Focus DIY seeking administration

[MM]

Yes, that's been my experience, too, and not just recently. There are far fewer houses being sold nowadays and therefore nothing like the refurbishment projects on the go as, say, five - ten years ago. Also, the stores (e.g. in Spalding) give a really "tired" feeling when you walk through the door. Not inviting at all. And I tend to go to Wilkinson's, anyway, for things like wood glue, hand tools, drill bits and so on. Wilkinson's stores are bright, shiny places buzzin' with customers and the prices are very keen. It's a shame they don't branch out and do things like timber. I paid £17.95 a couple of days ago (not in Wilkinson's) for a pack of three 2.4m planks of 145 x 19 planed softwood, which I thought was quite dear. It was even more expensive elsewhere, though.

MM

[MM]

Ah, Homebase! Beats me why they haven't gone into administration already, since their store in Spalding is always empty (bar the staff) when I visit it. Also, that particular branch is away from the town centre by quite a bit, whereas Focus is right close to the bus station. Homebase is e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e !

MM

[Andy Burns]

Did you try

[MM]

£2.60 more local to me, but I actually found some for the aforementioned £17.95, i.e. £2.49 a metre.

I could have got it for only £1.45 a metre from Hallgate in Long Sutton, but their yard is pretty shambolic and the stuff I needed was under a ton of other wood. I got the 3 x 2 (actually 72mm x 32mm planed) from there, though. Also for £1.45 a metre.

MM

[Tony Bryer]

What persuaded them - in Hanworth anyway - to sublet part of their space to Moben, I cannot think. What's the saying about being known by the company you keep?

[The Medway Handyman]

Ain't that the truth. Rip off merchants.

[tim....]

>

[tim....]

No, they do it everywhere.

tim

[Theo Markettos]

I rather liked it for that reason. They weren't filled with useless stuff like Homebase, they were the cheapest of the DIY barns, and I tend not to do anything that requires a visit to the builders' merchant (and anyway, ours aren't cheap to non-trade). The 'value' ranges were particularly good, and I'm quite capable of ignoring the ten screws in a blister pack for 1.99. And ours is located within walking distance of the city centre, right next to the railway station, rather than Homebase and B&Q on the retail park (which is a pain to get to by any means of transport).

Toolstation has taken a big chunk of my custom (it's located nearby too), but there's still a large range of stuff they don't do (eg garden supplies). So I'll miss Focus. But ours is going to be knocked down in a massive station redevelopment anyway, so it only hastens the end.

Theo

[Andrew Gabriel]

Also, the number of people capable of doing DIY is dying out fast. There's a cut-off currently around age 45, below which almost no one can do any DIY. This barrier raises year on year, leaving a smaller numbers of DIYers as we all eventually die...

[John Rumm]

Oi, don't age me before my time! ;-)

Just have to make sure we teach the kids to do something useful. Mine at lease seem fascinated by every ladder they find!

[ARWadsworth]

The younger members of the group have taken notice of Andrew's comments.

[D.M.Chapman]

Oi!

Pretty much everyone I work with is under that age. All (actually, that's not true - I can think of one who doesn't diy ;-)) do all sorts of diy.

Admittedly, we might be freaks in that respect. Possibly in other respects as well now I think about it...

Darren

[Andy Dingley]

Thankfully untrue. Find yourself a local Dorkbot group or Hackspace and watch real genius in action.

[Derek G.]

I was there when I first went to Salford in 1965. When I went back years later GCW had gone to the great scrap works in the sky and they had moved the road.

I would probably have approached GCW from the Uni building going over a footbridge of our own to an industrial area that included a disused candle factory, (we went there wick after wick 'till it burnt down blocking the drains with candle grease.) ;-)

GCW was over the bridge shown on the map and the toungue of land legended "weir" on the map is what I was taught to call an Ox-Bow island, though ideally this one would need a bit more erosion and a couple of palm trees to become a true island (Note embankments on the map).

Derek G

[The Medway Handyman]

You make that sound like a bad thing :-)

[Frank Erskine]

It's even worse if D-I-Yers die and have to be replaced by Medway Handythingies (who are also (probably) prone to dying eventually, btw) :-))

[ARWadsworth]

How much does your daughter and her boyfriend pay you for your handyman services:-)?

It's gone the other way up here. I get phone calls from my parents saying "A lightbulb has gone can you get a new one and fit it please?". I would not mind if it was my Mum (who is terminally useless at DIY) but my Dad should know better and he is still able to DIY.

[John Rumm]

All helps to make you feel wanted! ;-)

[dennis]

That is their way of saying you don't come and see them often enough.