All the DIY know-how is here on the Web, if you know where to look!
To that end, we've carefully hand-compiled a
list of over 600 of the best DIY pages
we could find, helping you to do everything from
replacing a broken window to fixing a dripping faucet (tap).
We've done our absolute best to make this website helpful:
- Everything is on one, simple Web page where it's really easy to find.
- We've marked with a star (
) the pages we think are most useful.
- The links are completely checked and overhauled roughly every six months.
- We've included quite a few different guides to most topics so you can compare the advice and choose
the approach you like best.
Please be sure to read our disclaimer.
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Update status
Last updated: 23 May 2010.
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Contents: 600 links to the best DIY websites
- Introduction
- Safety advice:before you start
- Tools
- Favorite DIY sites
- Planning projects and getting ideas
- Painting
- Wallpapering
- Tiles and tiling
- Woodworking
- Electrical
- Walls and ceilings
- Doors, windows, and security
- Floors, rugs, carpets, and stairs
- Plumbing, heating, and drains
- Curtains, drapes, blinds, and upholstery
- Roofing and gutters
- Outside: paths, walls, patios, gardens, and garages
Introduction
Are you happy with your home? Are there things you'd like to improve? Maybe you're put off by the daunting cost of home improvements, which can run into many thousands of pounds. Fear not, do-it-yourself could be the answer. Why have expensive tradesmen tramping through your home causing havoc when you can cause the havoc yourself? Seriously, if you're patient, organized, and methodical there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't do an awful lot of home improvement yourself—and save a huge amount of money. Of course, there are some specialized jobs where you'd be an absolute fool not to use a professional. Plumbing and electrical work often fall into this category. But if all you want to do is paint the walls, hang new wallpaper, fix up some shelves, or build a garden path, why not try to do it yourself first?
This handy web page is designed to be a simple, comprehensive guide to the vast amounts of do-it-yourself information you can now find online. It hasn't been thrown together by a machine: we've carefully hand compiled this guide over a period of two years, adding only sites we consider useful and valuable. At a time when the Web is becoming increasingly choked with useless guff, dotted all over the place, we think you'll appreciate having all the best bits collected onto one easy page where you can quickly find them.
Ten tips for newbies
Go straight to the links section if you want to but, if you're a complete beginner, you may prefer to check out our top-ten DIY tips first:
- Start simple: If you've never tackled a DIY project before, start with something easy to build your confidence. Try putting up some shelves, building a small outdoor path, or painting one small room. Once you get the easy job right, gradually build up to more difficult jobs. Start with something hard and bodge it up and you'll not only have a mess to put right, you'll also lose your confidence to do anything more.
- "Give me the tools and I'll do the job": Make sure you use the right tool for the job. Nothing's more likely to bodge a job than using the wrong tool. If you can't afford tools, how about hiring them or borrowing from a friend or neighbor? Have you looked on eBay for tools someone else no longer wants?
- Be safe: You can do a lot of damage with DIY, so be sure to review all the safety instructions and warnings on products and tools you use before you start.
- How-to projects save you time: Once you're a confident DIYer, you'll be able to come up with your own ideas very easily. In the meantime, there are literally hundreds of how-to pages on the Web that give you precise, step-by-step instructions. Start with these idiot-proof guides before setting out on your own.
- Take it slowly: There's always a temptation to rush to complete a job in a day or a weekend, especially if you're depending on something like the light or the weather. But don't rush: take your time. It takes twice as long to sort out a hurried, bodged job that's gone wrong as it does to do something slowly and properly in the first place.
- Know your limits: Don't take on something you can't manage, especially if it causes a major change to the appearance of your home. Remember that your home is the most expensive investment you will ever make. Nothing torpedoes the value of a house more quickly than bad DIY.
- Shop around: You know your saving pots of money with DIY so the temptation is just to buy the first raw materials you see. Don't! Check prices of tools, timber, and other raw materials in two or three places. It doesn't take more than a few minutes. Don't forget to look on eBay, in junk shops, and so on.
