Your house, figured out
Gablewren

Your house, figured out

Keep your home running right.

Plain-spoken home maintenance guides — what to fix first, what it should cost, and when to call a pro.

  1. 01 Banging, Knocking, and Humming Pipes: What Causes Them Water hammer, loose pipe clips, and expanding hot pipes each make a different sound — and need a different fix. Maintenance Calendar ·6 min
  2. 02 How to Regrout Tiles and Refresh a Tired Bathroom Cracked or stained grout lets water behind tiles. Replacing it is cheaper than retiling and makes a bathroom look new. Maintenance Calendar ·6 min
  3. 03 How to Unblock a Sink Without Harsh Chemicals Most slow sinks are a plug of hair, soap, or grease within a few inches of the plughole. Here is how to clear it in order of effort. Maintenance Calendar ·6 min
  4. 04 Low Water Pressure at Home: Causes and Fixes Is it one tap, one floor, or the whole house? Where the problem appears tells you where to look. Maintenance Calendar ·6 min
  5. 05 Carpet Damage: Repair, Patch, or Replace? Burns, stains, and loose seams can often be repaired. Worn, matted carpet across a whole room usually cannot. Repair or Replace ·5 min
  6. 06 Should You Repair or Replace Your Front Door? Sticking, draughty doors can often be adjusted. Rotten frames and failing locks may justify a new one. Repair or Replace ·6 min
  7. 07 How to Bleed a Radiator (and When It Will Not Help) Cold at the top, warm at the bottom? Trapped air is the usual culprit, and it takes ten minutes to let it out. Maintenance Calendar ·5 min
  8. 08 Getting Your Home Ready for Snow and Ice Snow loads, ice, and freezing pipes cause most winter damage. Prepare before the first cold snap. Water & Weather ·6 min
  9. 09 Energy Upgrades Ranked by Payback Not all efficiency upgrades are equal. Some pay for themselves in a year or two; others take decades. Buying & Renovating ·4 min
  10. 10 How to Clean a Tumble Dryer Vent and Filter Lint build-up makes dryers slow, expensive to run, and a fire risk. Cleaning takes minutes. Maintenance Calendar ·5 min
  11. 11 Flood-Proofing Your Home: Practical Measures From flood doors to raised sockets, how to reduce damage if water gets in. Water & Weather ·7 min
  12. 12 Condensation on Windows: What It Tells You About Your Home Wet windows on a cold morning are a humidity problem, not a window problem — unless the moisture is between the panes. Water & Weather ·5 min
  13. 13 Garage Conversions: What to Know Before You Start Converting a garage adds living space for less than an extension — but insulation, damp, and permissions matter. Buying & Renovating ·7 min
  14. 14 The Seasonal Home Maintenance Checklist That Actually Gets Done Forty jobs a year sounds overwhelming. Grouped by season, it is about one weekend afternoon every three months. Maintenance Calendar ·7 min
  15. 15 Why Your Toilet Keeps Running and How to Fix It A running toilet can waste hundreds of litres a day. The cause is almost always a worn flapper, a mis-set float, or a tired fill valve. Maintenance Calendar ·6 min
  16. 16 Buying a Fixer-Upper: Risks and Rewards A run-down home can be a bargain — or a money pit. Here is how to tell the difference. Buying & Renovating ·7 min
  17. 17 Broken Oven: Repair or Replace? Elements, thermostats, and door seals are usually cheap to fix. Control boards and rusted cavities are a different story. Repair or Replace ·6 min
  18. 18 Home Air Conditioning Maintenance Clean filters, clear outdoor units, and annual servicing keep AC efficient. Maintenance Calendar ·5 min
  19. 19 Buying an Older Home: The Expensive Things Inspectors Find Character and solid construction come with risks. Know the big-ticket systems to check before you commit. Buying & Renovating ·7 min
  20. 20 How to Hire a Contractor Without Getting Burned Most renovation horror stories start with skipping one of a handful of checks. Here they are. Buying & Renovating ·4 min
  21. 21 Choosing Kitchen Worktops: Materials Compared Laminate, wood, quartz, granite, and stainless steel each suit different budgets and kitchens. Buying & Renovating ·6 min
