The TBS Blog

The management and staff at TBS wish to thank all our customers for your support throughout the year.

Have a good break, and we look forward to serving you in 2012.

Expertly combines power and light weight

Fancy giving yourself a present AND supporting an important charity at the same time? TBS is proud to be supporting an initiative from leading UK power tool manufacturer, Makita.

They have chosen Breast Cancer Care as their charity for 2012.  They hope to raise £50,000 to support people affected by breast cancer.

With this in mind, Makita are launching a new limited-edition drill, available from 21st October 2011. They pledge to donate £5 for every one sold.

The drill is a pink version of the DF330D Li-ion, 10.8v drill driver, complete with one 1.3Ah Li-ion battery, fast charger, drill bit set and bag. This is a popular model with professional construction workers. It is also small, compact and easy to handle – ideal for DIYers who want to get busy around the home. A good choice for the ladies too!

You can find out more about the drill and Makita’s charity pledge here.

TBS is offering the drill for ONLY £75.99 + VAT. So do yourself a favour – and support a worthy cause.

Not enjoying the long dark nights and cold blasts of winter? You can always dream of the home improvements you might make next Spring.

What a difference a patio can make! A place to sit with friends and family on those dreamy Summer evenings. If you already have a patio, is it looking old and shabby?

How about some decking? Garden decking can enhance garden features, and can extend a house into a garden. It’s a practical way to overcome issues that make landscaping difficult, such as bad drainage or a sloping garden. It’s amazing how many kinds of decking you can buy these days: redwood, non-slip, grass effect, you name it.

At TBS Southam we have a new, purpose-built display of these products. Click on the picture above to enlarge it.

On display you will find:

Natural stone and decorative stone paving slabs and block paving from Brett Landscaping and Pavestone,

Different kinds of decking from Finnforest,

Attractive balustrades, rails and spindles from Richard Burbidge.

The display can’t cover everything, of course. Things like patio packs and paving circles are not on display but are readily available.

So if you’re in the Southam area, come along and have a look. Our Sales staff will be happy to assist you with advice, product information and some competitive prices.

It’s the householder’s nightmare! You look somewhere that you don’t normally look, like the rafters behind your water tank, and the signs are there: timber damage.You can’t afford to leave it. Something must be done.

Wet rot prefers timbers with a higher moisture content (above 25%), so it may be caused by inadequate ventilation under floors, the proximity to damp walls, or water leaks from sinks and baths, or poorly-maintained roofs.

Dry rot prefers drier timber, but it doen’t stop there. It can travel through masonry in its search for food. If you spot white strands between brick and plaster, then you’ve almost certainly got it!

Woodworm refers to the exit holes left by the grubs of wood-boring insects. They exit in the warmer weather, so by now the holes will be there for all to see. Woodworm can cause serious damage to both internal & external timber, as well as wooden furniture. If left untreated, it can seriously weaken timbers, making things like rafters unsafe.

TBS offers an effective all-in-one treatment for these nasties: Lumberjack Triple Action Wood Treatment. We stock it in 2.5 litre and 5 litre cans, and a 25 litre drum.

Triple Action is low-solvent and low-odour.  It contains fungicides, algaecides and Permethrin to actively kill and protect against all known wood rot, decay, fungi and wood boring insects. The fungicides and algaecides are finely dispersed, so they penetrate the wood quicker and get to work right away.

It is fast-drying and non-flammable. You can apply it to wet timbers without loss of performance.

Ideal for use on:

• Sheds and garages
• Window frames and doors
• Fencing
• Farm buildings
• Roof beams and joists
• Garden  and indoor furniture.
• Floorboards

Two important notes: do not use on bitumen, plastics or roofing felt, and do not tip residue down drains (as it is lethal to aquatic organisms, good ones included).

Need to hire some quality equipment for the weekend, or longer? TBS can help, and at competitive prices.

AT TOWCESTER ONLY, you can hire the following items:

Cement Mixer             Compactor (Wacker Plate)

Paslode Nail Gun, with positive placement, to speed up installation of trusses.

For further information and to hire tools, contact Ben Baker on 01327 350528 or 07814 588610.

The happy crew with their creations

We have recently sent several of out staff on a training course with Festool.  Ben, Scott and Steve went from Towcester; Ian, Dan and Curby from Daventry; and Greg from Southam.

“We mainly worked with the Festool Domino 500 Jointing Machine,” Scott explains. “It’s very handy and offers almost unlimited jointing possibilities: panel or cabinet construction, for light frame or frame part joints.”

