Send in your questions to Steve. . .

Q I'm trying to maintain an old cottage that became vacant recently. It has an old 1.1m x 1.1m open fireplace with an open chimney that has two 300mm x 300mm openings at the top. I covered the openings at the top with lead flashing to prevent rain entering. Recently I noticed the soot turning to a tar-like substance and dropping down onto the hearth and onto the floor. I bought 3mm hardboard/plywood to temporarily cover the fireplace, but I want to remove the tarry soot from the surrounding floor and seal around the edges. What's the best way of cleaning this soot from the floor and how can I temporarily block the fireplace? Should I clean the chimney before blocking it up?

Jim Quinn

Q The correct thing to do would be to build a new "replace and line the existing chimney with "ue liners. You do not say whether this house belongs to you or you are just keeping an eye on it for someone. If it is the latter or indeed if you want to perform a quick "x solution the best thing to do would be to close the opening using concrete blocks making sure to point the blocks so the smell cannot penetrate into the room. As for cleaning the "oor I would suggest you scrape off the tarlike substance and clean the area with white spirit and sugar soap. If the white spirit does not remove the tar then try some brick cleaning acid but remember to follow the manufacturers' instructions, and wear suitable protective clothing. Try the acid out on a small section of "oor "rst to see that it does not cause any damage.

I am considering adding an extra four inches of fibre glass insulation to the attic floor of a three-bed terrace house, 16 years old and 1,150sq ft in size. There is three inches of insulation at present but I feel it is not enough.

Tom Sheridan

Q The more you insulate your property the better it will be for you. You will cut down on the heat loss through the ceilings and therefore cut down on your heating bills. Three inches is de"nitely not enough insulation and I would encourage you to add more. It is a relatively safe process but don't forget to tread on the ceiling joists and not the plasterboard. Also if you have sunken lights in the ceiling, it is best to leave a six-inch gap around these to prevent overheating of the "ttings.

Make sure when laying the insulation that you do not compress the insulation as this reduces the performance of the insulating material.

Also do not bury electric cables under the insulation.

I am going to put a wood pellet boiler into my house.

There is a garage attached to the house. It has two storage rooms as well as a place for a car. One of these storage rooms (not directly attached to the house) will hold about four to five tonnes of wood pellets, the other will hold the wood pellet boiler. Do I need to fireproof the wood pellet storage room?

Frank Murray Q Have you heard of the expressions "better safe than sorry" and "doctors differ and patients die!" As with most things in life it might be better to err on the side of caution and "reproof the rooms although you really only need to protect the house from the garage in case of "re. Garages are supposed to be "reproofed when attached to the dwelling house. The current building regulations state the following:

There must be a 30-minute "re resistance for the wall between the house and the garage. There must also be full construction of any "oor above the garage and the door between the house. The garage is to have a FD20 self-closing door and should incorporate a 100mm (4") step down to the "oor or a 100mm raised threshold.

Congratulations Congratulations to Mary Lennon, Co Cavan, who wins a Fein Multimaster worth 185. The correct answer to the question: What is the name of Doorstep Doctor's website? is www. tradesmenireland. com WRITE TO US If you have a building/renovation-related query that you'd like Steve to help you with, email: doorstepdoctor@tribune. ie Steve Guerin is managing director of www. tradesmenireland. com, the one-stop website that will help you find a tradesman, a site for sale, a property to rent or buy and all the plant hire and machinery you need to complete your house-build or renovation