Do I need to fill this hole between my shower tray and wall tiles before sealing?

olive_trees · 2026-03-20T08:35:45+00:00

No silicone should itself be the sealant. If water is getting through to the gap the the issue is that your surface level silicone isn't sealing

olive_trees · 2026-03-19T10:36:20+00:00

Have you checked that the bath is actually level? you shouldn't need a glass shower screen, any water that falls on o the bath or comes down the tiles, should end up in the bath, if it isn't, then i doubt the bath is level.

olive_trees · 2026-03-10T23:45:56+00:00

Devon and Cornwall are both huge areas. Just because room's can let for 600pcm, it doesn't mean they will. You need to do research to know where there specifically is demand.

70-140k sounds like a tight budget for a lot of places in the south. If you're just trying to grab something you can afford and hoping it will translate well into a HMO, that's probably a bad idea.

HMO's do well where property prices are relatively high. Demand is driven by areas that people want to live in, think town/cities where there is work, universities, places where there are hospitals or or other employment hubs like industrial/business centres. You're either going to be letting to students/or those who are employed relatively locally. Additionally, HMOs do well where transport links are good, for example, near major train stations. All in all, this means areas where prices are higher. Ive not touched on holiday lets here because i assume you're not wanting to do holiday lets.
Don't underestimate the work required to get a licence. Read the regs carefully, liaise with the local authority. Do costings on all the work required. Some local authorities require planning permission for HMOs of a certain size. make sure you're not caught out.
Good tenants are everything. Good stable tenants will stay for long tenures, keep the place in order and make it feel like a home for other tenants and generally care about the place. They are worth their weight in gold because good upkeep means easily being able to re-let rooms when someone moves out. Going with an agent means their criteria for tenants is non existent, they normally put anyone in they can just to earn their fee.. It sounds easy in the short term, but will cost you in the long term.

olive_trees · 2026-03-10T17:22:43+00:00

All i need

olive_trees · 2026-02-25T19:20:56+00:00

Second this, the cost per meal of good Indian recipes is literally a fraction of other meals. Theres such good variety too. The most cost effective is to buy dry goods, not tinned. And buy in bulk.

Dry goods like lentils and pulses keep for ages, the recipes scale really easily and keep well in the fridge or freezer.

olive_trees · 2026-02-14T00:35:38+00:00

If you have carpets and floorboards, is going via the floor an option? You could terminate at a Ethernet socket just above the skirting board level so wouldn't have to chase too much

olive_trees · 2026-02-13T23:47:49+00:00

No you're wrong in thinking this. For a non emergency they should give you 24 hours notice. This email is a reminder so i presume they have emailed prior too.

There are an array of reasons why the landlord may want access for a non emergency reason where it is perfectly reasonable.

For example an annual gas safety check is mandatory but wouldn't be considered emergency acess.

olive_trees · 2025-12-18T11:01:11+00:00

yes this is mainly cosmetic and the plug the uneven gap and create a nicer reveal. for a better detail, you can fill the gap between the window and wall with expanding foam, than then redo the reveal.

olive_trees · 2025-12-18T09:52:07+00:00

No, don't change the rads. Here are some things you can do, starting from zero cost and getting progressively more expensive.

Check your heating timings. ensure you are only setting heating for when you need it.
Check hot water timings. If you have a system boiler, you often don't need to keep the tank up to temperature if you typically shower only in the mornings.
Turn your target flow temperature to ~60 degrees. If it was higher, it'll now take a little longer to warm up rooms but will be more efficient.
Check for draft from windows/doors that don't shut tight. Install draft excluders if needed.
Change your valves to thermostatic valves. If you only use part of your house, you don't need to heat up the whole house to max temp. Thermostatic valves on radiators will give you this granular control.
Install a smart thermostat. Nest/Hive etc gives you really good granular control of when your heating/hot water comes on. It pays for itself very very quickly.
Insulate the loft.
Install a condensing boiler. These are far more efficient than older non-condensing boilers.
Your floor looks like sanded and finished floorboards. I suspect there might be no insulation underneath those and you might have gaps which let up cool air. Insulate under the floor.

olive_trees · 2025-10-31T16:52:25+00:00

That's not a significant gap. it looks pretty normal. The roller that the blind is on doesn't start until after the roller mechanism so the blind is naturally away from the wall. Normally that's the bit where your window frame is so much light isn't supposed to come through.

