Why has my matt emulsion gone shiny in patches?
Shiny patches on matt paint are burnishing — the surface has been polished by rubbing. It is a durability limit of matt paint rather than a fault in the tin.
beginner20 min2 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
Why is my chimney breast damp?
The six routes water and salts take into a chimney breast, how to tell an active leak from decades-old combustion salts, and why sealing a flue at both ends makes it worse.
intermediate1 hr5 min readWhy is my gloss paint still soft and tacky weeks later?
Oil-based paint cures by reacting with oxygen, not by drying. The five things that stop that reaction, and how to tell which one has stopped yours.
intermediate30 min5 min readWhy is my grout crumbling and powdery?
The three reasons grout turns to powder — mixed wrong, cured wrong, or a wet substrate behind it — and why the third one matters most.
beginner1 hr 30 min3 min readWhy is my plaster crumbling and turning to dust?
Friable, sandy plaster that comes off on your hand has four distinct causes — moisture, salts, a weak or over-trowelled mix, and simple age — and only one of them is fixed by re-plastering alone.
intermediate1 hr4 min readWhy is my rendered wall cracking?
Reading crack patterns in render — crazing, map cracking, straight lines and diagonal cracks all mean different things — and which need action.
beginner45 min3 min readWhy is there a darker frame around the edges of my wall?
Picture framing is the brushed cut-in band drying before the roller reaches it. Why it happens, why more coats make it worse, and the order of work that prevents it.
beginner15 min4 min readWhy will my French doors not meet in the middle?
Telling a dropped leaf from a bowed one and from a frame that has moved, and correcting each — plus the seasonal version of the fault that needs no correction at all.
intermediate1 hr4 min readDo I need a fire door, and what does FD30 mean?
What the FD rating actually measures, the situations in a home where a fire door is normally required, and why the frame, the gaps, the seals and the closer matter as much as the leaf.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I clean wooden floors?
How to clean solid, engineered and laminate floors without damaging the finish — and why water is the main risk.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I clear a blocked outside drain?
Locating the blockage using the inspection chambers, then rodding it, and knowing when it is the water company's problem.
intermediate1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I create storage in a small flat?
Where usable volume actually hides in a small flat, what can be done without drilling or a landlord's permission, and the trade-off between storing more and living in less.
beginner2 hr4 min readHow do I fix cracks in plaster?
How to repair hairline and larger cracks in plaster so they don't reappear, and how to tell when a crack is a structural warning.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I fix peeling paint?
Why paint peels, how to prepare a peeling surface properly, and how to stop it happening again.
beginner3 hr2 min readHow do I get smells out of a carpet?
Removing pet, damp and general odours from carpet by treating the source rather than masking it.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I hang something heavy on a wall?
How to hang mirrors, large frames and heavy items securely — finding structure, choosing fixings and spreading the load.
intermediate1 hr3 min readHow do I organise a wardrobe?
Reducing first, then arranging so you can see everything, and the storage that makes it stay organised.
beginner3 hr2 min readHow do I paint neat edges without tape?
Cutting in freehand with a brush — the loading, the angle and the steady pass that beat masking tape.
intermediate1 hr2 min readHow do I regrout tiles?
Removing old grout, applying new, and knowing where grout should be replaced by flexible sealant instead.
intermediate3 hr2 min readHow do I use drain rods without making the blockage worse?
Which chamber to rod from, which way to turn, which head to use, and the mistakes that turn a clearable blockage into a job for a drainage contractor.
intermediate1 hr5 min readHow many times can a wooden floor be sanded?
The answer is set by how much timber sits above the layer you must not reach — the tongue on solid wood, the ply core on engineered wood, and nothing at all on laminate. How to measure what you have left.
beginner15 min3 min readIs it safe to use a microwave with a damaged door or a worn seal?
No. The door and its frame are the radiation shield, and there is no owner test and no owner repair — what to check, and what to do instead.
beginner10 min4 min readShould the flooring go under the kitchen units or up to them?
The answer differs for a floating floor and a bonded one, and getting it wrong either traps the floor under the units or leaves a step that stops an appliance coming out.
beginner20 min3 min readWhy does my new floating floor feel spongy and hollow?
A floating floor that sinks slightly underfoot or sounds hollow has one of four causes, and only one of them is a fault in the floor itself.
beginner45 min3 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.