Julian Cassell's DIY Blog

Buying a handsaw for your DIY needs sounds simple, but the enormous array of options on the market, can make the whole process pretty confusing. Defining a handsaw in itself can be complicated as you could include any hand held saw in this category, but for the purpose of this guide I’m talking about the basic, general purpose saw, normally called a panel saw, with the easily recognisable shape shown below. read more »

Fitting a door lining is a job that is required if you are replacing an old door lining, or you’ve built a new wall with a doorway, and therefore need to create a perfectly ‘square’ wooden frame onto which you then hang your new door. For more information on openings for doors, the anatomy of a doorway and frame, and measuring up for a new door lining, see my guide – ‘Interior door frames’. The sequence below shows how to assemble a door lining kit, and how to fit it into the opening in a wall. read more »

How to lay a deck or decking, or more specifically the techniques that are required, is much dependent on whether you are building at ground level, or creating a raised level deck. Raised decks are a much more involved undertaking as you need to build a substantial support framework, but with a ground level deck, the support is effectively already in place, and so it is much more straightforward. Building a ground level deck is shown in the sequence below. read more »

Wooden garden arches are excellent features for any garden and from a DIY perspective, they are simple to build because they are always supplied in a kit form. As shown in the sequence below, you literally require a few screws for assembly, which are often supplied with the arch, and then it just becomes a case of fixing it in position. I always favour concreting in the arch feet or posts, but you can use fence spikes if you prefer (for more about this, see ‘Things to consider’ below the sequence). If you do decide to erect a wooden garden arch, they are pretty weighty pieces of kit, so remember to find yourself a bit of help for getting it in place. read more »

Maintaining decking and keeping it in a good state of repair not only keeps it looking good, but also safe. Decks should really be cleaned down thoroughly at least once a year, and although you don’t necessarily need to re-coat with wood preserver annually, the more regularly you do it, the longer your deck will last. read more »