How do I fit under-cabinet lighting in a kitchen?
Choosing between strip, puck and bar fittings, getting the light in front of you rather than in your eyes, and where the plug-in boundary sits.
beginner1 hr 30 min5 min read
Repairs
Fixing the things that break — taps, handles, holes, hinges.
553 guides in Home & DIY
How do I fix a carpet seam that is lifting or fraying?
Why seams fail, the difference between a seam that has come unstuck and one that was never right, and the repair that holds.
intermediate1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I fix a corner bead that has cracked?
Telling a knock from rust, cutting out only the damaged section, and rebuilding the arris straight.
intermediate1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I fix a stiff or noisy tap?
Servicing a tap that has become stiff, squeaks, or judders — usually limescale, a worn washer or a perished cartridge.
intermediate1 hr2 min readHow do I fix a threshold strip that keeps coming loose?
Why threshold strips work loose, choosing the right profile and fixing method for the floors it joins, and the one thing that must never be screwed through.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I fix something to a metal stud wall?
Steel framing is thin, springy and full of service holes. What holds in it, what does not, and why anything heavy needs a pattress rather than a bigger screw.
intermediate40 min4 min readHow do I get a flat-pack unit square, and what if it is already built wrong?
Using the diagonals to measure squareness in ten seconds, why the back panel is what locks it in, and how to pull a built carcass back true without taking it apart.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I get a scratch out of an acrylic bath?
The fingernail test that tells you whether a scratch will sand out, the grit sequence that removes it without leaving a hollow, and when to stop.
intermediate45 min4 min readHow do I glue metal to metal without welding?
What a bonded metal joint can and cannot do, the preparation each metal needs, and the loading direction that decides whether it holds at all.
intermediate40 min5 min readHow do I hang a frameless mirror safely?
The four ways a frameless mirror is fixed, how to choose between them by weight and wall, and the mistakes that break glass or drop it.
intermediate1 hr 30 min6 min readHow do I make an access panel to get at the plumbing under a bath or shower?
Where an access hatch belongs, how to cut one into tiled or boarded boxing without wrecking it, and the removable fixings that keep it usable.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I put a doorway in a stud wall?
Framing a new opening, or forming one in an existing partition, so the door hangs square and the wall around it does not crack — plus the checks that have to happen before you cut.
advanced6 hr5 min readHow do I re-point the joints in a patio?
Choosing between dry mortar, wet mortar and resin jointing compounds, and the preparation that decides whether the joints last two years or twenty.
intermediate5 hr4 min readHow do I remove a fixing without damaging the wall?
Getting plugs and anchors out without tearing plaster, and when to leave one in place instead.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I repair a broken ceramic or glass item?
Dry-fitting before any adhesive touches it, choosing between superglue and epoxy, and accepting what a repair can and cannot be.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I repair a burn or hole in a carpet?
The plug repair for a small hole, where to take the donor piece from, and matching the pile direction so the patch disappears.
intermediate1 hr3 min readHow do I repair a tear, gouge or bubble in vinyl flooring?
The double-cut patch that makes a repair almost invisible, the syringe method for bubbles, and when a repair is not worth attempting.
intermediate1 hr4 min readHow do I repair dot-and-dab plasterboard that has come loose?
A dry-lined wall that drums, flexes or has cracked along a board joint has lost some of its adhesive dabs. How to find the extent, refix it mechanically, and when the boards have to come off.
intermediate2 hr4 min readHow do I replace a broken sash cord?
Taking the window apart in the right order, matching the weight to the sash, and tying the knot that will not pull through.
intermediate3 hr4 min readHow do I replace a door hinge without taking the door off?
Swapping one hinge at a time so the door stays hung and aligned, and how to match a replacement to an existing recess.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I replace a rotten shed floor?
Getting the old deck out, dealing with the bearers and the base underneath, and building the new floor so it does not rot again.
intermediate5 hr4 min readHow do I seal the gap between the worktop and the wall?
Measuring the gap along the whole run before choosing anything, why silicone fails in a gap that varies, and the three options that work where it does.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I skim a small patch of plaster?
Getting a patch flush with the wall around it, working with the plaster's setting stages, and knowing when filler is the better answer.
intermediate2 hr4 min readHow do I stop a door rattling in the wind?
Why a rattle is a latch problem rather than a draught problem, and the adjustments in order of cost.
beginner45 min4 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.