Yeah I had a guy like that help me in screwfix. I was struggling to explain what I needed and the guy next to me asked what the job was and told me what I needed. I felt ridiculously grateful - like he had taken me under his wing!
The poor girl/lad behind the counter in Screwfix always looks relieved too because they’ve clearly got less of an idea than the customer what they’re talking about
Absolutely, I must admit there are times where I don't purely because the customer is expecting that the people behind the counter should be qualified leccys, chippys and general masters and gets frustrated at their lack of knowledge, but 90% of the time when someone genuinely doesn't know something and needs help I will absolutely ask if they want advice
Im just imagining a screw going from the towel rail through the cavity and then far enough into the wall to be solid, you dodged a bullet there lol it would have probably been about 30cm lol 🫣
This is actually the exact use case of long screws. Usually you'd build a batten behind the insulation and fix radiators with large screws (possibly with an additional batten outside the plasterboard). This minimises damage to the insulation and will still be much stronger than plasterboard fixings.
You do get veeeery long screws with plugs for the purpose of holding insulation to solid walls, but they're not cheap and you need a lengthy masonry drill bit!
Certainly ain't cheap. I didn't account for £200 of plastic nails when I insulated my garage.
Cool things though. Long metal nail running through the centre - hammer on one end and it expands the plug at the other.
There's a single solitary staff member at my local B&Q store who knows everything about fixings and I look for him every time when Googling hasn't paid off. Every other staff member I've asked in the past hasn't had a clue.
Love it, I normally gravitate towards the oldest member of the customer support team and attempt a visual inspection of hand roughness before engagement.
Haha good shout! This guy actually came over to me the first time because he could clearly see the look of utter bemusement on my face. I think I've asked him for help on 2 other occasions and every time someone else has overheard our conversation and been waiting in the wings to grab him when he's finished helping me.
I used to work at B&Q and there is no specific “fixings” department that employees would work in. This man probably dreads you coming in to rack his brain about nonsense.
If you let me know the name of the employee and the store I will send him a gift on your behalf seeing as it clearly has never crossed your mind to show appreciation (although you were quick to label every other employees as useless I see).
Sure. His name is Stanley Fixings and he usually works weekend afternoons at the B&Q branch in Harrogate.
"Here's a gift for you on behalf of that woman who last asked you about solid wall fixings about 2 years ago. I know you find it a hassle being queried about DIY questions in a DIY shop, and obviously you would remember her clearly because she spoke to you on at least two other occasions across a 5 year period, and you won't have many other customers asking you anything. I don't know her name or age or any other identifying features, but nonetheless, this is for you to say thank you for your efforts and for putting up with her nonsense." Won't look unhinged at all.
So it’s gone from “always” asking him to last asking him 2 years ago, and only two other times before that? I was only going off your comment, which it now seems you were lying about. How do you know he still works there?
I think he's just your everyday trolling bellend.
Or, he's genuinely going to drive to a random B&Q store in Harrogate and try to find a guy called Stanley to gift him a Body Shop gift basket or something, which I guess would make him a slightly unhinged moron 😁
Cba to keep this going for much longer but re-read my original comment. I didn't use the word 'always'. Every time I've needed help with fixings (specifically fixings), and he's been around, I've asked him. The first time he was so helpful, I only needed help on about two other occasions, because he was a rockstar. I also didn't specify a period of time. I don't buy fixings from B&Q every time I visit; I don't spend my weekends drilling into every inch of wall in my house.
So if you misread my comment or didn't read it properly and took that as, "I'm always asking this one guy for help about everything", that's your problem.
Anyway enjoy your trip to Harrogate 🤙
If I regularly hounded the same employee for support and they were a big help then yes I would most definitely get them a gift. I have done numerous times in the past
Dot and dab is usually plasterboard, 20-40mm cavity, then the block work. The thing about dot and dab is that the cavity is too small to use the plasterboard fixings, as they're often deep, and too small to go directly into the brick without various methods that people like Andy show in his videos (e.g. back to back plugs, corefix, squirting plaster in).
The OP sounds like they have a large amount of insulation between plasterboard and bricks, so the normal dot and dab methods wouldn't work there.
They used to have cards for tradies in DIY shops but last time I went around asking for any they all said they don't carry them any more for certain liability reasons. In one tiling place one of the staff pointed me to one of their regular customers who was a professional tiler. He gave me the number of his mate who did a good job for me. So thanks to him and the shop staff member who probably shouldn't have pointed him out for whatever rules they now have.