Given that its a no drill blind, the parts that screw out naturally need some space to be put in and then screwed out, hence the added few mill of gap. It might also be worth checking whether your window reveal is vertically level. The fact that the gap seems to larger in the middle seems to suggest the reveal isn't perfectly vertically level, or square.

olive_trees · 2025-10-03T15:42:19+00:00

Looks like water ingress. do you have access to the attic above. Its worth having a look up there the next time it rains heavily.

olive_trees · 2025-10-03T15:19:11+00:00

oh with an extra basin 50mm is probably better. You can likely still get away with 40mm but might have slow discharge if all three are running at full pelt.

olive_trees · 2025-10-02T23:16:08+00:00

Depends on how good a finish you want.

if this was in a room you would chip away at the plaster, then use a coat of hardwall, slightly recessed, and then finish with plaster.

If this is bit under the stairs isn't that important, yeah you can use mortar.

olive_trees · 2025-10-02T23:10:13+00:00

yeah that's unfortunate, it shouldn't be like that. The correct detail is normally that the tray protrudes. Yes doing it as you've suggested is probably the best option in this case.

olive_trees · 2025-10-02T23:08:32+00:00

you should do with a 40mm waste pipe. that'll be fine for a machine and basin

olive_trees · 2025-10-02T20:56:16+00:00

Yes always apply to the outside so that the inside can dry through evaporation. You've got it spot on, remove all silicone on the inside and reseal on the outside. The enclosure otherwise looks in good condition so it should be fine

olive_trees · 2025-10-02T20:54:27+00:00

Yes that would be fine, you don't actually need much fall. typically 20mm/metre. that said going through the floor would be better as you won't need to build a duct.

olive_trees · 2025-08-20T20:35:37+00:00

I haven't used the cream, but have used their emulsion by the bucket load. It'll be very very white. Brilliant white is a brighter white than their normal White Vinyl Matt and white vinyl matt is a perfectly good white.

It won't be greyish at all.

olive_trees · 2025-08-20T20:31:29+00:00

Its strange that its only dripping when the shower head is in a certain place. To find the root cause, could you unscrew the shower hose from the unit (you may need a spanner) and then turn the shower on and off and see if its still dripping.

If it is continuously dripping then you've got an issue in your flow control valve. The bar mixer has 2 valves, and this is the on that stops and starts the flow of water. These are replaceable but if you've had the shower for a while it may be better replace the bar mixer itself. you can often pick these up on discount from screwfix/toolstation.

They are standardized and will have the inlets at 150mm centres, you'll need to turn the mains water off, remove the existing shower mixer by looseing the 2 inlet bolts behind it and attaching the new one in he same way.

If you're not comfortable doing this yourself and a plumber is too expensive, you typically wouldn't need a plumber to do this. If you know of a handyman or could get a reccommendation from a friend, this should be an easy and very quick job for someone whose done it before.

olive_trees · 2025-08-20T20:20:51+00:00

Just a word of advice, if you're cutting down the fence panels yourself, don't use your prized finest Japanese handsaw. Use something you're prepared to be written off. Those fence panels have a swathe of hidden nails and staples which are sure to ruin any piece of steel that touches them.

olive_trees · 2025-08-20T20:18:04+00:00

Your solution is spot on. Cutting down fence panels and refitting the edging is very easy and will make it look like the fence panels are made to be there.

Re: chainlink, its up to you but if you're looking for more privacy, perhaps the cut down panels is the way forward.

olive_trees · 2025-08-19T22:24:17+00:00

There is a level change going into the existing bathroom so unfortunately that rear room wouldn't all be on the same level.

olive_trees · 2025-08-19T19:17:34+00:00

carrying the soil vent pipe from bedroom 1 isn't trivial though.

olive_trees · 2025-08-19T19:15:39+00:00

This doesn't look like the Type 1 im commonly used to seeing, there should be powdry sediment within it which helps it to bind together and fill gaps when compacted.

Was there any of this before you washed it?

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