- Be green: Why not try to reuse and recycle materials when you can? Reclaimed timber is very fashionable for flooring, but even the waste products of DIY have their uses: don't forget to recycle unwanted wallpaper offcuts... and throw your sawdust in the compost bin!
- Don't be afraid to ask for help: Taking risks is a major cause of accidents. Why risk lifting something if you doubt you can do it? How long does it take to ask a friend to help you? Similarly, if you're not sure what you're doing is right, why not ask a friend for a second opinion.
- Don't be afraid to bail out: If it's all starting to go pear-shaped, stop, cut your losses, and call in a professional. If you're in a hole, know when to stop digging.
Links for more information
Safety advice: before you start
Tools
General links
- Choosing tools:
A great set of articles about choosing different tools, including saws,
drills, hammers, ladders, sandpaper, spanners... and more.
- OnlineToolReviews.com:
"Dedicated, professional reviews of popular woodworking and DIY tools
and devices for the home handyman".
- Tips and techniques: Scroll down to find lots of tips about DIY tools from DIY expert Ron Hazleton, including simple tools you can make yourself.
- DIY tool guide:
Impartial advice from the BBC.
- Painting
101: Tips for buying paintbrushes and other painting tools, from
DIY network.
- Ultimate Handyman: Power tool buying guide: Includes guides to drills, cordless drills, power saws, grinders, sanders, rotozips, routers.
- DIYnot.com: Buying and hiring: Looks at the pros and cons of buying and hiring and things to watch out for, including basic safety points.
- DIY power tools: A basic overview of the main DIY tools. Quite a good intro if you're a beginner and you're not sure what tools you need to start off with.
- The Saw Review: Real user reviews of woodworking tools and power saws, so you can get real world information before you buy. Table Saws, Band Saws, Circular Saws and many more, all reviewed by people who actually use the woodworking tools.
Tool buying guides from Homebase UK
The UK Homebase store has some clear and simple tool-buying guides:
Favorite DIY sites
These are some of the web's most comprehensive DIY sites. All of them are well worth a look.
Planning projects and getting ideas
There's a much-extended list of design links on our
Complete Guide to Home Design site.
Painting
Preparing to paint
Paint calculators
Painting factsheets from Focus DIY
Simple, illustrated leaflets from the UK's Focus group introduce you to basic painting techniques.
Other useful painting sites
- The UK Homebase store has some great painting project guides in easy-to-print, illustrated PDF format:
- How to use a paint roller: A very basic seven-step introduction from ehow.com
Wallpapering
General wallpapering
Stripping wallpaper
Choosing new wallpaper
Tiles and tiling
Woodworking
There's a much bigger and better list of woodworking links on our
Complete Guide to Woodworking site.
Guides to different types of wood
Miscellaneous woodworking sites
- Preparing woodwork: tips from Homebase UK
- DIY
Woodworking: Offers instructions and videos on basic wood working
techniques, child wood working projects, tutorials, and more.
- WoodNet.net: The
woodworker's online resource: Woodworking Tips, Techniques, Tool
Reviews, Plans and Supplies for Woodworkers..
- Newwoodworker.com:
Articles, tips, plans, tool reviews, and more.
- About.com
Woodworking: Lots of woodworking projects and links.
- Open
Directory Project: Woodworking: Human-compiled catalog of links.
- Woodzone.com:
Tools, plans, book reviews, kits, and more.
- Woodworking
tips: Zillions of tips and links from Wannalearn.com.
- DIY fixit: There are lots of woodworking and carpentry how-tos in the building repair section of this useful site.
- Free woodworking plans for kitchens: Links to a variety of project websites.
Using varnish and stains
Putting up shelves and shelving
Bookcases and cabinets
More woodworking projects and guides
Woodworking tool tips from eHow.com
More tool tips from diyfixit.co.uk
Making stands for loudspeakers
Electrical
There's a much-extended list of electrical links on our
Complete Guide to Home Electrics site.
Electrical work can be highly dangerous!
We strongly recommend you get all your home electrical work done by a qualified electrician.
You can find qualified electrians in the UK through NICEIC.
In some countries, states, or other jurisdictions, it is illegal for unqualified people to carry out some or all aspects of home electrical work. For example, in the UK, from 1st January 2005, all new electrical work in a dwelling (a house, flat or small commercial premise linked to domestic accommodation) must be designed and installed to account for the new Part P of the Building Regulations.
(Broadly speaking, that means only certified persons can carry out electrical work or the work must be certified when it's finished.) Lots of websites tell you more about this, including
this page from DIY Doctor.
The UK Planning Portal also gives the full text of Part P of the Building Reglations.
General electrical
Homebase electrical project guides
The UK Homebase store has some very clear, illustrated electrical guides:
DIY Doctor projects
DIY Doctor offers an alternative set of simple, clear, illustrated, electrical guides:
Other home electrical
- DIY home
electrics: Hints and tips on DIY electrics ideas including
installing an electric shower, rewiring a house, fixing a plug and more.
- Electrical tips: A variety of useful tips from Allabouthome.com, including
cords and plugs, doorbells, lamps and light fixtures, receptacles, saving electricity,
wall switches, your electrical system, fuses, electrical safety precautions,
diagnosing electrical problems, and troubleshooting electrical problems.
- How to wire a plug: A simple illustrated guide from London Fire.
- Changing
a fuse: But fix whatever the problem is first.
- Changing
a fuse on the fusebox: How to change a fuse on the consumer unit,
including wire fuses and cartridge fuses, ensuring that the correct
size fuse wire is used to replace it.
Walls and ceilings
General
Fixing and fastening things to walls
Plasterboard and partitions
Plaster
Ceilings
- Ceilings: Lots
of great tips and projects from Tim at AskTheBuilder.com.
- Installing mouldings: tips from Homebase UK
- Ceilings information: A variety of tips from Do It Yourself.com, including what to do about cracks and leaks, how to decorate, how to install suspended ceilings, and much more.
Coving
Skirting
Fixing mirrors to the wall
Soundproofing
Doors, windows, and security
Doors—general
Windows: general
- DIY
Network: Windows: Quite a lot of articles and project information about windows.
- Doors and windows: Step-by-step guide from DIY guide Ron Hazleton.
- Ask the Builder: Windows: There are lots of window-related articles from Tim Carter's wonderful site, covering such topics as how to repair sash windows, how to install window boxes, and even how to add a stained glass effect to ordinary windows.
Double glazing
Repairing windows
Insulation and draught-proofing
Fitting locks
Other good sites about home security
Floors, rugs, carpets, and stairs
General flooring tips, advice, and ideas
Floor-fitting tools
Choosing your new floor
Environmentally friendly recycled floors
General information
Suppliers
- Aged Woods: Reclaimed, remilled antique flooring.
- Eco Friendly Flooring: Offers recycled metal tiles, bamboo, cork, recycled glass tiles, linoleum, stones, reclaimed & sustainable woods.
- Eco Surfaces: Floors made from 100% post consumer recycled rubber.
- Eco Timber Flooring: "a beautiful
selection of hardwood flooring from FSC-certified well-managed
forests, fast-growing Bamboo flooring, and hand-scraped flooring."
- Recycled rubber floors: Safe, clean, and green floors made from recycled and reprocessed rubber tires.
Recycled rugs
- Recycled potholder rug: Rugs made from old jumpers.
- Recycled rugs: "Most of the supplies we use for our rugs are byproducts of other industries, where they are considered "scrap."
