Jun 30
Tesco have launched a range of large self-assembly log cabins, including the Finnlife Helsinki cabin which costs £9999 (earning customers a massive 19,998 Clubcard points!)
Manufactured from high grade scandinavian whitewood, the Helsinki log cabin has 5 rooms and a handy upstairs storage area. It is made from 44mm thick tongue and groove boards which slot together. The 32ft by 16ft 10ins building is topped off with eight double-glazed windows, French doors and a felt shingle roof. There is a terrace decking area and it can even be upgraded to include a guttering kit, laminate flooring and even underfloor heating.
The company’s website warns ‘Prior to purchase check whether planning permission and building regulations approval may be required.’
It is only available from the company’s website, with an additional £5 charge for delivery. It comes with a step by step manual including a list of tools required including a ladder, saw, screwdriver, mallet and tape measure. It states: ‘No specialist skills are required. Anyone can build a Finnlife log cabin although some tasks may require more than one pair of hands……Construction times will vary depending on your skills and the number of people helping you.’
It also suggests ‘it should be built on foundations of concrete or compressed gravel.’
Buyers might want to take a look at our Building a Shed Base project !!
Jun 29
Two conmen in Blackpool who have been targeting the elderly have been caught, helped by new consumer laws.
The two cowboys, trading under the name Callcare, pretended they were from the council in order to trick pensioners into having pricey door security systems installed. In fact the systems they were fitting cost just £65 from a local DIY store, but they were charging victims £565.
Nick McNamara, legal officer for Lancashire Trading Standards, said: “This prosecution was brought under new European legislation, which allows us to prosecute in cases which would previously have been very difficult. The men, who had originally denied any wrongdoing, changed their plea to guilty in what is believed to be one of the first convictions of its kind under new consumer laws.”
Jun 28
With home energy bills showing no sign of coming down from their very high levels, homeowners wanting to cut energy consumption are bound to be tempted by low cost solar heating panels made in the far east but the Heating Helpline warns homeowners about rogue installers. With DIY Superstores now stocking low cost solar heating panel installation kits, homeowners trying to cope with the prevailing high levels of energy prices are bound to be tempted.
Installing solar heating kits purchased from a DIY outlet or builder’s merchant will be beyond the expertise of all but a minority of highly competent DIYers. So the temptation will be the ‘BIY’ route – buy from the superstore and get in a local tradesman to fit them. But the Heating Helpline, a consumer advice service backed by the HVCA, the government recognised trade association for heating and ventilating engineers, warns homeowners that this can end in disaster – with too many “rip off” rogue solar heating installers operating in the UK.
Bob Towse, technical consultant to the Heating Helpline, comments, “With low cost solar heating kits now available from DIY multiples, coupled with the huge rises in household energy bills over the last two years, more and more homeowners will want to convert what has so far been purely an interest into actual action by getting solar heating installed in the home.
“But we urge homeowners to be cautious about how they go about this – Consumer Direct, the government funded advice service, has received hundreds of complaints from homeowners about their solar heating installations.
“It’s clear that rogue traders are fully exploiting the rising demand for solar heating but homeowners should only use reputable, reliable tradesmen for such installations and steer well clear of the rip-off tactics of the cowboy installers.
“It’s also worth bearing in mind that there are Government grants to help with the costs of installing solar water heating technologies – but to be eligible for a grant a homeowner should use a competent installer and certified products. So visit the Heating Helpline website (www.heatinghelpline.org.uk) to find a reputable engineer today.”
The Heating Helpline provides consumers with free, impartial advice on every aspect of home heating. On the website homeowners can put in their postcode and it will produce a list of reputable heating engineers in their chosen area.
Visit the Heating Helpline website at www.heatinghelpline.org.uk or call 0800 840 4069.
Jun 25
The Government’s Boiler Scrappage Scheme may have come to an end in England, but you can still save £400 on a new boiler through Southern Electric.
For a limited time, Southern Electric are giving customers the opportunity to scrap their old inefficient boiler for a new ‘A’ rated one and save £400, and they are also offering two years free gas boiler and central heating protection, worth £405, when you sign up.
For more information and to find out if you live in one of the Southern Electric’s gas bolier installation areas, or to arrange an appointment from a Southern Electric Technical Advisor click here and then follow the relevant links.
Jun 24
A web developer from Brooklyn, New York, called Mark Suppes has successfully built a nuclear fusion reactor at home. If that’s not extreme DIY, I don’t know what is !!
He is part of a growing community of ‘fusioneers’, who are amateur science geeks who are building such reactors for fun, and with an eye to helping solve the world’s energy crisis. Mark Suppes, 32, is the 38th independent amateur physicist in the world to achieve nuclear fusion from a homemade reactor.
In nuclear fusion, atoms are forcibly joined, releasing energy. According to scientists, it is the ‘holy grail’ of energy production as it is completely clean and cheap. The mission is to find a way of making fusion reactors produce more energy than they need to run.
