What size Torx or hex bit do I need?
How the T and H numbers are defined, the two-minute method for identifying an unknown fastener, and the sizes that cover almost everything in a house.
beginner8 min3 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 thickness of board do I need?
The common thicknesses, what each is genuinely used for, and the two rules — span and fixing depth — that decide it more than anything else.
beginner9 min4 min readWhat thickness of plasterboard do I need and how far apart do the screws go?
Board thickness against stud and joist spacing, screw type and length, and the fixing centres that stop a ceiling sagging or a wall cracking.
beginner15 min4 min readWhen should I not wear gloves?
The rotating-machinery rule that overrides everything else, why one pair of gloves cannot cover cuts, chemicals and heat, and the situations where the right answer is bare hands and better technique.
beginner10 min5 min readWhen should I replace a drill bit or blade?
Reading the symptoms that mean blunt, which items are worth resharpening, and the false economy of pushing on.
beginner20 min4 min readWhich bath screen should I choose for a shower over a bath?
Fixed, hinged, folding and sliding bath screens compared on the things that actually matter — how much water they hold in, how you get past them, and how they clean.
beginner20 min5 min readWhich clamps should I buy first?
The two or three types that cover most work, why you always need more than you have, and matching the clamp to the job.
beginner20 min4 min readWhich coving should I choose — plaster, polystyrene or duropolymer?
Four materials with very different weights, prices, finishes and fitting methods, and an honest account of which one suits a period room, a rental, a bathroom and a first attempt.
beginner20 min4 min readWhich mortar joint profile should I use?
Five joint profiles compared on weathering and appearance, which one belongs on an exposed elevation, and the one that is not a profile at all but a defect.
intermediate12 min4 min readWhich multi-tool or oscillating tool should I choose?
What it does that nothing else can, why the blades cost more than the tool over time, and the features that matter.
beginner20 min4 min readWhich sharpening stone or system do I need?
What actually separates a whetstone from a diamond plate from a pull-through, matched to the tools you own and how often you will use it.
beginner15 min4 min readWhich shower head should I buy?
Why the head can only ever work with the water system it is fitted to, what rubbed nozzles and flow restrictors actually do, and which type suits which supply.
beginner15 min4 min readWhich type of toilet should I choose — close coupled, back to wall or wall hung?
The four common pan arrangements compared on what they cost to fit, how they clean, how they are serviced, and what the wall behind has to be capable of.
beginner20 min4 min readWhich workbench or work support should I get?
Folding, fixed or improvised, the height that decides whether it is comfortable, and what most people actually need.
beginner25 min4 min readWhy do I have to uncoil an extension reel before using it?
The physics behind the two ratings printed on every extension reel, how much the coiled figure actually is, and what happens if it is ignored.
beginner5 min4 min readWhy do fixings pull out of old soft brick?
What makes Victorian and handmade brick different, why expansion plugs crush it, and the fixings and depths that hold in it.
intermediate30 min3 min readWhy do my lights dim when the kettle goes on?
Why a starting load pulls the voltage down, what level of dip is normal, and the specific pattern that means the supply itself needs urgent attention.
beginner15 min5 min readWhy do my screws keep snapping when I drive them in?
Torque, material and metallurgy — the four causes of sheared screws, including why brass and plasterboard screws snap where a normal screw survives.
beginner12 min3 min readWhy does my composite door stick in hot weather?
Why dark composite and uPVC doors bow in sun, what is worth adjusting and what will only cause problems in winter.
beginner30 min3 min readWhy does my floor tile sound hollow?
What a hollow ring actually means, why it is not always a problem, and how to re-bed a debonded tile without breaking the ones around it.
intermediate2 hr4 min readWhy does my outside drain smell?
The four things that let sewer air out — a dry or damaged gully trap, a blockage, a broken pipe and a missing vent — and how to tell which you have.
beginner1 hr6 min readWhy does my plaster go off before I can get it on the wall?
Contaminated buckets, warm water, old stock and mixing too much are the four reasons a bag that should give you an hour gives you fifteen minutes — and only one of them is the plaster's fault.
intermediate20 min4 min readWhy has my floor sanding left ripples and dips?
Drum marks, chatter ripples and dished patches all come from the machine rather than the abrasive. What each pattern tells you, and the honest options once they are in the timber.
advanced4 hr3 min readWhy has my oak gone black or blue?
Tannin in oak reacts with iron to produce a black-blue stain. Where the iron comes from, how to remove the stain, and how to stop it happening again.
intermediate45 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.