How do I fix a sunken or rocking paving slab?
Why slabs sink and rock, lifting one without damaging its neighbours, and the full mortar bed that stops it happening again.
intermediate2 hr4 min read
Repairs
Fixing the things that break — taps, handles, holes, hinges.
553 guides in Home & DIY
How do I fix into a lath and plaster wall or ceiling?
Why plugs and cavity fixings both fail in lath and plaster, how to find the timber behind, and the fixings that actually work in it.
intermediate30 min4 min readHow do I flatten a wavy, bumpy wall?
Measuring how far out the wall actually is, then choosing between filling, skimming, battening and boarding, or lining paper — because the size of the deviation decides the method.
intermediate4 hr4 min readHow do I identify window and door hardware to order the right spare?
Where the maker's marks hide on a hinge, a stay, a handle and a lock, what to do when there are none, and the two documents that name your hardware without you measuring anything.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I match new wood to the colour of old wood?
Old timber is darker, warmer and less even than anything you can buy. How to build a match in layers rather than looking for one stain that does it.
advanced1 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I replace a bath waste and overflow?
The washer stack that seals a bath waste, why the banjo has to be clocked correctly, and how to make sure the overflow is actually tested before the panel goes back.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I replace a broken kitchen cabinet hinge?
Swapping a snapped or seized concealed hinge, and what to do when the 35mm cup hole itself has broken out of the door.
beginner25 min4 min readHow do I replace a door latch?
Measuring backset and case size before buying, swapping a tubular or mortice latch, and the catches used on doors that have no latch at all.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I replace a uPVC window friction stay?
Measuring a stay correctly before buying, telling a worn friction pad from a bent arm, and fitting the replacement without dropping the sash.
intermediate1 hr4 min readHow do I set a fence post so it stays put?
Hole depth, concrete versus post spikes, and the drainage detail that determines how long the post lasts.
intermediate2 hr3 min readHow do I stop a click floor creaking and crackling?
Why a floating floor makes noise, why the noise is almost never the boards themselves, and the three things to check under it.
beginner1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I stop the door handle punching a hole in the wall?
Repairing the crater a handle has made in plasterboard, and the four ways of stopping it happening again — one of which is right for a rented flat and one of which is right for a hallway with children.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I trim a door without splintering it?
Marking, scoring and cutting a door so the veneer does not chip, plus how much can be taken off each type of door before it is ruined.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I unstick a window that will not open?
Paint, swelling and seized mechanisms — the three causes and the gentle approach to each.
beginner40 min2 min readMy kitchen wall unit has dropped or pulled away from the wall — what do I do?
Reading the gap at the top, the four places the failure can be, and which of them a householder can put right.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readThere is nothing solid above my window to fix a curtain pole to — what now?
Identifying what is above the window head — concrete, steel, timber or a void — and the three solutions when the drill finds nothing to hold onto.
intermediate1 hr 30 min6 min readWhich way round do the washers go in a plastic waste trap?
The tapered washer that everybody fits upside down, why the joint then drips no matter how hard it is tightened, and the four rules that make a plastic waste joint seal every time.
beginner20 min4 min readWho arranges skips, scaffolding and site facilities?
The licences that are needed on the highway, who is normally responsible for what, and the costs that quietly sit outside a quote.
beginner20 min3 min readWhy are gaps opening between my laminate boards?
Telling seasonal shrinkage from creeping boards from failed locking joints, and the pull bar technique that closes them again.
beginner2 hr4 min readWhy does my chipboard upstairs floor creak and dip?
Chipboard flooring is a sheet deck, not a board floor, and it fails in its own particular ways — lost fixings, unsupported joints, swelling at the edges and a missing noggin under a sheet edge.
intermediate1 hr 30 min3 min readWhy does my kettle switch off before it boils?
Nearly always scale, an underfilled element or a lid that is not shutting — three causes with three simple checks, and the point at which a kettle is finished.
beginner15 min4 min readWhy does my shower tray creak and flex when I stand on it?
Why a tray moves under load, what that movement does to the silicone and the tiles above it, and the difference between a support problem and a floor problem.
intermediate1 hr3 min readWhy does water come in under my sliding patio door?
Why a sliding threshold is designed to let water in and drain it out again, how to find and clear the drainage that has stopped working, and the four other routes water takes.
beginner45 min3 min readWhy is my fridge water dispenser or ice maker not working?
Filter, supply, freeze-up and the ice maker's own switches — four causes covering nearly every case, and an overdue filter is the most common by a wide margin.
beginner45 min5 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.