Welcome to DIY Doctor's blog


May 31

It has been reported this week that B&Q will be investing in some major ‘product revamps’.  

It has been announced that they plan to invest £69 million into two main areas – firstly spending on some more ‘female friendly’ ranges to try to encourage more women to get into DIY and home improvement, and secondly developing new in-store tiling and flooring areas where they will be launching new products worth £32 million.

This comes after it was announced at the beginning of March that B&Q will be refurbishing all of their 358 stores to make them more shopper friendly including lowering their racking system and displays.

May 30

DIY Doctor will be appearing at the Southern Homebuilding and Renovating Show again this year.

It is being held at Sandown Park in Surrey from the 30th June – 1st July, and we will be hosting the Tricks of the Trade stage  where you will be able to come along for free and find out how to skim plaster a wall, how to tile a bathroom and how to avoid cowboy builders.

You can get 2 free tickets by clicking here or on the banner below and filling in your details. This saves you £16 - Simple!

HBR Southern SBanner 468x60 Get your free tickets to the Southern Homebuilding and Renovating Show

May 29

Wind energy is generated by atmospheric changes such as temperature and pressure fluctuations in the atmosphere. Every area of the Earth is affected by this natural phenomena as well as different weather patterns that produce large amounts of wind. Electricity that is produced through wind energy is one of the most reliable forms of energy. It has been estimated the wind energy can produce up to twenty percent of total electricity for a certain area with the capacity to grow by twenty-five percent in coming years. Ploughcroft supply wind turbines and have been providing low carbon technologies and renewable energy to the United Kingdom for over ten years.

Wind turbines and windmills are capable of providing large amounts of energy for a particular region. The amount of energy produced by a single wind turbine will depend on several environmental factors, such as weather, temperature, and the amount of pressure. The kinetic energy captured by wind turbines is transmitted to local electric companies after it is converted into electricity. These devices have the ability to accumulate energy that can be used and stored by electric companies. In essence, electricity produced from wind energy is the cleanest form of electricity to be used that does not pollute the environment.

Wind energy is also a reliable renewable resource that can power houses, business, and farms. When carbon dioxide is gradually removed from the atmosphere, the animals, people, and the environment become healthier. Additionally, the cost of electricity will slowly become cheaper with the use of wind energy to power parts of the world. Using alternative energy sources greatly reduces the costs involved with using electricity. Ploughcroft’s wind turbines can help you meet your alternative energy needs and concerns. This company prides themselves on providing reliable and quality green energy services to help cut the costs of electricity for those who are interested.

Benefits of Installing Wind Turbines

The amount of wind energy present in an environment depends on the terrain as well as how energy moves throughout the atmosphere. Wind turbines can be installed anywhere there are recurrent wind patterns. When you want to install the best devices to produce natural energy, Ploughcroft’s supply of wind turbines are there to help meet your needs. Installing a wind turbine in your home or business can reduce electricity bills as well as supporting the health of the surrounding environment. Furthermore, there are several tax advantages associated with installing wind turbines in your home or business.

Wind turbines thrive in areas with a large amount of wind and solar energy. In many ways, wind energy is another form of solar energy. Since the United Kingdom is exposed to sixty percent of the solar energy along the equator, this area can produce large amounts of green energy. Wind turbines can be installed on homes, businesses, or stationary objects. These devices are then connected to the electric grid to produce energy to be converted into electricity for use on demand or in the distant future.

Wind turbines convert kinetic energy produced by wind into mechanical energy that powers our society. This alternative energy source produces electricity naturally to preserve the health and wellbeing of the environment while empowering the function of society. Wind turbines come in many different shapes and sizes to accommodate the natural features of a specific environment. Installing wind turbines can be an easy procedure when you employ alternative energy professionals. Wind turbines can provide a sufficient amount of energy for an area to power the electric grid for an entire population of homes, business, and farms.

For further information go to www.ploughcroft.co.uk

May 28

There are loads of decorative DIY crafting ideas out there but sometimes they catch our eye and we think are worth sharing.

Paper orb lights Make your own paper orb lightsThis one is not a difficult one to achieve but the result is a beautiful paper light shade which would make a great piece whether it is used as a light or not. You can see more pics on designsponge.com and there are full instructions. These were made by Heather Jennings of Poppy Haus.

The idea is simple – take a regular paper lantern type shade, then glue gun white paper cupcake cases all over the surface. Follow this by glueing smaller decorative petit fours papers inside each one – the ones shown in the pictures are ideal as they give a lovely anemone look to the shade.

Paper orb lights close up Make your own paper orb lights

If you need some advice on using a glue gun, take a look at our project which explains what they are and how to use them safely. A glue gun is a great help when doing craft projects but must be used with care as they do get very hot!

May 25

We are pleased to announce that world leader in building materials ‘Lafarge’ have joined the diydoctor website and are hosting three new projects.

Firstly there is the Repairing Concrete project which explains how you can repair cracks in concrete or patio slabs by using Lafarge  Repair Concrete, which allows you to patch small areas. There are step-by-step instructions on using the product so you can get a good finish on a task that is usually very tricky when using normal concrete.

The other two projects are to do with erecting fence posts (or any other posts come to that!). If you are putting up a fence, a common problem is how to work out what size hole you need for the post. Our new project on hole sizes for fence posts explains how to work this out and gives a table for the width bag of postcrete Time saving concrete from Lafargeand depth of the hole you require.

Having figured out the hole size, you should take a look at our project on concreting fence posts using Postcrete. Postcrete is a premixed concrete which for jobs like installing posts is ideal. All you need to do is pour the postcrete into the hole that you have already poured some water into, and hey presto! Just make sure the post is straight and wait for the mix to set hard.