A B B O T T S

On this page you can view previous editions of DIY Tip of the month, as featured in the Ottery Gazette. You can also contact me with any feedback or comments

relating to the colum. I hope you find the tips helpfull, and if there is a particular subject you would like to see covered in the colum, please get in touch.

Don`t forget to see the latest DIY tip of the month, in the Ottery Gazette out at the begining of every month.

Thanks For Reading.   

Chris   

August 2010

How To Mix Cement Part 2

Hello and welcome to tip of the month for August, last month we looked at what quantities to use, when making sand and cement, or concrete. So this month we look at how to mix it all together by hand.

Now onto the mixing part first of all the important part, health and safety. Cement is an irritant so avoid breathing-in cement dust and getting it on your skin. If dust or concrete splashes enters the eyes, wash it out using plenty of water and seek medical attention immediately. Right that bit done, now for the mixing part by hand part

Clear a large space on the ground free of any debris or use a piece of board, to do your mix on. Carefully measure out your sand or aggregate mix and dump it in a heap in the mixing area. Now add the cement, and without adding any water, use a shovel to mix all the ingredients together, work around the heap turning over each part three or four times until the mixture is evenly coloured with the grey of the cement.

Using the shovel make a kind of stack or mountain shape, and then make a crater in the top of the heap then add some water to the crater. Use the shovel to move the mixture into the central crater from around the edges and turn it over to distribute the water throughout the mixture. Watch for any water 'escaping', use the shovel to trap any with the mixture, quickly!

As all the water becomes absorbed, reform the heap, make a crater in the middle, add some more water, and turn the heap until the whole mixture is wetted. Be careful not to add too much water, just add a little at a time so as not to make the mix too wet.

As all the dry material becomes wetted, flatten out the heap and use a shovel to 'chop' into the top moving around the heap as you do so to evenly mix in the water.
A mix which has the right amount of water is smooth, not over-wet and runny nor dry and crumbly.

As a guide, watch the ridges as the top of the heap is 'chopped' - if the depressions between the chops fill with cement slurry, the mixture is OK; if it looks a watery slurry or the ridges don't stand up, the mix is too wet; if the depressions remain dry, the mix is too dry.

So there you have it, now all you have to do is use it! Mixing by hand is ok, if you only need a small amount but it is back breaking work, if you have a lot to do. After laying the concrete base for my shed, which I mixed by hand, I spent the rest of the week walking around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! If you do have a lot to do I really recommend hiring our portable cement mixer for only £12 a day, it is well worth it. Full details of which are on the hire pages of the Abbotts website.

July 2010

How To Mix Cement Part 1

Hello and welcome to July’s tip of the month, now the sun is shining, and people are working out doors, we have been asked a lot about how to mix sand and cement. What quantity of each to use, and how to make concrete. So over the next two months we will cover all bases.

First of all, we will start with the quantity required to mix. If you have a small job to do, our connivance size bags of sand and cement or concrete mix (5kg, 10kg, 20kg) will be ideal. As they already come with the correct amount of cement required for the job, which makes it nice and easy. If you have a large area to do, then our larger builders bags (25-30kg) of sand, cement and chipping would be the most cost effective way of doing the job. But for this you will have to work our how much cement you require for the job.

It’s a bit like making a large cake really, but just not quite as nice to eat. Each of the ingredients need to be measured by volume, to get the proportions right, people usually do this by shovel load but, unless you have experience, it is better to measure the cement and ballast (or sharp sand/gravel) actually using a bucket, you tend to get more ballast on a shovel than cement so just counting the shovel loads can be misleading.

Below is a table of how much cement is needed for what job, this is just a rough guide as every job is different.

and there we have it your ‘recipe’ for mixing. Next month, we look at how we actually mix it all together.

June 2010

Fitting Curtain Tracks

Hello and welcome to tip of the month for June. Over the last few weeks, I have been asked in the shop for advice on fitting curtain tracks, which got me thinking, maybe I could write a tip on this for next months column, so here it is!

Curtains are good for keeping heat in and blocking noise out, but probably more importantly they stop any nosey people looking into your front room. But putting up the curtain rail or curtain track may not be as easy as you may first think. This is because above the window where the track or rail is to be fixed to, is either a concrete or steel lintel, which is a pain, but kind of important as it holds the rest of the house up!

Usually your curtain track or rail will come with the screws and fixings it requires, if you are lucky when drilling into the wall you may miss the lintel altogether depending on how thick your plaster is. If so lucky you, well done, go and put your feet up and have a cup of tea! If you do hit the lintel, you will know as your drill will be rotating but not making any progress whatsoever.

If that is the case, you can either go higher up the wall to avoid the lintel, or you can fix a batten above the entire length of the window instead.

The batten option, which is basically a piece of wood usually 50mm x 25mm ( 2inch x1 inch in English) is fixed above the window but overlapping either side by around 200mm to 250mm (8 to 10 inches) which means that you can get a good couple of fixings of screws and raw plugs (dependant on what type of wall you have) towards the ends of the wood avoiding the lintel altogether. In this day in age though you can use adhesives like no nails instead for fixing the wood, but personally I feel the proper fixing method would be better, just in case you have any young children doing a Tarzan impression on your curtains and pulling the whole lot down. Anyway once you have your length of wood in place you can fix your track or rail brackets to the wood without any problems, which is expectally good when you have a curtain track to fix as you will have many fixings to do. Then at last you can have that well earnt cup of tea.

May 2010

Preventing Frost Damage To Brickwork 

Hello and welcome to May’s Tip Of The Month. As the weather improved last month I ventured out into my garden for the first time this year to assess the damage after a very harsh winter. To find a few dead plants, a deck area that resembles an ice skating ring, and a lawn with more moss on it than lawn. These are easily solved, but the thing I was most gutted about was the brick step going into my house that I done towards the end of last year. I cut the bricks and did a solider type course, which I was really pleased with the outcome. But what I didn’t do, which is my tip really was a quick ten minute job and that was to seal them with Thompsons Waterseal. Now this stuff is totally clear but gives the brickwork a waterproof coating so rain will run off of it like water off a ducks back, and not soak in your brick work like what happened to mine. Then of course with all the extreme frost we had the water in the bricks froze, expanded and broke the face of the bricks off, to leave a distressed look shall we say. Which there isn’t much really I can do about so it’s the case of prevention is better than cure. The mortar though can be repointed and that will be me tip next month.

