Reviews

These days we tend to turn to diamonds whenever we need a large holes in concrete, brick or tiles. Personally I would not want to be without my diamond core bits but there are some jobs where I hesitate to get them out. If for example there is a possibility of hitting a wall tie I would rather get this …

A few weeks ago we featured the new Gorilla brooms from Faulk’s, the makers of Gorilla Tub Trugs. The brooms have screw on heads with nylon bristles so losing your head while you are sweeping could be a thing of the past. But what is a broom without a shovel? So often builders use steel shovels to sweep up with …

I have looked at a few different tools from Flex over the years. This German company is not a major player in the UK drills market and I don’t expect they are intending to be but they have some attractive looking tools in their range and they seem to be well made. The Flex PD2G 18v drill and the ID …

Skill Builder’s Roger Bisby tries out the latest offering from Faulks the Gorilla brooms range. Gorilla tubs, you’ve heard of them I’m sure, well these brushes and brooms come out of the same Faulks stable, except of course, you don’t keep Gorillas in a stable. The approach with the brooms is exactly the same as the tubs, find a problem and …

Skill builder takes one small step for man as we try out a new footwear product from Base. It seems to me that every time I try out a new pair of work boots or shoes they blow my socks off. I am talking metaphorically of course but the innovation that now goes into protective footwear means that we are …

Snickers promises a hard wearing garment that’s easy on the pocket with the new Snickers Core Range but does it live up to its billing? Skill Builder takes a closer look. If you are someone who has looked at Snickers trousers and decided that they are a bit beyond your budget you might just be stopped in your tracks by …

Roger Bisby takes a first look at the 240 V Paddle Mixer from  Sparky. Sparky is a  power tool manufacturer from Bulgaria that also rebadges many of its products for other power tool companies. So if you see something very similar to this paddle mixer this could be because it is a Sparky tool in another colour and probably at …

Roger Bisby takes a walk across some Isosonic Dekfloor 30 from Thermal Economics as it is being installed in a refurbishment project. Sound insulation can be a tricky business, things that work well in the laboratory may fair less well on site. There are so many things that can undo all that design work, a nail, a screw or a …

Roger Bisby looks at the benefits of investing in an inflatable wedge which has been designed to make fixing and levelling easier. We have looked at pump up bags fairly recently but these are called Hedgehog Easy Air Wedge from easy innovations and have a subtle difference that you can’t see from looking at them. The secret feature is a …

A lot of building workers, me included, struggle to do a job wearing gloves. My hands bear testament to the fact. These days it is more or less taken out of your hands, if the site rule is that you wear them then you wear them. But if you are going to wear them you might as well wear some …

Roger Bisby tries out two Milwaukee Staplers – The 48-22-1010 hand stapler and the  48-22-1020 Hammer Tacker. Earlier in the year Skill-Builder  was given a preview of the new range of Milwaukee hand tools. It makes sense for a company that has a loyal following among tradesemen/women across the world to build on that customer base and bring in a …

Roger Bisby looks at two 18 volt power tools from Milwaukee. Judging by the number of new power tools launched by Milwaukee this year they are on a mission to become the leading power tool manufacturer in the U.K and, as if that wasn’t enough, they are also introducing some high-quality hand tools into their range. Inevitably, with so much …

Have you ever seen that trick where they saw a car in half? Well in our case it is no trick, we really did do it and we haven’t had so much fun in ages. In fact to tell you the truth it’s quite  addictive. Once you have cut your first car you start looking for other suitable cars and …

Every diamond blade manufacturer claims to have a blade that cuts everything but we all know that no blade can be optomised for best performance in all materials. If it performs well on one material it will perform less well on another. Usually the division is between hard and soft and Husqvarna has acknowledged that fact in giving you the …

Roger Bisby reports on a job where Ecotherm’s Ecoliner saved the day. We hear a lot about reducing our carbon footprint and saving money on fuel bills but the most noticeable and immediate benefit of insulation is the increased comfort levels. Yes it makes you feel instantly warmer, who knew? The community hall in our case study had the reputation …

Most people have some idea what an infra red thermometer does and also what a thermal imaging camera does but this tool sits somewhere between the two, explains Roger Bisby of the Bosch GIS 1000 C. I don’t mind admitting that it took me a while to work out exactly what the Bosch GIS 1000 does for a living. I …

There are plenty of trades who would find the Werner Podium step ladder useful including plumbers, decorators and heating and ventilation fitters, says Roger Bisby as he puts the product to the test. Two days before I got to test these Werner Podium step ladder I was using a pair of ordinary steps  and climbed a little higher than I …