How 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 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 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 readHow do I stop a rug slipping on a hard floor?
The underlay types that work, why rug tape usually fails, and how to deal with curling corners.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I stop a workpiece moving while I cut or drill it?
Clamping strategy, bench hooks, sacrificial boards and the simple stops that hold work better than a hand can.
beginner15 min3 min readHow do I store and dispose of leftover paint?
Storing it so it is still usable next year, hardening water-based paint for disposal, and where solvent-based has to go.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I store things I only use once a year?
Choosing where by what the item tolerates, labelling so you can find it in a year, and the audit that stops it accumulating.
beginner2 hr4 min readHow do I tell if a lintel has failed?
What is actually spanning the opening, the six signs that it is failing, and why this is the point where the DIY answer stops entirely.
intermediate15 min4 min readHow do I tile onto a chipboard or floorboard floor?
Why timber and tile are a difficult marriage, the three things that have to be true before you start, and the build-ups that actually work.
advanced4 hr5 min readHow do I use a combination square?
Six jobs one tool does — square lines, mitres, depth gauging, marking parallel to an edge, setting a height and finding a centre — and the registration habit that makes all of them accurate.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I use a hired scaffold tower safely?
Why a tower is far safer than a ladder for sustained work, what has to be in place before anyone climbs it, the through-the-trap method for building it, and the height and wind limits that apply at home.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I use a hole saw without burning it out?
Slow speed, waste clearance and pilot control — the three things that separate a clean hole from a smoking, jammed and ruined saw.
intermediate25 min4 min readHow do I use a wallpaper steamer?
Scoring first, how long to hold the plate, and why over-steaming damages the wall underneath.
beginner4 hr4 min readHow do I use chemical anchor resin properly?
The hole preparation, injection sequence and cure discipline that decide whether a resin anchor reaches its rated strength or a fraction of it.
intermediate40 min4 min readHow do I use expanding foam without it going everywhere?
Filling to a third, damping the surfaces, controlling the expansion and cutting back cleanly — and the places foam should not be used at all.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I use polyurethane glue without it foaming everywhere?
The foam is a by-product, not the adhesive, and treating it as gap-filling is why the joint is weak — how to use the amount that works.
intermediate30 min4 min readHow do I ventilate a shed properly?
Where to put vents so air actually moves, how much vent area a shed needs, and keeping mice and wasps out while letting air in.
beginner1 hr3 min readHow do I wallpaper a wall?
How to hang wallpaper on a single wall — measuring, plumbing the first drop, pattern matching and dealing with corners and sockets.
intermediate5 hr3 min readHow do I wallpaper around sockets, corners and windows?
The specific techniques for the awkward parts, which is where most wallpapering goes wrong.
intermediate4 hr2 min readHow do I work out how much timber to buy for a job?
Turning a drawing into an order, in the units the merchant sells in, with an honest waste allowance and the offcut arithmetic most people skip.
beginner25 min4 min readIs moisture-resistant MDF actually waterproof?
What the green board really does, the difference between humidity resistance and water resistance, and the bathroom and kitchen jobs it is genuinely wrong for.
beginner7 min4 min readKeyed or keyless chuck — which is better, and what does 13mm mean?
Grip against convenience, what the capacity figure on the chuck actually limits, and the single-sleeve versus two-sleeve distinction that matters more than either.
beginner10 min3 min readOSB or plywood — which should I use for a floor deck or roof?
What the OSB and plywood grades mean structurally, how each behaves when it gets wet, and the jobs where one is clearly right.
beginner15 min4 min readShould I buy a range cooker or a built-in oven and hob?
The trade that actually decides it: a range buys capacity and presence in one unit; built-in buys flexibility, replaceability and a cheaper failure.
beginner30 min4 min readShould I fit the flooring before or after the skirting?
The sequence changes how the expansion gap is covered, how much cutting there is, and whether you end up with beading — and it depends on whether the skirting is already there.
beginner20 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.