By the way Ronseal or Cuprinol decking cleaner, does an ace job of turning ice skating rings back to decking, and evergreen plus lots of elbow grease will solve the moss problem. But for specialist help come and see us, and our improved gardening range in our Ottery store.

April 2010

Garden Fertilisers, What Do They Mean and What Do They Do

 Hello and welcome to April’s DIY tip of the month. Hopefully as your reading this the sun is shining and more importantly it has warmed up enough for you to venture out in to the garden, if so then it’s time to tackle the gardening. Now as you may be aware there are many items on the market for fertilizing your garden but for those of us who aren’t budding Alan Tichmarsh’s, a lot of the products can be very scary looking. With titles like “bone meal”, “dried blood” and “sulphates of iron” you wonder if you’re looking at a mixture of the contents of Hannibal lecture’s larder and a chemistry laboratory shelf. Now some suppliers do provide you with explanation clearly on the packaging, for example J. Arthur Bowers products normally do, many do not leaving you wondering “what on earth do they do?” So if this is the case fear not as below I have provided you with a table of some of the products and what they are used for.

I hope the above information is of use to you, if you would like any more questions answering don’t be afraid to email DIY tip of month by addressing your email to chris@abbottsdiy.com

March 2010

Frost Damage to Paint and Paining in Cold Weather

Hello and welcome to tip of the month for March. Over the last few months we have been asked many times about the cold weather, and how it affects paint. Hopefully though now we are in March and with a ‘Barbeque Summer’ just on the horizon this probably isn’t relevant now, or is that just wishful thinking?

Many people, me included, store paint in their garages just in case they need to do any touching up at a later date. Which most winters that is fine, but this year when outside was more like Siberia than Devon with temperatures outside hitting -8 degrees over night, you can be sure that your garage if it has no form of heating would have kopped it as well. Paint that suffers the most is water based paint for obvious reasons. You can see if your paint has been frozen as the water will have separated from the rest of the paint, and there maybe a crystallise effect on the paint that is on the lid of the sides of the can. Paint in plastic cans takes to about minus 2 before it starts to freeze, and if it has only been frozen lightly for a couple of times it may still be ok to use, but the coverage of the paint maybe effected. Once the paint is back to normal temperature stir it well. If the paint colour and consistency appear normal, then it should be all right to use. But to be 100% sure paint a bit of paper and allow to dry to see if its ok, i.e. covers well and is not crystally. If the paint doesn’t stir back in easily and it’s lumpy or looks like cottage cheese then it is a right off.

The other question we have been asked a lot over the last couple of months, apart from do we sell sledges, salt, coal and husky dogs, is can you paint outside in the cold. Which my first question would be why would you want to in this weather! But if you do there are special all weather paints and accelerating agents, but they are quite expensive. Most paints require a 5 degree centigrade temp to dry correctly, but remember if the temp is close to that it's going to take longer to dry and once the sun goes down the temp will plummet. So even if you applied it in OK conditions it could get ruined by frost or rain overnight.

If the paint takes too long to dry you will get surface problems, sagging, blooming, surface curing and then wrinkles. Gloss may not be that glossy too.
If there is too much air moisture and the surface isn't dry or likely to get dry then you will trap moisture under the surface. All in all, you shorten the life of the job, so really if it can wait, your best off holding off until that Barbeque summer then?

February 2010

Mould and Damp on Walls and Ceilings

Hello and happy belated New Year. Welcome to the DIY tip of month column for February. This month we look at preventing the build up of mould on walls and ceilings, as well as being extremely unsightly mould can be bad for your health, , particularly if you suffer from lung conditions like asthma. So it is important to nip the problem off at its source. Unless your house resembles a students digs most household mould is caused by damp. This generally comes from either damp transferring through the walls or the formation of condensation.

So first we’ll look at preventing damp transferring through the walls. Some older houses have only single skin brick walls allowing the damp to transfer easily. If you find that your house is and you have a damp problem on the said wall the simple solution is to treat the wall with a product called Thompsons waterseal. This invisible product coats your wall with a waterproof membrane which will repel all rainwater. If you find the mould is just forming in a patch on the wall it may be some fault outside which needs fixing like a leaking downpipe or a running overflow.

The second and most likely cause of mould is condensation. This generally forms when dampness in the air meets a cold surface and then forms water droplets. Obviously this is why you find mould a lot in bathrooms. You can prevent having dampness in the air by simply opening the windows, but this is not always practical at this time of year as you are trying to heat your house not trying in vain to heat up the UK. So there is a product on the market called a moisture trap. It basically looks like a tupperware box, but inside there are moisture absorbing crystals which will trap all the water in the box rather than forming on your walls and windows. When your trap becomes over absorbed you just simply replace the crystals. Once you have solved the cause of your mould problem then you can begin the cleaning or repainting of your walls. On this I could fill another page so that concludes this month’s tip of the month. Thank you for reading and as ever if you have any queries or would like a tip answering in this column please email me at chris@abbottsdiy.com.

December 2009

Cookware Related Tips

Hello, and welcome to Tip Of The Month for December, and with Christmas just around the corner I am downing my tools and heading into the kitchen for a more seasonal tip, with the help of Abbotts in-store cookery expert, or as I call her…Mum!

With Christmas approaching we frequently hear of our customers shopping for a new cooker hob and are drawn by the Salesmen to the new economical induction hob units - Very efficient , quick, instant heat and turn off facilities, much cheaper on fuel, and very easy to clean, which is a bonus to say the least. Apart from the price it sounds everyone's dream way of cooking and of course it is.  However a lot of our customers find when they go to cook on their new appliance their existing prize saucepans (many extremely expensive ones or sentimental value ones) are completely useless on the new hob as the induction model works by magnetic force.  Therefore a complete new range of saucepans and frypans are then an added additional expense.  As a general rule the cheaper range of saucepans are not modified for this futuristic way of cooking and you will find it necessary to upgrade to middle to top range merchandize. But fear not we at Abbotts have a wide range of these pans at reasonable prices and boxed sets if required. So if you are looking to purchase a shinny new saucepan set this Christmas, it is worth bearing in mind to look for one that will work on induction hobs, as it is something that will become very popular in the future as the prices come down.
 
Another thing to bear in mind is the heavier the saucepan base and metal used the more efficient the saucepan - heavy stainless steel saucepans with aluminium encapsulated bases will cook much quicker and food will not stick in them than the cheaper thinner ones. The thicker non-stick finish is the longer it will last, also of course it will help if you only use wood or silicone gadgets in your pans and avoid prolonged use in dishwasher.
 

