May 31
The Bank Holiday was unfortunately bit of a wash out for many parts of the country – including down here in the South West. As the weekend was pencilled in for Karen to get the garage door completed, all eyes in the office were on the weather forecast!
Luckily, Saturday wasn’t too bad and as the day progressed the weather improved enough to give Karen time to prepare the woodwork of her garage door ready for painting on the undercoat. As the door had some resinous oozing, these areas were rubbed down and treated with a knot inhibitor to prevent further resin spoiling the finish. This was allowed to dry then given a light sanding before the garage door was undercoated.
Sunday was a bit grey but again the afternoon cleared up enabling Karen to give the undercoated door a light sand ready for the top coat.
With a little help from her hubbie to reach the top of each of the door panels, the two painters worked together against the clock to beat the threatened rain. Things progressed very quickly and the door was finished in next to no time!
Karen says ‘Without the help from Iain I would have struggled to reach the top of the doors and still get a good finish. Although the weather looked ok-ish when i started, it soon became apparent that without his help it would not have got finished before the rain set in. Although it started as a solo project, I was glad to accept help and would like to say thanks for his support throughout.’
Here are the two completed doors – which we think look great.
We hope that you have enjoyed tracking progress over the last few weeks, and if it’s made you think that perhaps your doors or decoration could do with a bit of a spruce up, have a look at our project pages for how to’s, whether you are painting doors like Karen, changing a tap, laying turf and plenty else in between! If your project isn’t listed, then let us know and we will endeavour to plug the gap!
Our DIY hints and tips pages are also a mine of useful information. You may also want to check out project on stripping paint.
If the job is a bit too much to take on yourself, then click here to get to get free no-obligation quotes for your home improvement projects from reliable and insured tradesmen in your local area.
May 27
The closing date for our inaugural competition to find Frome’s DIY-er of the Year is fast approaching.
Organised by DIY Doctor and sponsored by Sergeants Ironmongers, the competition is open to residents of Frome and the surrounding area, who must live within a 10 mile radius of Frome.
As reported in this week’s Somerset Standard, the live Grand Final will be held on Saturday 4th June outside Sergeants Ironmongers on Catherine Hill in Frome. Kicking off at 12 noon, the three finalists will be completing tasks in carpentry and painting which will be judged by our own Mike Edwards and Steve Cox of Sergeants.
The winner will crowned Frome’s 1st DIY-er of The Year plus receive a trophy and the first prize of DIY tools worth £200. 
Second prize is £150 of tools and third prize will be £50 of tools.
All entries must be received by 12 noon on Tuesday 31st May so there’s still time to get your entry in!
May 26
The coming weekend is longer than normal as we have the last Bank Holiday Monday until the end of August – with many people hoping to enjoy 3 days off from the normal 9 to 5 routine.
With an extra day to get them completed, there are no excuses to put off those DIY jobs any longer.
Our regular blog readers will know all about the project undertaken by Karen back in April – stripping and repainting her front door. We have to say that it does look great but of course highlighted the poor state of the garage door!
Karen says ‘The garage door has only been painted once so there is no need for it to be fully stripped back to bare wood, as the surface is fairly sound. I am hoping to get it sanded and possibly undercoated on Saturday, giving me a little bit of lea way time wise. The weather will be key too as the front door is fairly sheltered, but the garage door is not. I’m confident this will be a much easier job.’
Whatever job you may be planning for the Bank Holiday weekend, ask yourself whether it is something you can safely do yourself. Also be sure that if you don’t get it finished that it wont cause too much of a problem if your project runs over.
Have a look at our Project Pages for help – and if your DIY subject isn’t covered let us know and we will write it!
If the answer to the first question is no, then click here to get free no-obligation quotes for your home improvement projects from reliable and insured tradesmen in your local area.
May 25
Ernst and Young, Administrators for Focus DIY have announced that the unsold stores in the chain are to close.
Ernst and Young have sold 55 of the stores in three separate deals in the weeks following the company going into Administration.
Although they are still looking for buyers for the remaining 123 stores, it looks as though many of these will close, leading to thousands of job losses.
The Administrators have had hired specialist retail agents, Gordon Brothers, to advise it on closing down the unsold stores.
As part of this closure plan, an ‘Everything Must Go’ sale is due to start tomorrow, 26th May.
Click here to see where your nearest store is.
With another Bank Holiday weekend almost upon us, this could be the last chance to buy your DIY equipment from Focus Stores.
May 17
We would like to say a huge Thank You to everyone who has emailed in recently in connection with Karen’s project to redecorate her front door.
We have had some lovely feedback from our regular blog readers who have been as caught up in the on-going story of The Door as we have.
Karen says ‘Knowing that there have been so many people reading about my project has been great. The feedback has been very encouraging throughout the process, and gave me the impetus to get it done when I felt like giving up! Thanks to everyone who has taken time to send in their comments.’
Here at DIY Doctor your feedback is invaluable, so please keep it coming in.
