Gearing up to perform a DIY miracle in your home? Don’t go it alone.
From video tutorials to step-by-step guides and top technique hacks to save you time and money, here’s where to find the best DIY advice.
1. DIY.com
DIY.com, from home improvement store B&Q, does exactly what it says on the tin.
DIY.com carries a wealth of information about products, tools, interior design and techniques for making your home look its best.
Check out the Ideas & Advice section for informative articles and how-to guides covering every room in your house.
Information is filtered by room and project type. As well as tips on how to get top DIY results, it offers trend advice and visual inspiration, too.
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2. Which?
As a not-for-profit consumer champion, Which? is an authoritative and trustworthy source of information for anyone planning on spending money on goods or services.
The same can be said for its digital home improvement section, which carries well researched articles and explainer guides on everything from budgeting to major DIY regrets.
Which? content is reliable because it uses extensive consumer surveys, providing hard data for many of the valid points it makes.
Plus, its explainer guides feature top insights from trusted traders.
3. Checkatrade
As well as being the place to read and leave reviews of tradespeople, Checkatrade is also a great source of information for DIY-ers.
The website has an advice section offering useful information about how to approach home renovations if you’re doing them yourself.
Crucially, it provides cost estimates for the work you’re planning. This can help you work out how much you’ll save by DIY-ing, and plan for tools and materials.
The blog also offers “How to” guides, ideas and inspiration as well as solid suggestions for how to make your home more environmentally friendly.
4. Homebuilding and Renovating
The digital and print magazine Homebuilding and Renovating answers the most pertinent questions about DIY-ing and home building.
It features writers and experts who have been on their own renovation journeys and can share tips from personal experience.
The website features a wealth of searchable content. So if it’s an explainer guide on sandpaper grit or DIY plastering, they’ve got you covered.
Plus, it has useful guides to help you calculate how many tiles or how much wallpaper you'll need to redecorate.
5. Wikihow
If you can Google how to DIY it, chances are Wikihow has the answer.
There’s lots of great tips and home renovation advice on this site. But, this comes with the caveat that many of these articles are written by volunteers, so the quality may vary.
The good news is the content is reviewed by other users, so if a “How to” guide gets a good star rating, chances are it’s been useful to others.
Wikihow’s DIY section features a huge range of articles, from how to fix a leaky sink trap to how to tile a shower niche.
6. Wickes
Home improvement retailer Wickes also offers a lot of great tips and information to DIY enthusiasts.
The website has an Ideas & Advice section structured as a series of guides covering everything from kitchen overhauls to painting and decorating.
It also has a gallery of projects completed by Wickes customers – which can be handy for both ideas and to see the impact of colour or design in real homes.
7. The Funny Carpenter
There are too many great YouTube channels to mention. But one of our favourites, because he’s both informative and amusing, is The Funny Carpenter.
His videos are relatable and instructional. Plus, you get the benefit of a laugh or two while learning exactly what it is you need to do.
The Funny Carpenter is best for fixing and repair work rather than major renovations. He’s full of handy hacks and tips for removing stains, cracks and making homes perfect again.
8. Decorators Forum UK
The Decorators Forum UK is a place for the pros to get together and share top tips. Luckily for us non-pros, there’s also some great content on there for amateurs.
From trends to technical stuff (like paintbrush filament technology), this site hones in on the detail to help you get the best possible finish on your interior.
Oh, and if you become so enamoured with DIY that you consider going professional, you can join the forum for all the latest industry updates and to connect with other pros.
9. Practical DIY
Practical DIY might not look like the snazziest most up-to-date website, but it is full of solid practical advice.
Structured by skill type (ie carpentry, plumbing, building, decorating and more), it delivers short, easy-to-follow how to guides.
It also offers free woodworking plans for children’s rooms, kitchens, garden planters and furniture.
10. Family Handyman
Family Handyman is a magazine from the US featuring great advice and tips for home renovators.
It is easy to navigate, fully searchable and you’ll end up reading a wealth of good content on the way to finding the answer to a burning question.
Who knew we needed to learn how to build a napkin holder out of leftover wood?
For UK-based readers some of the information will need converting from dollars into pounds. But there’s lots of advice that crosses the Atlantic without needing translation.