As with many things, it can be a bit of a minefield choosing the right saucepan for you, so if you need any specific help for your requirements please come in and see us where we can give you expert help. Both Vivienne, and Jeffery are fully trained on all the various ranges of cookware, and will help find the correct product for you, so don’t leave it to chance pop in and see them, they will be happy to help.
 

That brings me to the end of my forth year writing this column, I hope you have enjoyed these tips as mush is I have had writing them, and most importantly I hope you have found some points useful. If you have any questions or comments relating to this column please visit the tip of the month page on the Abbotts website at www.abbottsdiy.com .

Tip of the month will return in the gazette in February next year, so all that remains for me to do is wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year, from myself, Tony, Viv, Jeff, Martin, Geoff, and Jake at Abbotts.

November 2009

Painting Related Q&A's

Hello and welcome to Tip Of The Month for November. Over the last few months, we covering various painting and decorating questions and answers. So a month later than planned (due to the lightbulb ban) is the final part of this subject.

Q.  Why do you need to use Primer & Undercoat, with some paints and not others?

A. Primers are used as the ‘Bonding coat’ to surfaces that have not been previously painted. Primers in effect ‘key’ the surface, for the undercoat to stick to. There are different types of primer depending on what surface you are trying to paint; there are wood primers, anti rust metal primers, multi surface primers and difficult surface primers for things like tiles, plastics, and melamine’s. The undercoat is added after the primer, and this adds ‘build’ to the layers of paint, basically building up the thickness of the paint and providing excellent hiding power.

Q.  What Does ‘High VOC’ On The Paint Can Mean?

A. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds. These are found in paint that contains a solvent such as white spirit, these are usually undercoat and oil based gloss paints. Paint that is high in VOCs will contribute more to atmospheric pollution than water based paints which have low or minimal levels of VOC. In January next year new tougher legislation is coming in, which will force paint companies to reduce the VOC levels in their paints. You may have noticed that over this year some of our paints like our Dulux Satinwood for example, has been changed over from solvent based to water based. Solvent based paints will still be available like our mixed paint range for example, but Dulux like many other paint companies have reformulated the paints so they give out less VOC`s so that they are compliant with the new legislation.

As always if you need any specialist help, please come in and see us at Abbotts as we are always happy to help, whatever you DIY nightmare might be!

That is it for this month, I am off to try and dream up a Christmas related tip for next months Gazette.

October 2009

Incandescent Light Bulb Phase Out

Hello and welcome to Tip of the month for October. Over the last month at Abbotts, like many hardware retailers across the country, we have experienced a lot of panic buying of traditional style light bulbs, and a lot of confusion about the phasing out of them. Particularly since my very strange, but enjoyable experience, of being on the TV talking about it.

But whether you believe that the time is right for the old style incandescent bulb to be discontinued or not, the time has come and has been in effect for longer than you might expect. Here we explain how the phase out has been rolling out across the UK.

Q. Is it now illegal for retailers to sell the banned light bulbs?

No, No, No. If this was true I had better start enjoying the taste of porridge! This is a common misconception, due to poor information provided by the government and

media hype. A lot of people believe that shops are acting illegally if they sell the old style bulbs. The ban itself is on the manufacture and import in to the UK of these bulbs after the banning. Retailers who still have remaining stock can continue to sell indefinitely until their stocks are depleted.

Q. What bulbs have been discontinued?

The page below sets out clearly which bulbs have now been banned and the time table for the remainder of the incandescent phase out.

Key:      V       UK Voluntary Discontinuation. (Followed by most large UK Stores)      

               M      EU Light mandatory discontinuations

Currently the most popular low energy light bulb range are CFL (compact fluorescent lighting). These do vary a lot in prices depending on make, quality and the fitting.

These bulbs are not popular with many, for things like the poor quality of light they give, and the general appearance of them. However they are seen as a transitional

replacement to the traditional incandescent bulb as the future, next generation of LED lamps will be more compact, provide better light, and use even less energy, are

still not ready for the shop floor. It is anticipated these will be available in around four to five years time.

September 2009

Painting & Decorating Questions & Answers Part 3

Hello and welcome to Tip Of The Month for September. Since Abbotts was accredited as a Dulux Colour and Advice Centre, we have been inundated with challenging painting and decorating problems from customers. Particularly these days there is such a huge range of different paints, and finishes it can be quite confusing. So for the next few months, we cover some of the most popular questions and answers.

Q.  Do ‘One Coat Paints’ Really Cover Everything In One Coat?

A. Yes, in most cases it will, unless you are attempting a big colour change like black to white as an example, but really who would paint their room black? But colours of a similar colour tone, will be fine to do in one coat. These One Coat paints are quite thick, so take care not to ‘overspread’ as this will lower the paints ‘hiding power’.

Q.  Do you have to use radiator paint on a radiator or will ordinary gloss be alright?

A. Traditionally Radiator paint was your only option, so it was a bit of the clue is in the title job really. The Down side was that the colour range was a little bit limited, consisting of white gloss, or white satin. But these days, you are not limited at all. As long as the bare metal or any rust spots are primed first, you can use an ordinary gloss, or satin paint but preferably a solvent based one. Just make sure the radiator is cold, when you paint it, and don’t turn it on for a day or two until the paint is fully cured. So probably painting it in the middle of winter could be classed as a bad idea!

As always if you need any specialist help, please come in and see us at Abbotts as we are always happy to help, whatever you DIY nightmare might be! There will be more paint Q & A`s in next months column.

August 2009

Painting & Decorating Questions & Answers Part 2

Hello and welcome to Tip Of The Month for August. Since Abbotts was accredited as a Dulux Colour and Advice Centre, we have been inundated with challenging painting and decorating problems from customers. Particularly these days there is such a huge range of different paints, and finishes it can be quite confusing. So for the next few months, we cover some of the most popular questions and answers.

Q.  Can you use emulsion paints outside?

A. In a nutshell…No. Basically they are just not durable enough to cope with whatever Mother Nature throws at it. For this you will need Masonry paint, the good news is that particularly with the colours the outdoor paint is cheaper, litre for litre. The bad news is that they only come in large quantities of 5 Litres or more. As well as being more durable, many masonry paints like the Dulux Weathershield have a mould resistant paint film, to well…stop mould, and algie growth. There are two types of finishes paint finishes to choose from smooth or textured. There is a perception that you must use the textured finish on a textured wall, which is completely untrue. The textured paint has little bits of grit in it, so for example if you painted it of a flat surface you will see a slightly sandy type surface, like those very nice outdoor classroom we had at school. We very rarely sell textured paint as the coverage of the smooth so, so much better, as you are not buying a tin of paint half filled with sand. So if your wall has a textured rough cast finish to it, the smooth type paint would be ideal for it. Again you are not limited to the standard, few cream colours that look more or less the same on the colour card. If you wish to be more adventurous or, you don’t like the neighbours opposite, because let face it they will be looking at your house across the road a lot more than you will. You can choose from 1000`s of different colours via the Dulux Paint mixer.

