Q We have an en-suite bathroom that is approx 4m x 3m in size. Roughly half the floor is situated over the front door porch meaning it is effectively an outside wall. The bathroom is particularly cold and the installation of a larger radiator has done little to help. The 'exposed' floor area is always quite cold. How effective would the addition of Greenspan's Outsulation to the front door porch area be in helping? I have a quote for �1,000 to supply and fit about six square metres and it seems like a lot of money.

The other option is to take up the tiles, insulate, add heating floor mats and re-tile, which would cost quite a bit of money but probably be a better job in the end.

Diarmuid Crawley Whatever route you take will be entirely up to you, as the outsulation or the re-tiling route would both be effective. If you are a DIY man then costs can be kept to a minimum by you removing the sanitaryware and taking up the flooring and insulating the ceiling space yourself. Added to this you will have a brand new tiled floor. It might be a good time to think about a total revamp of the en-suite at the same time.

Q I live in a redbrick terraced house. Some of the bricks have the faces blown off and others are covered in some sort of red paint, plus the pointing needs to be done. I realise this is not going to be cheap to repair but my problem is sourcing suitable companies who would tackle this sort of job. I want to get as many quotes as possible to see what kind of money I am looking at. Can you recommend suitable companies that I could check out?

Cathal Giles The job you are undertaking is a very labour intensive one, ie the bricks with the faces blown off will have to be cut out and replaced. The other bricks that have red paint on them is just as big a problem. I am leaning towards advising you to clad the existing walls with a brick slip. These are a 25mm thick brick which can be stuck onto the existing walls. Contact Ormonde Brick at Castlecomer in Kilkenny (056 444 0350; www. ormonde. ie) for further information. You can source their bricks through your local builders' merchants, although the slips will be a special order. All their bricks are fully durable and are designated as 'FC' - frost resistant and low soluble salt content.

The range is quite extensive and includes red bricks, buff bricks, brown bricks and Dutch masters.

Q I've just got a survey done on a two-bed former council terrace in Dublin. The house is really cute and well cared for. The survey, however, revealed that the roof doesn't have any felting and would need to be redone. Is this an expensive job? Also what does it involve? I'd like to get some idea of expense as it may affect me buying the property Anne, Dublin The roof slates/tiles would need to be removed completely, roofing felt would need to be fitted, new slate battens would need to be "tted and then the roof would need to be recovered with either the slates/tiles that came off the roof or brand new ones.

There may also be some nasty surprises when you remove the slates/tiles as some of the rafters could be rotten. There is no way of knowing this until the roof covering is removed. As always it is advisable to get three written quotes for the work you require.

This will give you a fairly good idea of the cost of the work. Also, ask the roofing contractor his opinion about the possibility of the rafters being rotten and if they are can he give you an approximate cost for this work if it needs to be done. Log on to my website www. tradesmenireland. com and go to the 'Post a job' section and we will send the job to all the roofing contractors that are registered for your area.

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