I’ll try to keep this post up to date so don’t forget to bookmark it!
Building Related Topics
Brick.org.uk: UK based brick resource.
British-gypsum.com: Great installation guides for drywall and plasters in the UK.
Calder.co.uk: Calder Guide to Good Leadwork for a great leadwork guide.
Diydoctor.org.uk: Popular place for DIY information and advice articles plus a forum.
Diynot.com: DIY encyclopaedia and active forum covering a wide range of topics.
Gobrick.com: USA based brick resource.
Gov.uk: Permitted development notes in the UK. Doc available here…
Handycrowd.com: Companion to this book. Come in, I’ll go and put the kettle on…
Homebuilding.co.uk: Physical magazine with an online presence. Lots of how to and tips articles.
Idostuff.co.uk: Informal DIY advice and tips.
Leadsheetassociation.org.uk: Make the most out of lead as a good, long lasting building material.
Lime.org.uk: All about lime and its proper use.
Nhbc.co.uk: National House Building Council who are responsible for new housing standards.
Nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/2-repoint-mortar-joints.htm: How to re-point the mortar joints on your house using the correct materials.
Periodliving.co.uk: Magazine based DIY advice with an old house flavour.
Planningportal.co.uk: Advice and procedures related to UK planning and building regulations
Ultimatehandyman.co.uk: Over 50,000 pages of DIY info and an active forum.
Wickes.co.uk: UK based home DIY supplier.
Computer Related Topics
Dropbox.com: Dropbox automatically saves your stuff to a server in the ‘cloud’. First 2GB free.
Dummies.com/how-to: Short excerpts from the Dummies guide books.
Fixyourownprinter.com: How to fix your own printer (they have all sorts of hidden menus…).
Help.lockergnome.com: A great online forum about computer problems.
Howtogeek.com: Brilliant place to get help with computer problems.
Onedrive.live.com: Like Dropbox, onedrive is a cloud based storage facility from Microsoft with first 5GB free.
Pcworld.com: Lots of how to articles and advice.
Primopdf.com: The No1 free PDF converter. Simple to convert documents to PDF format for easy and safe distribution.
Processlibrary.com: The place to go to find out what that process is running on your computer.
Speedtest.net: Check your internet connection speeds, uploads and downloads, (Then complain to your provider for not keeping their promise!)
Techguy.org: Free tech support…heaven! Although they won’t say no to a small donation.
Technibble.com: A vibrant community of Computer Technicians sharing their knowledge with each other and you.
Techrepublic.com: Top resource for the IT trade, lots of useful tips and tweaks.
Thewindowsclub.com: Large community for windows support with active forum and many useful articles to help you get the most out of windows.
Fun Stuff
Climbingarborist.com: Great tree climbing resource from Dan Holiday.
Craftster.org: Online community where people share hip, offbeat, crafty projects. ‘No tea cozies without irony’ is the tag line…
Duckworksbbs.com/plans/mouse: Free plans to build a mouse boat, one of the simplest boats to build in the world.
Fornobravo.com/pompeii_oven: Free plans to build a wood fired pizza oven!
For-wild.org: Plans to build an Aldo Leopold bench, probably the easiest cool looking bench to build there is.
Glen-L.com: The holy grail for home boat builders!
Lifehacker.com: Tips to get you through life with a twist of humour and the faintly ridiculous!
Stormdrane.blogspot.com: For anything you need to make out of paracord, surely one of the most useful materials.
Treehousesupplies.com: Inspiration, for building that tree house you always wanted?
Treetopbuilders.net: More treehouses!
Woodenboat.com: Great help for anyone contemplating building or owning a wooden boat. New or old.
Ziplinegear.com/manual: Everything you need to know about building the kids a Zip line or flying fox.
General Topics
About.com: ‘Need. Know. Accomplish.’ Say the people at about.com, a huge online resource of practical information.
Askjeff.co.uk: Popular newspaper columnist, builder by trade, now teaching and writing to help others better look after their homes.
Blog.makezine.com: Community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects.
Bongous.com: Gives you an address in the USA for delivery purposes, (if your supplier doesn’t ship internationally) Bongo then forwards it to you for a small fee plus actual delivery costs.
Justanswer.com: A paid ‘ask an expert’ service. Over 100 categories and you don’t pay until they have answered to your satisfaction.
Guide from 3M: Hundreds of 3M bonding solutions.
Popularmechanics.com: Great general practical info on a wide range of topics. Been around a long time! Classic and helpful magazine too.
Selfsufficientish.com: Urban homesteading on a budget. Good advice on making stuff and saving money.
Wikipedia.org: Background reading on pretty much everything!
Youtube.com/watch?v=f2O6mQkFiiw: Learn what happens what happens to your brain when you practice.
Maintenance and Repair Related Topics
Buildingconservation.com: Conservation information about methods, products and services for historic buildings.
Cadw.wales.gov.uk/historicenvironment: Information about looking after old buildings and conservation in general. From the Welsh Gov.
Ereplacementparts.com: Great place to find parts and repair advice with videos, forum and active Facebook resources.
Howtomendit.com: Wide ranging ‘How To’ site.
Ifixit.com: Free, editable online repair manual.
maintenancematterswales.org: Advice about looking after an older home including sections on planning your maintenance properly and keeping records. From the Welsh Gov.
Plastic Related Topics
Craftechind.com: Guide to gluing plastics. http://info.craftechind.com/download-the-full-guide-to-gluing-plastics?
Plastic Guide from Loctite: Hi tech page from Loctite, a guide to binding the 30 most common plastics.
Nerfhaven.com/forums/topic/18527-intro-to-solvent-welding-plastic: Intro to solvent welding plastics.
Polyvance.com/identify.php: Best plastic identification and how to repair table on the net.
Weldguru.com/plasticrepair.html: All you need to know to weld plastics.
Weldguru.com: All you need to know about welding.
Timber Related Topics
Salford.gov.uk/media/385493/inform-insect-attack.pdf: Great introduction to wood boring insect attacks.
Timberworkforums.com: Ozzie based timberwork forum with loads of good advice and a friendly crowd.
Tools and Hardware Related Topics
Boltdepot.com: Lots of fastener related information.
Custompartnet.com/drill-size-chart: Chart for HSS drill bit sizes by gauge, inch and metric.
Heinnie.com: Because every handy person needs a good, reliable knife. Biggest and best.
Rawlplug.co.uk/downloads: Detailed instructions on using anchors.
Screwfix.com: A UK supplier of building materials with a great multi trade forum with many professionals and a few nuts!
TooledUp.com: UK based supplier of tools and equipment.
Vehicle Related Topics
Autorepair.about.com: Simple car maintenance advice and tutorials.
Autotrader.co.uk: Reviews are great for finding potential problems with your car.
Fuelly.com: Track your fuel consumption because increased consumption is an early warning that your motor needs a tune up.
Obd-codes.com: On board, diagnostic stuff, OBD2 or OBDII to work out what fault codes mean on your car.
Parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews: Reviews are great for finding potential problems with your car.
Theaa.com/motoring-advice: Motoring related advice on a wider range of topics.
Usedcarexpert.co.uk: Used car experts for general info etc.
Wisebuyers.co.uk: First call for car related reviews, prices and specifications.
Let me know if I’ve missed a personal favorite of yours and I’ll add it to the list…
