Household Tips
StainsCleaningLaundryKitchenDampDIYPestsOrganisingGas work requires Gas Safe registration by law. Most electrical work in a home is notifiable. Everything else is fair game, and most of it is easier than it looks.
Some household repairs are five minutes and a screwdriver. Others are illegal to do yourself, and the line between them is not always where people assume. This section is about the first group, and about knowing precisely where the second group starts.
What it covers
Every tip in diy
Cold at the top and warm at the bottom means air, and bleeding it takes two minutes. Cold at the bottom and warm at the top means sludge, which is a different and bigger job.
Light a stick of incense or a candle and move it slowly around the frame on a windy day. The smoke shows air movement long before your hand can feel it.
A traditional tap needs a new washer, which costs pence. A modern lever mixer needs a new ceramic cartridge. Turn the water off first and put the plug in the sink.
Overfill slightly, let it dry completely, then sand flat. The visible repairs are the ones that were sanded while still soft or painted before they were dry.
Use a detector that finds both timber and live wires, and assume there is a cable running vertically above and below every socket and switch and horizontally across from it.
Anything involving gas requires Gas Safe registration by law. Most electrical work in kitchens, bathrooms and outdoors is notifiable under Part P. Structural alterations need building control.
A squeak is the hinge and takes thirty seconds with oil. Sticking is usually loose hinge screws, and tightening or replacing them fixes it more often than planing does.
Gas work requires Gas Safe registration by law and most electrical work is notifiable. Where a tip says to call somebody, that is the advice. Full disclaimer.