Why is there white powder on my new paving?
What the white bloom actually is, why it appears on new paving and then stops, and why the cure is usually patience rather than chemicals.
beginner20 min5 min read
Household Problems
Damp, draughts, smells, noise and the other slow annoyances.
284 guides in Home & DIY
Does anti-condensation paint actually work?
What the insulating additive in the paint does to a surface temperature, the situations where it genuinely helps, and why it cannot beat a serious cold bridge.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I protect electronics from a power surge?
Most damaging surges come from lightning nearby, faults on the network and heavy appliances in the house. Layered protection — at the board and at the socket — costs far less than the equipment it protects.
beginner45 min5 min readIs my security light a nuisance to the neighbours?
Where the line between a useful light and a statutory nuisance sits, how to test your own installation from next door's window, and what to do if theirs is the problem.
beginner30 min4 min readShould I put a water repellent on my outside walls?
How a breathable water repellent differs from a masonry paint or a sealer, the narrow situation where it genuinely helps, and the walls where it will make damp worse.
intermediate30 min3 min readWhat is main bonding and earthing, and does my house have it?
What earthing and main protective bonding actually do, how to see whether yours is present, and why plastic plumbing and kitchen refits so often break it.
beginner12 min5 min readWhat is the white powder coming through my painted wall?
Efflorescence is salt carried out of the wall by moisture, and it is a symptom rather than a decorating fault — the powder is telling you where water is going.
beginner30 min5 min readWhy is the bay window the dampest part of my house?
Why bays collect every fabric weakness at once — a small flat roof, thin walls, a cantilevered floor and exposure on three sides — and which of those to check first.
intermediate45 min4 min readHow do I dispose of flood-damaged belongings?
What goes and what stays after a flood is mostly decided by whether it can be cleaned through and dried. Recording it before it goes is what gets it paid for.
beginner3 hr6 min readWhy have my new paving slabs gone dark and blotchy?
Telling picture framing from iron staining from a wet bed, and which of the four causes of blotchy paving will fade on its own.
beginner30 min5 min readHow do I dispose of leftover adhesive, sealant and filler?
What can go in the household bin once it is hardened, what has to go to the recycling centre as hazardous waste, and the two things that must never go in either.
beginner15 min4 min readWhat is a two-way light switch and how does it work?
How one light gets controlled from two switches, what the strappers and the common terminal do, why intermediate switches exist, and why dimmers complicate it.
beginner12 min4 min readWhat should I do if there is a grass fire near my home?
A grass or heath fire near a house is a 999 call first and a garden job second. What you do around the house afterwards is about denying the fire fuel next to the building.
beginner20 min5 min readWhy has my concrete not gone hard?
Six reasons a pour stays soft, how to tell which one you have, and the honest answer about whether any of them can be rescued.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy is my loft insulation black and dusty in patches?
What dust filtration marks in loft insulation are telling you about air leaking out of the house, and how to find and seal the gaps they point to.
beginner25 min3 min readWhat should I do if my garden is flooded by a neighbour's water?
Water running from higher land onto yours is a long-standing legal grey area. The practical answer is usually drainage on your own side; the legal one depends on whether the neighbour changed something.
intermediate2 hr6 min readHow do I look after a septic tank in heavy rain?
A septic system that backs up or surfaces in wet weather is usually taking in groundwater or surface water it was never meant to receive. Finding where is the whole job.
intermediate1 hr6 min readWhat should I do if a storm damages a solar panel array?
Solar arrays survive most UK storms, and the damage that does happen is a specialist's job because the array is live in daylight and cannot be switched off.
beginner45 min6 min readHow do I stop rain blowing into a porch or open doorway?
Rain in a porch is wind-driven, so the answer is to break the wind or to extend the shelter, not to seal the door. There are four fixes and they suit different porches.
intermediate3 hr6 min readWhat is a surge protection device and do I need one?
What an SPD in a consumer unit actually protects against, how it differs from a plug-in surge strip, and the households where it genuinely earns its cost.
beginner12 min3 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.