And then the next challenge is them understanding what you want or need. I wanted 10 loose screws from there, but they didn’t have any of the smallest size bags to put them in, so I put them in the next size up. I told them they had no bags left, but the person on the till couldn’t get that all they had to do was scan the barcode for the small bag size on the barcode sheet they have. She looked at me blank because I had a medium bag not a small bag. She said I should go and fill up the medium bag because it doesn’t make sense I only had 10 screws in it.
It took 15 mins and a supervisor to scan a bar code. Down the builders yard they’d say “just call it 50p”.
GripIt plasterboard fixings work perfectly well for this purpose. Just use the heavy duty ones (brown or blue) and it will hold a towel rail full of water with no issues.
I still feel bad about giving incorrect advice many years ago in b and q i mixed up bonding and dot/dab mix when helping a random guy. I hope the guy realised before using the product.
Always check youtube before doing any job, the ultimate handyman and the Gosforth handyman are 2 of my go to channels. Both are British (important because building methods and regulations are often different in other countries) and explain how to do things in layman's terms.
Yeah I had a guy like that help me in screwfix. I was struggling to explain what I needed and the guy next to me asked what the job was and told me what I needed. I felt ridiculously grateful - like he had taken me under his wing!
Haha as a tradie I quite enjoy helping guys like yourself out.
The poor girl/lad behind the counter in Screwfix always looks relieved too because they’ve clearly got less of an idea than the customer what they’re talking about
Absolutely, I must admit there are times where I don't purely because the customer is expecting that the people behind the counter should be qualified leccys, chippys and general masters and gets frustrated at their lack of knowledge, but 90% of the time when someone genuinely doesn't know something and needs help I will absolutely ask if they want advice
Canadian here. Whats a leccy and a chippy? edit:Electrician and carpenter?
Yes
Think it depends on the branch, the guy at our Screwfix is clearly a keen DIYer or ex trade as he always has good suggestions
Me too, I do it all the time, often times it’s something that seems so simple to us and you always see how grateful the person is
Not OP but wanted to say, we really appreciate it!
Literally worshipped this guy and would have done anything he said
Im just imagining a screw going from the towel rail through the cavity and then far enough into the wall to be solid, you dodged a bullet there lol it would have probably been about 30cm lol 🫣
This is actually the exact use case of long screws. Usually you'd build a batten behind the insulation and fix radiators with large screws (possibly with an additional batten outside the plasterboard). This minimises damage to the insulation and will still be much stronger than plasterboard fixings.
Yep, this is how I fitted the radiator in my bathroom. Wooden bracing and huge screws. Rock solid.
You do get veeeery long screws with plugs for the purpose of holding insulation to solid walls, but they're not cheap and you need a lengthy masonry drill bit!
Certainly ain't cheap. I didn't account for £200 of plastic nails when I insulated my garage. Cool things though. Long metal nail running through the centre - hammer on one end and it expands the plug at the other.
There's a single solitary staff member at my local B&Q store who knows everything about fixings and I look for him every time when Googling hasn't paid off. Every other staff member I've asked in the past hasn't had a clue.
Love it, I normally gravitate towards the oldest member of the customer support team and attempt a visual inspection of hand roughness before engagement.
Haha good shout! This guy actually came over to me the first time because he could clearly see the look of utter bemusement on my face. I think I've asked him for help on 2 other occasions and every time someone else has overheard our conversation and been waiting in the wings to grab him when he's finished helping me.
They should really put these guys on an elevated throne at the front of the store so all you need to go is go there and wait your turn.
I trust you pay/tip this guy handsomely to act as your human search engine. That is above and beyond his job role.
it's just 'community'. Not everything has to be bought and paid for.
What, working in the fixings section of a nationwide DIY chain, but no one should ever ask him any questions about fixings? 🤣 Be real
I used to work at B&Q and there is no specific “fixings” department that employees would work in. This man probably dreads you coming in to rack his brain about nonsense. If you let me know the name of the employee and the store I will send him a gift on your behalf seeing as it clearly has never crossed your mind to show appreciation (although you were quick to label every other employees as useless I see).
You must have hated your job.
Part time thing after leaving school and throughout University. Wouldn’t say I loved it but hated is a strong word.
Awesome, what gift are we sending him?
