How do I fix a laminate worktop edge strip that has lifted?
Re-gluing an edging strip that has come away, why heat and a hot iron is the honest method for hot-melt edging, and what to do when the core behind it has swollen.
beginner45 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
How do I fix a pull-out larder or tall unit that has jammed or sagged?
Why tall pull-outs fail at the bottom runner, how to check the frame is still square, and the load rating people never look at.
intermediate1 hr 15 min4 min readHow do I flatten the back of a chisel or plane iron?
The job you do once per tool and never again — how far back it has to go, why a mirror polish over the whole blade is a waste of an evening, and the ruler trick that saves a dished plane iron.
intermediate45 min4 min readHow do I look after a septic tank in heavy rain?
A septic system that backs up or surfaces in wet weather is usually taking in groundwater or surface water it was never meant to receive. Finding where is the whole job.
intermediate1 hr6 min readHow do I look after brushes and art materials so they last?
Washing brushes properly by medium, storing them so the shape survives, and the storage conditions that ruin paint and paper.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I patch the plaster over a chased-in cable or pipe?
Filling a deep narrow channel without it sinking, cracking or telegraphing — building up in coats, bridging the line, and finishing wide.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I plane end grain without splitting the corner off?
End grain blows out at the far corner because there is nothing supporting the fibres there. Four ways to stop it, and why a low-angle blade and a very fine cut are not optional.
intermediate15 min4 min readHow do I set out architrave with an even reveal?
The reveal is the small setback of the architrave from the frame edge, and marking it consistently before any cut is what makes the mitres close and the door look right.
intermediate1 hr5 min readHow do I stop my workbench rocking, racking or moving?
A bench that moves under a plane or a saw is failing in one of four distinct ways, and each has a different fix — a rocking leg, a racking frame, a bench too light for the work, and a top that is not attached properly.
intermediate1 hr5 min readHow do I store books so they do not go musty or warped?
What actually damages books in a house — humidity, sunlight, packing pressure and insects — and how to store both a working library and boxed books that have to survive a few years.
beginner45 min4 min readHow do I strop a blade, and what do I strop on?
What stropping actually removes, why you always pull and never push, and how a scrap of leather or a piece of MDF keeps an edge going for hours between sharpenings.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I use a marking gauge?
The tool that marks a line a set distance from an edge, every time, without measuring. Setting it, which way to tilt it, why a cutting gauge beats a pin gauge across the grain, and how to avoid the line following the grain instead of the fence.
intermediate20 min4 min readMy plywood or MDF has bowed — can I flatten it?
Why sheets bow in storage, which bows come back and which do not, and the storage that prevents it entirely.
beginner20 min5 min readThe bottom has dropped out of a drawer — how do I put it back properly?
Why thin drawer bases sag out of their grooves, refitting a base so it stays, and replacing one with material that will not do it again.
beginner45 min5 min readWhat do I do if flat-pack parts are missing or damaged?
How to establish what is genuinely missing before contacting anyone, which parts are standard sizes you can simply buy, and which ones mean stopping.
beginner30 min5 min readWhat is P5 flooring chipboard and where does it go?
The green tongue-and-groove board on every new-build floor: what the P-grades mean, why the moisture-resistant version matters, and the mistakes that ruin a floor deck.
beginner8 min4 min readWhat is a hammer fixing, and where should I not use one?
The nail-in plug that fixes battens and conduit in seconds — what it is genuinely good at, and the four situations where it is the wrong choice.
beginner15 min3 min readWhat is conti board, and what is it actually good for?
Melamine-faced chipboard — the pre-finished white board on every DIY shed's shelving aisle. Where it is a genuinely good buy, and the three jobs it will fail at.
beginner7 min4 min readWhat should I check when a timber or board delivery arrives?
The ten minutes at the kerb that decide whether a problem is the merchant's or yours, what to sign, and where to put it once the lorry has gone.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy are my tiles cloudy after grouting, and how do I get it off?
The thin cement film left behind after grouting, why it gets harder to remove by the day, and the sequence that takes it off without damaging the tile or the joints.
beginner45 min4 min readWhy do two tape measures give different readings?
Tapes are manufactured to a stated accuracy class and they are allowed to differ. What the class marking on the blade means, which parts of a tape wear, and why using one tape for a whole job matters more than owning an accurate one.
beginner10 min4 min readWhy does my wall have gaps in the mortar joints, and can I fill them?
The open vertical joints above windows, doors and at the base of a wall are drainage, not defects — what they do, and the three other gaps people confuse them with.
beginner8 min3 min readWhat should I do if a storm damages a solar panel array?
Solar arrays survive most UK storms, and the damage that does happen is a specialist's job because the array is live in daylight and cannot be switched off.
beginner45 min6 min readWhy is there a ridge where the new plaster meets the old?
The step at the edge of a patch is a thickness problem, not a filling problem — and it gets fixed by feathering out much further than feels necessary.
intermediate1 hr5 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.