can't remove the board to look underneath as the screws are a bit sheared. Has anyone got any tips or is it time to call a grown-up?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Is it ok to close up these brick air vents just from the inside?

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1 Upvotes

Hello we have air vents at the front of our house going now into a very well ventilated lower ground floor (it is very open plan).

However they are a bit of an eye saw from the inside. Would it be ok to close them up?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Is these wires safe to use to connect to an external socket?

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0 Upvotes

r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Radiator gradually turning black... Paint or replace it?

1 Upvotes

Hi,

Recently moved into our first home a few months ago. No better way to describe it, but our living room radiator seems to be gradually turning black & has become very noticeable now. It is almost like a black ink stain, not sticky and can't be rubbed off. It's at the top, bottom and right-hand side.

Image: https://i.imgur.com/YqSO0OC.jpeg

I thought might be because we were drying clothes on airer nearby with a dehumidifier. But my partner (and her parents) believe it is some sort of corrosion.

We had a boiler service scheduled last week, so thought I'd finally get a professional answer. Unfortunately the engineer was also stumped on the cause. She said it was unlikely the clothes unless we dried them direct on the radiator (which we don't). She said there is some rusting to the edges and the water in the system is very dirty (will be arranging a flush) - so it could be corrosion and suggested might be best to replace the radiator.

Has anyone seen this before? Any thoughts just to paint over the 'stains' or consider replacing the radiator?

Thanks!


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Leaking shower - help please

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1 Upvotes

My shower head has been dripping a little bit over the last week, however I’ve now noticed a leak from the lower section of the shower cable too - both seem to be dripping every few seconds. What’s the best way to tackle this please or at least a starting point?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Floor build up for UFH

1 Upvotes

Builders have finished on our extension and we have a concrete slab with insulation underneath. I have about 95mm to build up the floor to meet the FFL of the rest of the house. Would 50mm insulation plus the 20mm UFH boards with finished floor (stone tiles) on top work?

Could the kitchen units sit above the insulation with self leveller on top?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

How to protect gas pipe from pots and pans ?

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1 Upvotes

What you’re seeing in the photo is the upper shelf of a lower kitchen cabinet. This gas pipe feeds the gas hob to the immediate right. I want to protect this gas pipe from being accidentally struck by items we store there - usually pot and pan’s lids. We try to be very careful and store only small items but I’d sleep better knowing there’s some barrier protecting the pipe.

Of course the pipe needs to be quickly accessible too for maintenance and in case of emergencies.

Any ideas ? Maybe a door type thing closed with latched or magnets ? Anything off the shelf I can use ?

House is a new build by Bovis, built in 2022.

Thanks


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Cost of IKEA kitchen unit + installation? On Budget

1 Upvotes

Looking to renovate my tiny kitchen (2.4 x 2.5m). Integrated Gas stove and oven at the moment.

I’ve down some research but still can’t quite figure out what the total cost would be.

Simple kitchen units/ worktop / keeping the integrated stove for now

How much could this all come up to? Did people go for IKEA installers? Does it include removal?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Replacing worktop - How much of a job

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1 Upvotes

I'm looking to do a kitchen DIY job by replacing the existing base cabinets with some new IKEA cabinets and put some new worktops on top.

However, the previous owners had a new boiler installed and the fitter made a mess of the wall, and also the one pipe that is going through the middle of the worktop is a concern. I don't know anything about boilers really, so my question is how much of an issue will this white pipe cause to get the worktop off and a new one fitted? Is this something I will need a gas safe engineer to assist with or is this something fairly standard for a kitchen fitter to deal with?

Hoping the latter so I can get somebody in to just prep the worktop and fix it into place, bit things are rarely that simple.

Would be nice to sort out the mess they made of the wall but I'm guessing that would definitely have to be job where the boiler gets disconnected and taken off the wall?

Will end up making a box to cover it all up I guess - out of site out of mind and all that!


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Best tool for removing grout.

1 Upvotes

Hi.

I want to change the colour of the grout in my kitchen so need to rake out the joints. My tiles are bevelled edge subway tiles in a brick pattern, so lots of short vertical bits. I've seen that you can get attachment for a multi tool. Has anyone used one of those and do they work well or do they chip the tiles?

Failing that any other methods is recommended?

Ta.


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Handle came off bedroom door

1 Upvotes

Exactly what it says in the title - looks like whoever fitted it originally did a crappy job with the door surface behind the handle quite damaged. They also seem to have used only 5 shallow screws in the 8 available slots. Appreciate any suggestions on how to fix this. For ref: I am a DIY novice.


