How do I move a radiator to another wall?
What moving a radiator actually involves, the short move versus the long move, and the decisions worth making before anyone lifts a floorboard.
advanced8 hr5 min read
Home & DIY
Practical answers for repairs, cleaning, decorating and the household problems that turn up whether you planned for them or not. Written so you can start with what you already own.
2,154 guides
How do I oil a new oak worktop before it goes in?
A solid wood worktop is finished before it is fitted, on all six faces, and that is what decides whether it stays flat and survives the sink. The sequence and the places people miss.
intermediate3 hr4 min readHow do I overboard an existing plasterboard wall?
Boarding over a tired, damaged or textured plasterboard wall instead of stripping it — when it is the right answer, how to find the studs through two layers, and what it costs you in room dimension and detailing.
intermediate5 hr6 min readHow do I paint over nicotine-stained walls and ceilings?
Nicotine is a greasy, water-soluble stain, which is why emulsion re-dissolves it and carries it back to the surface. The wash-then-block sequence that ends it in one go.
intermediate4 hr4 min readHow do I pick straight, sound timber at the merchant?
The three-minute routine at the rack that separates the boards worth having from the ones that will fight you, and the faults worth rejecting on sight.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I plaster a patch that has been taken back to bare brick?
Filling a 15 to 25mm deep hole in a wall so it finishes flush and does not crack at the edges — the two-coat method, the timing, and why the finish coat is the easy part.
advanced2 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I point the joints between paving slabs?
Mortar pointing, dry brushing and resin jointing compounds compared, and the preparation that stops any of them failing in a season.
beginner4 hr4 min readHow do I remove hard water marks from glass?
Why ordinary cleaner does nothing, the acids that work, and how to stop it coming back.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I replace a broken tile?
Getting the old one out without damaging its neighbours, and matching what you cannot buy any more.
intermediate1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I replace a single cracked floor tile?
Getting one tile out without damaging its neighbours or the substrate, and bedding the new one so it sits flush rather than proud.
intermediate1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I serve a party wall notice, and what happens next?
Getting the notice right, the three ways a neighbour can respond, what a surveyor actually does, and who ends up paying for it.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I stand a ladder on stairs, a slope or uneven ground?
Why the rungs, not the feet, are the thing to level; the packing habit that causes serious falls and what to use instead; and the three situations — soft ground, a step, and a staircase — that each need a different answer.
intermediate20 min5 min readHow do I stop a toilet rocking on the floor?
Why a pan rocks, why tightening the bolts is usually the wrong response, and the packing and bedding that stop it properly.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I stop draughts from floorboards?
Sealing gaps between floorboards and at the skirting without stopping the underfloor ventilation a suspended floor needs.
beginner3 hr2 min readHow do I stop ice forming on paths and steps?
Grit before it freezes rather than after, and the common approaches that make things worse.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I stop my boiler condensate pipe freezing again?
A condensate pipe that froze once will freeze again. The four changes that actually prevent it, in order of how much difference they make.
intermediate1 hr5 min readHow do I stop my house being so dusty?
Removing dust rather than moving it around, and reducing how much of it there is in the first place.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I stop tearout when cutting plywood and MDF?
Tearout happens where the teeth exit the surface. Control which face that is, support the fibres there, and it largely disappears.
intermediate20 min3 min readHow do I stop the hallway becoming a dumping ground?
Give every category a home within arm's reach of the door — the friction is what decides whether it works.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I stop wallpaper peeling at the seams?
Fixing a lifting seam, and why it lifted — usually the wall underneath rather than the paper.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I store things in a loft safely?
What survives a loft and what does not, boarding without ruining the insulation, and the weight question nobody asks.
intermediate2 hr2 min readHow do I strip a painted staircase?
Stripping a staircase is one of the largest hand-finishing jobs in a house, and the decision to start it should be made with the lead question answered first.
advanced10 hr2 min readHow do I take a kitchen drawer out and get it back in?
The two release levers on side-mounted runners that work in opposite directions, the front catches and rear pins on undermount ones, and the order that stops you bending a runner.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I use a mitre saw accurately?
Squaring the saw to its fence, supporting long stock, and the cut-line technique that gets joints tight first time.
intermediate1 hr4 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.
MaterialWorld is in development — GuideHQ covers the practical answers in the meantime.