Welcome to DIY Doctor's blog

We are pleased to announce the winner of our logo competition, but it is a low key affair.

If you braved the snow to visit us at the National Home Building and Renovating Show at the NEC in Birmingham last month, you may have entered our logo competition.

The winner came over from Chester, but he has asked us not to use his name in our publicity, and we always protect our customers privacy if they want to remain anonymous.

Can we simply say congratulations to Mr X from Chester, and we hope that you spend your £50 tool voucher wisely!

The most popular show by far was the “How to Skim Plaster” demonstration which drew crowds to the stage and the surrounding walkways, whenever Mike Edwards was presenting.

The top tips for plastering included practice first on a spare board, use the correct tools for the job, and keep everything clean as you set up and work. There is more information on how to Skim Plaster in our projects section and on our You Tube channel.

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What are you doing next weekend? Would you like to come to the National Homebuilding and Renovating Show at the Birmingham NEC?

Would you like FREE TICKETS to the show? Click on the banner above, fill in your details, you then get 2 free tickets for the show. You can share this link with your friends too.

We would love you to come and see us – we are presenting on the Tricks of The Trade Stage form the 21-24 March 2013.

Our daily demonstrations will follow this timetable for all four days, so come along and get some free practical help and advice:

DIY Doctor on the Tricks of the Trade stage

Mike Edwards will talk you through these popular topics:

11.00 – How to skim plaster your walls
This presentation takes you through preparing the wall for plastering, mixing and applying the plaster and finally how to get it flat and smooth. You will also find out how to mend holes in plasterboard.

12.30 – How to avoid cowboy builders
There is a lot of news in the media about ‘Cowboy Builders’ and how they ruin lives – but there is very little advice given to help you avoid them. This presentation will give advice on how to find reliable tradesmen and cover how to make sure that:
* you obtain accurate references
* your builder is adequately insured during the work
* you are covered against accidents
* the finished work is satisfactory
* follow-up snagging is completed

14.00 – How to skim plaster your walls
This presentation takes you through preparing the wall for plastering, mixing and applying the plaster and finally how to get it flat and smooth. You will also find out how to mend holes in plasterboard.

15.30 – How to tile your bathroom
Often the smallest room in the house but the most difficult to decorate! Learn how to get tiles to fit perfectly around the toilet, basin and bath with minimum wastage and maximum effect.

We hope you can make it, it promises to be a great show.

It is the UK’s biggest self – build and renovating event:

• Source new products and services
• Get specialist technical advice
• Talk to experts
• Get advice on planning permission
• Get legal advice to help finding the right architect or builder
• Have an expert review your plans
• Information on eco solutions & products
• Pick up essential tips from Homebuilding & Renovating magazine’s experts
• Be inspired by the wealth of ideas
• Discover the latest innovative new technologies on the Big Ideas Stage.

Have we got you interested? Don’t forget your free tickets (click on the banner at the top of the page).

See you there!

The DIY Doctor team

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If you are planning a renovation, new build, extension or conversion project this year or even if you are simply planning on remodeling what you already have then these are our tips for great trades shows to visit.

The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show
Birmingham NEC 21 March – 24 March 2013

More than 450 specialist companies will exhibit in the UK’s biggest dedicated self-build & renovation event.
Show features include:

• Tricks of the Trade Theatre – Presented by DIY Doctor
• NEW Big Ideas Theatre
• Do It Yourself Zone
• Traditional Skills Demonstrations area
• Home Improvement & Interiors Pavilion
• Eco Home Theatre
• Construction Systems Showcase
• Seminar and masterclass theatres
• FREE one to one consultations with experts in The Advice Centre

Go to the National Homebuilding and Renovating Show website for more information.

The Ideal Home Show
Earls Court, London, 15 March – 1 April 2013

This is the 105th Year for the show, and it is a marathon exhibition with its eight dedicated show sections:

• Interiors – Ideal Home Magazine Room Sets
• Home Improvements
• Gardens
• Food & Housewares
• Technology
• Woman
• Shopping
• Show Homes

and not forgetting:

• Gregg Wallace Seasonal Restaurant

Website for the Ideal Home Show.

Grand Designs Live
ExCeL, London,  4 May – 12 May 2013

Based on the Channel 4 TV series, and presented by design guru Kevin McCloud
Over 500 exhibitors
Stands, seminars and shows covering interiors, gardens, home improvement, self-build, renovations, technology and shopping.

More information is available at the Grand Designs Website.

The National Home Improvement Show 2013
27-29 September at London Olympia
Website
Show includes: Talks and demonstrations by industry professionals including DIY Doctor
Hundreds of trade stands, all directly relevant to the Home Improver and self-builder
The National Home Improvement Awards – allows the public to vote for their choice
The organisers make a donation to Centrepoint - a Charity committed to helping young homeless people regain control of their lives

More information on what is happening at the show from the National Home Improvement Show website.

DIY Doctor at the National Homebuilding Show

Free tickets to see us at the NEC
If you want to come and see DIY Doctor on the Tricks of the Trade Stage at, at Birmingham NEC between 21 March – 24 March 2013, click here for free tickets to The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show

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DIY Doctor will be on the Tricks of The Trade Stage at the National Homebuilding and Renovating Show at the NEC in Birmingham next month.

The show starts on the 21st March and runs until the 24th March 2013. Mike Edwards from DIY Doctor will be running a series of talks and demonstrations including how to plaster, how to lay tiles and how to avoid cowboy builders.

Are you planning a build?
The National Homebuilding and Renovating Show organisers have asked us, to ask you, how you intend to use finance to fund your build, renovation or extension, for the coming year. So if you have a moment to fill in their survey, they are offering a chance to win 1 of 5 prizes of £100 worth of high-street shopping vouchers.

The National Homebuilding and Renovating Show have partnered up with Experian for this survey. The idea is to examine the use of credit and financing on the homebuilding and renovating industry.

For your convenience the survey has been designed to make it easy to fill in on what ever device you prefer to use. You can complete it using a PC, Mac, iPad and most smartphones.

It will be very interesting to see what the research reveals – so if you have the time Please follow this link to complete their survey.

We would also like to see you at the show – so if you want free tickets as DIY Doctor guests then please click on the image below.

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The National Homebuilding & Renovating show 2013, will be held at the NEC in Birmingham, and will run from 21-24 March.

As always there will be lots of interesting things to do and see, for anyone who is embarking on a building project, whether self-build, or employing a builder.

DIY Doctor will be appearing on the Tricks of The Trade stage again this year, so please do come along and see us. We like to meet our users, and we are always happy to answer questions after each show.

A full rundown of what is showing, and when, is available on the National Homebuilding Show website. In brief it consists of our most popular demonstrations:

• How to skim plaster your walls
• How to avoid ‘Cowboy Builders’
• Top tips for tiling

The organisers of the Homebuilding & Renovating Show are very keen to keep the show relevant to its audience, so all the stands and speakers are likely to be of interest to you if you are about to start a building project.

We find that visitors to the show always comment on how useful it is in terms of inspiration and finding the right fittings and equipment for their build.

If you do not already subscribe then why not sign up for the DIY Doctor newsletter? We do not bombard you with loads of information and we often get some free tickets to give away to our users.

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