As always if you need any specialist help, please come in and see us at Abbotts as we are always happy to help, whatever you DIY nightmare might be! There will be more paint Q & A`s in next months column.

July 2009

Painting & Decorating Questions & Answers Part 1

Hello and welcome to Tip Of The Month for July. Since Abbotts was accredited as a Dulux Colour and Advice Centre, we have been inundated with challenging painting and decorating problems from customers. Particularly these days there is such a huge range of different paints, and finishes it can be quite confusing. So for the next few months, we cover some of the most popular questions and answers.

      Q.  What are the main types of interior paint, and which is used for what purpose?

A.   As a rule, emulsion paints are used for painting ceilings and walls in the home. They come in a range of finishes Matt, Soft Sheen and Silk, the difference being the sheen level with the Matt being a flat finish, the Silk being a shiny finish, and the Soft Sheen being between the two. The higher the sheen level of the paint, the greater the light reflectance will be. Conversely a flat Matt finish is less reflective and will help to hide surface imperfections. Matt is by far the most popular choice of paint finish that we sell, but Silk or Soft Sheen is recommended when painting Kitchens or Bathrooms, (Unless you are using a specialist paint for this) as the sheen of the paint will help water or steam, run off the paint surface.

Q. What about Kitchen and Bathrooms Paints?

A. Traditionally all we used to use for Kitchens and Bathrooms was either a traditional Silk or Soft Sheen paint, which you can of course still use. But over the last ten years or so, paint companies have introduced special paints for Kitchens and Bathrooms, which are designed to be more durable. For example, in bathrooms if you suffered with paint flaking or mould problems, the Dulux Bathroom paint has a mould resistant paint film, and is; so they say, ten times tougher than normal emulsion paints. Similarly the Kitchen paint is more resistant to grease, steam, and stains than traditional emulsions, and what is also unique about this paint is it comes in a Matt finish. You are also not limited by the 20 or so standard colours, as both Kitchen, and bathroom paints can be mixed in store, within a few minutes using our Dulux Paint Mixing Machine.

As always if you need any specialist help, please come in and see us at Abbotts as we are always happy to help, whatever you DIY nightmare might be! There will be more paint Q & A`s in next months column.

June 2009

Removing A Cracked Tile

Hello for this months tip, we cover removing a cracked or damaged tile and replacing it with a new one. As you may have guessed the hardest part is removing the old one, and in particular not damaging any of the tiles around it. First of all you will need to remove all of the grouting around the offending tile, for this you will need a grout removing tool which will scrape all the old grouting away, and this will isolate the tile away from the others when you come to start removing it. Next up using a drill with a tile bit, drill a series of holes around the tile, to help break it up, and then using a small cold chisel and a hammer start removing small bits of the tile at the time, starting from the middle but taking extra care as you get towards the edge, not to damaged the neighbouring tiles. Once removed try to remove as much of the old adhesive as possible, without taking huge chunks of masonry out of the wall.

So now the worst bit is done, yippee. To put in the new tile, the most economical way is to purchase fix & grout adhesive which does both jobs you require, and it comes in small 500ml or 1L quantities. Apply the adhesive to the back of the tile with a notched spreader (our adhesive comes with a spreader), then carefully put the new tile in place. Once in the hole use a straight edge to make sure the new tile is flush with the existing tiles. Don’t forget to use tile spacers around the tile particularly at the base of the tile so it doesn’t slip out of position when the adhesive is setting. Once set (best left over night) you can use the rest of your tub of fix and grout as the grout. Using a flat but flexible blade apply the grout into the gaps around the tile. Best is really to use a grout spreader as once I used an old credit card, which was a tip I heard about but the red ink from it dissolved with the grout, and turned it pink. So I was not best pleased, but it may have been that particular card, anyhow rant over! once the grout is applied smooth it and buff it up using gentle pressure from a damp sponge. With thanks to James Wadham, for the surgestion for this months tip.

May 2009

Garden Furniture Reviatising

Hello and welcome to tip of the month for May. I must admit I was scratching my head on what I should write about this month, but after a visit to Natwest bank a very helpful Maria, and Jane came up with the suggestion on revitalising your garden furniture after winter, so on that great suggestion here is this months tip.

With wooden garden furniture if the wood is tired and dried out, you need to apply teak oil, or for even better protection use garden furniture oil to replace the natural oils that have dried out of the wood. If the wood has been left for quite some time without protection and has gone grey, and badly discoloured you will require a garden furniture restorer to in effect bleach and clean the woods surface back to its natural state, before applying either oil, or garden furniture stain to protect it. But for specialist help and advice, come in and see us.

With plastic furniture a great product to use to restore this is the well named HG garden furniture restorer. But if you just fancy freshening up your plastic furniture for a short while, a cheap method is to use WD40. It won’t work on white plastic, but with coloured plastic it is quite effective. Just apply sparingly and wipe away any excess with a cloth, so no relatives who sit on the your WD40’ed garden chair will get an oily bum, but I suppose on the bright side at least they won’t rust!

April 2009

Growing Your Own Vegetables

Hello and welcome to tip of the month for a hopefully sunny April, and as it is spring and hopefully we have seen the back of snow and frost this months tip is garden orientated.

Due to the credit crunch, recession or whatever you want to call it we have seen a huge surge in sales of our 79p garden seeds. As people are saving money by growing their own vegetables. Also every time you turn on the TV, there is some scaremongering program highlighting what some supermarkets do to your food, so it has never been more popular to grow your own.

Now I would love to think that you can just chuck the seeds in the ground, pop back in a few months and like Jacks beanstalk it would be job done, but unfortunately life isn’t that simple. As I am not the most green fingered person around, so I have sort some advice which I have listed below to have healthily veg, rather than some dead weeds.

Location, Location, Location

Most vegetables need 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. Choose a site in an area that will not be shaded by buildings or trees. To grow vegetables successfully the soil needs to be fertile, deep, and well drained.

Dig and Fertilize Your Soil

The first task is to dig over the whole of your site. Dig to a depth of 8-10 inches and continue working the soil making it loose and friable. Do not dig when the soil is too wet.

