Skill Builder Guides & reviews for building and construction

Skill Builder takes a quick look at an installation of the Vario PRO underfloor heating system.

Builder demolishes work: Builder Nigel Gray got so fed up waiting to be paid £15,000 for a construction job at a council owned property in Shoreham he decided to destroy his own handiwork. The tennant, Anita Dovey, who had been given permission by the council to make the changes to the property, was given several chances to pay the bill …

Roger shows you just how easy it is to cut and fit coving using SuperCove. SuperCove lightweight coving is available from many good builders merchants and DIY stores throughout the UK and Ireland, in various length options up to 4 metres. With super-light SuperCove, you can fix coving quickly and easily – adding value to your home with the minimum …

This is an instantaneous thermostatic electric shower that’s designed to be easy to fit. It’s a modern-looking case, and it’s designed to cover over existing footprints of showers, so if you’re replacing an electric shower, then hopefully this will cover over all the screw holes; you won’t get involved in any retiling. But here’s the other thing; they make it …

How do impact drivers work? Roger visits Triton and finds out how impact drivers manage to punch way above their weight. “Impact drivers seem to be the future – when you’re out on site you hear them everywhere. “Triton have got their 20V model out which as Steve Hewson, Triton’s product manager explains is particularly aimed at the trade buyer …

Here Skill Builder tests two of Makita’s LXT brushless 18v tools; the Makita LXT Brushless Drill DHP481 and the Impact Driver BTD129 Roger takes the DHP481 and the BTD129 out of their neat stackable box to see what they’re capable of.  

In this video Roger demonstrates how to use a fake brick effect render from Bostick. The system is applied in two easy steps, starting with a grey mortar undercoat. Once this is touch-dry it’s followed by a coloured face coat which is cut through with a specialised tool included in the pack to expose the grey mortar underneath, creating a …

In this ten minute video, Roger shows us how to solder copper pipework and achieve leak-free plumbing that will last. “The first thing is cleaning the pipe. If you got a bit of tarnished pipe like some of this which I have just taken out of the shed, it really is no good, even with self-cleaning fluxes. That won’t polish …

Roger gives a few diamond core tips on using diamond cores to make holes for soil pipes and boiler flues including information on how to get the most our of your diamond core bit.

Roger Bisby provides a detailed installation of bifold doors guide for Quickslide bi-folding doors making a complex installation easy to understand. Roger talks through some of the key considerations and challenges for the installation of bi-folding doors. Quickslide Quickslide is a well-established business specialising in the manufacture of sliding sash windows, casement windows and doors, bi-folding- and sliding patio doors …