Screwfix is the UK’s leading multi-channel supplier of thousands of high quality screws, fixings, hand tools, power tools, plumbing and electrical supplies.

Combining trade prices with a massive range of leading brand items, Screwfix offers over 18,000 products and is fully committed to customer care and support.

Their latest Catalogue 92 focuses on offering ‘More of The Best’ and comprises a collection of products that provide the best deals, are best for the task and represent the best new brands.

This 118-page issue is packed with new lines from top brand names such as:

• Site and Black and Decker - Site has seven new additions ranging from Combi Drills to Circular Saws.
• A fantastic new Workmate for only £39.99 has been added to the Black and decker collection.
• Crabtree, MK and Volex, have all updated their ranges in line with the new 17th Edition regulations; these are all added to an assortment of top brands such as Leyland Trade, John Guest, No-Nonsense, Victus Swirl, and many more.

You can order all of the great deals from the website, with free next day delivery for most items.

A useful feature of the Screwfix website is the Tradesman’s forum, where builders and craftsmen exchange advice and opinion on a surprisingly wide range of subjects, which provides a great source of hints and tips for DIY enthusiasts.

Each item is supplied with a 30-day money-back guarantee and can be accessed seven days a week at:

Web: http://www.screwfix.com
Tel: Freephone (0500) 414141

Or a visit to one of the growing UK network of Trade Counters.

Spiral Staircases work with their customers to create the best quality staircases to complement their existing home interior design.

Spiral Staircase Systems create technically and aesthetically pleasing designs of glass, stone, steel and wood, focusing on the design, manufacture and installation to achieve the highest level of quality in the finished product.

Working with customers to their design specifications, the company creates stairs that are not only visually striking, but also practical too, to ensure they fulfil their functional purpose in the home.

Staircases are produced for homes, shops, offices and even television locations as seen on ITV2’s The Diary of a Call Girl (featured here):

• This Glass Helical Stair SS 657 is a spectacular helical G-fin design that uses the bare minimum of metalwork for maximum transparency.

Some other examples of Spiral Staircases work include:

• Hermes Staircase - This staircase was built for Hermes on Sloane Street London and features elegant and clean lines, with a plaster balustrade, open hardwood treads and a leather upholstered handrail.
• Glass Spiral Staircase - Is an example of Spiral’s G-Fin tread support system on a spiral stair, composed of spectacular combinations of glass treads, brushed stainless steel metalwork and acrylic panelling to create a transparent stair system for a contemporary look.

The G-Fin system can be used to make straight, spiral and helical stairs.

Prices available on quotation.

Web: http://www.spiralstairs.co.uk

Tel: (01273) 858 341

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre will host its second Self Build & Renovation Show of the year in Swindon, from Thursday 2nd October 2008; offering lots of advice and inspiration, for anyone looking to climb up the property ladder through self build or renovation.

Whilst the wider housing market is suffering a major downturn, due to the credit crunch, building your dream home, through self-build, renovation, or conversion, is becoming a more appealing and realistic option.

At a time when house-builders have ‘downed tools’ and the Government’s new homes targets are under threat, self builders and renovators are taking advantage of the increased availability of land, labour and specialist advance payment mortgages.

BuildStore, the self build and renovation experts behind the National Self Build & Renovation Centre, are the leading providers of self build and renovation advance payment finance, and also own land-finding database, Plot Search.

BuildStore recently revealed that the number of self build land and renovation opportunities had grown significantly in 2008, up 20% between January and June, and over half of available self build plots are priced £150,000 or less; a third of them £100,000 or less, making it possible to self-build a detached family home for less than £200,000.

The Self Build & Renovation Show will run between Thursday 2nd and Sunday 5th October, at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon, off Junction 16, M4.

Entry on the day is £10 per adult, or £15 per couple. Tickets are free, if you book in advance via the website.

For daily schedules, and ticket booking, log on to:
Web: http://www.mykindofhome.co.uk/show

Established in 1970, Orac a Belgian family business, has become a leader in high quality products in plastic for interior decoration.

Their range is broad and complete including, different mouldings, ornaments such as ceiling medallions, pilasters, columns, skirting, niches, garlands, pediments, windowsills, wainscoting and decorative lighting - in short, everything to give your house a new look in no time.

With an extensive range of synthetic mouldings and ornaments, the interior decor specialist ORAC offers a wealth of ideas:

From bathroom and kitchen, to living room and bedroom, ambience is guaranteed.

The company’s ambition, is to provide you with every possible tool to make your interior cosy, original and stylish!

ORAC’s state of the art technology, combined with an ongoing search for user-friendly products, provides endless possibilities in terms of atmosphere, character and most of all, originality.

