What is lime mortar, and how is it different from cement mortar?
What lime mortar actually does that cement cannot — and why it is the correct material on a pre-1919 solid wall rather than a heritage affectation.
intermediate20 min4 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
What is tanking and do I need it behind bathroom tiles?
Why tiles and grout are water resistant but not waterproof, where a tanking membrane is genuinely required, and what happens without one.
intermediate30 min3 min readWhat is the difference between an electric, mixer and power shower?
The three types explained by where they get their hot water and their pressure, and which one suits which plumbing system.
beginner15 min3 min readWhat is the difference between oxygen bleach and chlorine bleach?
Chlorine bleach destroys colour and kills organisms; oxygen bleach lifts organic stains without stripping dye. They are not interchangeable and one is far safer at home.
beginner10 min4 min readWhat is the difference between sanitary silicone and general purpose silicone?
Sanitary grade adds a fungicide and usually a neutral cure — what that actually buys you, and the three substrates that decide the choice for you.
beginner12 min4 min readWhat is the difference between water pressure and flow rate?
Two different measurements that people use interchangeably and shouldn't — and why almost every disappointing shower is a flow problem being treated as a pressure problem.
beginner10 min3 min readWhat order does a kitchen refit go in?
Eleven stages, the two points of no return, and where the waiting weeks fall — so the kitchen is not out of use for longer than it needs to be.
intermediate1 hr6 min readWhat should I do in a power cut?
Checking whether it is only your house, keeping food and warmth, and the preparation that makes it a non-event.
beginner30 min3 min readWhat size radiator does a room need?
Working out the heat requirement in watts, why the manufacturer's output figure is optimistic, and the allowance modern boilers need.
beginner30 min4 min readWhich adhesives fill a gap, and which need a tight fit?
Why the fit of the joint chooses the adhesive family, and why using more of a thin glue never bridges a gap.
beginner15 min4 min readWhich carpet underlay should I choose?
Underlay decides how a carpet feels, how long it lasts and how warm and quiet the room is — and it is where a cheap fitting quote almost always saves its money.
beginner15 min3 min readWhich glue works on which plastic?
Identifying the plastic before choosing the adhesive, why solvent cement is stronger than any glue on the plastics it suits, and the two plastics that genuinely cannot be glued.
beginner20 min5 min readWhich sand or aggregate do I need?
The differences between building sand, sharp sand, ballast, MOT type 1 and gravel, and where each belongs.
beginner15 min3 min readWhich type of fan should I buy for hot weather?
Pedestal, tower, desk, floor and ceiling fans do measurably different jobs. Which one suits the room, the noise you can tolerate and whether you want to cool yourself or move air through the house.
beginner15 min5 min readWhich wall detector do I need, and what will it miss?
The four detection technologies in one plastic case, which of them is doing the work for each kind of hazard, and the four things in a wall that no domestic detector will find.
beginner20 min6 min readWhich way should laminate or wood flooring run?
Light, sightline, room proportion and — for anything fixed down — the joists, in the order that actually decides it.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy are the gaps around my door uneven?
Reading the margin around a door to work out whether it has dropped, the frame has moved or the hinges are wrong — before touching a plane.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy are there moths in my kitchen cupboards?
Pantry moths arrive inside a packet from the shop, not through the window, so the fix is finding the infested item and changing how dry goods are stored.
beginner2 hr4 min readWhy do my LED bulbs keep failing?
Why a lamp rated for 25,000 hours dies in eight months, the heat and enclosure problem that causes most of it, and the fitting-specific causes worth checking.
beginner20 min5 min readWhy does clay soil make a house move?
Shrinkable clay changes volume as it wets and dries, and everything founded in that layer moves with it. What the seasonal cycle looks like in a house, how trees magnify it, and the difference between subsidence, heave and settlement.
intermediate10 min5 min readWhy does my air fryer smoke or smell of plastic?
Smoke is nearly always fat reaching the element; a plastic smell on a new machine is curing, and on an old one it is not.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy does my appliance vibrate and walk across the floor?
Almost always one of four things — transit bolts, feet, floor or load — and the order to check them in, because getting it wrong wastes an afternoon on the hardest one first.
beginner30 min6 min readWhy does my cordless drill die so fast in cold weather?
Cold does not remove charge, it hides it — what actually happens in the cells, and the four habits that get a winter's work out of the same packs.
beginner10 min4 min readWhy does my door lock perfectly when it is open but not when it is shut?
The single most useful test on a multipoint door, what a positive result proves, and the order in which to correct the alignment it has just diagnosed.
beginner40 min4 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.