How do I get the plug of wood out of a hole saw?
The disc jammed inside the cup, four ways to get it out, and the cuts you make before drilling so it never happens again.
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
How do I give doorbell or camera footage to the police?
Getting the original clip out of the app before it expires, what to record alongside it, and how it is normally submitted.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I glue MDF and chipboard edges so they actually hold?
Both boards drink glue out of the joint through their cut edges, so the standard PVA technique that works on timber gives a starved, weak joint here.
beginner25 min4 min readHow do I glue glass, and which adhesive stays invisible?
Why glass is chemically easy and mechanically unforgiving to bond, the three adhesive families that work on it, and the ones that leave a visible line for ever.
intermediate30 min5 min readHow do I hang a door in a frame that is out of square?
Scribing a door to a lining that is not plumb or square, deciding whether to correct the frame or the door, and getting a consistent gap when nothing in the opening is straight.
advanced2 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I hold work steady when I have no vice, or nothing that reaches?
Clamping strategy rather than clamp choice: how to hold something too big, too awkward or too far from an edge for the clamps you own, and the improvisations that are genuinely sound rather than dangerous.
beginner20 min5 min readHow do I know when a ladder should be thrown away?
The pre-use check that takes thirty seconds, the specific faults that condemn a ladder outright, why a repaired or painted ladder is a bad idea, and how storage decides how long a ladder lasts.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I look after a shed?
The annual maintenance that takes a shed from a five-year structure to a twenty-year one.
beginner3 hr2 min readHow do I look after a smart meter and heating in a power cut?
Central heating stops in a power cut even when the gas is still flowing, because the controls and the pump are electric. Knowing what comes back on its own, and what needs resetting, is most of it.
beginner30 min6 min readHow do I look after a waste disposal unit?
Cold water, the right things down it, the wrong things kept out, and the small monthly routine that stops it smelling and stops it jamming.
beginner15 min6 min readHow do I make a garage door more secure?
The three garage weaknesses — a single central latch, an unprotected connecting door, and the emergency release — and what closes each.
intermediate2 hr4 min readHow do I make a garage or workshop safe with children in the house?
The hazards a workshop actually presents to a child, in order of how quickly they cause harm, and the practical controls — a lockable cupboard, an isolator switch, batteries out of tools, and never decanting anything.
beginner1 hr5 min readHow do I make good the wall after taking out a fireplace?
Closing the opening properly with a vent, dealing with the hearth, and getting the plaster to meet the old wall without a visible panel — plus the boundary where this stops being a DIY job.
intermediate5 hr4 min readHow do I measure an alcove or an internal opening accurately?
Why a single internal measurement is never enough, which of the three readings to use for a fit and which for a fill, and how to find out how far out of square the opening is before you cut anything.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I move and lift a full sheet of board on my own?
The lever-and-balance technique that lets one person handle a full sheet safely, the two situations where you should not, and the aids that make it easy.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I organise a loft?
How to use loft space safely and usefully — boarding, what should never be stored up there, and access that doesn't ruin your insulation.
intermediate5 hr3 min readHow do I patch a hole or a broken edge in a concrete floor?
Squaring out the damage, keying and priming, choosing between repair mortar and a screed, and getting the patch level with the floor.
intermediate1 hr4 min readHow do I patch damaged wallpaper invisibly?
The double-cut patch and the torn-edge patch, matching the pattern, and dealing with paper that has faded since it was hung.
intermediate1 hr4 min readHow do I put up a long ladder on my own?
The foot-and-walk method that lets one person raise a ladder under control, how to carry one without hitting anything, the overhead check that comes first, and the honest limit on doing this alone.
intermediate20 min5 min readHow do I remove and replace a drill chuck?
The left-hand screw nobody expects, the three ways a chuck attaches, and when replacing one is worth it against replacing the drill.
intermediate30 min4 min readHow do I repair a hole in a lath and plaster wall?
Patching a hole in an old wall so it does not crack around the edge — why plasterboard is usually the right patch material, and how to deal with the depth difference.
intermediate2 hr4 min readHow do I repair a plasterboard joint where the tape has lifted?
Why paper tape blisters and scrim cracks, cutting out only what has failed, and re-taping so the repair does not show as a ridge.
intermediate2 hr4 min readHow do I repair a rotten door frame at the bottom?
Cutting out the decayed section of a frame leg and splicing in new timber, and when resin repair is the better answer.
intermediate4 hr4 min readHow do I replace a broken pane in a timber window?
Removing the old pane and putty safely, measuring for the replacement, and bedding the new glass so it does not rattle or leak.
intermediate2 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.