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Home improvement guides
Practical, reviewed advice for planning repairs and projects, choosing the right pro and knowing what to ask before you hire.
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494 guides
- Guide
Door Repair guide
Most doors that misbehave in a British house need adjusting rather than replacing. A timber front door that binds every autumn and frees up in spring, a uPVC back door whose multipoint lock will not throw unless you…
10 min read14 September 2026 - Guide
Garage Doors guide
A garage door is the largest moving part of most British homes and, on a semi-detached or terraced house with the garage at the front, a large share of what the street sees. The stock is mixed.
12 min read14 September 2026 - Guide
Garage Door Repair guide
Garage doors in Britain rarely fail gracefully. A spring on an up-and-over door snaps with a bang and the door becomes too heavy to lift; a roller door's curtain jams halfway and will not go either way; a sectional door…
10 min read14 September 2026 - Guide
Garage Door Openers guide
In British usage the motor that moves a garage door is usually called an operator or an automation kit rather than an opener, and fitting one is the point at which a garage door stops being a building product and…
11 min read14 September 2026 - Guide
Glass Repair guide
Glass repair in the sense people mean it is not repair at all. A cracked or shattered pane is taken out and a new one goes in; there is no filling a crack in architectural glass.
9 min read21 September 2026 - Guide
Shower Glass guide
A shower enclosure is an unusual piece of glazing. It is wet every day, it is warm, it is cleaned with chemicals, it is leaned on, and every square inch of it sits below the height at which the Building Regulations…
10 min read21 September 2026 - Guide
Mirrors guide
Hanging a mirror sounds like the least technical job in the house, and for a small frame over a fireplace it is.
8 min read21 September 2026 - Guide
Screens guide
Insect screens are ordinary in most of Europe and unusual in Britain, which is why fitting them here is more of a bespoke job than a product purchase.
8 min read21 September 2026 - Guide
Blinds & Shutters guide
Blinds and shutters are usually bought as decoration and fitted as one, which is why the most important thing about them is easy to miss: the cord is the regulated part.
9 min read21 September 2026 - Guide
Flooring Contractors guide
Flooring contractors supply and fit the finished floor and, just as importantly, prepare what is underneath it. British homes present two very different starting points.
9 min read14 September 2026 - Guide
Hardwood Flooring guide
Hardwood flooring in Britain means one of three jobs: laying new solid boards, laying engineered boards, or bringing an original timber floor back into use. The housing stock decides which is sensible.
13 min read14 September 2026 - Guide
Hardwood Refinishing guide
Refinishing takes a timber floor you already own back to bare wood and puts a new finish on it. It is the reason old floors in British houses outlive several generations of carpet: a board that is 18mm of solid oak or…
11 min read21 September 2026
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