Our picture features Orac LR_06: A classic living room in a period house:

• On the door: Panel mouldings DX119 and PX117 form squares.
  Around the room CX124 by the ceiling classic cornice moulding and PX120 panel moulding.
  On the walls P8020 panel mouldings forms decorative rectangles. Elements are painted in vintage style to give the impression of being original features of the house.

P8020 is from Orac’s Decor high-density polyurethane collection.
Other mouldings from their Orac Axxent duropolymer collection. (a professional alternative to plaster).

All of the elements are lightweight, shockproof and easy to install.

Web: http://www.oracdecor.com
Tel: (01483) 271211

ESpares, is an online retailer, specialising in supplying spare parts for household appliances and may be of interest to consumers in the current financial climate, enabling them to save money by repairing their broken appliances, rather than replacing them.

• The company aims:
  To help you find the UK’s widest selection of spare parts, consumables and accessories online; for all the electrical appliances that make your house a home; they source direct from the major manufacturers and are continually adding to their extensive library of genuine spare parts.
• To offer customers savings of up to 30% off typical high street prices.

To offer levels of customer services that set the pace, for the rest of the online shopping community.

Savings example: Taking eSpares most popular washing machine replacement part the ‘drum lifter’, which agitates your clothes in the wash and lifts the dirt - this retails at £8.99.

Should you choose to buy a replacement washing machine, rather than just the part, the cheapest washing machine listed on the Argos website for example, is the Beko WM5100W retailing at £169.99, plus the cost of an engineer to install it could cost over £100.

By purchasing the drum lifter replacement part from eSpares and fixing the machine yourself, you could potentially save over £250.

Ordering online at eSpares is simple and items can be delivered to any address in the UK.

Web: http://www.espares.co.uk
Tel: 0845 230 6 230

1001, the magic number for carpet and upholstery cleaning, has joined forces with Katherine Dewhurst, ex-Buckingham Palace housekeeper, to provide top tips on how to keep your carpets and soft furnishings fit for a Queen.

Follow Katherine’s hints and tips below, to make sure your home remains your castle, regardless of whether it’s a baronial pile or a suburban semi:

A technique employed in some of the most regal of residences is to use a stiff, clean outdoor brush and sweep the carpet in the opposite direction of the grain so the pile stands up straight, making it look as good as new and ready to welcome the grandest of guests.

Never rub or brush spot stains as this can push the stain deeper into the fabric and make it harder to remove; soak the stain with a remover, such as 1001 Troubleshooter Ultra then, using a paper towel or cloth blot the remover, working from the outside of the stained area into the centre.

Don’t despair if the mark or stain is an old one, you can still tackle it using a stain remover; it may not totally disappear, but it’s often possible to shift the worst of it.

Hot drinks are amongst the most common stains and can be hard to remove; the key is to act quickly as coffee is a natural dye and may stain permanently; tackle it by first removing any excess liquid with a paper towel and then apply 1001 Troubleshooter Ultra over the area and gently wipe the stain, from the outside to the centre without rubbing hard.

On finding an unknown stain, use a stain remover that contains a low amount of water, such as 1001 Mousse; unless you know what you are dealing with, it’s best not to add excess liquid, which might make it soak deeper into the fabric making it harder to shift.

When entertaining, it is crucial to make sure all your sofas and soft furnishings remain clean, fresh and fit to welcome your VIPs; prepare for their arrival by revitalising your upholstery with 1001 Shampoo - a wide area carpet and upholstery cleaner.

By working its magic deep into the fibres, 1001 Shampoo will not only leave treated areas clean, fresh and revitalised, its unique Fibreshield Polymer ingredient, will also defend against future stains, leaving you free to relax and enjoy yourself.

For more dedicated advice, tips and solutions for carpet care visit:

Web: http://www.1001carpetcare.co.uk.

Now’s the time to get the front of your house into shape with a splash of Sandtex® colour that will set off the sunshine now, while providing excellent weather protection in the winter for many years.

Whether you opt for eye-catching shades of Silver Blue or Suffolk; earthy tones such as Terracotta and Etruscan Red, or neutral colours like Sand Dune or Light Cream, a fresh lick of paint to the exterior of your home, is one of the easiest ways to make it more attractive and welcoming.

Sandtex Exterior Masonry Paint has been designed to give tired looking exterior walls a new lease of life, whilst protecting the home from the elements with its unique Microseal® formulation; available in two alternative finishes and offers fifteen years of guaranteed protection.

Reliably tough, colourfast and flexible, Sandtex Ultra Smooth Masonry Paint is easy to apply and covers large areas fast; while Sandtex Fine Textured Masonry Paint, with its superb durability and fine textured finish, fills hairline cracks and disguises minor blemishes.