Apparently, there are many different types of soil, and depending on its PH level you can use lime and other things to improve its PH level. A general way to fertilise your soil is to use something like growmore mixed into the soil, or if you have a horse handy and like your future food under a heap of dung, this is meant to be one of the best ways to fertilise your soil.

Watering Your Vegetables

Once your vegetables are all planted out in the beds they will require regular watering, weeding and fertilizing. On average your vegetables will need one inch of water a week. On the basis of the weather we had over the last two summers this shouldn’t be a problem, but if this is not provided by rainfall, they will need regular watering, lets hope there isn’t a hosepipe ban then!. The best time to water is early in the morning, or in the evening generally avoiding the mid day sun. Hoe your beds regularly to control the weeds and leave the soil in a loose, condition which will help to absorb water.

Pests

Unfortunely your nice looking crops may get infected by bugs or pests. If so, you will need something like Bug Gun to get rid of the little blighters.  The most common pest that likes your veg as much as you do is slugs, now I have heard of the method of putting out a pint of beer, and slugs like most men love the occasional pint of beer, but the difference is the slug falls in the pint glass and drowns. Personally I find this method a senseless waste of the old amber nectar, so I will be sticking to slug pellets to keep the little blighters at bay. It’s also a good idea to keep, rabbits, tortoise, and if you can cats away from your crops. So hopefully after a few months you will have a nice crops of veg, have fun!

March 2009

Blocked Drains

Hello and welcome to Tip Of The Month for March, this month we cover the minging subject of blocked drains.

Now as usual there are several methods and ways to do it, so lets start with the cheapest option, the one that doesn’t cost a penny.

Now have you seen the government information TV advert where they pour a jug a saturated fat down the drain? If you haven’t please avoid seeing this advert, as it has put me off eating anything nice and I am now on a diet of lettuce leaves and lentils L. Anyway, most kitchen drain blockages are caused by the build up of fat, and as seen on the advert on TV if you have a bottle style trap you can simply unscrew the base of it, making sure you have a bucket below, and the fat and muck will come out as a horrible lump, but its problem solved. If your trap won’t unscrew the other options are, either a plunger, or a small drain wire. With a plunger you will need to cover the sinks overflow with a damp cloth, so the suction doesn’t bypass that way instead.

The final option is of the chemical variety, but with this its best to use while the drain is still moving all be it slowly rather than completely blocked as it gives the solution a chance to break down the blockage as it passes through. At Abbotts we have many, many products that will do this, so for any specific help please come in and see us, but the most popular three products are, for kitchen sinks we have Enzyme Kitchen Drain Unblocker, which contains natural enzymes which break down fat, grease and food, and its also safe to use if you have a septic tank. For shower drains, bathes, and basins which are mainly clogged up with hair and soap, the best product would be KB Red. Finally for out door drains its best to use old fashioned caustic soda.

February 2009

 Traditional Light Bulb Phase Out

Hello, and a very belated Happy New Year to you. I hope you all had a good Christmas, and after December’s Tip of the month, thank you to everyone who was concerned about me poisoning my in-laws with a under cooked Christmas lunch, thankfully everything went well.

This month’s tip of the month column is less of a tip and more of an information one. This month we have had so many people coming into our store asking about the phasing out of the traditional style light bulbs, and if the standard 100w bulbs have stopped being manufactured. The quick answer is unfortunately yes they have been, and although we have especially bought in massive stocks here at Abbotts, when they are gone we will be unable to obtain any more. There is quite a bit of confusion and people feel left in the dark of what the government’s timetable is so hopefully the information below will enlighten you. (sorry bad pun)

The Full S.P.

In March 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced his aim for the UK to be at the forefront of a European initiative to phase out inefficient light bulbs, with the intention that by the end of 2011, phase out will be complete. The current phase out is voluntary, but it’s also worth noting that it’s probable that European legislation will make such a phase out mandatory in the near future.

With climate change consistently high on many people’s agenda, it’s expected that the phase out will mean people will be using less energy. The Energy Saving Trust suggests that because an energy efficient bulb will use less electricity and last up to 10 times longer than a traditional bulb, each one can save £3 a year. As customers try to save money, and consider the environment, many may choose energy saving bulbs over the traditional, inefficient ones.

The Time Table

Below is a list of when, certain types to light bulbs will cease manufacture. It is worth noting this is only for traditional A-shaped GLS bulbs, there are no plans to discontinue other types of bulbs, yet!!! 

January 2008 all bulb 150w and 200w were discontinued

By January 2009, 75w and 100w bulbs are discontinued.

By January 2010, 60w bulbs will cease.

By 31 December 2011, all sales of the remaining inefficient GLS A-shaped lamps and will be discontinued this includes 40w & 25w bulbs, and also 60w candles and golf balls would also cease.

More information about the phase out can be found using the link below.

http://www.elcfed.org/documents/080613_ELC%20FAQ%20domestic%20lighting_external_update.pdf

What are the alternatives to GLS bulbs?

Compact fluorescent lights are small lamps which fit into standard light sockets, and are commonly referred to as CFLs or energy saving bulbs. They use less energy than GLS bulbs, and last longer, making them more energy efficient and cost effective than traditional bulbs. Halogen bulbs are more efficient that GLS bulbs, but less so than CFLs. They are the best choice for a bright white light. In the next few weeks we are expecting in stock an adapter that converts your standard bayonet light fitting, into a two pin halogen fitting, so watch this space!

LEDs are probably going to be the future replacement they are currently mainly used in decorative and external lighting, due to their low levels of illumination. It’s expected that as newer LEDs are developed, brighter alternatives will be available and be able to compete with CFLs for general use indoors.

December 2008

Christmas Cooking Tip / How Not to Posioning Your In-Laws

Hello and welcome to Tip of the month for December, now as there isn’t really a Christmas related theme with DIY, so for this month only I am stepping out of the garage and into the kitchen, for a cooking orientated tip of the month.

Now for Christmas Janet and I are having the in laws over on Boxing Day, and we are cooking Christmas dinner for the first time, which is a bit daunting really. Where as I have full confidence in my wife’s cooking skills, I don’t have quite the same with my own. As you can’t put a turkey in the microware and blast it on full heat for 5 minutes.

Speaking to a friend of mine last year, he and his other half had people over for Christmas and they undercooked the turkey and gave everyone (apart from the vegetarian) food poisoning. So without being too graphic, they spent more time on Christmas day in the bathroom, than around the Christmas tree. But they are not alone, it is estimated that every year in the UK 4000 People get food poisoning from undercooked turkeys.

