How do I get out a screw that has snapped off?
Six methods in escalating order for a screw whose head has gone, from gripping the stub with pliers to drilling it out and plugging the hole.
intermediate45 min4 min read
Repairs
Fixing the things that break — taps, handles, holes, hinges.
553 guides in Home & DIY
How do I hack off blown plaster safely?
Establishing the extent, protecting the room properly, and taking failed plaster off back to a straight sound edge without wrecking the brickwork, the services or the rest of the house.
intermediate3 hr5 min readHow do I lay a simple path?
The base is the whole job — depth, compaction and fall — and the falls that stop water running towards the house.
intermediate10 hr2 min readHow do I make a fence survive high winds?
Why posts fail rather than panels, the depth and concrete detail that keep them standing, and the panel choices that reduce wind load in the first place.
intermediate5 hr4 min readHow do I make good the plaster around new windows and doors?
Repairing the damaged band around a new frame — how to get a straight, square reveal, whether to plaster or board it, and the detail at the frame edge that stops the crack coming back.
intermediate5 hr5 min readHow do I pack out a door hinge to stop it binding?
The card-behind-the-hinge fix for a door that binds on the hinge side or sits crooked in the frame, and how to know which hinge to pack.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I repair a screw hole in wood that has stripped?
Four repairs in order of strength, from a quick glue-and-toothpick fix to a properly plugged hole that is stronger than the original.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I replace a basin waste?
Choosing between slotted and unslotted, getting the sealing washer stack the right way round, and freeing a backnut that has not moved in years.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I replace a rotten decking board?
Getting one board out without damaging its neighbours, checking the joist beneath, and matching a weathered board so the repair does not shout.
beginner1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I stop a door catching on the carpet?
Four answers in order of effort — from rising butt hinges that need no cutting, to trimming the leaf — and how much clearance a carpet actually needs.
beginner1 hr3 min readHow do I take down a stud wall?
Proving the wall is not structural, dealing with the services inside it properly rather than cutting them, and making good the floor, ceiling and walls where it used to be.
intermediate6 hr5 min readHow do I unblock a shower head?
How to restore a shower head that has gone weak or sprays sideways, by descaling the nozzles and clearing the inlet filter.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I wire a plug and change a fuse?
Which wire goes where, the correct fuse rating for the appliance, and when to replace the lead instead.
beginner20 min3 min readIs electrical tape safe to use on a damaged cable?
What PVC electrical tape is actually for, why a taped cable is never a repair, and the small number of situations where using it is legitimate.
beginner10 min4 min readIs it safe to hang a mirror or picture above a bed?
Why the wall above a bed is the one place a fixing must not be marginal, what may reasonably go there, and the alternatives that get the same effect with no risk.
beginner20 min5 min readShould I nail or screw floorboards down?
Nails are traditional, quick and work loose. Screws stay tight, allow the floor to be lifted again and are the right answer almost everywhere a squeak matters. The exceptions, and the specification for each.
beginner20 min3 min readWhat are the standard sizes of kitchen units?
The handful of dimensions that almost every UK kitchen is built from, which ones are genuinely standard and which vary by manufacturer, and how to check before you order anything.
beginner10 min4 min readWhy do my floor tiles keep cracking?
Reading the crack pattern to tell a moving floor from a void under the tile from a missing movement joint — and why replacing the tile alone never works.
intermediate45 min5 min readWhy does my door handle droop instead of springing back?
Telling a tired latch spring from a failed handle spring cassette, on both timber and uPVC doors, and which part actually needs buying.
beginner40 min3 min readWhy does my isolating valve still let water through when it is closed?
Debris and scale on the ball seat, the exercise that sometimes clears it, and why replacing a small valve is usually the right answer.
intermediate45 min3 min readWhy does my new appliance smell of burning the first time I use it?
Which appliances legitimately smell on first use and why, how long it should last, and the specific signs that separate normal curing from a fault you should stop for.
beginner15 min6 min readWhy does my oven trip the electrics when I turn it on?
When the oven trips tells you which part has failed — and why an oven that trips only on the grill, or only when hot, is a specific and well-known fault rather than a mystery.
beginner25 min3 min readWhy does my toilet cistern whistle or hiss when it fills?
Why a fill valve whistles, why the noise usually appears with age rather than suddenly, and the two fixes that work.
beginner30 min3 min readWhy does my tumble dryer keep stopping mid-cycle?
A dryer that stops part way through is usually protecting itself or telling you a container is full — and both of those are more informative than they look.
beginner30 min5 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.