The good news is that in most cases it’s a relatively easy job to do this, and – at the time of writing – you don’t need to have your work certified for safety (although it is a sensible precaution to take wherever you’re doing it).

NB – There are important exceptions to this!

• Work carried out in a kitchen, bathroom or outdoors must ALWAYS be certified.
• The only sockets allowed in a bathroom are low-power ones for electric shavers, and there are stringent regulations as to where they may be located.

We strongly advise against undertaking your own electrical work in any of these locations.

You can choose two basic ways of mounting your new socket: surface-mounted or flush-mounted.

Flush-mounted sockets

Flush-mounted sockets are a little more tricky than surface-mounted ones because you’ve got to cut away part of the wall to fit the metal mounting box inside. But they’re much tidier.

Plasterboard

If you’re fixing to plasterboard, it’s relatively straightforward. Draw or trace an outline of the box where you’re planning to fit it, and drill a hole in each corner big enough to fit a padsaw blade into. Then cut along the lines of the outline and remove the plasterboard. Remove the cable entry hole you’re using (probably the bottom one, unless you’re running the cable from the ceiling) and fit a rubber grommet, then feed in a 75mm (3″) loop of cable.

Clip dry-wall fixing flanges onto the sides of the box. Put one side of the box into the recess, then (being careful not to drop the box!) ease the box into position so that both flanges are behind the plasterboard and the box fits nicely in the hole. Finally, wire and fit the socket (see below).

Lath-and-plaster

Slightly more complex because of all the wood you’ll need to cut through.

If possible, try to position the socket over a stud or a nogging. You may find you have to chisel a notch into the stud to get the box flush with the surface of the wall; keep trying the box against the stud until you’ve removed enough wood. Fit a grommet over the cable entry hold and feed a 75mm (3″) loop of cable into the box, then screw the box to the stud or nogging and wire the socket.

Otherwise, you’ll have to remove a lot more lath-and-plaster to enable you to fix a nogging between two studs – and you’ll have the problem of making good the plasterwork afterwards.

Masonry

This is a laborious task rather than a genuinely difficult one. You’ll need to chop away the brickwork, not just to make the hole for the socket box, but also to create a “chase”, or channel, for the cable by cutting away the plaster down to the brickwork.

When making the hole for the socket box, the best way is to cut away the plaster where you intend to position the socket, then drill several holes in the brickwork to a depth such that the box will sit flush with the wall. Try the box in the hole. It it’s a good fit, make marks through the fixing holes and remove the box, then drill the wall and fit No.8 plugs. If it’s loose or if the hole’s too deep, remove the box again and put in a little filler, then replace the box so that it fits correctly. After 10 minutes, carefully take the box out again and allow the filler to set, then drill the wall and fit plugs as above.

Choose which cable entry hole you’re going to use and remove the blank, fit a grommet, feed a 75mm (3″) loop of cable into the box, then screw the box to the wall. Plaster around the box and over the cable; once it’s set, you can wire and fit the socket.

Wiring and fitting the socket

This is straightforward. You’ll need to use new-style wiring cable with a brown insulated live wire and a blue insulated neutral wire. The bare wire in the middle of the cable is the earth wire; you should insulate this yourself with the correct green-and-yellow sleeving.

The brown wire goes into the hole marked “L”; the blue wire goes into the one marked “N”, and the earth wire goes into the one marked with the letter “E” and/or the earth symbol. Strip off just enough insulation to ensure that a connection is made; if you strip away too much, then either snip the wire shorter or fold it back on itself. Make sure the terminal screws are tight.

You may have to bend the individual wires (which are quite stiff) to allow the faceplate of the socket to close. When you’ve done that, tighten each fixing screw bit by bit until the faceplate is securely fixed to the wall or the box.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready to connect your socket to the mains. We’ll be looking at how to do that in a future article soon.

Surface-mounted sockets

Surface-mounted sockets are much more straightforward to add as all you have to do is drill a couple of holes and fix the box to the wall using screws and wall plugs, though they can look a bit unsightly. We’ve got another article that tells you how to mount sockets on the surface of the wall.

The good news is that in most cases it’s a relatively easy job to do this, and – at the time of writing – you don’t need to have your work certified for safety (although it is a sensible precaution to take wherever you’re doing it).

NB – There are important exceptions to this!

• Work carried out in a kitchen, bathroom or outdoors must ALWAYS be certified.
• The only sockets allowed in a bathroom are low-power ones for electric shavers, and there are stringent regulations as to where they may be located.

We strongly advise against undertaking your own electrical work in any of these locations.

You can choose two basic ways of mounting your new socket: surface-mounted or flush-mounted.

Flush-mounted sockets

Flush-mounted sockets are a little more tricky than surface-mounted ones because you’ve got to cut away part of the wall to fit the metal mounting box inside. But they look much tidier. You can see how to do it in our article on mounting flush-mounted sockets.