So not wanting to be number 4001 this year, I have invested in a meat thermometer. All you do with this easy little gadget is shove it into the bird and it will give you the temperature reading of the meat inside and if it is cooked or not.  They cost just shy of the £4 mark, but if you are not a confident cook like myself, it could save a lot of embarrassment. They also work on other meats like beef, pork, and chicken. So in summery don’t poison your outlaws, and have a great Christmas.

That brings me to the end of my third year writing this coloum, I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have had writing them, and most importantly I hope you have found some points useful. Tip of the month will return in the gazette in February next year, so all that remains for me to do is wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from myself and the rest of the family and staff at Abbotts.

November 2008

Tooling / Moulding Sealants

Hello and welcome to Tip of the month for November, and as it is getting close to Christmas this month we cover the subject of…er…Sealants. Ok it has nothing to do with Christmas at all, but does any kind of DIY?

Now there are two types of sealants, the water based ones which I like, and the solvent based ones, which I don’t. Water based sealants are things like decorators filler/caulk, frame sealants etc, which as they are water based you can, once applied use a damp cloth or a wetted finger to make the sealant look neater, if you are like me, and are not that fantastic with a mastic gun.

The other type which I am sure you can guess is the solvent based stuff which is basically, silicone, which is used as a sealant for windows, and around kitchen worktops, baths and showers. The reason I am not a great fan of this stuff is you can’t wet your finger for this one, as it makes a damn mess, it sticks to everything, and it can make your hands look like the marshmallow man.

There are things through you can do to make this job easier, and create the perfectly finished seal. First of all you can use the squeeze tubes, rather than the mastic cartridges, but theses work out less economical on the price front. The second option is using a spreading tool; these only cost around £2.50 and can give you a nice professional finish. The last one which I must confess I haven’t tried yet is to use masking tape. To do this all you need to do is apply masking tape to both sides of the seal, cut the nozzle of the sealant tube to a 45 degree angle, and run the bead along. Then leave it for a short time for the sealant to skin over a bit, but not to dry completely, before removing the masking tape.

If like me your hands are still covered in silicone some how, a great product for removing the silicone from them is wonder wipes. They have the bloke who won big brother the first time’s face stamped on the front of it, so it must be good….right?

October 2008

Black Mould On Tile Joints

Hello and welcome to the DIY tip of the month column for October, this month we look at as the title suggests black mould on joints of tiles. As I am sure you know over time your nice white tile grout joints can discolor, and can go moldy with the constant damp and wet conditions associated in the bathroom. We have several customers coming into Abbotts with this problem thinking that the only solution is to rake out all the grout and then reapply new grout in its place, which you can do, there is no harm in that at all, but there are a couple of easier and less messier options as well. One is cleaning, and the best products in my opinion for this is HG mould spray or Blackfriars Anti Mould, as these products are more  powerful and produces better results than ordinary domestic bleach. These products destroys and neutralizes the mould, and helps protect against re-growth. They also bleach the grout to mask any mould stains, and can also be used on mould on silicone seals as well.

The second option is a grout pen, which is like a paint pen. To use this you will need to clean the surface to remove any dirt or surface mould. Then the grout pen will simply paint back a nice white coating over the grout lines. It is a one coat application, and very tough, and water resistant, and as long as you have a steady hand and can draw straight lines the results look pretty good as well.

September 2008

BUYING AND USING POWER TOOLS PART 2

Hello, and welcome to this months tip of the month column. Last month we looked at the pro’s and con’s of buying power tools in general, in this months column the second part and looks more in depth at each individual type of machine.

Angle Grinders

These are very useful machines with enable you to cut both metal, and stone materials. As explained in last months column, it is always better to go for a higher wattage machine, to save it burning out quickly.

Drills

Again the higher the wattage, the more powerful the machine, but other things to consider are size of the drills chuck. There are 10mm or 13mm the smaller size is fine for smaller jobs like putting in rawlplugs, but if you ever need to do bigger jobs the smaller size chuck will not take the larger size drill bits. Also another thing to consider is the chuck itself, whether or not to have a traditional key chuck or keyless chuck. The only thing to watch though with some of the cheaper makes, the keyless chuck is inferior and the inside of it is completely made of plastic, so it slips and can break quite easily. Finally make sure that your drill have a hammer function, this is standard on nearly all corded drills these days, but there are still one or two that don’t. The hammer drill function as the title suggests hammers the drill bit back and forward very slightly at high speed, but it enables you to drill through brick and concrete walls quite easily. With out it you will struggle drilling into these types of materials, as you are just relying on the rotary movement of the drill to cut its way through.

Cordless Drills

These are handy tools to have, and although electric screwdrivers are still available cordless drills have pretty much superseded them. Again things to watch out for is the quality of the drills chuck or having said that the quality of the drill in general, as some of the cheaper drills have inferior batteries. The power of cordless drills are measured in voltage, again the higher the voltage the more powerful it is. I have seen though some drills with massive 28 volt batteries which make the drill so heavy, you would have to be built like Geoff Capes to use it. In my opinion for normal domestic use something between 12v to 18v is perfect. The disadvantage of though of these drills are the batteries life, you can help per long it by using the drill until its battery is flat and then recharge it fully. But when they eventually over time the batteries will deteriate and they won’t hold their charge at all, and a new battery is normally £20 to £30 depending on the make, so in many cases it’s more expensive than a new drill. So if you use your drill quite a bit it may pay to get one that comes complete with two batteries from the start.

Cordless drills are genarly for screwdriving, drilling wood etc, and for light masonry work, as most of them don’t have a hammer function. You can get them with a hammer function if you want to drill masonry, but its quite a bit more money for that, and I suppose it all comes down to if you already have a corded drill for that particular job, or what use you want it for really.

Jigsaws

The trick with this is to get the edge pieces in first and you will find it a lot easier, on the power jigsaw front though the same again applies with the more power the stronger the motor. The only other difference is either pendulum action or not. The pendulum ones make a semi circle type arch, when cutting which helps cut a lot faster, where as a standard blade just cuts up and down. To have this feature is just down to personal choice really.

A general rule for all to per-long the life of your power tools is not to force the machine along, allow your tool to do the cutting or drilling. As if you force it, you are putting un necessary strain on the motor, and could cause it to burn out. Secondly if you have used your tool quite a bit in short succession you will feel it getting hot, so to help cool it down stop cutting or drilling but allow the motor to run for about 30 seconds before continuing. This will allow your power tool to draw in cool air around its motor and help it to cool down.

