Hi BFM, just looking at previous posts relating to opening up fireplaces and can't find anything that seems to mirror our current situation. Every fireplace in our new home (and there should be 6!) has been sealed with cement. There is no vent on the inside wall...in fact all there seems to be in the vicinity of where the fireplaces should be are plug sockets. I am absolutely desperate to start opening one up (I'd like to open them all up in time) just to see what they've done. Nothing seems to have been done "correctly" in the house so uncovering lots of mysteries. I'll post a photo example below.

Hope I'm not a dinosaur, but one of the things I liked about the old set up was the serendipity of finding a gem hidden in a topic I wouldn't have looked up. Now, if I am directed to look at topics that are specifically of interest, I may well miss out on the lovely nuggets I have so enjoyed. I loved the informality of the jumble of questions, and the feeling that a group of friends was putting forward ideas and advice. On the whole, I'm sorry to lose that charm of feeling part of a community of like -minded individuals for a more clinical and professional set up. I'm also a little alarmed that the site may be becoming an on line shop with a bit of editorial thrown in. All that being said, I still look forward to great articles on a variety of topics, and follow with interest my favourite contributors.

Does this sound familiar? You may have noticed, with some frustration that your kitchen tap no longer runs as smoothly as it once did. With stray streams of water shooting off to the side of the sink or the flow of your tap being reduced. Limescale and Hard water. The culprit behind your malfunctioning tap is none other than limescale, you’ve likely already noticed some of the hard deposits around the tap but these same deposits will have built up in the tap as well. This reduces the aperture through which the water flows either restricting the flow or causing a jet of water to shoot off in a different direction. Much like when you hold your thumb against a hose. Limescale forms if your home is fed byhard water. Hard water contains high concentrations of minerals, mainly calcium carbonate. It is these minerals which form the limescale. How to deal with the blockage The best way to deal with limescale is actually to use white vinegar! The acidity of the vinegar is very effective at breaking down the hard scale deposits. You’ll need to make sure the offending area of the tap is left to soak for a few hours. If you have an aerator or a detachable head on your tap its as simple as removing this section and leaving it to soak in some vinegar but it’s a little trickier if the tap is fixed. The best way to get around this issue is to fill a plastic bag with vinegar and wrap it around the tap, then fasten the bag to the tap using rubber bands or twine. Once you’ve left the tap to soak long enough simply remove the sections from the vinegar or remove the bag from the tap. Give the affected areas a quick scrub to remove more stubborn sections and then run your tap to wash away the rest. Your tap should be back in good working order and the spray should be a thing of the past. How to prevent blockage Now that you are armed with a technique to remove the limescale build up you will be able to tackle this problem when it happens again. Due to your hard water limescale clogging your taps will sadly be a recurring problem. But it doesn’t have to be! One of the best ways to prevent limescale from forming the is the of a water conditioner!

Hi, what are you thinking of using for the front path - colour / type of paving as that will affect the style / look of the rest of the garden. I’d be tempted to leave some of the hedging as it does at least delineate your boundary. In terms of digging out a planting area under your window - if it’s too small it won’t be worth it as the plants won’t have much impact. It might be worth looking at other gardens in the street to see what works with other similar styles of property.