Why did my plaster crack while it was drying?
Crazing, map cracking and single straight cracks in fresh plaster have three different causes — drying too fast, applied too thick, or movement underneath.
intermediate30 min5 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 do my nails keep bending over instead of going in?
A bent nail is almost always a technique problem rather than a bad nail — the six causes, and the grip and swing that fix five of them.
beginner10 min3 min readWhy does my chisel keep digging in below the line?
The bevel steers the edge. Which way round to hold a chisel for each kind of cut, and the knife-line-then-pare sequence that lands a recess exactly on the mark.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy does my drill chuck keep slipping or jamming?
Worn jaws, a bit tightened in the wrong place, dust in the mechanism and the reverse-thread screw nobody knows about.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy does my metal gate rust at the bottom, and how do I stop it?
Why hollow sections rot from the inside out at the ground, the honest repair options, and the drainage and coating changes that stop it recurring.
intermediate4 hr6 min readWhy does my router bit keep slipping or creeping out of the collet?
Collets are a sprung sleeve, not a clamp — how they actually grip, the seating error almost everyone makes, and when a collet is simply worn out.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy has my concrete not gone hard?
Six reasons a pour stays soft, how to tell which one you have, and the honest answer about whether any of them can be rescued.
beginner15 min3 min readWhy have my decking boards cupped or curled?
Why a board curls one way and not the other, whether drying and re-fixing will pull it flat, and what to change so the replacements stay flat.
intermediate2 hr5 min readWhy is my loft insulation black and dusty in patches?
What dust filtration marks in loft insulation are telling you about air leaking out of the house, and how to find and seal the gaps they point to.
beginner25 min3 min readWhy is my new paint cracking and crazing?
Fine crazing, alligatoring and cracks that follow the surface below are three different faults — one is in the paint film, one is in the layers under it, and one is in the substrate.
beginner45 min5 min readCan I put a shed against a fence or a house wall?
The clearance a shed needs on every side and why, the damp and fire reasons behind it, and what to do when the garden genuinely has no room.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I lay stepping stones in a lawn?
Setting the spacing to a natural walking stride, and bedding each stone low enough to mow over so the path does not sink or rock.
beginner3 hr5 min readHow do I organise an airing cupboard?
How to use the warmth without cooking what is in there, what genuinely belongs in an airing cupboard, and the clearances the cylinder needs.
beginner1 hr4 min readHow do I repair a cracked paving slab?
Why slabs crack in the first place, when a crack can be left alone, and lifting and replacing one without disturbing its neighbours.
intermediate2 hr 30 min6 min readHow long should I wait before tiling a newly plastered wall?
Why fresh plaster and tile adhesive are a bad combination, how long is long enough, and the cases where the skim should never have been there at all.
beginner15 min4 min readWhat should I do if my garden is flooded by a neighbour's water?
Water running from higher land onto yours is a long-standing legal grey area. The practical answer is usually drainage on your own side; the legal one depends on whether the neighbour changed something.
intermediate2 hr6 min readBrad nailer or pin nailer — which one do I need?
Two gauges, two jobs. What a 23-gauge pin will and will not hold, why an 18-gauge brad leaves a visible hole, and where a bigger finish nailer is the real answer.
beginner12 min3 min readDo I use water, oil or nothing on a sharpening stone?
What the lubricant is actually doing, why oil on a water stone ruins it permanently, and the honest answer about diamond plates.
beginner10 min4 min readDo knots in timber matter?
Which knots are harmless, which fall out, where a knot genuinely weakens a structural piece, and why they bleed through paint years later.
beginner8 min4 min readDoes weed membrane under paving actually work?
Where a geotextile earns its place under hard surfaces and where it does nothing at all — and why the weeds in a patio did not come from below.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I check outdoor lighting and paths before the dark months?
An hour in October dealing with lights, moss and trip hazards prevents most winter falls at home, and falls on a dark path are one of the most common serious domestic injuries.
beginner1 hr 30 min6 min readHow do I fit a curtain pole or track in a bay window?
Measuring the angles, choosing between a jointed pole, a bendable track and separate runs, and getting the corners to let the curtains pass.
advanced3 hr5 min readHow do I fit a threaded insert into wood?
Giving timber a steel machine thread that can be undone hundreds of times — pilot sizes, driving it in square, and where an insert is the wrong answer.
intermediate20 min3 min readHow do I fit shelf support pegs so the shelf sits level?
Four small holes that have to be in exactly the same place — the drilling method that makes that happen, plus what to do when an existing hole has worn out.
beginner30 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.