Our pictured house features Sandtex Fine Textured Masonry Paint in ‘Silver Blue’, teamed with Sandtex High Performance Gloss Paint in ‘Oxford Blue’.
Sandtex Fine Textured Masonry Paint and Sandtex Ultra Smooth Masonry Paint are priced from £11.99 for 2.5 litres or £18.99 for 5 litres.

Web: http://www.sandtex.co.uk
Tel: (0870) 2401127.

Further to our article on Pilkington’s new energiKare glass on 10/12/07:

There follows a ten-step guide, to help you make some simple changes to your home and implement more energy efficient practices, to reduce your CO2 output. (Courtesy of the Energy Savings Trust and Pilkington Glass)

1. When replacing windows, look for those carrying the Energy Saving Trust’s Energy Saving Recommended logo along with the Pilkington energiKare™ branding ; assuring you of high levels of energy efficiency, with a quality name you know and trust.

2. Install cavity wall insulation. It’s clean, cheap and easy to do and could reduce CO2 emissions by 750kg and slash 15% off heating bills.

3. Install 270mm thick loft insulation. A home with no current insulation could save up to £110 a year on heating bills and 1 tonne of CO2 per year.

4. Turning the thermostat down by 1°C, could cut heating bills by up to 10 percent and save around £40 per year.

5. Use energy saving light bulbs; just one can save £100 over the lifetime of the bulb - and they last around 10 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.

6. Upgrade to a new energy efficient condensing boiler, which could convert up to 90% of its fuel into heat.

7. Washing at 300C rather than 400C can save approximately 40% on energy consumption.

8. Don’t leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily.

9. Always wait for a full load and use the economy programme on appliances, such as washing machines and dishwashers.

10. In the winter close curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.

Pilkington energiKareTM is suitable for use in any external windows of a house and is widely available from local and national window companies.

Web: http://www.pilkington.co.uk/energikare

Tel: (01744) 692 000

Louis Poulsen is celebrating the 50th Anniversary, of the PH Artichoke by offering 50 units of the largest light fixture, with leaves gilded in 24-carat gold.

PH Artichoke is one of the world’s foremost icons of design and lighting; for over 50 years, the pendant with the botanical name has impressed its audience by its sculptural, organic design, clarified simplicity and warm, glare free light.

PH Artichoke manifests an ingenious design – bordering on art – completely justifying the gold finish and it’s set to become a collector’s item, as Louis Poulsen will only manufacture a numbered limited edition of 50 fixtures.

The gold version will only be made in 840-mm-diameter, priced at:
EUR 70,000 exclusive of VAT. (£55,410).

Originally, Poul Henningsen was commissioned to create festive, warm lighting for the Langeliniepavillonen restaurant, at the Copenhagen waterfront, where visitors can still delight in the fixtures, while enjoying a view of the Little Mermaid.

The first PH Artichokes were made in copper, the classic version, which still remains in the Louis Poulsen range.

The high-lustre finish of PH Artichoke Gold, adds an utterly new dimension to the fixture, which imparts a graphic, exact idiom, while intensifying and augmenting the warm, pleasant light distribution.

Artichoke Gold comes with a lamp-holder unit in high-lustre chrome-plated, spun aluminium and a canopy.

PH Artichoke Gold is unique – a phenomenal tribute on a 50th anniversary!

PH Artichoke standard fixtures are available in copper, stainless steel and sand-blown glass in diameters of 840mm, 720mm, 600mm and 480mm.

PH Artichoke Gold is only sold, by Louis Poulsen Lighting in Copenhagen.

Web: http://www.louispoulsen.com
Tel: +45 22 61 74 35

With five family members working within the company, Griffin Glasshouses can truly claim to be a family business; they have been designing made to measure glasshouses and greenhouses of distinction, since the early 1960s, so you can be reassured by their wealth of experience and expertise.

To see these wonderful glasshouses first hand, visit their stand at this year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – 8th to 13th July.

You will find Griffin Glasshouses at stand C46, where they will be launching their new glazing bar and new shape cap on their Victorian style lean-to glasshouses.

The new glazing bar is a hollow section with a profile similar to the old wooden bars; the channel has been left on the inside, so that shading or insulation can be attached directly to the bar; also the new style capping complements the bar and adds to the aesthetics of Victorian style structures.

Featured here is a Lean to Offset Ridge glasshouse with porch, 35° pitch roof , 2.6m x 8.3m.

Offset ridge glasshouses are usually against a high wall, but can also be freestanding; they are attached to the wall using a valley gutter, which is wide enough to walk in, for ease of maintenance.

Web: http://www.griffinglasshouses.com

Tel: 01962 77251272512