aAsk a Tradesman

What are the reasons for the traditional approach to fitting a kitchen sink under a window?

Are there any reasons not to fit one elsewhere or is it just convention?

can you paint radiators with white gloss paint instead of raidiator paint? thanks

i am going to have a new combi boiler installed and i was wondering how much i could fetch for the cylinder and pipework and is worth me selling or letting the trademan taking it.

We have recently purchased an 1930s semi and the original clay roof is on its way out (discovered in survey). We had one roofer (tried to get more) look at it before we purchased and he agreed with the survey that it is need of complete replacement.

However my wife had a knock on the door from a company (i can give name if wished) claiming to be able to restore the existing tiles by re coating them. They claim they will replace tiles if needed but will try to just clean and coat the old clay tiles. Is this really a good idea? Sounds to me like they will simply cause more damage as they coat try and coat and clean them and leave us worse off. Is this common practice? What are your thoughts?

I am having the insulation in my loft topped up for free by British Gas. They are putting an extra 8" in on top of the insulation that already sits in the loft and lies just below the joists. I assume that the joists will be covered with the fresh insulation but having totally cleared out my loft I want to board it out properly after British Gas have finished. Can the boarding go on top of the insulation or will the joists need raising?

We have just moved into a house, and 6 months on a crack has appeared from underneath a bedroom window down to the top of our patio doors. Should I be worried??

Darn! Any idea of cost if it is the lintel? The crack is more prominent up by the window. They were replaced about 15 years ago.

Hi - can someone please clarify for me the "regulations" about putting downlighters in kitchens and bathrooms because I am totally confused getting conflicting information that there is some kind of "special" more highly rated downlighter which we should now be using ! I am sure we have nothing "extra ordinary" in both our kitchen and bathroom but as I want to instal new downlighters in my mother's property in Kent I would appreciate the definitive view ! Also do I need a "registered electrician" to do this work now or is it still a DIY job ? There are currently no downlighters in my mother's house so I guess it would need new wiring - hence I may need a qualified electrician perhaps ? Very grateful for any info you can pass on. I don't want to fall foul of any legislation or regulations as the property is going to be rented out. Thank you.