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You still have just over a week to enter the new National Home Improvement Awards 2012 and you could win £1000!

You might be the home owner or the tradesman, but if you think your home improvement project is worth shouting about, you can enter. For more information and to download an entry form just go to www.nationalhomeimprovementawards.co.uk . Once you have filled in your form, just send it with photos of your project to :

National Home Improvement Awards
TrustMark
Englemere
Kings Ride
Ascot
Berkshire
SL5 7TB

The closing date is the 30th June and a shortlist will be announced on the 13th July when the public will be able to vote for their favourite. The overall winner will be announced at the National Home Improvement Awards on the 28th September.

The awards are sponsored by The National Home Improvement Show, National Home Improvement Council, Trustmark and Real Home Magazine.

The criteria for judging will be based on the following:

•    Preliminary research and dialogue with contractor, including plans/designs, 3 quotes
•    Project management, including building regs, planning requirements, site meetings Contractual and financial management, including use of contract, payment terms, variations during job, relevant certificates etc
•    Quality of work including health and safety, energy efficiency
•    Impact of improvement -on quality of life, reduced running costs, maintenance, health of occupants
•    Problem solving during project
•    Design Quality (aesthetics, practicality, suitability for owner’s needs and brief)
•    Build Quality (attention to detail, energy efficiency, site practice, cost)
•    Value for Money (added value, relative value for money)

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Mike Edwards (The DIY Doctor) in action at the Tricks of the Trade stage at The National Home Improvement Show 2011. Hundreds of people attended the fifteen talks and demonstrations over the three days of the show, and Mike was available to answer lots of queries and questions that people had regarding their own home projects.

Mike was also able to give lots of advice to visitors on how to avoid cowboy builders when employing a contractor, including using a contract such as our ‘Desired Outcome Building Contract’, getting references and using a service such as our ‘Find a Tradesman’ to ensure your tradesman is reliable and insured. We got some great feedback from the presentations and met some great people, hopefully giving them help and advice to make them feel more skilled and confident to tackle their own home improvements and also deal with contractors.

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We are back at DIY Doctor HQ after a fantastic weekend at The National Home Improvement Show at London’s Earls Court! 

Mike Edwards, aka the DIY Doctor, and the team were running the Tricks of the Trade stage, giving demo’s and talks on skim plastering, tiling a bathroom and avoiding cowboy builders over the three day show. Hundreds of visitors took the opportunity to come to the free sessions and pick up tips and advice as well as to buy the ‘Master Basic DIY’ book, which was so popular we ran out of stock!

Thanks to everyone who attended the show, and everyone who came to see us – we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

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Today sees the opening of this year’s National Home Improvement Show and it is promising to be a fantastic show – with over 300 specialist companies showcasing their products as well as designers and experts to offer advice on any of your home improvement projects.

You can still register for free tickets if you are planning to visit over the weekend – just click here.

DIY Doctor are hosting the Tricks of the Trade where we are giving demonstrations and talks on skim plastering, tiling a bathroom and avoiding cowboy builders, so come along to pick up some hints and tips.

We are also selling our own ‘Master Basic DIY’ book at a special show price – you can even get it signed by the DIY Doctor himself – Mike Edwards!

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Only a few days left before the start of The National Home Improvement Show – so not long left to get your FREE tickets!

The show starts on Friday (30th Sept) and goes on until Sunday (2nd Oct) at Earls Court, London. There will be loads to see and it is a great day out if you need inspiration or advice on a home improvement project.

Come and see DIY Doctor at the Tricks of the Trade stage where we will be showing you How to Skim Plaster a Wall, and How to Tile a Bathroom, as well as giving advice on How to avoid Cowboy Builders. The sessions are free but get there early as they are always really popular! 

For your 2 FREE TICKETS just click on the banner below to register:

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