Knowledge Hub
Quick answers
Answers to the questions we get asked most, with examples from real jobs.
Insulation & Waterproofing
Why is my roof leaking when it has been waterproofed?Water rarely comes through the middle of a roof. It gets in where the waterproofing is interrupted: seams, the corner with the parapet, and the bases of posts, pipes and drains.Polyurethane foam or a liquid membrane: what's the difference?A liquid membrane keeps water out. Polyurethane foam insulates against heat and cold and keeps water out too, but it can't stand the sun and needs a protective coat on top.Can an old bitumen membrane be patched, or does it have to come off?If it is still stuck down and only seams or corners have opened, it can be repaired locally. If it has come loose, blistered or wrinkled over a large area, it all comes off before anything new goes on.Is it worth making my roof white? Does it really keep the home cooler?A white waterproof coating reflects much of the sun, so the roof and the floor below heat up less. It doesn't replace insulation, and it needs renewing once it gets dirty and worn.Can a balcony be waterproofed without breaking up the tiles?Often, yes: if the tiles are firmly stuck, they can be cleaned and covered with a waterproof coating. Any loose ones must come up first, because nothing holds on a crumbling base.Water pools on my roof after rain. Is that a problem?Yes. Water that sits in one place for days wears the waterproofing faster and finds every weak spot. The usual causes are hollows, poor falls, or blocked or worn drains.My metal roof leaks and gets scorching in summer. What can be done?Water usually gets in at the screws, the joints between sheets and the corner with the wall. Spray polyurethane foam with a white coat closes those spots and insulates against the heat.The flat above the pilotis has a cold floor. Can it be insulated?Yes, from below: the pilotis ceiling is the floor of the flat. It can be sprayed with polyurethane foam in one continuous layer, without touching anything inside the home.Does my roof need a new screed before it is insulated?Not always. A new screed goes down when the roof has hollows or poor falls, or after old layers are stripped. On a roof that is walked on, a screed can also go on top to protect the insulation.
Professional Painting
Can I just paint over a damp or mouldy wall?No. Paint hides the stain for a while, but if the damp is still there it comes back and takes the new paint with it. First find the cause, then scrape back and repair the wall.Why is the paint peeling off my walls?Usually because of damp, or because it went on over a surface that wasn't holding: dust, loose old layers, a glossy base. The fix is to remove whatever isn't holding, not to add another coat on top.After a fire, is a coat of paint enough to get rid of the black?No. The soot has to be cleaned off and a stain-blocking primer applied first, or it comes back through the new paint. Before anything else, check what the heat has loosened.A piece of plaster fell off the ceiling. What now?Keep the area underneath clear, as more plaster around it may be loose. Then find out why it fell, whether damp, a leak or rusting steel, before it is re-plastered and painted.I want new colours at home. Where do I start?A few colours repeated from room to room, one wall in a stronger shade if you want character, and a darker colour where walls get dirty easily. A strong old colour needs extra coats to cover.My ceiling has a rough textured finish. Can it be made smooth?Yes. Any loose parts are removed, the ceiling is skimmed smooth and then painted. A smooth ceiling collects less dust and is easier to repaint evenly.
Bathroom & Kitchen Renovations
What does a full bathroom renovation involve?Stripping back to the brick, new water and drain pipes, a floor sloped to the drain, rendering, tiles and finally the fixtures. Each stage is hidden under the next, so the order matters.Can my bathtub be replaced with a floor-level shower, with no step?Usually yes, as part of a renovation. The floor is rebuilt sloping to a drain or a channel, so the shower sits level with the bathroom. Whether the drainage fits underneath is decided on site.What needs doing to the walls before a new kitchen goes in?First the kitchen is drawn to the room's measurements. Then the old units come out, water and power points go where the drawing needs them, and the walls are plastered straight before the cabinets go up.Does an old bathroom always need a full renovation?Not always. If the tiles and pipes are sound, repairing the walls above the tiles and changing the fittings may be enough. With leaks, worn pipes or tiles coming loose, it needs a full one.Can new tiles go on top of the old ones?Sometimes, if the old ones are firmly stuck and flat. But the old pipes stay hidden underneath, and if some tiles are loose or sound hollow, they all have to come off.Is a concealed cistern worth it? And if it breaks, will the wall have to be broken?It saves space and makes cleaning easy. Its mechanism is usually reached through the flush plate opening, without breaking anything. It can only go in while the wall is open.Does a shower need waterproofing under the tiles?Tiles and grout are not watertight. On the floor and walls of a shower, a waterproofing layer under the tiles protects the wall and the flat below.
