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References - DIY Web Sites

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The following URLs have appeared from time to time in UK.D-I-Y and are offered without personal recommendation or endorsement unless stated otherwise. If you can think of additions or if any link fails please tell email the FAQ maintainer at the address below.

Handy Links

News
Search
Phone
Utilities
Building Regulations
Govt
  • Recent Acts of Parliament   HMSO.  All Public General Acts from 1996, and Local Acts from 1997, published in full. Party Wall Act, Noise Act, and others relevant to DIY.
Associations
Green
Electronics
and
Electrical
  • Repair FAQ   Sci.Electronics.Repair Frequently Asked Question(s). Electronics repair and circuits cookbooks. From CD players to lawn mowers, there are lots of tips archived here.  Also circuits for hobbyists and designers.
  • Control Engineering Technology   CET Re-conditioners of CH boiler PCBs, heat exchangers, fans, time clocks, actuators etc.  Site lists prices.  A very useful service run by Geoff, one of the regulars of uk.d-i-y.
  • CPC  Electronic parts for TVs VCRs etc
  • Grandata  Electronic components supplier
  • Henry's Audio Electronics  CCTV, audio, PA, test instruments, TV.
  • MK Electric  MK electrical products
  • Newey and Eyre  Electrical distributors
  • Radio Spares  RS Components (see DIY Catalogues)
  • Telepart  Television and Video parts
Suppliers
and
Manufacturers

(see also DIY Catalogues)

