Feeling grumpy.
Travis Perkins and Homebase package screw in eyes in 4 packs for about £1.
Screwfix sell you 100 for about £7.
Even with the postage and nothing else on the order it is still way cheaper.
Tis the season to be grumpy. Falalalalaaa Lalalala Bah, Humbug!
Dave R
Depends on how many you need. If you only 4, you've wasted 6 quid on the other 96!
That's not the attitude. The extras will find a use. I've got a cellar full of the living proof of my theory.
Think others may agree. My local high street Travis Perkins shop has just closed. Used to be Henry Cordiner with a superb plumbing counter, hardware and decorating sections - sadly missed. They were always busy with tradesmen spending loads of money too. Seems Travis Perkins lost the plot.
and make up the order to £45 or pay delivery charges, then wait a day or two.
mark b
Some folk have wine cellars.... We have assorted useful 'stuff'. When the hingey/pivotty bit on my breadbox broke, my husband repaired it with a bit of hardware from my father's collection. Dad died 27 years ago. Stuff doesn't last forever, though - I was doing some reupholstery recently, and actually had to _buy_ some more staples to finish the job.
Sheila
Yes I do my best to avoid TP unless all else fails. I notice they've just bought Wickes, which is interesting...
David
The big problem with Travis Perkins is that they want to operate in a way where the items are marked up 30-50%, but they are generally quite happy to give a discount when asked. I reckon they have lost a lot of custom this way as people give them a miss after the first encounter.
Personally I still tend to avoid them unless I already have a target price that I can then ask them to match.
cheers
David
Didn't know that. Probably bad news. At least Wicks was fairly consistently decent value, whereas TP seems to think of a price and double it. I find it amazing that a builder's yard can try and charge more than a shed for identical items. Perhaps account holders get a good discount.
Well there's no doubt they do, and it depends on the volume of business they put through it. Much as I hate TP (because they stock virtually everything I ever need, but at an out-of-reach price to me!) I acknowledge that it make sense for them to sell plaster at a better rate to the pro who buys a dozen bags three times a week, compared to me who might pitch up for a bag about twice a year. (but then again, I don't, cos they're too expensive, so they lose my custom altogether. But I don't suppose they're too bothered.)
David
I think I've been charged reasonable prices on the rare occasions that I've bought stuff there - certainly less than the prices on the shelves, but I tend to only go there for things that the sheds don't have, so price comparison isn't a priority.
It's got to be possible to rebend them accurately, and glue them back together in a stick :)
(sofa currently in many bits over floor)
Oooh - I'll bet there's a special tool for that....
Intentionally?
Sheila
Ive got an account with TP as it my only local b/merchant. as an example, a box of 200 8x2ins screws were marked on the shelf at £4.90 (ish) trade price was 1.20 (ish) Ive seen a chap waving a screwfix catalogue at the salesman to get a discount, seemed to work. Wood in any quantity from a BM is usually price negotiable, trade or not.
Well, it started out as "I've got to fix this saggy bit", and escalated to essentially taking it all apart, removing all the uphoulstery (it was a bit stinky, washing it, screwing/gluing all the joints (there were about 3 that were not wobbly). I'm now about to start on the remantling process.
For a decent frame, it's definitely worth the effort. Pieces I've upholstered have looked better, longer (and been more comfortable) than most commercially done pieces we've had.
Sheila
It's not a decent frame, all the structural elements are stapled together, with not enough staples. Screwed+glued, the frame is quite adequate.
However, several loads of washing + a bit of glue and some staples is more practical (and cheaper) at the moment than a new sofa.
And it has come out (well, the fabric at least) looking like new, and should work well when reassembled.
If it hasn't shrunk :-\
The voice of experience?
Sheila
Doesn't seem to. I wanted to boil wash it, to kill any nasties, but ended up only doing that to the cushions, and lived with washing the rest twice.
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