Homes & Gardens | Forum profile

We have a of varierty of birds in our garden and have fed them continuously over the past ten years. For the first year we have starlings invading our roof space under the tiles. I like all feathered birds and encourage them all with great results, but the starlings are a curse. There are four families of them and they fight all the time, scare of everything else and drop copious amounts of ...

Hi, I would be grateful for recommendations for a shower, we have ample supply of hot water - I would like a shower that is child friendly and has a good flow. Thanks, Angela59

hello, i am planning on installing a floodlight in the back garden. an easy way to fit it is to bore a hole through the back wall and connect into a socket circuit. is it ok to do this? i was thinkiong that a socket circuit might be safer too because of the bigger cable used. a light circuit has smaller cable and the floodlight draws a lot of current. thanks for advice in advance

Would anyone knew the current rate to get 71 square metres of floor tiles and 250 square metres of wall tiles inluding all materail and labour supplied by a tiler.

Hi, We are looking at putting carpets in all upstairs bedrooms and landing/stairs in our new build. We just really like the look and feel of carpet. Now everyone else seems to be putting wooden floors down on their bedrooms but I dont personally like that idea. So my question is - am I mad to put down carpet ? would I be better off with wooden floors ? Will wooden floors last much...

bren, Fenton fires in Greystones quoted me 'about 700e' to install a stove. I also would like to install a solid fuel stove, this time in a single story pitched roof extn we are building onto a 2 story house. The flue would poke through the highest point of the new roof, which is about as high as the bottom of the upstairs windows. Is this high enough or would it need to extend to the...

Looking for information on minimum insulation requirements that may have been recently introduced for 'dwellings'. What are the min requirements, to what do they apply to - only new builds or extended dwellings. And what are the dates of application of new regulations ? Thanks in advance for any light shed on this issue!

hello, i got a quote for engineered wood floors & got the shop to measure up my house. Shop told me removing skirting boards could damage the walls and pushed me into choosing beading rather than remove skirting. Its a walnut floor that is costing in excess of €4500 so I think the beading will really cheapen the look. so I spoke to the foreman on-site and he said no-one had problems with walls ...

Anyone and idea how much a painter would cost to do, hall, stairs, landing, kitchen.

Am determined to cut back on home heating oil consumption and am thinking of lighting the open fire in sittingroom to take chill out of room in the evenings. Not too concerned about heating the bedrooms in the evenings - yet!! Am I being foolish ? Which is more cost effective, heating on in house for a hour or so or an open fire ?? Also on subject of fire, does anyone know where I can buy...

Currently we just scoop into a plastic bag, tie up and straight into the bin. Going through a lot of plastic bags though. Thought of maybe nappy sacks but they might be too flimsy. Any ideas?

Hi, I would be grateful for an idea of what rates plumbers charge on a daily basis? Or a ball park figure to remove existing bath, toilet and sink and install a jacuzzi bath, double shower with concealed shower, toilet bowl and sink and also install a devi mat - and in second bathroom to move toilet bowl, sink 2 feet and install an electric shower and electric towl rail? Any pointers would ...

We have applied to our local county council for planning permission to renovate a cottage and demolish/rebuild an extension. In April 08, the council issues a request for Further Information (no advertisement or site notice needed), the main concern being that we had no provision for an amenity area. We contacted the council who suggested that we show the rather large garden at the rear of the ...

The pull cord that turns on/off our electric shower is now constantly stuck at "on" with the red light showing. Our shower is working fine. The pull cord is located just outside the shower. Is this dangerous? And do I need to get an electrician to fix it? Thanks.

I need to get some Double Beds quickly. Is there anywhere that delivers them quickly other than Bargaintown?

My washing machine is about 5 years old and recently find the clothes are slightly smelly (musty) after wash. I use the same washing tablets etc as usual and don't leave the clothes in it for ages after a wash cycle is finished. Has anyone got any suggestions as to what could be causing this problem. I have cleaned out the filter already.

Anyone got any idea where i could get old gardening magazines?

This article strongly argues that domestic solar hot water systems do not make economic sense for the householder: http://www.sustainability.ie/solararticle.pdf If one uses 3500 units of electricity pa on hot water, that's about 630 euro. If e.g. a solar system costs 5k, then that's 8 years for break even, ignoring running costs, servicing. I realise that ESB may go up in price over...

Hi there, just wondering if anyone has any opinions on if it's cheaper to get tiles and bathrooms in the North and if so any suggestions where I could go to get them? Thanks, Dee

Hi all, Could anyone recommend a house alarm company on Dublins Northside? We have an alarm but the window sensors were removed and possibly damaged when new windows were put in. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.