aAsk a Tradesman

Hello everyone. First time poster. About a year and a half ago we bought a 1950s semi-detached house that needed a complete refit. Weve moved in now but to check storage space I ventured in to the loft to see what was available. First thing I noticed was the under-tile roofing felt has split/torn badly in places and is now hanging down. The tiles are visible though the gaps/cracks and a lot of dust has come in from outside and is laying on the insulation. It would also appear that at some point snow has blown underneath the tiles, melted, dripped through the insulation and stained the bedroom ceiling. Going by looking closely at it the "felt" is Kraft paper (even has the Kraft logo on one edge). Its formed of several layers with fibres in between and is brown on one side and dark on the other. It would appear that futher up the tiles have been lifted and another type of felt has been laid which looks like string net encased in a sheet of thick, black plastic (best way I can desribe it).

Speaking to next door they had the same problem and ended up paying £3000 to have a firm come and raise the tiles and relay the felt for the entire loft. We dont have that sort of money and as it is only really the bottom half of the rafters that its coming away I attempted to fix it by using a staple gun and insulating tape. This failed as when a draft came under the tiles it ended up tearing in other places and hang down again.

Now to the advice I need. I have 2 ideas:

1). Put sheets of hardboard over the rafters which would then cover up all of the gaps and stop the draft/dust coming in. I have been advised to leave a gap at the bottom to allow air to circulate in from the eaves.

2). Cut lengths of hardboard the exact width of the space between the rafters and then lay them between the rafters (over the tiles/kraft paper) and attach them to the rafters some how.

Assuming I still left the gap at the bottom would either method work as air would still be able to circulate?

I am also thinking of stapling several lengths of double sided foil/buble insulation over the rafters to give some of the heat in and then boarding over that. Would this be ok (condensation-wise) as there would still be an air gap between the foil layer and then underside of the tiles. What about if I did this with the second method and glued the foil to the underside of the hard board and then laid it between the rafters over the underside of the tiles? Would it still cause condensation between the tiles and the surface of the foil layer and drip down into the loft floor/cavity wall?

Thanks for any advice. If anybody needs further info or clarification give me a shout.
Thanks,
Mike

Hello, we are looking into buying a mid terrace victorian house, it has been empty for 4 months. In the lounge above the window and on the ceiling in the bedroom(1st floor) there are signs of damp in the ceiling, the 2nd floor bedrooms and basement have no signs of damp, and non of the house smells of damp. When we have looked the gutter is wooden and water trickling down the building. Is it likely that the guttering is causing the damp? What would the process be of fixing the ceilings?
Thank You

Hi, we live in an old farm house and want to put a new woodburning stove in our sitting room. The chimney wall is internal between two rooms and is 24 inches thick stone. There has been a wood burning stove in for 15 years however it has got tired and old. when we fit a new stove do we need to line the chimney, all the modern chat says so. It is a long chimney with a bend and would not be too easy to line. Why do people line chimneys? This is an internal wall which does not get as cold as some. Thanks

Hi I'm Steven Fenton from Chesterfield. I'm in the process of completing an NVQ level 3 in electrical installation and i am seeking part time work or full time employment in this field to allow me to gain more experience, If there is anyone or company that can help me with this then please contact me.

Steven Fenton 07545233341

Please excuse this approach. I am trying to become an NVQ level 2 qualified plumber. I have completed all of my college work and all I need is 2 on-site assessments. I have over a years work experience. It is proving difficult to find the right job to enable me to do this. I will work for no pay. I know I am asking a lot of someones reputation. The assessments must be a bathroom, 1st and 2nd fix all completed by me and include a WC, basin and bath/shower and a radiator.
If you think you may be able to help me please contact me to discuss it in more detail.
Many thanks for your time,

Steve

spageplumbing@gmail.com

Can I use a simple bathroom extractor fan (preferably the ones that look like and double up as spotlights) instead of a cooker hood in my kitchen. We are replacing the kitchen and putting the hob on an island. The hob extractors I find ugly and dominate the room. The ones that are flush with the ceiling cost £1000+ so wondered if a simple bathroom extractor would work. We hardly ever use the extractor fan, but just want something for removing the occasional kitchen smells. Any advice on whether this will work and recommended bands etc, gratefully received. Thank you. Ruth

Hi everyone,

What's the most gentle way to chip off old lime plaster from a Victorian stud wall, so that new plaster and tiling attached to he other side doesn't crack with vibration etc?? Simple hammer and chisel?!! Thanks

Hi all,

If only I'd thought of doing this sooner! I've just had a complete bathroom refit, and on one side of the room guys took down an old brick infill stud wall because it had sagged a little and of course its not structural, in fact it was just sitting on the floor boards. Naturally they replaced it with a modern lightweight stud. I really wish I'd done the wall on the other side of the bathroom which didn't look as bad but is the same brick infill and not well supported. Has anyone ever managed to carefully remove a wall like this without destroying new plasterboard and tiling on the other side, I know they mounted the new plaster boards on some decent sized batons held off the wall by a few centimetres....it would be brilliant to remove the bricks and replace with a much lighter stronger construction but I really can't face or afford redoing the bathroom again....

If doing this is totally impossible without destroying stuff, can I carefully remove the cracked lime plaster on the brickwork and strengthen the brick infill wall somehow before replastering.....maybe strengthen the floor below the wall (I can access the floor from below as the ceiling below is due to come down....

Last question. Removing the old plaster might crack the tiles in the next room I guess, all the vibration etc, so what's the most gentle way to get the old plaster off???!! Hammer and chisel and be lucky???!!

Any help really appreciated. Cheers

We are looking to remove a back boiler and install new CH with a combo boiler.. In place we want a log burner (not to do anything but just heat the room) we don't plan on using it for heating or HW. Will the chimney be adequate or will it need structural work to install a log burner?