August 2008

BUYING AND USING POWER TOOLS   Part 1

Hello, and welcome to this months tip of the month column, I don’t know about you but I can’t believe we are in August already where has the year gone!

This month as the title suggest we are covering one of my favorite topics power tools. Personally I love using them, but I am sure that is the big kid side of me. But you must treat them with respect as they can cause some nasty injuries, I have seen some pictures of injuries caused by misusing power tools and it is enough to put you off your lunch to say the least. So its safety first, I know this sounds a bit like sucking eggs but you would be surprised how many people don’t, and you can’t exactly buy a new pair of eyes off eBay. It is also a good idea to use a RCD socket, in the event of an electrical fault, or you accidentally cutting the power cable this device will instantly cut the power supply and save you from a very nasty electrical shock.

Now when going to buy a power tool there is so so many different makes and models to choose from, so which ones are best? Well you don’t have to spend a fortune on a well known brand, particularly if it is only for occasional use. Our most popular selling power tools for DIY / semi professional use is the Draper range, as they are built to a high specification and offer good value for money. Every make and machine has its own pro’s and con’s so if you need any specialist help, please come in and see us, but the general rule of thumb is the more powerful it is the better, it is. As the most common fault of any power tool is the motor not being powerful enough and burning out too quickly. For example you can buy an Angle grinder for around £10 - £12 which will have a 380w motor. The price looks good, but the motor is not, as when cutting you put a lot of strain on the motor so a small one like this will burn out very quickly. You are better off spending a few pounds more and going for something like a 650w, 710w or 880w Angle Grinder, as you can see the later one is over double the power of the cheap 380w model so the motor is a lot more robust. The same is true with drills and jigsaws, as well but we will look more in depth at individual tools next month.

July 2008

MAINTAINING GARDEN FURNITURE

Hello Summer 2008 is here at last, so its time to get out in the garden, enjoy the sunshine and spark up the BBQ. Now unless you eat off the floor, I guess you have some sort of garden furniture (this is male intrusion at its best). Now if you have plastic furniture, happy days, clean off the odd dead bug and your ready to go, glass and metal furniture….. no problem apart from the occasional coat of hammerite if the metal starts to go rusty, but with the wooden furniture to preserve it and keep it looking nice it must be maintained on a annual basis.

Now like everything in the DIY world there are loads of products that do the same thing, too help make life confusing and so us retailers have to stock a lot more than we need to. So what do you need to do to keep your wood looking good, well the most popular choice is oils as these protect the wood and keep it looking natural. Traditionally and probably still the most popular is Teak Oil, but the new alternative to this is Garden Furniture Oil. The difference between this and Teak Oil is that as well as providing the oil to nourish the wood and help against the sun drying out the wood, as the teak oil does, but the Garden Furniture Oil also provides a wax type coating that helps repel the water, not that we ever get rain in our summer!

The other option is to use a garden furniture stain, these give you the option of adding a new colour to your garden furniture. These products are very much like the woodstain that you would put on your doors or windows, as in they provide a protective coat on the surface of the wood, but they do no actually soak into the wood itself.

Now if you haven’t protected your furniture and it is looking Greyer than my and Jon Sweetings hair colour put together, all is not lost. If your furniture is looking like this, its because the sun have dried out the wood, and with the weather it is now grey. To restore this back to its former glory use Cuprinol Garden Furniture Restorer, available from all good DIY shops particularly ones based in

The exact same principles and products are available for your decking as well, so you will find decking cleaner, stains, oils, and restorers all in stock at Abbott’s

June 2008

PAINT STRIPPING / POLYCELL LESS MESS PAINT STRIPPER

Hello, in this months column we talk about strippers….of the paint verity that is. Most of the paint strippers that are on the market you have to brush on, and leave for a while for it to make the paintwork blister up into a kind of gulley texture which you then have to scrape off with a scraper. Which is fine if you have a flat surface but trying to scrape this gluey gummy stuff of something like a banister rail is a bit of a nightmare to say the least. Another huge disadvantage of these types of paint strippers are that they nearly all contain a harmful chemical called Methylene Chloride, which mother earth isn’t a great fan of. So why am I telling you this? Well there is a new product that has just come out on the market that really caught my eye.
Its made my Polycell, the company who make Polyfilla, and its called less mess paint stripper. It does not contain any chemical nasty’s having said that eating it is not advisable, but the main advantage is that you simply brush it on, leave it for 6 hours and it blisters the paint into a dry crust, and then all you have to do is simply brush the dust off. Amazing! Particular if you are trying to strip paint work on previously difficult surfaces like window frames or banisters, this will make your life a lot easier.
This product has only just come on the market, so I must confess I haven’t used it myself yet, plus the fact my wife has just finished decorating she probably wouldn’t be too impressed if I removed all the paintwork that she has just done. But if it does what it says it does, then it is quite a revolutionary product.

May 2008

CURING DRIPPING TAPS

I have had a request on the Abbotts website from a Ryan Jackson on how to cure dripping taps. This was covered in this column a very long time ago, so it certainly doesn’t hurt to cover this very common problem again.

First of all you will need to turn off the water, otherwise you will have a new water feature in your kitchen and an un-planned shower. Once this is done you will need to get the tap to pieces.

Usually on the tap there is a decorative top that has hot or cold on it. This can, depending on what type of tap you have be either un-screwed by twisting, or popped off using a screw driver. Under this you will find a screw, and when this is undone the top of that tap will be removed. You will then see the brass tap mechanism, this will unscrew from the main tap body using a spanner or adjustable waterpump pliers. It might take a bit of shifting due to the lime scale though. Once this is removed you will see the washer, this is usually the cause of a dripping tap. So replacing this should do the trick, but as nothing seems to be standard these days it is advisable to take the washer and tap mechanism down to your local DIY store, like erm… Abbott’s!

Lever taps, are slightly different though. They are the same to take to pieces but they don’t have a washer, they have a ceramic disc and unfortunately if this cracks which it does after time. You will need a whole new tap mechanism, which are three times the price of a normal Tap mechanism.

Ottery has very hard water and as a result it eats through the seating of taps, this is another reason why taps drip. The seating is the round metal ring that the washer sits on to create the seal. If the seating is at fault you will see or you can feel a scratch on dent on this ring which should be smooth. This again is easily solved, taps can be re-seated using as the title explains a ‘tap reseating tool’ these can be either bought from all good hardware stores, or we hire them out at £2.00 a day. Taps can be reseated a couple of time but after, that you will probably need a new tap.

