Mick O'Hara, Rathfarnham

Whatever you do, forget about the rope! You have a bit of a problem alright but one that can be overcome. You have not said how deep the extension is, ie how far out from the house is the extension. The reason I ask is that the best solution for you is to make a platform, using scaffolding, outside of the extension and then run a walkway from this platform either onto the window sill or onto the roof tiles. If you put the walkway onto the tiles make sure to run some timber across the tiles to spread the weight of the walkway and yourself. Alternatively, and this would be my preferred method, if space allows you can put a platform on either side of the extension and bridge the extension with a timber walkway creating a bridge effect over your extension. Make sure you give yourself plenty of room on the platform to work on. Why not engage a builder or gutter "tter who will have come across access problems like this before and will be properly geared up for the situation.

My house is built on very marshy ground in Wilton, Cork. Therefore the foundations go down a good bit.

The previous owners used this area to put in a basement. A couple of years ago I had a subsidence problem as a result of a neighbour's leaking pipe. I also built on a small extension to the front and the builder didn't leave any air vent. So I had a lot of dampness in the basement as there was water coming in down the gable end wall where the leak was. I got an engineer and he got builders to fix the pipe, underpin the house and dry-lined the walls.

The following winter when we had any heavy downpour of rain I had a puddle of water in the middle of the floor in the basement. It looks like the water is now coming up through the floor of the basement. The dry lined walls are now getting musty. In other words I'm back to square one but in this case the insurance company won't cover it because they say the floor of the basement wasn't done properly when the basement was first put in so it's down to poor workmanship. Have you any suggestions?

Eilis O'Brien, Cork.

I'm sorry to hear of the problems you are having. Without seeing the house/basement it is hard for me to give good advice. I would suggest you contact the engineer you previously employed whether you were happy with him or not. If you were happy with his advice the "rst time then he will steer you in the right direction this time. If you were not happy with his advice/work and feel that he is in some way responsible then call him back to rectify the problem. I am not suggesting the engineer is at fault here but he is the one person with a good knowledge of what work has previously been carried out so will be able to rule out some of the possible causes of your problem. I would also suggest you contact an independent insurance assessor who will work on your behalf against the insurance company as I'm not totally sure that the insurance company can wash their hands of this one just yet. Contact the insurance assessors in your area who will be able to give you expert advice and will know if it is worth pursuing a claim or not. Remember, an assessor works for you against the insurance company whereas a loss adjuster works for the insurance company's interests. Good luck.

I recently converted my garage into a sauna with attached shower/toilet area. I used a wall of glass blocks (the sandblasted type) in the shower area.

However, there are a number of mortar stains on the blocks. Could you suggest a way of cleaning them without damaging the surface?

Patrick McNamara

The cheapest and best method of cleaning mortar off glass is water!

Yes I know that the mortar is hard now but you should have used it when the mortar was not hard. The best thing for you to try now is a cement stain remover, which should be applied wearing protective gloves, as this is an acid and will burn your hands.

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