  • Arch Timber Protection (formerly Hickson Timber Products)  Useful site with info about timber paints and preservatives (e.g. CCA and Tanalith as in "tanalised" timber).  A special version of Tanalith uses no Chromium or Arsenic.
  • Architectural Ironmongery Ltd  Architectural Ironmongery
  • Atlas Copco  Power tools
  • Baxi  Potterton, Baxi, Ideal Standard, Myson - boilers, heating, ventilation
  • Bosch  Power tools
  • British Gypsum  Plaster, Plasterboard, Insulation and Drylining systems
  • Camas  Hardlandscaping products including Bradstone
  • Caradon*, now Novar* (Twyfords, Henrad, MK Electric,
  • Friedland, Stelrad, Doulton, Trend Controls, Everest, and Ideal products).
    (*Caradon has been bought by Novar, and several of the old divisions sold off. Try searching the net separately for them) 
  • Cooksons  Hand and power tool suppliers, security and ironmongery
  • City Plumbing Fittings, Boilers, Bathroom Suites, Cylinders, Showers
  • Danfoss-Randall  CH timers, stats and valves
  • Decorating Direct Excellent range of paints, varnishes, tools, equipment, sundries and everything to do with decorating.
  • Dewalt  Power tools
  • Dremel  Craft tools
  • Draper  Tools
  • Dulux  ICI Paints - Colour schemer, choosing paint, decorating tips
  • Duotool Warehouse Direct  tools, fixings etc
  • EH Smith  Builders merchant
  • Evode  Adhesives and building products
  • Fox DIY  Ironmongery, tools, electrical fittings by mail-order
  • Formica  Formica!
  • Gasman Some very useful information on the different types of Central Heating system
  • Graham Group  Graham Builders/Plumbers Merchant
  • Hammerite  Special paints & fillers
  • Hepworth Heating Ltd  (Now Glow-worm) Manufacturers of Glow-worm gas fires and boilers, and Parkray solid fuel boilers
  • Hepworth Plumbing  Extensive product range of above- and below-ground drainage products.  Includes the Hep2o (previously "Acorn") plastic plumbing  range, suitable for central heating systems, and for hot & cold water services. A free Hep2o Design and Installation Guide is available: phone Hepworth Plumbing Literature Service on 01226 766927.  No guide prices, and a shame the site doesn't show applications.
  • HG  Products for cleaning and protecting floors, furniture, kitchens etc
  • Hilti  Power tools for drilling, cutting, grinding and sanding, plus sealants, foams and fixings
  • Horstmann  Central Heating controls
  • HRPC  Spare parts for heating appliances and boilers
  • HSS  HSS hire shops
  • Ideal-Standard  Bathrooms
  • Industrial Flooring Services  epoxy resin coatings, resin based overlays and patch repair products for floors.
  • Isokern  Chimneys
  • John Carr  Door & Window frames
  • Jewson  Builders Merchants
  • Keeklamp Versatile tube fastening system - handrails, barriers etc.
  • Klober  Roof fittings
  • Knobs and Knockers  door furniture
  • Krylon  Ronseal varnishes, Colron dyes, Thompsons waterproofing, Krylon spray paint, Isoflex roof repair/waterproofing
  • Machinemart  Hand and power tools, lawnmowers, welders etc
  • Marley  Rainwater products and building materials
  • Marshalls  Hardlandscaping materials, blocks, bricks
  • Mcdonald Engineers   Unvented mains pressure HW cylinder
  • Meadows and Passmore   Suppliers to clock and barometer repairers
  • Mira Showers (Now part of Kohler Mira): Electric, Mixer and Power Showers. Also see Mira spares, a company selling spares online
  • Monument Tools  Plumbing tools
  • Owenscorning  Thermal and sound insulations. Design notes
  • Plasplugs  Plasplugs fixings, tools and abrasives
  • Plumbworld  Plumbing fittings by mail-order
  • Plumb Centre Online ordering of plumbing, heating, electrical and drainage products etc.
  • Plasti-kote  Plasti-kote spray and brush-on special paints including high temp.
  • Polycell  Polycell products and applications
  • Portland Cement
  • Potterton  Potterton Boilers and accessories. The site has a good description of the pros and cons of different boiler and system types. It even confesses to the 'lack of flow' problem for combi boilers, but also gives the scenarios for which the different systems are preferred. It gives typical designs for various systems. Includes flue clearances.
  • Rawlplug  Fixings, rawlplugs/bolts and chemical anchors
  • Rockwool  Mineral fibre insulation - thermal and acoustic
  • Rockwool Group 
  • Ronseal  Varnishes and stains
  • Ruberoid  Waterproofing, admixtures and adhesives
  • Rugby Joinery  (Now Jeld-Wen UK) Boulton & Paul, John Carr
  • Rutlands Power tools and accessories
  • Ryobi  Ryobi power tools
  • Screwfix Direct  Excellent range of screws, nails, fasteners, some electrics and plumbing, sealants, abrasives, drills, blades, locks, odds and sods, hand tools, power tools and accessories (see DIY Catalogues)
  • Spear and Jackson  Hand tools incl. Eclipse
  • Toolfast  Mail order tools and fixings etc.
  • Torwood Homes, Torwood house kits website no longer exists: Persimmon put Torwood up for sale in May 2001
  • Travis Perkins  Travis Perkins builders merchants
  • Trend (Routing) Tools & Jigs  Good introductory info and glossary on routing. Contents list of their free catalogue (see DIY Catalogues ).  Trend are manufacturers of router cutters and jigs, and stock Elu routers. 
  • Unibond  Adhesives - PVA and Nomorenails
  • Vent Axia  Vent Axia ventilation
  • Warmcel  Cellulose fibre wall insulation
  • Warehouse Direct A bit like Screwfix (see DIY Catalogues )
  • WD40 WD40 and 3in1 penetrating and lubricating oils
  • Woodco Importers, manufacturers and suppliers of log houses, timber-frame houses, and post and beam houses
  • Yale  Security products
Telephone
  • UK.Telecom FAQ and EPLTelephone related sites. How to wire up 'n' phones and still have them ring! And lots of other phone stuff too.
Wooden flooring
  • Kahrs Swedish wood flooring
  • Unicorn Connection   Floating Wood Flooring
  • Forest Floors http://www.forest-floors.co.uk/ [Seems to be broken]
Woodworking
Other
  • Cormaic's Guide to Paving Types and Methods in the UK  Recommended ***** Paving and Drainage - drives, patios and gardens + more.  Comprehensive coverage and clear explanations with lots of diagrams and sample costs. Worth a visit if only to see what a well-written web site looks like. See the Site Map for full details of the contents.
  • The Campaign for Dark Skys Guidance Notes and What is light pollution?  The Campaign for Dark Skys has some excellent information on fitting outside lights.  Anyone planning on doing this should check out their web pages before buying and fitting a lamp. Some countries have now introduced legislation which would make many badly fitted and over-power lamps used here illegal.
  • Hometime  Snippets from an American D-I-Y programme.   "An American program[me] on what appears to be real DIY, not like, for example "Home Front" where the various contractors do all the work. The website suggests that the presenters (who bear a disturbing similarity to Ken and Barbie, life-size) actually get their hands dirty. The only caveat is that the methods are those used in the US, where, for example, tile adhesives are as different from UK products as, say, Budweiser is from Fullers' ESB. However the graphics on "howto" more than make up for this."  Well worth a visit.
  • Jim Evans's Home Repair Stuff  Everything relating to home DIY.  It may be a collection of American tips but lots very relevant to the UK.  Good site with good links.
  • Myson Heatloss Manager  Downloadable PC program to calculate radiator sizes etc needed in the home.
  • Boiler Efficiency Database   Boiler efficiency comparison
  • Misty.com   Lighting ideas
  • Salvo  Directory of some building materials salvagers
  • http://www.doityourself.com/   Some useful DIY FAQs (US) 
  • http://www.diyfixit.com/ More useful DIY tips (UK). Good graphics.
  • http://www.gasman.fsbusiness.co.uk/ Some useful information on the different types of Central Heating systems.
Self Build
Charles
Rennie
Mackintosh (Artist and Architect)
Software
Home Automation

Sources of Inspiration!

  • Chris & Mary's house building project  Great photos of a house building project with details of how the plot was found (using a bit of inspiration!)
  • Stephen Rodgers' model river  Unusual garden river project and Reed Beds. 
  • Brian Orpin's self build project  Follow the photo gallery of this house building project.  Includes useful links.
  • Holly's House   Holly's amazing house renovation and garden creation project. Take one derelict house in a lovely setting... 
  • Andy the Pugh   The renovation of Slaithwaite Hall from first principles. Fascinating pictures and more are promised!
  • Tandoor! Piers Thompson's project to build a Tandoor in his back garden - outdoor cooking the Indian way.
 

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Last modified: 15 May, 2006 18:21:41
UK.D-I-Y FAQ Maintainer: Phil Addison (editor@diyfaq.org.uk)    © Copyright 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,2005