DIY Shop In SE1

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a DIY shop in SE1, which is proving to be difficult!

I am looking for a shop where the staff know what they are talking about so I can get all my tools from there. I am looking for a cordless drill which can drill through masonry, so it needs to be powerful, this webiste says I need an 18V or higher and that I am going to need to spend upwards of £200: https://www.cordlessdrillsreviews.co.uk/ which is a bit out of my budget.

Thanks,

Kyle

You've either got The Tool Shop on Lower Marsh, Leyland SDM on Southwark Street near London Bridge tube, or Screwfix and Tool Station next to each other in Bermondsey. Or B&Q down Old Kent Road.

For decent advice I would probably say Leyland SDM, the staff seem generally knowledgeable and helpful. For choice and price it would be Screwfix, and the bloke on the counter may be helpful or he may not. I've never used Tool Station so don't know it. The Tool Shop in Lower Marsh is hit and miss in terms of helpfulness, and they ain't cheap. I tried to take something back (unopened about an hour after I'd bought it) a few years ago and was spoken to so rudely I gave the bloke an earful and have not been back since.
B&Q is like some sort of competition trying to find a member of staff, and if you do they are generally pursued by ten other people. Pot luck whether they know about drills.

Incidentally, what exactly are you drilling into? You would need a hammer drill for brick or concrete but I've found my cordless 12V cheapo drill (without hammer action) is good enough for most plaster. Decent masonry drill bits are worth paying extra for, in my unprofessional opinion.

It might be worth hiring something if it's a one-off job and calls for a really powerful tool. Plenty of tool hire shops in the area.

Leyland have very helpful staff, but their power tool choice is limited and expensive.

I usually buy power tools from Screwfix or Amazon.

Do you really need the drill to br cordless? Even an expensive 18v drill can struggle with masonry, depending on the type of bricks. A £60 corded hammer drill would do the job much better.

I really rate De Walt tools, but Screwfix do Titan stuff which is usually vey good value for money - their £65 SDS drill will go through anything and comes with bits https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb278sds-corded-sds-plus-drill-230-240v/97533

Have you tried the builders merchants in tower bridge rd? Opposite the George Pub...over the years they have advised me.loads of builders use it can't be bad if it has regular customers..

GeminiX wrote:

Leyland have very helpful staff, but their power tool choice is limited and expensive.
I usually buy power tools from Screwfix or Amazon.

Do you really need the drill to br cordless? Even an expensive 18v drill can struggle with masonry, depending on the type of bricks. A £60 corded hammer drill would do the job much better.

I really rate De Walt tools, but Screwfix do Titan stuff which is usually vey good value for money - their £65 SDS drill will go through anything and comes with bits https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb278sds-corded-sds-plus-drill-230-240v/97533

Bold bit 1, I was about to buy a 110v drill off of Amazon and looked at Screwfix and it was a full £60 cheaper.

Bold bit 2, agree.