Wall Demolition
What does it mean to strip a bathroom or kitchen "back to the brick"?It means the tiles, render, fixtures and old pipes all come out until the bare masonry shows. The renovation then starts from a sound base, and you can see what the walls were hiding.Can I knock down a wall to join two rooms?It depends on whether the wall is load-bearing. Brick walls between concrete columns usually carry no load, but that is for an engineer to confirm. Structural elements are not touched without a design and a permit.Can I stay at home while the bathroom or kitchen is being stripped out?Yes, but it takes preparation: sealed doors against the dust, a plan for where you'll wash or cook, and patience with the noise and the breaks in water and power.What happens to the rubble from a strip-out? Where does it go?It is bagged inside the home, carried down with the shared areas protected, and has to end up with a licensed waste management scheme, not in the household bins.
Paving & Courtyards
The joints in my stone courtyard have gone dark. Does it need relaying?Not necessarily. If the stones are sound, the joints alone can be redone, which binds the floor together again and completely changes how it looks.The pavement outside my house has broken slabs and weeds. Patch it or redo it?If only a few slabs are broken, just those can be replaced. When most are broken and weeds grow everywhere, it usually makes more sense to redo the whole stretch, for example in new concrete.After rain, water sits on my balcony, mostly by the door. What's wrong?Usually the falls: the floor doesn't slope towards the drain, or it has hollows. If the drain is clear, the slope only changes if the layer under the tiles is redone.Weeds and moss grow between my paving slabs. Is pulling them out enough?For a while, yes, but they'll come back. They grow where joints have opened and damp lingers, so the lasting fix is to close the joints or redo the broken stretch.For a yard or sidewalk, which is better: concrete or slabs?There's no single right answer. Concrete gives one continuous surface with no joints for weeds. Slabs and stone look better and can be repaired piece by piece, but their joints need care.
Wooden Shutters, Doors & Pergolas
My wooden shutters are faded and peeling. Can they be saved or do they need replacing?If the wood underneath is sound, they can usually be saved: sanded back to clean wood, primed and painted, or given a clear finish. Wood that has rotted and gives under pressure needs repair or replacing.How can I tell my wooden pergola needs varnishing again?When the wood fades or greys, feels rough, opens small cracks or soaks up water instead of shedding it. The parts that take the full sun and rain need varnishing more often than the rest.Can I paint my shutters over the old paint without sanding?Only if the old paint is holding firmly everywhere. If it's peeling or cracked, the new coat will come off with it. Anything loose has to come off with a scraper and sanding first.Should I paint or varnish my wooden shutters and door?It depends on the wood and on what you want to see. Paint covers the wood and hides old repairs. Varnish lets the grain show, but it needs clean, sound wood underneath.My wood has gone grey and cracked. Does that mean it's rotten?Not necessarily. Greying and fine cracks are usually surface wear from the sun and come off with sanding. Rotten wood is soft, gives when you press it, or crumbles.
Small Repairs & Odd Jobs
A crack has opened in my ceiling and I can see rusty steel. Is it dangerous?It means the reinforcement is rusting, usually because of water, and shouldn't be left. Local damage is repaired: clean, protect the steel, rebuild with repair mortar. If it is spreading or on a beam, call an engineer.Part of my wall is damaged. Is it enough to patch and paint just that spot?The patching is done on the spot, but it is better to paint the whole wall. New paint over a patch usually stands out from the old paint around it, however well the shade matches.I have a damp stain on my ceiling. Is painting over it enough?Only if the cause has stopped. The stain points to water from above (a roof, a bathroom, a pipe) or condensation. Deal with that first, then scrape anything blistered, fill, prime and paint.I fill a crack in the wall and it opens again. Why?Because the crack is moving and filler doesn't stretch. It usually sits where materials meet, on hollow plaster or over a deeper cause, so it needs mesh or a different repair.The plaster sounds hollow when I tap it. What does that mean?That the plaster has come away from the wall behind it, even if it doesn't show yet. It isn't filled over: it is removed back to a sound base and redone.The plumber and electrician opened up the walls. How are they closed so nothing shows?The chases are filled with plaster up to the wall's level, with mesh where a crack could open. Then filling, sanding, primer, and paint over the whole wall.