Update - Thankyou all very much for taking the time to post your honest opinions - I'll be checking out your recommendations.
Most appreciated, Shona

Looking to replace my dad's boiler. Only had one quote so far which is based on a Ferroli boiler however when i research them online they are universally panned by almost everyone - clients and installers although I guess they are a source of work for the installers!! Fairly highly recommended seems to be Vaillent Ecotek but I think this is at the higher cost end of the scale.
Is there a boiler that has good reliability at a reasonable price or is it better to go with a big name like Vaillent or Worcester and pay more initially? My dad has a servicing contract with Scottish Gas so maintenance isn't an issue but all the same he doesn't want to be calling them out every 5 mins to repair it.
When I get quotes I want to make sure I'm comparing like with like and not getting a cheaper quote because it's based on a rubbish boiler.
Boiler is for a 3 bed house with one bathroom.

apparently i need to do a mist coat or 2 to seal the plaster. have been told to use white watered down emulsion to do this. i have a full tin of magnolia matt paint lying around, can i use this or does it have to be white

What is a reasonable payment schedule for a £8,000 job?

Should I give a deposit on confirmation of wanting a builder to do this work?

The job is estimated to take 3 weeks.

Many thanks

Additional Info: The builder I was thinking of using has asked for the following (I feel the 25% deposit is too high):

A deposit based on 25% of the total quotation (£8,000) is required on confirmation of the order, and 25% each week ending based on works completed.

Additional info: The builder is a member of FMB, so I am assuming he won't run off with the deposit!

Additional info: I see what you are all saying, but I am a good payer, but I guess the builder will not know this.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Hello,

We are in in the process of having our bathroom refit. The guy we have to do our bathroom refit has ordered a bath(plastic) that was 150mm too long, so it didn't fit between our bathroom walls.

He said he can cut the bath down, which he has done. It fits well now but there are no tap holes left, on the end with the plug. Is it possible to drill new tap holes at the other end? He is coming back on 27th to have another go, and I am not sure he really knows what he is doing.

Is this common pratice or am I being gullible here, any advice would be welcome?

Many thanks

Jo

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all, for all your replies. We showed our original bathroom refit company your answers. And they didn't know what to say and just basically left. So we have a new bathroom refit company and a new bath now. We didn't think it was right but just wanted to make sure.

Thank you all again.

Take care

Joanna

We have some Artex in our living room that we would like to get rid of or cover. It is quite thick in places (about an inch) as it was put on in a style that looks like butter spread on a slice of toast. What would be the easiest way of getting rid of the Artex it or hiding it? Could we sand it down it the thickest places and then put up a thick coat of fresh plaster over the top to hide it? Or should we sand it right back and then skim the wall? Or is there a product that can be bought specifically for removing artex?

On average how long will a loft conversion take to complete?

I've started building a brick barbecue. The concrete base turned out perfect, but I didn't get much further than that. I'm having a lot of trouble mixing good, easily workable mortar. The mix I tried is 6:2:1 (sand:lime:cement). As I'm not used to laying bricks, I need to take my time adjusting the bricks into place. This seems impossible with the mortar I made. No matter how much water I put in it, the mortar dries fast and doesn't stick to the bricks (bricks that have been layed 24hrs ago can easily be removed by hand). What am I doing wrong?

Just moved in to a house which has a number of windows with condensation between the glass panels. Can they be cleaned or do they require replacing? Thanks.