Surface-mounted sockets

Surface-mounted sockets are simple to install; you simply take the plastic box and screw it to the wall using screws and wall plugs. The disadvantage is that they stick out into the room a bit – which can be inconvenient if, say, you’re planning to install them over a worktop where space may be at a premium.

Just knock out the fixing holes in the back of the plastic box, then hold the box up square against the wall and make a mark on the wall through each hole. Drill holes and plug them with No.8 wall plugs. Break away the piece of plastic covering the cable entry hole you’re planning to use (the one in the back if the cable’s buried in the wall, one in the side if it’s surface-run). Push a loop of cable of about 75mm (3″) length into the box, then fix the box to the wall using countersunk woodscrews. Finally, wire the socket (see below).

Wiring and fitting the socket

This is straightforward. You’ll need to use new-style wiring cable with a brown insulated live wire and a blue insulated neutral wire. The bare wire in the middle of the cable is the earth wire; you should insulate this yourself with the correct green-and-yellow sleeving.

The brown wire goes into the hole marked “L”; the blue wire goes into the one marked “N”, and the earth wire goes into the one marked with the letter “E” and/or the earth symbol. Strip off just enough insulation to ensure that a connection is made; if you strip away too much, then either snip the wire shorter or fold it back on itself. Make sure the terminal screws are tight.

You may have to bend the individual wires (which are quite stiff) to allow the faceplate of the socket to close. When you’ve done that, tighten each fixing screw bit by bit until the faceplate is securely fixed to the wall or the box.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready to connect your socket to the mains. We’ll be looking at how to do that in a future article soon.

Our service is simple: list your home with us and you only pay if we sell it. It is as simple as that. We do not ask for a sole agency tie-in period, putting the onus on us to provide excellent customer service and a successful sale at the right price.

Our team of trained property professionals is on hand 8am to 8pm 7 days a week to guide you through all the steps from listing to completion. We handle negotiations, arrange viewings, help with conveyancing and we manage your completion chain. We are with you every step of the way.

For more information click on the banner below:

You have two basic courses of action open to you. But before we get on to deal with those, first of all you’ll need to tidy up the floor where the superimposed hearth used to be!

Levelling the floor

This is pretty simple if you’ve got a solid floor or if you’re planning to carpet over a boarded floor. Just build up the constructional hearth to the same level as the rest of the floor, using self-levelling screed or mortar. Easy as that!

If you’ve got floorboards and you’re planning to make a feature of them, you’ll have a bit more work on your hands. Using a hammer and cold chisel, cut back the constructional hearth to where the floor meets the chimney breast, so that you can install a new joist and floorboards.

Covering the fireplace

As noted above, you’ve got two basic courses of action. You can cover the opening with a panel on a wooden frame, which will be easier to remove if you ever decide to fit a fireplace again in the future; or you can brick up the opening.

To cover the hole with a panel, you’ll first need to fit battens inside the opening – 50mm x 50mm (2″x2″) should do the job. They’ll need to be set back inside the opening to the depth of the panel, so that the panel lies flush with the plaster on the chimney breast. (Set it back a fraction further – say, 3mm or ?” – if you’re planning to add a skim of plaster rather than papering over it.) Then cut a piece of plasterboard to size and nail it to the opening – ivory side out if you’re papering over, grey side out if you’re plastering. Finally, when you’ve decorated, fit a plastic ventilator above the skirting, to prevent condensation in the chimney.

If you’re planning the more permanent bricking-up, then you’ll need to take out bricks from alternate courses, enabling you to “tooth in” the brickwork. You’ll also need to fit an airbrick in the centre of the hole, just above the skirting, to stop condensation forming. Plaster over the brickwork and allow it to dry thoroughly before decorating.

The final touch is to take off the old skirting from either side of the old fireplace, and replace the two pieces with a single one running the full width of the chimney breast.

Capping the chimney

Actually, that’s not quite the final touch! You’ll need to have the chimney capped too, so that air can circulate without rain being allowed in. There are plenty of cowls or caps designed for the purpose that can be used to replace the conventional chimney pot, or you can simply bed a half-round ridge tile in cement.

You can buy discount roller garage doors from the UK’s leading direct supplier in a wide range of styles including automatic, manual, remote control, motorised, insulated, made to measure and space saving models.

Save up to 45% off RRP on your garage door by fitting yourself with our do-it-yourself installation ranges and backed up by their comprehensive DIY guides.

It’s simple to shop online with their easy to use quote system for your garage door featuring a wide range of accessories like manual over-ride systems, external lighting and additional transmitters. Save money shopping direct for massive discounts and delivery to most of the UK.

