Can I put a shelf above a radiator?
The clearance a radiator needs, what the rising heat does to what you put on the shelf, and the one case where a shelf above a radiator is actively useful.
beginner20 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
Can I repair a chipboard edge that has blown out or swollen?
Telling mechanical damage from water swelling, rebuilding a broken corner or edge with epoxy or a timber patch, and when the panel is finished.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readCan I use pressure-treated timber indoors?
Where treated timber genuinely belongs inside a house, where it is simply wasted money, and the two situations where it is a bad idea.
beginner7 min3 min readDo plastic shed base grids actually work?
What an interlocking plastic grid base does and does not replace, the ground preparation it still needs, and the sheds it suits.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I fix a chipped or badly rounded chisel edge?
How far back to grind, why the whole chip has to go rather than most of it, and the three ways to re-establish a bevel without a grinder.
intermediate40 min4 min readHow do I fix a headboard to the wall instead of the bed?
Setting the height against the mattress, the two mounting systems that work, and fixing into a wall that has to take being leaned on every night.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I flatten a sharpening stone, and how often?
A hollow stone cannot produce a flat bevel or a flat back, and every stone hollows. How to check, three ways to flatten, and how often each type needs it.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I make and use a water level?
A clear tube and some water transfers a level datum over any distance, round corners and out of sight, for the price of a coffee. How to fill it without trapping air, how to use it single-handed, and the three things that make it lie.
beginner30 min5 min readHow do I mark out a circle or an arc bigger than my compasses?
Three methods for a curve too big for compasses — a trammel for a known radius, a pegged line for rough outdoor setting out, and a sprung batten for a fair curve with no radius at all — and how to pick between them.
beginner20 min5 min readHow do I organise storage for someone who cannot reach or lift much?
Rebuilding storage around a reachable band, cutting the weight of what has to be lifted, and the changes that keep someone independent in their own kitchen.
beginner1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I replace a doorbell transformer?
The three ways a UK doorbell transformer is supplied, which of them is owner-level, how to specify the right replacement, and when a plug-in or wireless answer is the better decision.
intermediate30 min4 min readHow do I sand end grain so it does not go dark and blotchy?
End grain drinks finish because it is a bundle of open tubes. Sand it finer than the rest, and seal it before the finish goes anywhere near it.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I stop rain blowing into a porch or open doorway?
Rain in a porch is wind-driven, so the answer is to break the wind or to extend the shelter, not to seal the door. There are four fixes and they suit different porches.
intermediate3 hr6 min readIs MDF safe to have in the house?
Separating the genuine dust hazard from the formaldehyde question, what the E1 class means, and the practical steps that settle it either way.
beginner8 min4 min readIs my old bag of cement still usable, and how should I store cement?
The squeeze test that tells you in five seconds whether a bag is still worth using, why cement goes off in a sealed bag, and how to store what is left over.
beginner5 min3 min readTile trim or a mitred edge — which should I use on an external corner?
What each option demands in tools and accuracy, where each looks right, and the third option people forget.
intermediate20 min4 min readWhat are tee nuts and cross dowels, and which way round do they go?
The two fittings that put a nut inside a piece of timber — how each carries load, and the orientation error that makes a tee nut pull straight out.
beginner12 min3 min readWhat do the F and S ratings on a brick mean?
Two ratings that decide whether a brick survives a UK winter and whether it damages the mortar around it — and the positions where only the top rating will do.
beginner8 min3 min readWhat do the numbers stamped on a bolt head mean?
8.8, 10.9, A2-70 — the two marking systems, what strength they describe, and why a stainless bolt is not automatically an upgrade.
intermediate10 min3 min readWhat do the stamps and markings on timber and sheet materials mean?
Decoding the strength grade, the drying state, the treatment class, the board type code and the certification marks — and which of them actually change what you can do with the piece.
beginner9 min4 min readWhat is a bench hook, and how do I make one?
The simplest and most useful workshop appliance there is: a board with two battens that hooks over the bench and holds work against the saw. How to make one in twenty minutes, and the shooting board that is its close relation.
beginner30 min4 min readWhat is a security screw, and how do I undo one without the right bit?
The common tamper-resistant drives, how to identify what you are looking at, and the methods that work when you do not have the matching bit.
intermediate25 min3 min readWhat is a surge protection device and do I need one?
What an SPD in a consumer unit actually protects against, how it differs from a plug-in surge strip, and the households where it genuinely earns its cost.
beginner12 min3 min readWhat is butyl sealant or non-setting mastic used for?
A sealant that deliberately never cures — why that is exactly what a bedded lap joint needs, and why it is the wrong thing to run as a visible bead.
intermediate12 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.