There ain’t much you can’t learn from YouTube these days and DIY is no exception, be it a new project idea, product reviews, DIY techniques or even just inspiration watching others grind out seemingly impossible DIY building projects, what you want YouTube delivers!
In this post I’ll run through my favourite DIY YouTube channels which I regularly watch and why I like them!
It’s a mixed of traditional building, general DIY channels and DIYers I take inspiration from, a few channels aren’t 100% dedicated to DIY but have done DIY related series or channels. I have absolutely no affiliation with any of these channels, they are purely DIY channels or channels with DIY channels within them that I enjoy. If these channels don’t make you want to get the toolkit out then quite frankly nothing will!!
I’ll be updating this list as I find more.
1. Carl Rogers
Category: Carpentry, Renovation
Subscribers: 440k+
A fellow Brit renovating an ancient farm house in Southern France. This guy has tackled some amazing projects using traditional and modern techniques including a barn roof rebuild, an amazing staircase rebuild and most recently a mobile old-style shepherds hut (on-going). What I love about this channels is the complexity & attention to detail on all the projects, also I’m a big fan of the filming style with limited commentary or music and just the good-ol sound of a saw or chisel.
You can expect new videos about once a month when projects are in full swing, my only critique is it sometimes goes too long before new videos come out when there’s no active project which is quite understandable.
This is hands down my favourite YouTube DIY channel!
2. Scott Brown Carpentry
Category: Carpentry, Renovation
Subscribers: 370k+
Another one of my all-time favourite YouTube channels, the videos are almost relaxing in the way they are made & presented and alway packed full of useful DIY tips from Scott who is a professional carpenter in New Zealand. His older videos are based on job sites but now the focus of the channel is the renovation of his own home on New Zealands South Island.
This channel posts around 2-3 high quality videos a month.
3. Make.Go.Do
Category: DIY, Renovation, Eco
Subscribers: 98k+
This channel tells the story of a couple who sold up their life in the UK and bought a rundown plot in Portugal and are now renovating it completely on their own. With a heavy focus on eco-friendly building the couple are learning on the go and sharing some valuable information about what they’ve learnt along the way.
It’s primarily about eco renovation but also includes videos about land regeneration, livestock and even some wine making!
4. Erik Granqvist
Category: Carpentry, Log cabin
Subscribers: 1.5m+
Now this channel is impressive! It follows the journey of a Swedish 18 year old following his dream to build a log cabin by hand in the Swedish wilderness. Building completely alone it documents every stage of the build from clearing ground, digging foundations, cutting & preparing the trees for the cabin and then the actual cabin build and again all with hand tools like axes and saws. The build uses a lot of traditional techniques and materials making sure of the materials the forest has to offer.
This channel posts a mixture of standard length videos and longer (1 hour +) videos with some nice videography along the way.
5. ateliermavi
Category: DIY, Renovation, Eco
Subscribers: 90k+
Recently found this channel while searching for videos on clay plaster, the channel features a couple renovating a stone house in Italy using any traditional and eco-friendly techniques including a clay plaster bathroom which is something we’ve done in our renovation. What’s more impressive is the progress made on this renovation in just 1 year given the house was in really bad shape.
6. SULLIVAN
Category: DIY, Renovation
Subscribers: 80k+
This is another channel I recently found and the scale & progression on this renovation is impressive, featuring a French couple turning the rundown farm from 1820 into nothing short of a modern mansion! High ceilings, exposed beams and stonework mixed with modern design & comfortable but as you can see from the timelapse below a massive amount of work along the way and somehow they find time to post almost monthly on YouTube!
7. OffTheRanch
Category: Renovation
Subscribers: 4.3m+
Not an all out renovation or DIY channel but they have 2 renovation channels: Abandoned Mansion & now the Abandoned Resort both of which are highly entertaining & impressive in the scale of the projects they’ve taken on. These guys are juggling family life, business & renovation which is something I can relate to although given how successful their original channel is and the scale of their projects I’m guessing we’re in slightly different budget classes!
Really like the energy of the channel and while they use mainly modern build techniques I find this Texas-based channel inspiring!
8. NateMurphy
Category: DIY, Renovation
Subscribers: 420k+
This is primarily focused on camper van DIY & renovation but within the channel was a series where Nate renovates a rundown stone house in the Spanish mountains which fascinated & inspired me along the way. The house was renovated from head to toe and it’s almost like a “how to” guide with details about buying in Spanish and costs involved included.
Work your way through the playlist or check out the year of renovation in one long video below:
9. DiegoLeon
Category: DIY, Renovation
Subscribers: 85k+
Stumbled across this channel recently and was instantly hook by the speed & finish of the renovation work this couple are doing to their home in France. They’re totally rebuilt, extended and modernised what was a run down townhouse. They’d also previous renovated a homestead in the forest but I’m yet to watch any of those videos.