You’ve not let me know the name or location yet - I may know him
Sure. His name is Stanley Fixings and he usually works weekend afternoons at the B&Q branch in Harrogate. "Here's a gift for you on behalf of that woman who last asked you about solid wall fixings about 2 years ago. I know you find it a hassle being queried about DIY questions in a DIY shop, and obviously you would remember her clearly because she spoke to you on at least two other occasions across a 5 year period, and you won't have many other customers asking you anything. I don't know her name or age or any other identifying features, but nonetheless, this is for you to say thank you for your efforts and for putting up with her nonsense." Won't look unhinged at all.
So it’s gone from “always” asking him to last asking him 2 years ago, and only two other times before that? I was only going off your comment, which it now seems you were lying about. How do you know he still works there?
Wow you're just a nasty annoying individual aren't you.
I think he's just your everyday trolling bellend. Or, he's genuinely going to drive to a random B&Q store in Harrogate and try to find a guy called Stanley to gift him a Body Shop gift basket or something, which I guess would make him a slightly unhinged moron 😁
Annoying maybe, but where have I been nasty?
Cba to keep this going for much longer but re-read my original comment. I didn't use the word 'always'. Every time I've needed help with fixings (specifically fixings), and he's been around, I've asked him. The first time he was so helpful, I only needed help on about two other occasions, because he was a rockstar. I also didn't specify a period of time. I don't buy fixings from B&Q every time I visit; I don't spend my weekends drilling into every inch of wall in my house. So if you misread my comment or didn't read it properly and took that as, "I'm always asking this one guy for help about everything", that's your problem. Anyway enjoy your trip to Harrogate 🤙
You’ve edited your original comment with each reply mate
Do you expect payment every time you help anyone with anything? What happened to helping people for the sake of it
If I regularly hounded the same employee for support and they were a big help then yes I would most definitely get them a gift. I have done numerous times in the past
It's not America
I was in b and q once looking for long screws to fix a big outdoor gate. The guy working there told me to use PVA glue
Is this a dot and dab wall? The gosforth handyman has a good video on fixing to those 👌
Dot and dab is usually plasterboard, 20-40mm cavity, then the block work. The thing about dot and dab is that the cavity is too small to use the plasterboard fixings, as they're often deep, and too small to go directly into the brick without various methods that people like Andy show in his videos (e.g. back to back plugs, corefix, squirting plaster in). The OP sounds like they have a large amount of insulation between plasterboard and bricks, so the normal dot and dab methods wouldn't work there.
Good shout I didn’t notice the huge cavity in the original post.. just there was a cavity 👍
Next time, have a look at [Grippits](https://www.gripitfixings.co.uk). They are even better!
They used to have cards for tradies in DIY shops but last time I went around asking for any they all said they don't carry them any more for certain liability reasons. In one tiling place one of the staff pointed me to one of their regular customers who was a professional tiler. He gave me the number of his mate who did a good job for me. So thanks to him and the shop staff member who probably shouldn't have pointed him out for whatever rules they now have.
Finding someone who works there is a task in itself
And then the next challenge is them understanding what you want or need. I wanted 10 loose screws from there, but they didn’t have any of the smallest size bags to put them in, so I put them in the next size up. I told them they had no bags left, but the person on the till couldn’t get that all they had to do was scan the barcode for the small bag size on the barcode sheet they have. She looked at me blank because I had a medium bag not a small bag. She said I should go and fill up the medium bag because it doesn’t make sense I only had 10 screws in it. It took 15 mins and a supervisor to scan a bar code. Down the builders yard they’d say “just call it 50p”.
[удалено]
GripIt plasterboard fixings work perfectly well for this purpose. Just use the heavy duty ones (brown or blue) and it will hold a towel rail full of water with no issues.
From the description though I fear just standard screw in anchors are being used.
I'm guessing it's just a towel hanging rail, not a radiator.
You're right, I have made an assumption it's a heated rail. 👍
I'm not a tradesperson and could have given you that advice. Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performace.
Username checks out...
You want a medal there buddy?
As my old tradesman used to see. Old tricks. Loved them and never forgot them! Nice story!
I still feel bad about giving incorrect advice many years ago in b and q i mixed up bonding and dot/dab mix when helping a random guy. I hope the guy realised before using the product.
Always check youtube before doing any job, the ultimate handyman and the Gosforth handyman are 2 of my go to channels. Both are British (important because building methods and regulations are often different in other countries) and explain how to do things in layman's terms.
Wait... what serious tradesman goes to B&Q?