The National Home Improvement Council along with many other organisations including the Federation of Master Builders have been campaigning hard for several years now for a VAT on home improvements.

Supporters would like to see the current 20% rate of VAT cut to 5% on home repair, maintenance and improvement work. Campaigners maintain that this would:

• Boost economic growth in the UK
• Increase emplyment
• Bring thousands of empty properties back into use
• Improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock and reduce the incidence of fuel poverty
• Help those who cannot afford vital repairs to their homes
• Protect consumers and legitimate businesses by significantly reducing the competitive advantage of rogue traders. 

A more recent development is that in the Budget in March this year, the Government announced their intention to stop the current zero rate of VAT for approved alterations to listed buildings in October 2012 and raise it to the standard rate of VAT. Many organisations and individuals  feel this would have very serious consequences to historic buildings in this country and have started a e-petition. This is open for consultation until the 18th May.

There is lots more information on the Cut the VAT campaign and the research that has been carried out on www.cutthevat.co.uk where you can also find out how to get involved in the campaign.

Let us know your views on this campaign either here or on our facebook page.

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DIY Doctor is pleased to announce that it has now become a member of the National Home Improvement Council.

The NHIC was launched in 1975 and since then has set out to support, encourage and promote home improvement and energy efficiency to homeowners and throughout the industry as well as having a close liaison with government, local authorities and housing associations.

Their main objectives are:

• To support and encourage home improvement measures which make households more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions in line with government targets.
• To support and encourage the improvement of standards throughout the home improvement industry.
• To promote to homeowners the benefits of renovating and upgrading their homes to high energy efficiency standards
• To be the voice of the home improvement industry to government, opposition and Whitehall to ensure that housing policies and public funding are directed at home improvement.
• To act as the catalyst for public sector housing bodies to stimulate modernisation of existing housing.
• To encourage private investment in the housing sector.

They have lots of good, common sense home improvement advice on their website including pages on renewable energy systems, the Green Deal, water conservation, doors and windows, kitchens and bathrooms as well as heating and hot water amongst others.

We will be bringing you more information and news regarding the National Home Improvement Council in the future, so watch this space!

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According to an annual survey by HSBC, these are the ten home improvement projects we are all most likely to be doing over the bank holidays in April, May and June this year:

So what projects are you planning for the bank holidays coming up? Let us know and send in some before and after pics! We’d love to see…..

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With all this wet and stormy weather around the UK, TrustMark, the Government endorsed quality mark for tradesmen, is urging homeowners to be aware of rogue traders offering to do property repair work and to only use reputable and honest companies.

Stuart Carter, Head of PR and Marketing at TrustMark, said: “Whilst rogue traders operate throughout the year, there is likely to be an increase in their numbers following extreme weather conditions involving high winds, a cold weather snap and floods.  Bogus property repairers often trick people into paying high prices for unnecessary or shoddy work so I would advise consumers to be extra vigilant and only use reputable and legitimate tradesmen.   Never agree to have work done by somebody who turns up uninvited on your doorstep.

“TrustMark was set up six years ago to signpost consumers to good quality and trustworthy firms and to help homeowners select a local tradesman with confidence.  With more than 20,000 licenced trades searchable on our database by postcode, we are able to help people find a good quality firm enabling them to get the best job done at a fair price.  We want to give people a better-informed choice of tradesmen and if things don’t go quite right, to provide a clear and easy to use complaints procedure to resolve any problems.”

Below is a checklist that offers some simple steps for householders to repair their property following weather damage:

• In the first instance check with your insurance company to see whether they have a procedure for dealing with damage as a result of the weather. 
• If you do need to find a tradesman to do work, get quotes from two or three local firms and be specific with a detailed, clear brief of the work you want done.
• Ask friends and family for a recommendation and check the TrustMark website at www.trustmark.org.uk to ensure that the tradesman is registered for the particular trades you require.
• Use a firm that has a fixed address and uses a landline phone number.  Be very wary of those only willing to give you a mobile number.
• Don’t just go with the cheapest, consider your ability to communicate with the firm and their quality of their work.
• Only pay for work that has been done and do not pay in advance.  Ensure that you obtain clear invoices of the work carried out and ideally pay by cheque or credit card.
• If materials need to be bought in advance by the tradesman, it is reasonable that the customer is asked to pay a fair percentage of these costs as the job progresses.
• Always use a written contract as it offers you protection should anything go wrong.
• Agree in writing any changes to the agreed contract value and ensure these are made   in writing before the work is done.

TrustMark is the only scheme supported by Government, industry and consumer protection groups.  It has the support of many partner organisations, including the Trading Standards Institute and Citizens Advice which are aiming to raise standards within the industry and provide greater protection for householders in their search to find local, quality tradesmen.

For further information about TrustMark, visit www.trustmark.org.uk

If you are looking for a trustworthy and reliable tradesman you can click onto our ‘Find a Tradsman’ page on DIY Doctor to find Trustmark tradesmen in your local area.

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There are some brilliant and unusual ideas for planting out there and we wanted to share a couple that caught our eye.

Photo: Stefano Paltera for The Times

This vertical plant wall was created by Anne Phillips in America and was featured in the Los Angeles Times. She has made a wonderful salad garden that would work work well in a small space or a patio/deck area, and really is great feature as well as being yummy to eat!

What about another bit of upcycling by using an enamel colander as a hanging basket? Great pic from Swoon Worthy‘s blog.

Photo: Swoon Worthy

So don’t be afraid to experiment and recycle other items as planters, and most of all have fun with your planting!

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