Jan 31
High school students in Baltimore, USA, have come up with an innovative idea. Carpentry students at the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology are starring in their own TV show teaching viewers how to do basic DIY such as hanging a door and laying tiles. The programme is called ‘So easy a kid can do it’ and shows step by step projects, hosted by DIY guru Mike Davis along with the students. The programme gets shown across the county on their public scools tv channel and is proving very popular. You can read more a watch a film clip here.
We think this sounds like a great idea and wondered if any schools or colleges in the UK are doing anything similar?
Jan 31
The Federation of Master Builders is again asking the Government to reduce VAT on home improvements after a comment was published in the Telegraph by the HMRC Permanent Secretary. A cut in Vat from 20% to 5% would help protect homeowners and legitimate businesses by reducing the advantage that cowboy traders have when offering cash-in-hand deals.
Brian Berry from the FMB said “We are pleased HMRC is becoming more vocal about the damaging effect cash in hand payments have on individual businesses and the economy at large. Businesses that avoid paying VAT have a 20% head start, but all too often this cheap deal comes without a proper written contract or any kind of paperwork meaning the enforcement of consumer rights is almost impossible if something goes wrong.”
Berry continued:
“The Government can reduce the competitive advantage of these rogue traders and help protect consumers by cutting VAT to 5% for all home repair, maintenance and improvement work. This simple, single action would help reduce the size of the ‘informal economy’ in the home improvement market, which is now estimated to be worth an astonishing £9.3 billion per year.”
Berry concluded:
“Over 5,000 construction businesses have gone into insolvency since 2010. At a time when the economy is on the brink of tipping back into recession, the Government should be doing everything it can to support legitimate businesses, not adding to the total number of unemployed. According to research by the analysts at Experian, last year’s rise in the standard rate of VAT to 20% resulted in nearly 4,000 job losses in the home improvement market in 2011 alone.”
Jan 30
Two of the biggest DIY retail chains have been accused of selling wood that may have come from endangered rainforests in Borneo, according to an article in the Daily Mail.
The accusation has been made of B&Q and Wickes, both who claim to source products from responsible sources. But the Daily Mail claims that an investigation has shown that a wholesaler from Malaysia called ‘Asia Plywood’ who supplies stores in the UK, has produced large quantities of plywood which originated from Borneo. The company was investigated and the company was ‘stripped of its right to ‘green credentials’ last month’. The UK’s Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) had also said that sale of goods provided by Asia Plywood was authorised until the day their certification was cancelled. But according to the Dail Mail ‘….the FSC was unable to explain why it gave this guidance when its investigation agency, Scientific Certification Systems, said no plywood produced since February last year should have been certified.’ But there does seem to be confusion over timber being sold by stores here and whether certification was granted after February 2011.
The Daily Mail also say that it is clear when you look at Asia Plywood’s website that the company is based in Sarawak, which is an area of Borneo that has been hugely affected by illegal deforestation.
Jan 27
The Olympic Village has had the hand-over so it can now be furnished and kitted out with everything the athletes who will be staying there will need in 6 months time.
The Village will be home to 16,000 athletes and officials during the London 2012 Olympic Games, and includes 2,818 appartments, as well as shops, cafes, a cinema, and a temporary dining area seating 5,000 people.
The appartments are now being furnished with the 16,000 beds needed, along with the 64,000 bed sheets and 21,000 pillows. They need 11,000 sofas, 9,000 wardrobes with more than 170,000 coat hangers, 5,000 bins and 5,000 toilet brushes!
Seb Coe, chair of the LOCOG, said: “Athletes are at the heart of the London 2012 Games and our plans for the Olympic Village will provide them with a home-from-home as they prepare for one of the biggest sporting moments of their lives.
“With the Village now handed over we are starting the huge process to install essential facilities and services ready to welcome competitors from around the world in 6 months’ time.”
Jan 26
Yesterday, a decision by the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court ruling that the Government’s plans to cut Feed-in Tariffs for solar electricity were unlawful. Chris Huhn, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has written a ministerial statement as follows:
As the House will be aware, the Government’s proposed changes to the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme are the subject of a judicial review. Specifically, the Government has been challenged regarding its proposal to apply new tariffs for solar photovoltaics (PV) from 1 April 2012 to all new installations with an eligibility date on or after an earlier “reference date”, which we proposed should be 12 December 2011.
Yesterday, the Court of Appeal handed down a negative judgment on the Government’s appeal against an earlier decision by the High Court. We respectfully disagree with the judgment and are seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. In the light of that, we cannot rule out the possibility that lower tariffs could be applied to installations which became eligible for FITs on or after the proposed reference date. It is important that consumers are aware of this.
The reason for appealing is that we want to maximise the number of installations that are possible within the available budget for FITs, rather than use available money to pay a higher tariff to half the number of installations. Solar PV can have strong and vibrant future in UK and we want a lasting FITs scheme to support that future and jobs in the industry.
We have already put before Parliament draft licence modifications that (subject to the Parliamentary process) would bring a 21p rate into effect from April for solar PV installations which become eligible for FITs on or after 3 March, to help reduce the pressure on the budget and provide as much certainty as we can for consumers and industry.
In the meantime, we want as far as possible to minimise the uncertainty for PV and other technologies eligible for support under FITs. We are therefore still intending to publish the phase 2 consultation by 9 February. This will include proposed tariffs for other FITs technologies and a set of reform proposals for the scheme. We are also intending to publish the Government’s response to the other aspects of the phase 1 consultation that are not affected by the Judicial Review (namely the proposals on energy efficiency and for multi-installation tariff rates).
Mr Huhne is now seeking permission to go to the Supreme Court to appeal.
Jan 26
If you are updating or renovating a room in your home and are looking at laying floor tiles, we have got all the information you need. Whether you are planning on laying a stone floor or vinyl tiles, our project on laying tiles will give you sound advice.
It covers the pro’s and con’s of tiling over varying existing flooring, and how to tackle it, as well as instruction on how to remove existing vinyl or quarry tiles. Depending on the type of flooring you have, e.g. timber or concrete, you need to be sure to prepare the surface properly, and we have a plan you can follow when you actually come to lay your tiles.
As the project states, most tiles are straight edged with angles of 90 degrees, but unfortunately most rooms are not, so it is really important that you lay the tiles square to each other and ignore the walls of the room. It is best to mark out lines using a chalk line so you have something to follow, then keep following the plan and instructions. There is also advice on how to cut different types of tiles and the tools you need for the job.
If you are considering a natural stone floor, there is information and examples provided by Shaw Stone on the vast selection available and the advantages and different effects you can achieve by having a stone floor.
Jan 25
If you are looking for a whiteboard for the home or office, you could try and save some pounds by creating your own.
Those clever people who hang out at Ikea Hackers (ikeahackers.net) have an alternative using a white glass table top, which apparently works perfectly as a whiteboard.
They recommend the TORSBY dining table top which apparently you should be able to buy seperately in store (although doesn’t seem to be available seperately online). It can be fixed to the wall using mirror fixings, and with a picture ledge fixed below for pens etc, it’s ready to use! Take a look at the pictures here.
If you need advice on how to fix somehting like this to a wall, take a look at our project on Hanging Mirrors and Heavy Pictures.
Jan 25
The European Federation of DIY Manufactureres (fediyma) and the European DIY Retail Association (EDRA) have announced that Mr Gilles Caille will receive the DIY Lifetime Award 2012 in Paris at the European Home Improvement Forum at the end of May.
Mr Caille is president of French DIY manufacturers’ association Unibal and also a co-founder of fediyma. He said “My dream of a strong European organisation alongside America and Asia have now been realised. Many countries have now joined fediyma and with a growing EDRA for the retailers the two associations have created a fruitful cooperation, which among others has resulted in the fediyma/EDRA European forum.”
Jan 24
A case in New York state has seen a plumber convicted and sentenced to four months in prison for grand larceny in the third degree ( which is basically theft). The plumber called Jerry Cioffi was found guilty of stealing $5000 from a homeowner having been contracted to build a sewer connection from her house to a main sewer. Cioffi received a $5000 payment in April 2010 towards the $10,000 cost of the job, and the homeowner was told that the necessary permits would be obtained and work should be completed by the begining of May 2010. The homeowner was forced to contact the Department of Consumer Protection in September 2010 as no work had commenced and was told that no permits had been applied for either.
According to a report in newcity.patch.com ”Cioffi did not return the victim’s money and did not provide an accounting of the job. The defendant was prosecuted under the state’s Lien Law, which mandates that upon acceptance of money in connection with a contract for property improvement, those funds become a trust to be used for that project only. Contractors are required to keep separate ledgers for each contracted job.
By not providing an accounting of the money and not returning the $5,000 at the homeowner’s request, Cioffi violated the Penal Law and the Lien Law.”
As well as the four month sentence he will serve five years probabtion and have to pay a $1000 fine.
We think it is great news that the New York state law is coming down hard on rogue tradesmen and would like to see more stories like this in the UK!
Jan 23
A DIYer from Chicago has had a very close call when he accidentally fired a three inch nail into his head with a nail gun.
The 34 year old, Dante Autullo, was unaware that the nail had actually entered his skull, as was his partner, who cleaned up the small wound. In actual fact the nail was millimetres of reaching the area of the brain which affects mobility. It was only when Dante started feeling nauseous the following day that they decided he should go to the hospital.
Having taken the x-ray and discovered the nail, the doctors operated for two hours to remove it safely, and Dante is now recovering.