  22. 22 Fridge Not Cooling? Repair or Replace It Before you buy a new fridge, check the cheap causes. Then weigh the age of the appliance against the cost of the repair. Repair or Replace ·5 min
  23. 23 Washing Machine Broken? Repair or Replace Age, the part that failed, and the machine’s original price matter more than the size of the repair quote alone. Repair or Replace ·7 min
  24. 24 Water Heater Trouble: Repair It or Replace It? Age, the type of failure, and what a repair costs relative to a new unit are the three things that decide it. Repair or Replace ·6 min
  25. 25 The Right Order of Work for a Kitchen Renovation Doing kitchen jobs in the wrong order means tearing out finished work. This is the sequence most contractors follow. Buying & Renovating ·4 min
  26. 26 How to Read a Home Inspection Report Without Panicking Every report lists dozens of issues. The skill is separating deal-breakers from routine maintenance. Buying & Renovating ·6 min
  27. 27 Fence Repair or Replacement: How to Decide A leaning fence often only needs new posts. Rotten panels throughout usually mean it is time for a new one. Repair or Replace ·6 min
  28. 28 Why Home Insurance Denies Water-Damage Claims — and How to Avoid It Sudden and accidental versus gradual and neglected: the distinction that decides most water claims. Water & Weather ·7 min
  29. 29 Sump Pumps: Do You Need One, and How to Keep It Working In a home with a wet basement, the sump pump is the most important appliance you never think about. Until it fails in a storm. Water & Weather ·4 min
  30. 30 Dripping Tap: Replace the Washer, the Cartridge, or the Whole Tap? A tap that drips once a second wastes thousands of litres a year. The fix is usually a cheap part. Repair or Replace ·6 min
  31. 31 Should You Repair or Replace an Old Boiler? An old boiler that still works is not automatically a problem. Here is how to weigh breakdowns, efficiency, and parts availability. Repair or Replace ·7 min
  32. 32 How Often Should You Really Change Your Furnace Filter? The answer on the packaging is a starting point. Pets, filter thickness, and how much the system runs change it a lot. Maintenance Calendar ·5 min
  33. 33 Preventing Frozen Pipes, and What to Do If One Freezes A burst pipe can release a huge amount of water in a short time. A few habits during cold snaps prevent most of them. Water & Weather ·4 min
  34. 34 Preparing Your Home and Garden for High Winds Most storm damage comes from loose objects, weak roof tiles, and falling branches. A pre-storm check reduces the risk. Water & Weather ·6 min
  35. 35 Damp Patch on the Wall? Condensation, Rising Damp, or a Leak Each cause leaves a different pattern. Getting the diagnosis right saves money on the wrong fix. Water & Weather ·7 min
  36. 36 What to Check After a Storm Passes Storm damage is easiest to claim for and cheapest to fix when you find it early. Use this walk-round once it is safe. Water & Weather ·5 min
  37. 37 How to Spot a Roof Leak Before It Stains the Ceiling By the time a brown ring appears on the ceiling, water has usually been getting in for weeks. These earlier signs show up first. Water & Weather ·4 min
  38. 38 Why Bedrooms Get Mould and How to Stop It Breathing overnight releases moisture into cool rooms. Ventilation and steady warmth are the cure. Water & Weather ·6 min
  39. 39 Ice Dams: Why They Form and How to Prevent Them Those icicles along the eaves can push meltwater back under the roof. The real fix is in the attic. Water & Weather ·5 min
  40. 40 Roof Repair vs. Full Replacement: How Roofers Decide A few missing shingles is a repair. Widespread curling, granule loss, and soft decking is a replacement. Most roofs sit somewhere in between. Repair or Replace ·7 min
  41. 41 How to Keep Your Home Cool in a Heatwave Block the sun, time your ventilation, and reduce heat you make indoors. Cheap steps beat a portable air conditioner more often than you might think. Water & Weather ·6 min
  42. 42 Dishwasher Not Draining? Five Checks Before You Call a Technician Standing water in the bottom of a dishwasher usually has a cheap cause you can fix yourself in under an hour. Repair or Replace ·4 min
