B&Q

Huge store with all the usual stuff you would expect and staff were friendly but what a rip off… I know it’s going to be more expensive than a builders merchants but I needed about 17 foot of bannister hand rail. Just a round length of pine with one flat side. how much? 75 quid! That’s over 14 quid per meter. Ridiculous. Found a builders merchant around the corner and got a similar product for less than 2 quid a metre. Probably missed good stuff about the place because I was so shocked

For those who know me they’ll know that I like to think of myself as a ‘manly’ man but the fact of the matter is that I’m not, and I’m slowly starting to accept that, really slowly. I still like to have a good go at DIY and this is where places like B&Q come in handy. I suppose store like this were created for people like me. This B&Q is huge and is the ideal place to go for… well, just about anything DIY related. I was going to B&Q to get a yard brush and some disinfectant — I know what you’re thinking, this doesn’t sound very manly!
Anyway the bets thing about this branch is the layout and the clear signage. I have been to other DIY stores and spent longer looking for the items than completing the tasks but this wasn’t the case here. I actually walked in and to my left there was a ‘garden’ section and I found the items I was looking for within a minute.
Other such amenities include, parking close to the door specifically for people who are buying large items, yard brushes can be pretty big. They also have a number of self service checkouts so you can avoid the old bloke in overalls asking the checkout assistant about different types of masonry paint. What’s more they have good offers on! Give B&Q a go if, like me, you’re not quite ready for an all out tradesman’s shop.

Massive and has everything you could want for DIY could do with a few more staff about the place though.

This B and Q is enormous! B and Q is a great place to get almost anything you need for the house — wardrobes, lighting, shower units, fittings, Christmas trees, paint, tiles, garden furniture, flooring, power tools, garden sheds… the list goes on. I think it’s a safe bet that if you can’t get it here, then B and Q don’t stock it anywhere. Stock counting in this place must be a nightmare. There’s tonnes of car-​parking in this place and it’s convenient to the motorway.
I’ve always found the staff very helpful in here. I almost always need their help, trying to find out what size of brackets or screws are meant to be used with different types of fittings and appliances. I went one time to get a new shower unit. Turns out, I didn’t need a new shower unit, I just needed a new shower head and hose. The staff being able to advise me on this saved me quite a bit of time and expense (looking back on it now, it seems pretty obvious).
Another bonus is that if, for example, you buy a kitchen from them that you’re going to install yourself, they have a helpline you can phone for advice. Now that’s helpful.