Cheapest place to buy decorating/diy supplies?

hock79

We usually just use B&Q, but we have all manor of places near us, including Wickes and Screwfix, but also trade places such as Brewers and Johnstones. Are these places any cheaper? Do you have to be a tradesperson to use them?

ben_m_g

Plenty of wholesalers out there if you are not picky with colours.
Chain stores like the range often have big discounts.

The biggest discounts seem to come at buying at the 'right' time of year.

nick12

I have a screwfix near me and swear by it (having recently bought a house). They sell to both trade and consumers but there always seem to be alot of tradespeople in there which I see as a good thing.

Generally seem to be much cheaper than Homebase, B&Q etc.

hock79

We're just after the basics at the moment, white matt emulsion and gloss paint, filler etc. Will check out The Range, thanks:) Has anyone seen any deals recently?

hock79

Just looked at screwfix:) They have 10L trade emulsion for £15, by Leyland, is that as good as Dulux though?

A.Penny.Saved

nick12 wrote: »

I have a screwfix near me and swear by it (having recently bought a house). They sell to both trade and consumers but there always seem to be alot of tradespeople in there which I see as a good thing.

Generally seem to be much cheaper than Homebase, B&Q etc.

It must be the things that you look at because I often do not find them good value and for some things they are more expensive by quite a margin. You have to be careful what you purchase because they do sell some utter rubbish. You can read people's bad experiences on their website reviews.

I have purchased tools in a hurry and found them useless because of poor build quality, a drager mask which looked used and had to be returned, which they did without issue I will add.

cddc

As with anything it pays to shop around...Toolstation (TP's version of Screwfix) are very often the cheapest for certain things. They dont have as wide a range of products as some of the others mentioned though.

All of them have offers on certain products at any given time, so will be cheap on those and more expensive on others not in the current tlp (time limited promotion).

I would say, in my experience, that there is no particular one that is any cheaper overall..

nick12

A.Penny.Saved wrote: »

It must be the things that you look at because I often do not find them good value and for some things they are more expensive by quite a margin. You have to be careful what you purchase because they do sell some utter rubbish. You can read people's bad experiences on their website reviews.

I have purchased tools in a hurry and found them useless because of poor build quality, a drager mask which looked used and had to be returned, which they did without issue I will add.

Their range is pretty vast so I don’t claim to vouch for every item they sell. My experience has been very good though.

Checking reviews on their website before buying is a good shout.

Jonesya

Screwfix and Toolstation are definitely worth looking at, certainly for things like screws, fixings, electrical and plumbing bits - generic items. The sheds put a stupidly high level of mark-up on some of these items, or sell them in small boutique-like packs at bulk-pack prices.

For everything else I'd say shop around.

shopaholicz

How about B&M and Al Murad? I've had bargains from both recently.

Furts

nick12 wrote: »

I have a screwfix near me and swear by it (having recently bought a house). They sell to both trade and consumers but there always seem to be alot of tradespeople in there which I see as a good thing.

Generally seem to be much cheaper than Homebase, B&Q etc.

B&Q and Screwfix have the same owner. B&Q is an enormous shed with enormous overheads of staff, heating and lighting. Screwfix is a squitty little hole in the wall counter. Hence the prices can be lower. The drawback is, unlike B&Q, you cannot touchy, feely the products before buying, nor can you compare them with others. Again a reason why the prices can be lower.

In general, the trade know what they want so enormous shelves, and fancy presentation are not required. Hence, they visit Screwfix.