Hi all,

Well, as the title says, I am looking to decorate on a budget. I will be moving soon and he property I will be moving into luckily as painted, needs re-painting but gladly nothing like the nightmare that was here, where every wall was covered in woodchip and layers upon layers of paint!

So, where can I get good, decent quality paint for the walls, and brushes, rollers and trays etc.? I have 6 rooms, and the stairs and hallway bit to paint. I will also be needed cheap light fittings, and curtains/nets.

Finally, I will need to lay carpet/laminate/lino in all rooms and on the stairs, could you give me any ideas as to where I won't be paying ridiculous amount for this?


Thanks so much, just seems so daunting! Argh!

xx

B&Q is pretty cheap.

Wilkinsons for paints and decorating equipment, Asda (big one) for light fittings curtains bedding etc.

If you go to Wilkinsons don't buy their own brand paint, it's rubbish.

no frills in town is about to shut down they have some real bargins but i belive theres a limited stock left may be worth a trip

if you need someone to do work at reasnable prices pm me

I think Focus is the best value for paints and wallpaper etc. Brushes I get from Poundland - do just the same job as dearer ones!

Cheap light fittings try Argos, or if youre after special ones at a cheaper price look on ebay - i got some bargains!

Curtains - TJ Hughes are good and do various sizes

Carpet - try the carpet shop at drakehouse - CarpetWright?! They have offcuts which are cheaper. They also have nice lino/

For laminate floor B&Q is probably cheapest, and a few choices of colours

Good luck!

Thanks all, I was gunna buy Wilko paints but can you tell me just how rubbish they are- I mean, are they really not worth it?

x

Dunhelm Mills are ok for curtains and other house stuff.
The big one at Heeley is good.
Also, try Century Mills near Woodbourn Road tramstop, they are cheap but the stock is very variable.

wilkos is very runny will need to do at least one extra coat of paint when you work this out to a brand abit better then its not cost effictive

no frills is supposed to be cheap too.

Wilkos gloss is fine - as long as yuo get non drip, but emulsion wise I'd go to Focus, not much dearer, and often offers on

:)

IKEA sell fab cheap curtains - usually made of linen or some other nice fabric too.

Don't skimp on stair carpet fitting. I had mine fitted by a 'carpet man' and the difference was amazing - it's very safe and well done. He was a grumpy get, though ;)

A lot of carpet places will do free fitting if you spend a certain amount, always ask.

Don't cut corners on underlay, if you get good underlay you can get cheap carpet and it will still feel good under your feet, plus when the carpet wears out you can just replace it.

i get a lot of paint from al murad. buy the brand names dulux, johnstones, crown etc.

2 and half ltrs johnstones coloured emulsion silk/ matt/ softsheen 9.99

dulux white 5 ltr emulsion 9.99. dulux 1 coat gloss 2 ahd half ltrs white 9.99

plenty of coloured gloss johnstones 5.99 for a 750 ml.

al murad's is on earsham street pitsmoor just off gower street next door to the royal oak pub. does wallpaper, tiles, brushes and rollers etc.

I look round several stores, write down name, colours and prices of carpets and lino, take them with me to other stores and they will normally try to beat the prices. Most carpet places will offer a discount if you buy everything from them, and they will usualy offer free fitting to seal the deal. This time of year most places have sales anyway so prices are cheaper. good luck with your search

ive always used crown but tried the wilkos one and didnt think it was too bad.
thick paint that only took 2 coats on new plaster (after pva and a white wash)

there is a cheap carpet shop behind halfords on queens road. i have used them the last 2 times ive had a new carpet and they are very reasonable, not sure on the name tho sorry. you could do a combined trip with dunelm mill, thats just along the road.

If you're wanting net curtains try ones of the stalls in Castle Market. The lady there was very helpful, she had various lenghts and styles and it was very reasonable.

no frills is supposed to be cheap too.
I'd agree.
We've just moved into a new place, luckily the walls had already been painted, so rather than re-paper, we bought a couple of borders, for the top and the middle and it looks nice.
For the bathroom, we just bought sealife stencils and painted them in.
The only rooms we papered was the baby's bedroom, 99p a roll, and the hallway, again, 99p a roll.
(Some rolls are £1.49 and upwards)
Brushes we got from Poundland as already mentioned, took us about 4 days to do the whole lot.
The hallway and the baby's bedroom took 5 rolls each and a couple of borders, so, including all the borders for our bedroom, the hallway and Jodi's room, and the paste, we only spent around £25, all bought from No Frills.
Great bargains too.

Hope this helps, and good luck with the decorating!!

I've always found Wickes to be cheaper than B&Q.