Fitting your own carpet
Laying stair carpets
Repairing and cleaning your carpet
Repairing your carpet
Cleaning your carpet
Getting stains out of your carpet
- 3M carpet stain removal guide: The makers of Scotchgard(TM) offer tips for removing most common stains.
- Stainmaster's carpet stain removal guide: This page looks at the stains you're likely to pick up at different times of year—and what you can do about them.
- Removing carpet stains: Home recipes for removing
stains of coffee, juices, wine, ink, tea stains, chocolate, glue, ice cream, latex paints, candle wax, vomit, urine and feces (human or animal).
- Wear-Dated: All about the stains you can remove—and a handy list of stains you probably can't.
- Area Rug Cleaning Tips: a few quick tips from Ask the Builder.
Cork, vinyl, and ceramic tile floors
General introductions
Tiles
Cleaning tiles
Slate, stone, ceramic, and porcelain floors
Stone
Slate
Terrazzo floors
Wooden and laminate floors
Laminate floors
Parquet floors
- Installing a parquet floor: A simple, illustrated guide on fitting your own rectangular parquet floor layout.
- Parquet flooring: How to remove a carpet and replace it with parquet flooring.
- The perfections of a parquet floor: The benefits of parquet explained by doityourself.com. This is a general introductory article, not a how-to guide.
- Parquet flooring: Another general introduction, this time from the Wood Floor Doctor, discussing the parquet patterns you can use.
- Refinishing parquet flooring: Is your floor looking a bit scuffed? Here are some tips for refinishing it and bringing it back to life.
Other wooden floors
Building staircases
Careers
Has your career hit the floor? Maybe it should! If you're interested in a career in carpet fitting or floor laying, take a look at these pages...
Carpet fitters
Floor layers
Plumbing, heating, and drains
Please note: In some countries, states, or regions, certain aspects of DIY
work (such as plumbing work) may be prohibited by law.
It is your responsibility to check that what you want to do is lawful
in your area.
There's a much-extended list of plumbing links on our
Complete Guide to Plumbing site.
General plumbing problems
Project worksheets from Homebase UK
As usual, the UK Homebase store has a very good selection of how-to guides. Most of these short pages link to fully illustrated, easy-to-print PDF files.
Plumbing emergencies
Fixing dripping faucets/taps
Plumbing repairs
Drains and drainage
Curtains, drapes, blinds, and upholstery
There's a much-extended list of home design links on our
Complete Guide to Home Design site.
Making curtains
Making blinds
Making a shower curtain
Sun shades, conservatory blinds, and heat-reflecting curtains
Cleaning and repairing upholstery
Other soft furnishings
Roofing and gutters
General DIY roofing guides
Roof repairs
Fixing roof tiles
Repairing and cleaning gutters
Outside: paths, walls, patios, gardens, and garages
There's a much-extended list of gardening and outdoor DIY links on our
Complete Guide to Gardening site.
General
Slabs and foundations
- How
to Lay Flags and Slabs: Tips from the Paving Experts!
- Home Handyman's Step-by-Step Guide To Laying Concrete: A simple, easy-to-follow guide from ReadyMix(TM). Explains all about stakes, forms, using a concrete truck, placing, screeding, floating, and finishing your concrete.
- Concrete projects:
Lots of step-by-step project guides from Quikrete.
- How To Build a
Foundation for Gazebos and Sheds by Cedarshed: A step-by-step guide
- Repairing
a Cracked Concrete Slab: Advice from Ask the Builder.
- Clearance Paving: How-to Guides: Some useful guides here, including how to choose the right paving, how to choose a contractor, installing
flag paving, how to maintain your paving, and quite a lot more.
Patios and decking
Measuring and mixing concrete
Building garden steps
Making a garden pond
Garages and garage doors
Making a fence
Making a gate
Brick walls and outdoor bricklaying
Making a garden path
Making a garden shed
Making garden furniture
Building a pergola
Making bird boxes and bird tables
Acknowledgements
Our drill photo is courtesy of Amazon.com.
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