Hi John,
Je parle Français avec un petit accent Anglais, goes down well with the ladies..
DIY is growing fast here in France, but the UK is well ahead. As for prices... some stuff is cheaper, others not so. Tools and ways of doing things are not the same either. Example, houses here tend to be built out of breeze block, as against red brick & plywood…. Most floors are either tiled or parquet, thus the tools are adapted to the appropriate requirements. However this also means the materials are different thus the choices are quite often better, my parents quite often buy decorative products here because they can’t find that “thing /style” they want in the UK, saying this BnQ have been getting better (may have something to do with them buying Castorama and But).
Its the same in other areas of "DIY", it's very rare to carry-out your own car repairs here, probably because you can't get the stuff to do it, no Halfords here
. Even some garden tools are different.
The big difference comes with choice, availability and price with respect to Woodworking power tools and accessories. You are looking at a 20% difference in price, I called the local Scheppach supplier in France about the HMS260ci, his reply was, “buy it in the UK as it will be cheaper” :shock: . I visited the Jet, EB, DW and Kity suppliers, none of them could compete with the UK prices. Hence I purchase my goods in the UK and get them delivered to my parents’ home. Either they bring them over when they visit or I take them back when visit the UK. This adds a small delay, but the saving is well worth it.
Germany: With the items I looked at EB and Gardena, Germany has prices that are comparable with the UK; however I normally have a car full of kids wife and accessories when I travel there, and would find it difficult adding a table saw or accessories for the return trip.
Mike
