Why is there a dark stripe along the joists on my ceiling?
Ghosting, or thermal tracking — dark bands that map the structure behind the plaster — what causes it, and why cleaning is the wrong response.
beginner30 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
Why is there damp where my extension joins the house?
What a cavity tray does at an abutment, why a missing one produces damp on the wall above a lean-to or a flat roof, and why this is one of the few damp faults that is genuinely a building defect.
intermediate40 min4 min readWhy is there standing water in my inspection chamber?
Reading a full chamber against the ones upstream and downstream to locate a blockage, and knowing when it stops being your pipe.
beginner1 hr5 min readWhy is there steel reinforcement in concrete?
Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension, so steel is placed where the tension is. Where that is, why cover matters more than quantity, and why reinforcement rusting is a structural problem rather than a cosmetic one.
intermediate9 min4 min readWhy will my bath pop-up plug not open or hold water?
How a cable-operated bath pop-up differs from a basin one, the three adjustments that fix most of them, and why hair is nearly always involved.
beginner40 min4 min readWhy will my roller blind not roll up properly?
Diagnosing a roller blind that hangs crooked, jams, tracks sideways off the tube or will not retract, and the levelling error behind most of it.
beginner30 min5 min readWhy will my washing machine valve not turn off?
The small lever valve behind a washing machine seizes, passes or snaps, and each of those needs a different response. What to try, and what not to force.
beginner25 min5 min readWill the merchant cut sheet material to size for me?
Panel saw services at merchants and DIY sheds — what they will and will not do, the tolerance to expect, and how to give a cutting list that comes back right.
beginner15 min4 min readAre smart water leak detectors and automatic shut-off valves worth it?
Two quite different products sold under similar names — a puck that beeps and a valve that closes the main. What each actually prevents, and the households where they earn their cost.
beginner15 min5 min readCan I lay paving slabs straight onto sand?
Where a sand bed is legitimate, where it guarantees rocking slabs, and what actually distinguishes a sand-laid path from a mortar-bedded patio.
beginner20 min4 min readDo I need to PVA a wall before plastering?
What PVA actually does under plaster, why it is the right answer sometimes and the wrong one often, and the alternatives that do the job better.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I clean a mirror without streaks?
The technique for a genuinely streak-free mirror, and why bathroom mirrors are harder than the rest.
beginner10 min2 min readHow do I clean oil off a garage floor?
Removing fresh and old oil stains from concrete, and how to keep the floor manageable afterwards.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I fit a bathroom lock or a privacy bolt?
The two ways to lock a bathroom door, why both must open from outside in an emergency, and the fitting details that stop a privacy bolt jamming.
intermediate1 hr4 min readHow do I fit a channel drain across a drive or a patio?
Choosing the right load class, setting the channel below the finished surface with a fall to the outlet, and haunching it so it does not lift or crack.
advanced8 hr6 min readHow do I organise a home office that stays usable?
Setting up a desk area around what actually happens at it — paper flow, cables, supplies and the boundary between work and the room it is in.
beginner2 hr4 min readHow do I repair a shed wall that has rotted at the bottom?
Cutting out the decayed bottom rail and cladding without dropping the wall, splicing in treated timber, and fixing the splash and ground contact that caused it.
intermediate5 hr5 min readShould flooring run straight through a doorway into the next room?
Continuous flooring looks better and makes a house feel bigger, but a floating floor has limits on how far it can run in one piece, and doorways are where those limits get tested.
intermediate30 min5 min readSpade bit, auger or Forstner — which do I need for a large hole in wood?
Three bits for big holes in timber, what each is genuinely good and bad at, and the one to reach for when the hole will be seen.
beginner12 min3 min readWhat goes under artificial grass, and why does mine hold water?
The layer build-up artificial grass actually needs, why a laying course of stone dust and a permeable base matter more than the grass itself, and diagnosing a lawn that ponds.
intermediate8 hr6 min readWhat height and spacing does a deck balustrade need?
What a barrier on a raised deck is actually for, why the post fixing carries everything, and the gap and height principles behind the regulations.
intermediate25 min4 min readWhat is different about laying large format tiles?
Substrate flatness, bed thickness, offset, handling and cutting all change with tile size, and the tolerance for error shrinks as the tile grows.
advanced4 hr5 min readWhat is the difference between a cooker hood and a venting hob?
A venting hob extracts downwards through the hob surface instead of upwards into a canopy. What that buys, what it costs, and where it genuinely wins.
beginner25 min5 min readWhat should I do about subsidence cracks in a dry summer?
Cracks appearing in a hot dry summer are usually clay shrinkage, and most are cosmetic. Knowing which are not, and what to record before ringing anyone, is what decides the outcome.
beginner1 hr6 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.