  43. 43 Buying a House With a Septic Tank or Private Drainage Off-mains drainage is common in rural homes. Check its condition and compliance before you buy. Buying & Renovating ·7 min
  44. 44 Adding an Extra Bathroom: What It Involves and What It Costs A second bathroom is one of the most requested upgrades. Where you put it decides most of the cost. Buying & Renovating ·6 min
  45. 45 Damp Basement? Find the Cause Before You Buy a Fix Condensation, seepage, and rising groundwater look similar but need completely different solutions. Water & Weather ·6 min
  46. 46 Loft Conversions: What to Check Before You Start Head height, stairs, and structure decide whether a loft conversion is straightforward, expensive, or impossible. Buying & Renovating ·8 min
  47. 47 Furnace, Boiler, or Heat Pump: When Replacement Makes More Sense Than Repair Heating systems rarely fail all at once. The trick is spotting the point where repairs stop being good value. Repair or Replace ·4 min
  48. 48 Signs Your Home’s Electrics Need Upgrading Old wiring and consumer units rarely fail dramatically. They give small warnings first — here is what to watch for. Repair or Replace ·6 min
  49. 49 Knocking Through to Open Plan: What to Check First Removing an internal wall can transform a home, but load-bearing walls need proper structural design. Buying & Renovating ·7 min
  50. 50 Gutter Cleaning: How to Do It Safely, and When to Pay Someone Ladder falls send hundreds of thousands of people to hospital every year. Here is how to clean gutters without becoming one of them. Maintenance Calendar ·6 min
  51. 51 Buying a Flat? Questions to Ask Before You Commit Service charges, the lease, and the building’s condition can matter as much as the flat itself. Buying & Renovating ·8 min
  52. 52 How to Re-Caulk a Tub or Shower So It Lasts A tired bead of sealant lets water behind tiles and into the subfloor. Re-caulking takes an afternoon and most of it is preparation. Maintenance Calendar ·4 min
  53. 53 New-Build Snagging: What to Check Before You Sign Off A brand-new home is not a defect-free home. A proper snag list gets problems fixed while the builder is still responsible. Buying & Renovating ·6 min
  54. 54 How to Winterise Outdoor Taps and Hoses A frozen outside tap can split and flood a wall. Isolating and draining it takes five minutes. Water & Weather ·4 min
  55. 55 How to Clean, Repair, and Protect a Timber Deck Annual cleaning and recoating keep a deck safe and stop small rot spots spreading. Maintenance Calendar ·6 min
  56. 56 Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms: Where They Go and When to Replace Them An alarm on the wrong wall, or one that is twelve years old, gives a false sense of safety. Here is how to get coverage right. Maintenance Calendar ·4 min
  57. 57 Do You Really Need New Windows? Signs, Costs, and Cheaper Fixes Replacement windows are one of the most heavily marketed home upgrades. Often, repair and weatherproofing deliver most of the benefit for far less. Repair or Replace ·6 min
  58. 58 Bathroom Extractor Fans: Why They Matter and How to Check Yours A weak or noisy fan is a common cause of mould. Here is how to test, clean, and choose a replacement. Water & Weather ·5 min
  59. 59 How to Storm-Proof Your Home in an Afternoon Most storm damage comes from a handful of predictable weak points. Here is what to check before the weather turns. Water & Weather ·5 min
  60. 60 Garage Door Maintenance: The 20-Minute Yearly Service A garage door is the largest moving object in most homes. A little attention keeps it quiet, balanced, and safe. Maintenance Calendar ·5 min
  61. 61 Why Renovations Go Over Budget (and the Contingency You Need) Hidden conditions, mid-project changes, and unrealistic quotes are the usual culprits. Planning for them keeps a project on track. Buying & Renovating ·6 min
  62. 62 How to Compare Builders’ Quotes Fairly The cheapest quote is not always the cheapest job. Make sure you are comparing like with like. Buying & Renovating ·6 min

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