| Product: |
DIY Shops - Comments & Comparison |
| Date: |
15.06.01 (761 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: DIY saves the money on professionals, It stops you getting bored!, Lots of choice of store
Disadvantages: Hard work!, Hard work! , Can cost a lot of money in getting equipment
I have suddenly realised a terrible thing.
I am turning into my Dad.
I am writing an op on DIY stores.
My brother and I always used to take the mickey out of our Dad because of his love of B&Q, but now I see myself becoming the object of such ridicule.
For those who don’t know, I have recently purchased a house of my own, along with my fiancée Ms. M. We knew the house wasn’t in ideal condition, and knew it would need a lot of work, but that was part of the draw – we could really personalise the place and make it our own.
The first room to fall victim to our attentions (2 months ago now) was the master bedroom. I don’t believe how much work has gone in to it – rather than just paint the existing wallpaper we decided to start from scratch – take down the wallpaper, strip the skirting, pull out the wardrobe, etc. However I think the previous work has been done by cowboys – to date the work that needed doing was:
1. Strip the wallpaper
2. Pull out the dodgy old bonding from the walls – in some places creating 6 inch deep holes 2 foot across.
3. Fill the holes with new bonding
4. Strip the paintwork
5. Remove the cast iron fireplace and strip it.
6. Remove 40 years of debris from the blocked chimney (the crud was a metre deep)
7. Restore the broken skirting
8. Polyfilla the walls and fix the holes in the woodwork
9. Sand the walls and woodwork
10. Put up lining paper on the walls and undercoat the woodwork.
Now this might not seem like all that much, but we are now on stage 10, and it has taken 2 intensive months. I hope that gives a bit of an indicator of the state this room was in.
I really don’t think that this work would have been possible without B&Q.
In Reading we have all sorts of DIY stores – Homebase, Wickes, Do It All, B&Q, and even a smaller shop called Drew’s, which is at the
end of our road. The furthest away is B&Q (just out of town), but still the best of the lot. I have used them all, so maybe if I give you a run down of the others before focussing on B&Q in a bit more detail…
Homebase – I’m probably not rich enough. This is a bit too posh, to tidy and too expensive for my liking. The staff are a bit dozy, but too well groomed – you need creases and the odd bit of dirt to get that real DIY feel. It’s even got a Laura Ashley (I think) just inside the door! They are good, but I suppose you get what you pay for - I’m happy to pay less to queue for a bit longer. One day when I am rich I would love to carry around spotless Homebase bags, but right now it isn’t an option.
Wickes – The opposite of Homebase. Staffed by the forerunners to the Cro-magnons, who converse in monosyllabic grunts and cannot understand the simplest requests. You spend longer queuing than finding and selecting your items – which is not easy because the pace seems to have minimal order, is difficult to navigate and overall appearance is poor. The products are relatively cheap, but are not the best quality (especially Wickes’ own items). I only really go here as a last resort, or when I only need the most basic of items.
Drew’s – Only a little family place that has grown I think. Excellent quality stuff, but expensive. The staff seem to be people within the industry who know their stuff, rather than spotty kids or housewives earning a bit of weekend cash part-time. I think I go elsewhere due to the cost – a bit more travel and I can get it cheaper elsewhere, and I can’t afford the best right now. But it’s good when I can’t get anywhere else
B&Q is the place for me. It’s like a great big supermarket in layout (in parallel rows, all logically placed), the stuff is easy to find and always we
ll stocked. B&Q Reading is huge, and have a really good selection of items. I don’t think I have ever gone in and not been able to find exactly what I wanted in stock (including things like fancy drill bits for my models).
There is a massive array of wonderful toys for drilling, sanding, turning inside out and teleporting things to alternate dimensions (well, maybe not, but I don’t know what some of those machines do!).
The opening hours are good – early in the morning to late in the evening, even on Saturdays, so I can go after work during the week if I can’t wait ‘till weekend.
Staff are always nearby, and are experts in their particular field – they can give you advice on not only making your purchase, but what to do with it and how to use it at home. They have always been pleasant and attentive to my barrage of stupid questions (‘SO which way do I hold the hammer??).
The prices in B&Q are great. All products are competitively priced, and there is always a B&Q own brand alternative. Normally I would shy away from own brands, because I tend to find them of a lesser quality (Wickes Polyfilla dries almost instantly – before you’ve even got it near the wall!), but I’m happy to buy B&Q brand.
Mistakes have been made in the past, such as me purchasing the wrong sink – I was advised by staff to buy the sink in question, but I didn’t express my needs adequately. A few weeks ago Ms. M bought a tin of paint and spilled it over the hall – apparently the ‘top just fell off’. I contacted B&Q and put on my angry customer voice – they were very pleasant and said that although they could not take responsibility for the spillage (once it had left their store) they would replace the paint (but not the carpet – I couldn’t convince them that far!).
[Later on I found out what had really happened. Ms. M had brought in
the paint form the car, where she had left it in the cold for about an hour. Then she put it next to the radiator. Hot air does what? Yes dear it expands, blowing the top off and sending paint all over the place.
Now, Ms. M puts the lid back on. She takes the pot to the kitchen, and decides to wash the paint off the outside. Under the hot tap. As I’m cleaning up I hear a bang! I run to the kitchen. Paint everywhere. I start to clean the kitchen as well, and send the missus off to do something less damaging somewhere else. Like nuclear war.
She will be a bit miffed when she reads this…I expect an NU]
My only problem with B&Q is it’s always so busy!! But that is a good thing – it shows they must be good.
This weekend we are painting the room, a lilac white, using B&Q paint, a B&Q roller and B&Q brushes.
I never thought I’d get in to all this DIY lark, but B&Q have made it so much easier. I never thought I’d be able to do it, but I can do it when I B&Q it (AGH! The power of advertising!).
I am worried I am turning into my Dad, so to occupy myself next week I am taking up golf.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!
Summary:
|
|
