Jul 29
Domestic central heating product supplier Trianco Heating Products went into administration on Friday 16 July. Installer training company Trianco Training Services are independent of Trianco and are not affected by this recent development. Trianco Heating Products have gone under with the loss of 43 jobs.
Installers, service engineers and end users can still get limited technical advice from “sites.google.com/site/triancohelp/home”
It’s basic and limited to email, but there are some good links on the site and literature for all Trianco products can be made available.
Jul 28
DIY Doctor will be running the ‘Tricks of the Trade’ section of the National Home Improvement Show again this year.
We will be delivering several presentations during the three days on How to Skim Plaster a Wall, How to Tile a Bathroom, How to avoid Cowboy Builders and a DIY Disasters comedy show. The Tricks of the Trade section is sponsored by Quotatis.
The show runs from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd of Octorber at Earls Court in London, and is the place to go to discover practical ideas for your home improvements. Whether you are looking to extend, save space, restore or decorate your home, you will find innovative and practical ideas to inspire you. You can even get advice on a one to one basis in the Ask the Experts area, or learn how to tackle a DIY project with us, DIY Doctor, in the Tricks of the Trade zone.
For loads more information on the show and to buy tickets go to the National Home Improvement Show website.
Jul 26
Yesterday’s Sunday Mirror appears to have corrected their major blunder of calling Craig Phillips the ‘DIY Doctor’, and after the telephone conversation and apology last week from Ryobi Tools, the Sunday Mirror have now changed the name of the column to ‘Craig Phillips is ……Dr DIY’. Not the most imaginative name change, but a change nevertheless!
Unfortunately, the article did not include the requested statement clarifying to readers of the Sunday Mirror that Mr Phillips is not and never has been anything to do with DIY Doctor Ltd. We will continue to pursue this request.
We find it quite unbelievable that Companies like the Sunday Mirror and Ryobi need to resort to passing themselves off as bigger and better organisations without taking any time, or showing any initiative, in coming up with something original.
Even in the very first seminar of the very first year of a college or university course in Marketing, students are taught to look for unique selling points or points of difference. Sunday Mirror, Craig Phillips and Ryobi are content it seems, to be just ME TOO companies and muddle their way through coming second (at best) in everything they do.
Research is quite obviously beyond them !
Jul 23
Kingfisher, parent company of B&Q have said that quarterly sales at the UK’s biggest DIY chain remained under pressure after shoppers put off “big-ticket” purchases.
B&Q’s like-for-like sales fell 4.3% in the 10 weeks to July 10, compared with a drop of 2.8% in the first quarter of its financial year, apparently due to their decision to run fewer promotions.
The company also operates in France, where the drop in group same-store sales was 0.8% in the quarter.
Ian Cheshire, Chief executive, said: “This is a solid performance in an uncertain environment for our customers right across Europe.”
He said that the UK had suffered most with the pressure of consumer spending, and they had tried to target promotions in order to drive profitable growth, but sales of bathrooms, kitchens and bedrooms etc had fallen.
But Kingfisher also said that the roll-out of it’s TradePoint instore initiative had disrupted trading, but that they hope this will improve their professional trade share of the market in the longer term.
Jul 22
DIY Doctor have now opened their ‘shop’ on the website Folksy, where we are selling our woodworking plans. So far we are selling the plans to make a Bedside Cabinet, a Storage Chest, a Chair, a Bird Table and a Wheelbarrow Planter for the garden.
Folksy (www.folksy.com) is ‘a place to buy handmade things, and for makers to sell their work and find supplies. Based in the UK, Folksy aims to reclaim craft and showcase talented makers and their work.’ So you might also find some unique, handmade things made by makers and designers for your home.
All of the woodworking plans listed above, plus more, are also available on our woodworking plans project page.
