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Loft insulation: how much can you save on heating bills?
On a January morning, while the house is still quiet, the radiator may already have been running for an hour…
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House builder ignores all construction regulations – building authority has half of the house demolished.
A loft conversion, garden room or modest extension can turn into an expensive problem when the work on site…
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A Pennine tunnel plan could reshape the Manchester–Sheffield route — but major questions remain
Queues through Mottram and Hollingworth are a familiar problem for people travelling between Greater…
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He stacked three stere of logs against the outside wall one Saturday in October: two winters later, a damp surveyor pointed to the pile.
A stack of firewood beside the back door is convenient when it is raining and you want to refill the…
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Masons agree: mixing cement with white glue is the best trick for achieving a perfect finish.
A crumbly corner, a hairline crack or a patch that will not stay put can make an otherwise good DIY…
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Wichita bike-ped bridge is a monument to government waste.
A bridge for walking and cycling should solve an everyday problem: getting safely over a road, railway or…
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She saved for 9 years to acquire land and built a house made entirely of recycled plastic: the story of Cindy Mora.
Saving for a plot can take years, but buying the land is often only the beginning. The cost of foundations…
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Why window fitters clear uPVC window drainage slots before autumn — and what can cause apparent frame swelling
A window can look clean while holding water in a place most people never inspect: the drainage channel along…
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Unauthorised Building Work: How to Put a Site Right and Evidence Every Step
An outbuilding, hardstanding, container or extension can become an expensive problem if it has been installed…
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A 712-foot concrete box weighing 81,000 tons was lowered onto the Baltic seabed by a vessel clamped to both of its ends, stretching an 11-mile undersea crossing to Germany to its first 2,950 feet, and 85 more boxes still have to follow it down.
It is easy to assume that every major undersea tunnel begins with a giant boring machine cutting through rock.
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Why do painters use a bucket and roller grid instead of a paint tray?
A paint tray is cheap, familiar and perfectly suitable for many small decorating jobs. But for a ceiling, a…
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A new road is already stretching through the fields of Poland. Lithuanians should know where it will lead.
A broad strip of fresh tarmac south of Wrocław can look like a finished road from a passing car, but…
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I had wooden cladding installed on my façade just for the aesthetic: by the third winter, I lifted a plank and saw what had formed behind it.
Timber cladding can transform a plain extension or tired rendered wall, adding warmth and texture without…
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Solar foil less than 1 mm thick turns curved surfaces into solar panels
Rigid, glass-fronted solar panels work well on many homes and commercial roofs, but they are not the answer…
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Without construction experience: Couple builds DIY tiny house via YouTube tutorial for 79,000 euros and lives on a farm with it.
Moving into a tiny house can sound like a simpler, cheaper route to having a home of your own. Yet…
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Viktor Frankl, neurologist: "There is nothing in the world that empowers a person as much as knowing that they have a task in life."
Feeling stuck is not always caused by having too much to do. Sometimes the difficulty is that the laundry, an…
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Putting a plastic bottle filled with water upside down in the sink drain: what is it for and why is it recommended?
A sink that drains slowly is easy to put up with - until washing-up water lingers in the bowl, food…
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Cabinetmaker builds whiskey cabinet for Dad – and gets a job contract.
A drinks collection can become clutter surprisingly quickly: bottles end up on the worktop, glasses fill a…
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DST change 2026: When will the clock be set to standard time?
The autumn clock change can create more confusion than it ought to: the oven disagrees with your phone, an…
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Leaving the key in the door lock overnight – is that right or wrong?
It is an easy bedtime habit: lock the front door, leave the key in the inside of the lock and…
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Jeff Bezos is putting $100 million into neglected city land; eight US cities will turn abandoned spaces into parks and wildlife habitats.
An empty plot can be more than an eyesore. In built-up neighbourhoods, neglected land can mean broken walking…