John Rumm wrote:
I found that as my confidence and skills grew, what I wanted from a
DIY shop changed rapidly anyway. There is a place for plumbing
fittings in a plastic pack hanging from a hook, with fitting
instructions on the card - but you move through that fairly quickly
to wanting a bulk bag at less silly prices.
Exactly my experiance.
It looks like convenience is more relevant to experts though, ie make
it as quick and efficient as possible.
Yup, and a good range of materials etc
Anyway, I'll definitely follow your advice to follow the group to get
a better sense of the issues a pro can have, which is how I found the
site in the first place!:-)
While there are a few trades represented in the regular contributors
here, most of us are not professional DIYers (if such a thing is
actually possible).
I suppose I might be called a professional DIYer in that I carry out
relatively minor DIY tasks 5 - 6 days a week.
Just had a quick crunch of the numbers on my acounts spreadsheet to reveal
the following.
Jan 09 - Dec 09.
92 visits to B&Q, spend £1200. Average spend per visit £13.
79 visits to Wickes, spend £2000. Average spend per visit £25.
So, I'm in B&Q more often, but spend less than I do in Wickes.
Geographically, the Medway Towns is 'landscape' rather than 'portrait' on a
map, I live on the left hand edge with a small B&Q very close, Wickes is
slap bang in the middle, on the right hand edge is a huge B&Q almost next
door to a Screwfix Depot. So my local B&Q is the most convenient.
Reasons for the greater spend in Wickes? First of all, as John said, is the
product range. I want a good range of materials, not scatter cushions &
table lamps, Wicks is a much better store for the trade user, B&Q seems to
be going down the Homebase route. I don't buy from Homebase anyway, waaay
too expensive.
Secondly its because Wickes publish a complete price list/catalouge and have
a web site reasonably easy to use - though nowhere as good as 'the daddy' -
Screwfix. Most of my quotes are done in the evenings or whilst sitting in
the van at lunchtime. I can easily price stuff up from Wickes & when I get
the job its easier to buy from Wickes.
B&Q on the other hand send out a few 'offer' leaflets, but not a complete
list. The B&Q website is simply dire. Virtually unuseable.
Things I don't buy from either place;
Timber. Wouldn't touch B&Q timber with a barge pole - assuming B&Q had a
piece of timber straight enough to use as a barge pole. Timber in Wickes is
OK, bigger range & cheaper but a proper timber merchant gets nearly all of
my spend on decking timber, fence panels etc - over £3K in 09.
Fixings, screws, grab adhesive, plumbing fittings, hardware, consumables.
Screwfix & Toolststion get all of this spend simply down to price. I
wouldn't mind paying a little more instore, but I'm not going to be ripped
off.
Examples;
8 x 100 hammer fixing; B&Q pack of 16 for £7.18, Wickes pack of 20 for
£8.46. Toolstation £7.50 per 100. 45p each, 42p each or 7.5p each? Do the
math.
Flexible tap connectors (300mm); This is a good example of how crap the B&Q
site is. A seach for '300mm flexible tap connector' generates 90 items of
plumbing fittings, only 4 items are correct - and they are packs of 4, not
singles - which I know B&Q sell.
Apparently "Your search for 300mm flexible tap connectors returned no exact
results, below are possible matches".
Anywho, they are around £4 each wheras Toolstation sell them for 95p.
Silicone & Grab Adhesive; £5 - £6 a tube in B&Q, £1.50/£2 from Screwfix.
The list could go on & on.
TBH I'm spending a little more in B&Q than I used to because of the trade
card. Every 2 or 3 months I get a cheque for £50 odd which is nice. Wickes
reponded with their 'MyCard' but it isn't as good as the B&Q one and is paid
in vouchers - can't spend them on beer or curry.
--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk