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How to Cut Metal with Files
Files can be used to shape metal, to remove sharp edges and for sharpening things like saws. They are lengths of hardened steel with rows of tiny teeth cut into…
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How to Cut Metal with Cold Chisels
Cold chisels are useful tools for cutting things apart quickly when the accuracy of the cut and the finish left are of no importance like removing rusted bolts. However, special…
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How to Cure Defects in Timber Stairs
The main defects found in timber stairs are: worn treads and nosings, creaking steps and loose, cracked and broken balusters and handrails. Worn treads are often the result of leaving…
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How to Cure Condensation
Condensation is most immediately obvious as a 'misting' of windows at night and, in serious cases, as water streaming down on to window sills. It is caused by warm, moist…
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How to Control Wood Pests
Certain kinds of wood in buildings are liable to be attacked by the larvae (grubs) of wood-boring beetles. By far the most common of these is Anobium punctatum, the common…
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How to Conserve the Heat within Your Homes
Our space-heating appliances are not the only sources of heat within our homes. Additionally, there are ways to keep heat inside the home for longer, like EPS insulation for example.…
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How to Remove a Window Frame
Unscrew any opening window in the frame and reclaim any hinges and stays that might be reusable. If the frame has fixed lights, remove them if possible and save the…
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How to Replace a Tap Washer
Leaking taps may appear to be more of a nuisance than a full-scale emergency but leaks can waste a lot of water and should be cured as soon as possible.…
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How to Replace a Window Frame
Problems with windows often go unnoticed until it is time to decorate. Then loose joints, rotten rails and rotten frames become all too obvious. Most window repairs are fairly simple…
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How to Avoid Damp Penetration
Dampness in houses can be due to penetrating damp, rising damp or condensation. The treatment for a damp problem depends on which of these three is the cause, so it…
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How to Drain Down a Plumbing System
Even if you do not intend to carry out major plumbing works such as putting in a new sink or installing a water softener, the chances are that at some…
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How to Cut and Drill Holes in Glass
Cutting holes If you want to make a large circle in a pane of glass to take an extractor fan, perhaps - you will need a different sort of glass…
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How to Construct Stairs
A staircase should be designed to allow safe and easy movement from one level of a house to another. So: it should be of sound construction he angle of the…
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How to Choose the Right Adhesives
Adhesives provide a useful way of making permanent joints between metals. They are particularly suitable for: Joining two different metals which are considerably different in thickness; Joining thin and relatively…
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How to Choose Screws and Bolts
These work by pulling tightly together the pieces of metal being joined. Machine shoulder screws pass through a hole in one piece of metal and usually screw into a matching…
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How to Choose an Energy-Efficient Appliance
What are the key considerations you should have when thinking of buying one of these machines? Do you really need it in the first place? As we become aware of…
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How to Choose an Energy Saving Cooker
Food can be cooked on a gas or electric hob, in a gas or electric oven or in a grill (usually only electric). These different ways of cooking food can…
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How to Choose a Screwdriver
An ordinary screwdriver has a plastic or wooden handle fixed permanently to a steel blade which has its end shaped to fit into a slotted or cross-head screw. Ordinary screwdrivers…
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How to Bend Metal
The technique for bending in metal fabrication is much the same fo liker most metals, but the metals may require different pre-treatment. Thin sheets of mild steel can be bent cold;…
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How to Build a Ventilation System for your House
Ventilation of a house is necessary to remove odours from cooking, smoking and so on and to provide air for people-to breathe. When you provide ventilation, the outside air which…