I've always found Wickes to be cheaper than B&Q.

they are for certain things but they don't have the wide range of things that B&Q sell.

No frills tends to be quite cheap for the general paint / paper / tools.

JTF wholesale (just off Parkway, Catcliffe) is brillaint for all sorts, but especially cheap for light fittings (you need a trade card though, and don't be tempted into 'borrowing' one as they are pretty keen)

For carpets I've always found Balfour carpets to be the best.

Make sure you prep the walls first as the paint takes better. Basically sandpaper down then wash them down, same with any skirting boards you do :)

they are for certain things but they don't have the wide range of things that B&Q sell.

Yeah true, I guess it depends what you're after. Their paint is cheaper and most of their decorating tools are too.

Yeah true, I guess it depends what you're after. Their paint is cheaper and most of their decorating tools are too.

Their lumber and plasterboard are cheaper than B&Q too (or they were last time I needed some)

If you go to Wilkinsons don't buy their own brand paint, it's rubbish.

I've got Wilkinsons emulsion on all my walls and gloss on my woodwork, and it looks fine.

You'd think that one-coat gloss would be a good choice in your situation, but I've tried it, from a leading brand too, and found it to be very disappointing indeed. Glossy, but more like a milky varnish - every blemish showed through. I had hoped that it would be like the excellent Sadolin or Ranch Paint one-coat exterior glosses, but it wasn't. :(

I've had no trouble with wilko's emulsion.. but I use Focus mainly because it's easier to get to and park at, and it's still pretty cheap.

I only use B&Q for emergencies, if I need something urgently after work, as I object to some of their prices on some of their lines which just seem completely unreasonable to me. Adding an electrical socket on a spur would have cost about 3x the amount that it actually cost, if I'd gone to B&Q (I know this because I went to B&Q for the bits and walked out in disgust)

...................

wickes are pretty good for all your basics

You can't beat Stokes on Little London Rd for quality of paint and decorating tools, but they're not cheap - you do get what you pay for. I think Dulux/Crown tends to be overpriced - if you can get hold of Leyland - it's cheaper and decent - if you're buying stores own brands, top of my list is Homebase's own - and at the right time, you can get some good offers on it, then B+Q, then Wickes. I've never dabbled with Wilkos paints, but judging from comments on here, best to avoid. For home furnishings, Dunelm have some great offers, and Home Bargains is worth a visit. Ikea's great too. If you want to paint/stain floorboards, Stokes do a great floor paint, that's better than any I've come across, at a fraction of the price.

.....I only use B&Q for emergencies, if I need something urgently after work, as I object to some of their prices on some of their lines which just seem completely unreasonable to me......

B&Q have a price promise, so if you could get the same item cheaper elsewhere, just tell a member of staff and they will price match it and take another 10% of the difference off so you can't actually lose :thumbsup:

But to use that you have to go to at least 2 shops before buying what you want at the more expensive BnQ.

Just plan to get things elsewhere if you can.

There's an independent paint shop on Shalesmoor and another one almost directly opposite the BnQ on Queens road, no idea about prices, but I'd have thought that they'd be good otherwise they'd have closed.

Wilkos for bi n pieces, b n q aren't bad for rollers etc. Big asda for furnishings etc...

Some places like focus, homebase etc have 3 for 2 on paints..

My hint buy large basic white emulsion and some acryllic paints from the bargain books place on the moor, then you can mix your own colours.

You can't beat Stokes on Little London Rd for quality of paint and decorating tools, but they're not cheap - you do get what you pay for. I think Dulux/Crown tends to be overpriced - if you can get hold of Leyland - it's cheaper and decent - if you're buying stores own brands, top of my list is Homebase's own - and at the right time, you can get some good offers on it, then B+Q, then Wickes. I've never dabbled with Wilkos paints, but judging from comments on here, best to avoid. For home furnishings, Dunelm have some great offers, and Home Bargains is worth a visit. Ikea's great too. If you want to paint/stain floorboards, Stokes do a great floor paint, that's better than any I've come across, at a fraction of the price.

You mention Leyland paint, which is made by Kalon, also the company who make Johnstones....and guess what, where do you think Wilko paint comes from? The one and same company....

Balfour carpets are brilliant, i went in and told the woman how much i had to spend and she went round the whole shop with me and sorted me a deal i am well impressed and will definately use them again

Balfour carpets are brilliant, i went in and told the woman how much i had to spend and she went round the whole shop with me and sorted me a deal i am well impressed and will definately use them again

Where is that?

hi i,m a joiner can give you a quote on laminate floor . i,ve done loads for this forum and always give 3 references every time ta jeff just pm you ta