Apr 29
Over the last few months DIY Doctor has been monitoring several hundreds of posts on our Forum which have identified a problem with some Crown paint which seems to smell rather badly when the weather is a little warm.
DIY Doctor has been discussing the problem with Crown (on our users behalf) via a PR agency which Crown use.
Yesterday morning the Customer Sales Director (Geraldine Huxley) from Crown telephoned DIY Doctor to explain just how Crown were dealing with this problem. You can see the results of this conversation here
We understand from many of our users, and from Crown themselves, that they (Crown) have been very proactive in dealing with this issue. This can be seen from many of the posts in this section of the forum. We thank them for that.
As yet the issue remains unsolved and, although many suggestions have been offered as to dealing with the effect of the smelly paint, Crown have yet to get to the cause.
DIY Doctor has been invited to (and has accepted) the Crown Laboratories where many experiments are being carried out to identify the nature of this problem. Rest assured we will keep you informed.
Take a look at the forum for a full update on this problem.
Mike Edwards
Business Development Director
DIY Doctor Ltd
Apr 29
According to some new research, up to £590 million of damage is caused to homes in Britain each year by tradesmen.
This research from Sainsbury’s Home Insurance reports that one in five tradesmen are estimated to be working without any public liability insurance. This means that £118 million of this damage may not be covered by insurance. The research indicates that while up to 25 million British adults have employed a tradesman to carry out work in their home in the last five years, only 16% (4 million) of these people asked for evidence of public liability cover from the person they were employing in advance of them carrying out the work. The research also suggests that of the 84% that didn’t ask or couldn’t remember doing so, nearly one in five (19%) said they didn’t ask for evidence of insurance because they didn’t know about the cover.
The British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) has called for public liability insurance to be made compulsory. While it remains optional, however, Sainsbury’s Home Insurance is warning homeowners of the need to ensure the tradesmen they employ are adequately covered before allowing them to commence work.
Apr 28
DIY Doctor has just published a new project on using a garden shredder.
At this time of year, with the weather improving, lots of people are out in their gardens trying to clear up after the winter. This results in plenty of garden rubbish which then needs to be taken to the tip, or you may have a garden waste curbside collection, but this is often charged for by the local council.
So using your own garden shredder makes sense. It reduces garden waste, making it a smaller volume to manage and compost. However, it is what you can do with the waste material that can benefit and often offset the cost of the shredder over time.
A shredder also means you can produce your own wood chip for paths etc or to use as mulch. Shredded woody material spread over areas of soil can suppress weeds and acts as an insulator around plants. As the shredded material decomposes it can also put back nutrients into the soil (it is best to store your heap of shreddings for a month or so before spreading to avoid leaching of acid organic fluids)
Apr 27
Chief executive at diy chain Focus, Bill Grimsey, is going to become chairman with managing director Rob Gladwin becoming chief executive.
Two new faces are also joining the management team – Chris Morgan, finance director at Tesco in the Czech Republic will be joining a chief financial officer, and Brian Robbins who was previously at Home Depot, is joining as chief commercial officer, responsible for trading and marketing.
Mr Gladwin, who has been at Focus since 2008, was previously managing director of Travis Perkins’ Benchmarx business, and retail operations director at Wickes prior to that. Mr Grimsey called Mr Gladwin “a talented retail leader who is ready for the challenges ahead in the next phase of the recovery.”
Mr Grimsey oversaw a CVA in order to dispose of its non-trading “dark” stores. At the time he said Focus would have collapsed if it had not managed to offload the stores that were costing the retailer £12m a year. He said: “Good progress has been made in the past two and half years against very difficult economic conditions. We have managed to survive the recession and create a new look Focus for future development.”
Apr 26
DIY Doctor have just had a new edition of their book ‘Master Basic DIY’ published and it is available to buy online now!
The book gives you the essential skills you need to undertake DIY safely and successfully and covers over 40 basic projects with step by step instructions and clear diagrams, from bricklaying to loft insulation, and from wallpapering to repointing a patio.
So whether you are buying your first house or are a regular DIYer, this book should definately be part of your tool kit!