Festool Joining Machines can deal with dowel (domino) sizes of 4 x 20 mm to 10 x 50 mm. It’s quick and easy to position the machine without marking, thanks to integrated stop flaps.

“We also used various sanders, particularly the Festool Rotex. The amazing thing is that with the built-in extraction system, there was virtually no dust after quite extensive work. It’s ideal for sanding in angles, corners and edges – when work in tight spaces is required. It can even do louvres and feather-and-groove joints.”

The finished article

Now that's quality!

Our gallant staff used the Festool kit to make various items. Pictured is the table that Scott made.

Now our Festool-trained staff will be very happy to advise you on Festool precision power tools.

SADOLIN wood preservers have been a market leader for years. Developed to withstand the harsh winters in Sweden, Sadolin’s products allow wood to flex and breathe.

Sadolin woodstains and preservers give a rich, highly durable lustre and great resistance to flaking and blistering.

For years, TBS have stocked a range of Sadolin products, which are very popular. Now there’s a new addition to the range: SADOLIN EXTRA DURABLE CLEAR COAT. It’s available in 1L or 2.5L, in either Gloss or Satin finish.

It behaves like a protective skin, working with the wood and providing a flexible barrier that protects your wood from the damaging effects of rain, moisture and sun / UV light.

The traditional Sadolin approach is to use the SADOLIN CLASSIC range as an undercoat and the SADOLIN EXTRA DURABLE WOODSTAIN range as a top coat. Together they offer excellent, long-lasting and attractive protection.

The difference with Extra Durable Clear Coat is that it won’t significantly change the colour of your wood. It is all-in-one – no need for undercoating. For maximum protection,  you are advised to use two coats (or three, if the wood has been exposed for some time). It is touch dry in 5-7 hours, re-coatable in 12-18 hours.

Note: because Extra Durable Clear Coat is transparent, the manufacturers do not recommend using knotting preparations on the wood beforehand.

If you’ve got kids, you’ll know the scenario: paintwork suffers. Dirty marks in the hallway because of high traffic. Crayon on the paint round children’s beds. You can’t wipe it too often before the paint starts coming off. And scrubbing? Forget it!

Until now. Every so often a product arrives that leaves you thinking “At last!” Leyland Paints have launched a new HARDWEARING MATT, and we stock it at TBS.

It’s specially formulated to deliver an extremely durable, hardwearing finish. You can scrub it and it comes up good as new, without any degrading of the paint. So it’s ideal for interior walls and woodwork, particularly those in high traffic areas.

Hardwearing Matt, available in Brilliant White or Magnolia, is low-odour and fast-drying – which you’ll want for busy areas of the house. It is durable, long-lasting and washable. It can withstand repeated cleaning and has excellent stain and moisture resisting properties.

So, if you’re needing to tackle areas in your home that are subject to wear and tear or condensation, look no further than Leyland Hardwearing Matt.

This week saw the start of a new venture at TBS Daventry branch. We’re installing a Solar PV system on the roof: 212 photovoltaic panels, to be precise!

Here are some pictures of the work in progress – on a very dull day, so apologies that the photos aren’t too sharp. Click on any of them to enlarge it.

This project is in the context of the Renewable Energy Centre which we will be opening not long from now, to advise customers on all aspects of ‘green’ heat and power.

We like to lead by example, so our aim in the longer term is to achieve a zero carbon footprint.

The panels are expected to have a watt peak capacity sufficient to provide 50kW of power. We’ll keep you in touch with how things develop, here on the blog.

Robust and with great lift power

It’s the nightmare scenario: the cold weather arrives, you switch on the central heating, and it seems sluggish – or doesn’t work at all!

Quite often, the problem comes down to your Central Heating Pump. They don’t last for ever and over time they can get less efficient.

Well, now could be a great time to replace your pump. TBS are now stocking the Primaflow CP Series Circulating Pump. They’re a budget pump but built for performance – and they certainly have some poke!  The CP5 will give you a lift of 5 metres. The CP6 offers a mighty 6 metre lift, which makes it very suitable for 3-storey properties.

And that’s not all! The TBS price is a real saving on many comparable pumps, and Primaflow offer a 2-year guarantee from date of sale (most manufacturers stipulate date of manufacture, but you have no idea how long the pump has sat on a shelf).

So for peace of mind and an assured heating supply this winter, check over your pump and think about replacing it with one of these.