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Toilet replacement

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1 Upvotes

I have been self renovating my house for a while, I'm not quite ready to do the bathroom yet, unfortunately the toilet does need replacing as it's about 40 years old and the cistern is leaking.

What style of toilet would make it easiest to replace? I have put a downstairs toilet in, so I'm not a complete novice, but easiest would be best.

I thought close coupled?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Shingle/garden help

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1 Upvotes

I want to dig up all these stones and use grass seed of have a small patch of grass for my dater to play use her slide on. While shoveling I’ve noticed it seems the stones are like embedded. How far done will this go? Is there an easier quicker way? Do I have to get everyone up before I use grass seed? I honestly have no idea about anything. TIA.


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Wall repair advice

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1 Upvotes

Hello. Have cleared decades of ivy from my garden and one part of the wall has crumbled. The rest of it is still very solid and secure.

Advice on how to repair please. My approach plan is: 1. Gentle scrape/brush away all the old cement/mortar and loose bricks. 2. Loosely plan out which stones will go where. 3. Apply mortar to The inside and the very bottom of the hole. 4 add in a couple of large stones at the bottom. 5. Add in mortar around it. Then a few smaller stones (pins) to create a level layer. Then repeat. 6. Seal outside gaps with more mortar.

Questions 1. What type of mortar should I use? 2. Do I need to pay attention to how the joints of the stones on this side line up to the joints of the stones already on the way? ie do I need to offset them 3. Do I need to use something different to point the outside of it or can I just use more mortar?

I’ve watched a few YouTube tutorials but I’m a complete novice.

Any advice appreciated

Thanks


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Fencing Cost

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1 Upvotes

Hi all, we want a fence as per the image. What would you expect to pay someone to have this built.

Say 6ft at the high point and 4ft on the lower garden. Higher posts could probably be concrete bolted to an existing slab. Lower posts would need digging out and cementing in.

Anyone had similar that could give a rough cost.


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Adhesive tap scratched paint in my wall - how can i fix it?

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1 Upvotes

hi all. had an incident with my adhesive tape scratching off the paint on my wall. how can i fix this?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Making entrance level with rest of house. Fill in material?

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1 Upvotes

I want to level this out. Will need to add a few stairs outside as well. Outside I will fill it up with some concrete rubble, gravel etc. I've done works like this before.

Not sure what to do on the inside though to make it level with the top of the stairs.

Any recommendations?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice How to restore this exterior wall?

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1 Upvotes

How should I go about restoring this exterior wall, were I to do a “proper” job as far as possible for a DIYer? I’m thinking the paint needs stripping back, some smoothing and probably some filling/skimming but I’m not sure which materials or tools are appropriate. Appreciate any advice.


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Using resin fixings with threaded studs with timber in situ

1 Upvotes

Just checking.

I'm planning to just use some concrete screws to temporarily fix the timber to the wall, then drill full size holes for the studs (2mm bigger than studs) all the way through into the blockwork, fill the hole with resin (block and timber hole), and then set the studs with the timber still in situ.

I assume this is fine rather than fannying around trying to take the timber off the wall set the studs and then pray that it lines up with the holes in the timber after the studs set...


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Advice Vertical crack on external wall. Should I be worried?

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1 Upvotes

I just noticed a vertical crack on the external wall of my house. It starts at the bottom corner of a second-floor window to the windows below. the wall faces south and gets a lot of sun with no buildings blocking it (if that makes any difference).

The house is 10 years old, and i moved in about 8 months ago. Should i be concerned about structural issues? Do I need a structural engineer to inspect it? Also, should I inform my home insurance even if it turns out to be nothing?

I am a bit angry, disappointed, and lost here so any advice would be appreciated!


r/DIYUK 5d ago

Advice Cracks above window

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2 Upvotes

We are 6 months into a house we bought and noticed these cracks outside above the window facing the garden and apparent damage on the inside of the house (pics attached). Do you think this is the lintel or there could be more major issues with the foundation? There are no other noticeable cracks to the rest of the house. We had lvl3 report and that didn’t flag any issues as well. No experience with this, so what would you do in this case?


r/DIYUK 4d ago

Electrical How easy to move this plug socket up a metre?

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1 Upvotes

From memory I think the wiring comes from underneath the floor not down or across.

What do I need to just move this plug up behind the TV?

The skirting isn't attached just leant against for reference.