April 2008

COMPOSTING YOUR HOUSEHOLD & GARDEN WASTE

Spring is in the air....well I kind of hope it is when the Gazette goes to print, as I am writing this in mid March with 80 mile per hour winds, and plenty of rain going on outside!
Anyway spring should be in the air, so it is time to get out in the garden, and usually one of the first jobs is to prune back all the trees and bushes. So when you have finished your cutting back, you normally end up with a nice big heap of cuttings. Normally you have a couple of options of getting rid of it, one is to burn it, which I have learnt, it kind of upsets your neighbours, especially when they have just put out their washing. Having said that if you don’t like your neighbours having a bonfire of green cuttings would be a great idea!
Option 2 which is more neighbour friendly is to take it all to the tip, but the greenest way is option 3, which is to make it into compost. There are local schemes running that already do this, but to cut down on the old carbon footprint even more you can do this yourself, and it is better on the wallet as well which I am all in favour of.
You only need a small area of your garden to make your own compost heap, or you can buy a compost bin for around £30 which looks a little more pleasing on the eye.
If you find mother natural a bit on the slow side there is a brilliant product called Garotta, which you can use which is a biological compost maker with natural microbes and enzymes which help speed up the process. As well as shrub cuttings, you can also compost grass cuttings and kitchen waste.
All you need to do is to build up your heap in layers, sprinkling a bit of Garotta between the layers. Then cover with an old carpet or polythene sheet to retain the moisture. Then just leave it for six to eight weeks and then hey-presto you should have a nice heap of compost.

March 2008

REMOVING MILDEW STAINS FROM FABRICS & OIL STAINS FROM DRIVEWAYS

Its March, so inevitably it is spring cleaning time, Joy o’Joy. But it doesn’t have to be a nightmare chore. There are so many products that can make these tasks a lot easier, from traditional cleaners that your Granny swears by, to modern day task specialist products. We keep a large range of both, but I am sure you are relieved to know as is the editor of the Gazette, that I am not going to go through all of them. As I am sure that he doesn’t want 48 pages of the Gazette filled up just on cleaning products! I am just going to mention just two that we have used recently that I was particularly impressed with.
The first of which is HG’s Mildew stain remover for textiles. In a damp climate like ours, it unavoidable that textiles sometimes get mildewy. Whether its curtains, tents, sun screens or garden chair covers stored in a shed, washing them alone doesn’t solve the problem. In fact traditional cleaners rarely touch these type of stains at all. But this stuff will, it isn’t particularly cheap, and it does turn the water a funny colour, and smells a bit like a festival goer, but my word it does the job.
The second product is HG’s Oil and Grease Stain Absorber, again not the cheapest product that we do but if all else fails this certainly does the trick. A few months ago my mum and dad, came out of their house to find a huge puddle of oil on their driveway. Their first thoughts were, ‘yippee’ we have struck oil! Lets get on the phone to B.P. But sadly this was not the case. My sister Marie had just parked her car there, and it was leaking oil quite badly. After removing the worst of it, there was still a horrible oil stain left there, so we used the HG Oil and Grease Stain Absorber. It is really strange stuff, it is a bit like treacle. You apply it with a pallet knife, over the stain, and let it dry for around four hours when it goes hard, then just simply peel it off. No scrubbing required at all!
But like I said before this is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many task specific cleaners on the market now, we even have an in-store computer to help customers select the correct cleaner for the job. So as always if you need any help, come in and see us, we love a challenge.

February 2008

MY TOILET IS TAKING AGES TO REFILL

Hello, and a happy belated new year to you, I hope 2008 has been a good year to you so far. Many of my friends have suggested I should cover health and safety in this issue after I trod on a nail protruding through a piece of wood, a few weeks ago. But I’m sorry to say that was mainly down to my stupidity of not looking where I was going, as much as it was my brothers fault for putting it there! So the first tip of the month is to A. look where you are going, and B. when removing wood with nails in it, either bend them over or take them out because other wise some muppet will tread on it.

Anyway, I have also had many inquires ‘toilet related’ after Novembers tip of the month, so this month we look at why it sometimes takes ages for a toilet cistern to refill.
The cause of this is usually the pressure reducer inside the value being wrong, but don’t worry this is quite easily solved. When you buy or fit a toilet value, inside it is a plastic cone with a hole in the middle of it. They normally come fitted with the high pressure cone in, which is designed for the water pressure coming straight from the mains, and has a small hole in the middle of this cone. But if your toilet water comes from a tank up in the loft, you will need to replace this with a low pressure cone which has a much larger hole in the middle of it. This could be the reason why your waiting in the bathroom for ten minutes just to flush the loo. The good news is its a ‘under a pound job’ to replace the cone with the right one, and is relatively easy to do, but if you have questions or would like some more advice on this come in and see us, we are always happy to help. Other than that sometimes bits of dirt or grit get lodged in the value assembly, this is even cheaper to solve as all you need to do is take the thing to pieces, clean it and put it back together again, and hey presto, job done!

December 2007

This months tip is a simple one, DIY……don`t do it. Its Christmas time! It’s the time to eat drink and be merry. Put your feet up, and have a glass of mulled wine.
Having said that, this probably isn’t the best advice I have ever come up with because if you all take notice of this Abbotts sales would drop, and I would be out of a job! So to spare me from the dole queue here is some more practical advice.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

Some people love them, some people loathe them. Personally I think they help give that special Christmas feel. But there are just a couple of points to remember. One is to never overload a plug socket, as this can be a fire risk. The second is with outdoor lights make sure that these are plugged into an RDC socket. This will enable the power to be cut immediately if the cable gets damaged, or if water gets into the lights or sockets. This will protect you against any chance of an electric shock.

A thing to remember when buying Christmas lights especially when buying an expensive set, is to make sure that the retailer that you buy it from carries the spare bulbs. We have many customers at this time of year who have put up their tree and within a few days one of the light bulbs has blown. They then spend hours chasing around the countryside trying to find spares. Even with our extensive range of spare bulbs, there are now so many different voltages and fittings that it is impossible to stock them all. So it may pay you when buying a very cheap set to buy two and use one them for spares.

Well this is the end of my second year of writing this column. I hope you have found some points of it useful. If you have any questions relating to this column please e.mail me at chris@abbottsdiy.com. There is no Ottery Gazette in January, so I will be back with some brand new tips in February.
All that’s left for me to do is to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from myself and all at Abbotts.
 

November 2007