What is screed, and how is it different from concrete?
A levelling layer, not a structural one — what screed is made of, the three types you will meet in a house, and why laying it like concrete makes it fail.
beginner10 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
What is the difference between a dovetail and a stapled drawer box?
The one thing you can check in a showroom that tells you more about a kitchen's quality than the door finish — and what it means for repairs later.
beginner8 min3 min readWhich castors do I need, and how do I fit them?
Load rating, wheel material and fixing type — the three choices that decide whether something rolls easily or ruins the floor, and where a glide is the better answer.
beginner30 min3 min readScrim tape or paper tape — which should I use on a joint?
Self-adhesive mesh and bedded paper tape behave differently in a joint, and each has places it is clearly the right choice — including the corners, where neither is enough on its own.
beginner15 min4 min readCan I sharpen a hand saw, or should I just replace it?
How to tell a hardpoint saw from a sharpenable one in three seconds, what sharpening a traditional saw actually involves, and the storage that stops a good saw going blunt in a shed.
intermediate45 min4 min readHow do I fit a piano hinge?
A continuous hinge spreads load along a whole edge, which is exactly what a long lid or a thin panel needs — how to cut it to length, set it out and screw it without a wandering line.
intermediate45 min3 min readHow do I hang pictures from a picture rail?
Choosing hooks, cords and chains for the weight, hanging straight and level with no holes at all, and checking a rail is still fixed to something before trusting it.
beginner30 min5 min readHow do I repair a broken dowel joint in furniture?
Getting a sheared dowel out without wrecking the hole, when to re-dowel and when to move to a screw or a bracket, and why a snapped dowel is usually a symptom.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readHow do I skew nail two pieces of timber together?
Angled nails that cross the joint line and lock a piece that cannot be nailed through — the geometry, the pairing, and how to stop the piece skating away.
intermediate15 min3 min readWhat is a movement joint in brickwork, and does my wall need one?
Why long runs of brickwork crack if nothing lets them move, what a movement joint actually is, and why filling one with mortar defeats the whole point.
intermediate10 min3 min readWhat is sulphate attack, and what does it do to a chimney or render?
A slow chemical reaction between sulphates in brick or soil and cement mortar that makes the mortar expand — and why the classic symptom is a chimney leaning towards the south.
intermediate12 min3 min readWhich catch should I use to keep a cupboard door shut?
Magnetic, roller, ball, push-to-open and bales — how each holds, how much adjustment each gives you, and which suits a door that has warped.
beginner12 min3 min readWhich hinge do I need for a box lid or a drop-down flap?
Lids and flaps load a hinge differently from a door — the six types worth knowing, and why the stay matters as much as the hinge.
beginner12 min3 min readWhy is my oak going black around the screws?
The tannin and iron reaction that blackens oak, cedar and chestnut round every steel fixing, how to stop it happening again, and the chemistry that removes the stain.
beginner20 min4 min readHow do I fix veneer that is lifting or bubbling on furniture?
Reactivating old glue with heat, injecting adhesive under a bubble, and patching a piece that has gone missing — plus which veneer is not worth saving.
intermediate1 hr5 min readIs quarter-sawn timber worth paying more for?
How a log is converted decides how the boards behave, what each cut looks like, and the specific jobs where the extra cost of quarter-sawn is genuinely repaid.
intermediate9 min4 min readWhy has my new timber gone blue-grey with stains?
Telling sapstain from surface mould from actual decay, which of the three you can ignore, and what to do about the two you cannot.
beginner10 min4 min readWhat is hardboard for, and what is tempered hardboard?
The cheapest board in the merchant, the jobs it is genuinely the best answer for, and what the oil-tempered version does differently.
beginner7 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.