Julian Cassell's DIY Blog

Choosing the right paint for your walls and ceilings can be slightly daunting to the uninitiated as if you start looking at the options and different types of paint racked up along the miles of shelves in your local DIY store, it can leave you shaking your head and wondering where to begin. It’s literally very difficult to decide from such displays, which paints are for walls, which are for ceilings and indeed which are for wood? Well, in this guide I’ll give you my opinion on what to look out for read more »

Work gloves are an essential part of any DIY toolkit, and in recent years there have been big improvements on comfort, protection levels, and clever design additions, that have basically been of a great help to any DIY enthusiast. Before I let you know which are my ‘go-to’ gloves, I just though it worthwhile to have a look at a few of the standard options out there, which still certainly have a use, but have in my opinion, now been overtaken by far better options. read more »

Green lawnmowers, and I’m not talking colours here, is a subject that I’ve been meaning to comment on for a while now, and I’ve literally been prompted into action today by reading some extraordinary reviews about a particular mower. The machine in question is a very simple cylinder mower that is completely unspectacular in appearance, but extremely spectacular in performance. Therefore let’s take a slightly closer look at the little green lawnmower that’s selling by the thousand. read more »

The best toolboxes for the DIY market, and the professional market for that matter, are supplied by Stanley. As a company, Stanley seem to have made it their mission to design the perfect toolbox range by carefully thinking through exactly what ‘we’ require, rather than just slapping a couple of hinges on a box, which is what many other manufacturers have clearly done. The following guide looks at the essentials for toolbox design, and which Stanley option is, in my opinion, the best toolbox in their range. read more »

A junior hacksaw is a seldom used, but still essential part of any DIY toolkit. It tends to knock around at the bottom of your toolbox, rarely sees daylight, and only pops out on the odd occasion before disappearing back down into the depths of toolbox oblivion. However, any self respecting DIY enthusiast simply can’t do without it, as although a junior hacksaw is not an everyday tool, there are just some jobs you come across, where it’s always going to be the ideal choice. read more »