Why does my door swing open or shut on its own?
A door that will not stay put is nearly always out of plumb rather than possessed — and there are three ways to correct it.
beginner30 min3 min read
Repairs
Fixing the things that break — taps, handles, holes, hinges.
553 guides in Home & DIY
Why does my outside tap drip after I turn it off?
A dripping garden tap is nearly always a perished washer or a scored seat, and both are fixable in half an hour with the tap still on the wall.
beginner30 min5 min readWhy does my plaster sound hollow?
What hollow really means, telling a small patch from a wall that needs redoing, and finding the cause first.
intermediate40 min3 min readWhy does my toaster burn one side of the bread?
A toaster has an element on each side of each slot and they are not always both working — how to tell that from a bread problem or a single-slice setting.
beginner10 min4 min readWhy does my window handle turn without locking anything?
Telling a sheared spindle from a failed espagnolette gearbox, measuring the lock strip correctly, and swapping it without removing the glass.
intermediate1 hr 15 min4 min readWhy does the grout in my floor keep cracking?
Grout cracks because something is moving — and the location of the cracks tells you what. Movement joints, flexible products and substrate stiffness.
intermediate2 hr4 min readWhy does wood filler show up after staining?
Filler and timber absorb stain completely differently, so a repair that vanished on bare wood reappears the moment colour goes on. The three ways round it.
intermediate40 min4 min readWhy has my block paving sunk in ruts, and how do I re-lay it?
Reading the ruts to find out whether the fault is the laying course, the sub-base or the edge restraint — and lifting and re-laying an area properly.
advanced12 hr6 min readWhy has my click-clack basin waste stopped sealing?
How the sprung latch inside a click-clack works, why hair and soap defeat it, and the cleaning and adjustment that fix nearly all of them.
beginner25 min4 min readWhy has my worktop joint opened up, and can I close it again?
Reading the joint to work out whether the bolts have slackened, the units have moved, or the core has already swollen — and which of those can be fixed.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readWhy is my floor bouncy or springy?
Telling normal deflection from a real problem, the usual causes, and which of them you can fix yourself.
intermediate1 hr4 min readWhy is my mortice lock stiff, and what do I do if it will not open?
Telling a worn key from a dry lock, a distorted case and a door bearing on its keep — and what can be done to a mortice lock without taking it out.
beginner30 min3 min readWhy will my cam lock not tighten, and how do I fix a spinning one?
How a cam and bolt actually work, the four reasons one will not pull a joint tight, and the repairs for a cam that spins freely in chewed-out chipboard.
beginner30 min5 min readCan I replace a door without replacing the frame?
When a door leaf can be swapped into an existing frame, when the frame is the actual problem, and the specific cases — composite, uPVC and fire doors — where the answer is no.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I fill gaps between skirting boards and the floor?
Choosing between caulk, beading and expanding filler, and getting a finish that does not crack open again in a month.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I fix a noisy or weak extractor fan?
Diagnosing an extractor fan that rattles or barely extracts, and the cleaning and ducting checks that usually fix it.
intermediate1 hr2 min readHow do I get black bitumen adhesive off a floor?
Identification first, because the black stuff is an asbestos question before it is a removal question. Then the methods that work on confirmed non-asbestos bitumen, and the encapsulate-in-place alternative.
advanced5 hr3 min readHow do I repair a cracked or damaged window sill?
Repairing stone, concrete and uPVC external sills, telling a cosmetic crack from one that is letting water into the wall, and the drip detail that has to be restored whatever the material.
intermediate2 hr4 min readWhat is the difference between a mortice sashlock and a mortice deadlock?
Two locks that look identical in a catalogue and do different jobs — which door each belongs on, what the lever count means, and what an insurer is actually asking for.
beginner10 min3 min readWhy has my blender stopped working or started smelling hot?
Most blender failures are a safety interlock, a thermal cut-out or a stripped drive coupling — and two of the three are things you can put right in minutes.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I adjust the shootbolts on French doors?
How the slave leaf is actually held, where the adjustment on each type of shootbolt is, and the order that stops you chasing the same few millimetres round the door all afternoon.
intermediate45 min4 min readHow do I drain down a heating system safely?
Cooling and isolating first, where the drain points are, and refilling without airlocks.
advanced3 hr5 min readHow do I fit a door closer or check it?
Choosing the right power size, the difference between the closing and latching adjustments, and the regulations on fire doors.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I fit beading or a threshold strip?
Covering the expansion gap without pinning the floor down, choosing the right threshold for a height difference, and mitring neatly.
beginner1 hr 30 min4 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.