They publish new videos every Sunday and if you want to catch up checkout their 1 year timelapse below:
10. RestorationCouple
Category: DIY, Renovation
Subscribers: 215k+
This is an established YouTube channel related to renovation and family, having documented their previous house renovation in Bath, UK (not far from where I was born!) they’ve now bought and are renovating a farm I believe to be in Wales. Regular updates and information packed videos make it a really useful channel to follow.
11. DeHoeveOldBelgianFarm
Category: DIY, Renovation
Subscribers: 108k
As the channel title suggests this channel is about the renovation of an old farm in Belgian being renovated by a family. The family seem to tirelessly plod on with the massive renovation providing regular updates and info on the choices they’re making during the renovation.
12. wildrosie
Category: DIY, Renovation
Subscribers: 167k
This channel revolves around a newbie DIYer who bought a remote house in Sweden and is making her way through a series of renovation projects to build her ideal home. Like me when we started our renovation Rosie had no prior DIY experience and it’s very interesting to watch as she jumps into projects and renovates for the first, she has no car so one of my favourite parts is when she uses her bike to collect wood for a DIY project, cutting pieces up in the lumber yard so they fit into her bike trailer!
13. HomesteadingUncontained
Category: DIY, New build, Homestead
Subscribers: 30k+
Found this channel when I was researching another topic about importing machinery from China and I was pleasantly surprised when I found it was actually a DIY & renovation channel about a British couple in the French Pyrenees who’ve bought a plot of land to build their dream homestead on. Right now they’ve built a workshop & are in the stages of building foundations for their house, they post regularly and give honest insight into the challenges & triumphs they hit a lot the way.
14. escapetoruralfrance
Category: DIY, Renovation
Subscribers: 464k
Another Brit in France who’s renovating a MASSIVE run down château, when I say run down, I really mean run down. Just the scale of this project and the impressive progress is enough to keep you watching along with the almost daily updates.
15. lfranchementcomtois
Category: DIY, Renovation, Eco
Subscribers:
This channel follows a families renovation of an old stone house in France using eco-friendly materials like tree fibre insulation, lime plasters and reused stone work and of course a whole load of hard work. For self-confessed DIYers the quality & detail of work is impressive! The renovation is ongoing but if you need a catch up check out the timelapse summary below:
16. modustrial
Category: DIY, Renovation, Industrial
Subscribers: 870k+
The channel features modern DIY & renovation of a MASSIVE 6000 square feet abandoned industrial building in the Chicago which is being converted into the creators dream property. Every inch of the renovation is being documented on YouTube and broken into projects. While I’m not sure I would live in such a property the scale, energy & bravery of this projects is highly impressive. The building had never been used as a home so it’s really interesting to watch the transformation from industrial building to home. Get up to speed with this summary video:
17. theindieprojects
Category: DIY, Renovation, Homesteading
Subscribers: 350k+
The channel follows a young British family who sold up everything and bought a homestead in Portugal which they are renovating despite having had extensive damage to the property and grounds due to the summer 2022 forest fires in Portugal. This is a massive project which includes renovation, DIY, livestock and family life, I enjoy the energy and positivity of this channel.
18. charleyetcharlotte5009
Category: DIY, Renovation
Subscribers: 30k+
A young French family’s journey renovating a run down property from near collapse to dream home. I’m not sure of DIY experience the couple have but the speed and skills involved are highly impressive to watch. Particularly like the kitchen finishing with the mix of new and old rustic beams.
19. TheNitoProject
Category: Eco & natural building techniques
Subscribers: 120k+
Love this channel for inspiration on eco-friendly & natural building materials and techniques. I found this channels a few years back while researching clay plastering and the following video and seeing the finish you can get with clay plaster was a big deciding factor in deciding to go ahead with our clay plaster bathroom.
It’s a relatively small channels in terms of the number of videos and updates but if you’re interested in learning about natural building materials and techniques like clay plaster, lime plaster, tadelakt and earthen floors etc this channel is an absolute must.
The following channels are more information & how to based for general DIY work/home improvements and have been really helpful when I’ve needed to learn new DIY skills or tips of using new DIY tools.
20. SkillBuilder
This channel is packed with useful DIY and construction tips and insight with lots of videos filmed on live construction sites in the UK. With a vast range of videos on all kinds of DIY topics including insulating, heating, water, construction and much more.
21. ukconstruction
If you follow SkillBuilder you might notice a familiar face on this channel, Robin Clevett has featured in a number on SkillBuilder videos and ukconstruction is his own channel. This channel again features construction and DIY but with more of a focus on carpentry side of things.
22. knecht105
Another channel filled with great carpentry and woodworking how tos and tutorials including in depth beginner videos on tools and techniques.
23. thisoldhouse
A very well-known and popular channel especially in the US, they cover basically everything related to old houses and renovation from common problems, Q&As, heating, water and even garden related home improvements.
24. StumpyNubs
An expert carpenter with tonnes of in-depth and well organised videos on hand and power tools, woodworking techniques, woodworking projects and more.