For more information see:
Roller Doors Direct

You’ll need:

• A club hammer
• A bolster chisel
• Safety goggles
• Heavy-duty gloves
• A crowbar or other sturdy lever
• A screwdriver
• Wedges

It’s a fairly mucky and heavy job, so you’ll want to put plenty of dustsheets down. It’d be a good idea to get the chimney swept as well!

First, check to see whether the fire surround is built on top of the hearth. Usually, the superimposed cosmetic hearth is fitted after the surround. If the surround was built on top of the hearth, you’ll need to remove it first.

To remove the hearth, use the club hammer and bolster to break the seal between the cosmetic hearth and the constructional hearth below. Wedges can help here. Then lever the cosmetic hearth free and (with an assistant) lift it out. Mind your backs – it’ll be heavy!

Fire surrounds are normally installed by screwing them to the wall – they’re fitted with metal lugs for that purpose. You’ll need to chip away the plaster around the perimeter of the surround to locate the lugs, then clear away the plaster from around the lugs and undo the screws. The chances are that they may be stuck, so it may be necessary to give them a squirt of penetrating oil and leave them for a few hours or overnight. If they still won’t budge, you’ll have to drill out the heads.

Once that’s done, you can then remove the surround:

• Brick and stone surrounds can be dismantled piece by piece, breaking the mortar joints with the bolster.
• Wooden surrounds are often screwed on to battens fixed to the chimney breast. The screws may be concealed; locate them, chisel out the filler or wooden plug concealers and unscrew the surround.
• Marble surrounds are made in sections; remove the mantel shelf first, then the lintel, then the jambs.

After you’ve removed the fireplace, you’ll need to close up the opening! You can read how to do that in our follow-up article:
Repair Wizard: Covering a fireplace

Cartons Direct can help. They sell a wide range of items for people on the move including all kinds of moving boxes, bubble wrap, tape, tape guns, tissue paper, wrapping paper, etc, etc. If you need packaging for your house move you can find it there. They also offer free delivery in the UK.

For more information see:
Cartons Direct website

This exhibition is the property event for serious investors. So if you are considering buying residential or commercial property for investment purposes - in the UK or abroad - this show will answer all of your questions.

This year’s event will feature property and property related services from approximately 100 exhibitors including major house builders, developers, estate agents, lenders, brokers, property investment training companies and other leading property experts … many of whom will be appearing at the show for the first time.

For more information see:
2008 Property Investor Show official website

They’re very good for temperature control, because they take the cold water from the main pipe and heat it within the unit, so you don’t have to spend ages fiddling with the hot and cold taps. A thermostatic control ensures that the water doesn’t suddenly get too hot if there’s a sudden reduction in water pressure due to heavy demand on the water main elsewhere, for instance if someone turns on the washing machine or flushes a toilet. If the flow of water gets too weak, the heater may even shut down altogether rather than risk you getting a scalding.

Some instantaneous showers run on for a short time after you turn off the unit, to ensure that anyone using the shower immediately afterwards doesn’t get a scalding.

Because of the heavy demand the water heater makes on the electricity supply, and to ensure that the circuit breaker works properly in case of an electrical fault, instant showers have to have a dedicated circuit from the consumer unit. The main switch for the appliance will be a double-pole switch in a ceiling mounting, usually with some kind of indicator (a light or a flag) to show when the power’s on.

Often a single mixer cabinet mounted on the shower wall contains the necessary connections, both plumbing and electrical. But it’s also possible to buy split-unit showers, so that the control panel on the wall of the shower is connected to the heater unit installed somewhere out of sight, but not too far away; suitable locations include under the bath, in an airing cupboard or even in the loft above the shower cubicle.

To enable you to have the shower unit serviced easily and conveniently, it’s a good idea to fit a stopcock or an isolating valve in the water supply pipe.

Anyone moving house will also benefit from having a detailed inventory of their house contents. Such an inventory is also useful for making insurance claims after a burglary or other unfortunate incident such as a fire or a flood.

A large number of people actually cannot do this. Don’t forget this includes every single item – things like cutlery, clothes, floor tiles, curtains, ornaments.

ThecontentsSafe offers a low cost home/office software inventory solution. The package allows users to complete their own home/office asset list which proves to be invaluable after a burglary or even when moving home (Insurance/Police recommend it).

Details of individual items such as make, model, location, purchase price/from, receipt number, along with photographs or scanned images can be easily stored. Reports can be generated for insurance claims, theft situations or even just keeping track of things when moving home.

Weight and dimensions are also totalled, allowing customers to calculate the lorry or container size required when relocating. There are also specially designed pages for media (games, books, DVDs, CDs, LPs, etc…) and important documents where the user can enter any details (along with contact details) regarding mortgage and insurance policies, stocks and shares, etc. The program also has added benefits such as adding beneficiaries to specific items.

For more information about this product (they offer a free demo so you can try before you buy) please see:
ThecontentsSafe website