Should I glue flat-pack joints, and which ones?
What gluing a cam-and-dowel carcass gains and what it costs you permanently, which joints benefit, and the adhesives that actually work on chipboard.
beginner45 min4 min read
Repairs
Fixing the things that break — taps, handles, holes, hinges.
553 guides in Home & DIY
What is the difference between overlay, half overlay and inset cabinet doors?
The three ways a cabinet door can sit on its carcass, what each looks like from the front, and why the arrangement decides the hinge, the door size and the gaps.
beginner8 min3 min readWhy did my plaster crack while it was drying?
Crazing, map cracking and single straight cracks in fresh plaster have three different causes — drying too fast, applied too thick, or movement underneath.
intermediate30 min5 min readWhy do my nails keep bending over instead of going in?
A bent nail is almost always a technique problem rather than a bad nail — the six causes, and the grip and swing that fix five of them.
beginner10 min3 min readWhy does my metal gate rust at the bottom, and how do I stop it?
Why hollow sections rot from the inside out at the ground, the honest repair options, and the drainage and coating changes that stop it recurring.
intermediate4 hr6 min readWhy have my decking boards cupped or curled?
Why a board curls one way and not the other, whether drying and re-fixing will pull it flat, and what to change so the replacements stay flat.
intermediate2 hr5 min readHow do I repair a cracked paving slab?
Why slabs crack in the first place, when a crack can be left alone, and lifting and replacing one without disturbing its neighbours.
intermediate2 hr 30 min6 min readHow do I fit a curtain pole or track in a bay window?
Measuring the angles, choosing between a jointed pole, a bendable track and separate runs, and getting the corners to let the curtains pass.
advanced3 hr5 min readHow do I fit a threaded insert into wood?
Giving timber a steel machine thread that can be undone hundreds of times — pilot sizes, driving it in square, and where an insert is the wrong answer.
intermediate20 min3 min readHow do I fit shelf support pegs so the shelf sits level?
Four small holes that have to be in exactly the same place — the drilling method that makes that happen, plus what to do when an existing hole has worn out.
beginner30 min3 min readHow do I fix a laminate worktop edge strip that has lifted?
Re-gluing an edging strip that has come away, why heat and a hot iron is the honest method for hot-melt edging, and what to do when the core behind it has swollen.
beginner45 min5 min readHow do I fix a pull-out larder or tall unit that has jammed or sagged?
Why tall pull-outs fail at the bottom runner, how to check the frame is still square, and the load rating people never look at.
intermediate1 hr 15 min4 min readHow do I patch the plaster over a chased-in cable or pipe?
Filling a deep narrow channel without it sinking, cracking or telegraphing — building up in coats, bridging the line, and finishing wide.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I set out architrave with an even reveal?
The reveal is the small setback of the architrave from the frame edge, and marking it consistently before any cut is what makes the mitres close and the door look right.
intermediate1 hr5 min readThe bottom has dropped out of a drawer — how do I put it back properly?
Why thin drawer bases sag out of their grooves, refitting a base so it stays, and replacing one with material that will not do it again.
beginner45 min5 min readWhat do I do if flat-pack parts are missing or damaged?
How to establish what is genuinely missing before contacting anyone, which parts are standard sizes you can simply buy, and which ones mean stopping.
beginner30 min5 min readWhy is there a ridge where the new plaster meets the old?
The step at the edge of a patch is a thickness problem, not a filling problem — and it gets fixed by feathering out much further than feels necessary.
intermediate1 hr5 min readCan I put a shelf above a radiator?
The clearance a radiator needs, what the rising heat does to what you put on the shelf, and the one case where a shelf above a radiator is actively useful.
beginner20 min4 min readCan I repair a chipboard edge that has blown out or swollen?
Telling mechanical damage from water swelling, rebuilding a broken corner or edge with epoxy or a timber patch, and when the panel is finished.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I fix a headboard to the wall instead of the bed?
Setting the height against the mattress, the two mounting systems that work, and fixing into a wall that has to take being leaned on every night.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readWhat is a security screw, and how do I undo one without the right bit?
The common tamper-resistant drives, how to identify what you are looking at, and the methods that work when you do not have the matching bit.
intermediate25 min3 min readWhat is the difference between a dovetail and a stapled drawer box?
The one thing you can check in a showroom that tells you more about a kitchen's quality than the door finish — and what it means for repairs later.
beginner8 min3 min readHow do I fit a piano hinge?
A continuous hinge spreads load along a whole edge, which is exactly what a long lid or a thin panel needs — how to cut it to length, set it out and screw it without a wandering line.
intermediate45 min3 min readHow do I repair a broken dowel joint in furniture?
Getting a sheared dowel out without wrecking the hole, when to re-dowel and when to move to a screw or a bracket, and why a snapped dowel is usually a symptom.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.