DIY problem
- Thread starter The Halk
- Start date
Homebase is rubbish quality shocker!
Slightly more seriously, this thread is exactly the sort of reason I stopped buying stuff from homebase, the quality of a lot of their goods is appalling - screws that break or bend (often less than halfway into the supplied rawplugs), kits (like these shelves) that require you to know you have to add something to rectify a basic design fault (you shouldn't need to pack it to get the screw to fit properly).
Slightly more seriously, this thread is exactly the sort of reason I stopped buying stuff from homebase, the quality of a lot of their goods is appalling - screws that break or bend (often less than halfway into the supplied rawplugs), kits (like these shelves) that require you to know you have to add something to rectify a basic design fault (you shouldn't need to pack it to get the screw to fit properly).
I appreciate that you're trying to help, but I just don't understand you.
I understand the dowel concept, and I understand that the screw grips the dowel and that holds everything straight.
However I don't understand how I can get a dowel up there without it being loose. I don't understand what you mean by a groove, and there's a metal punched part up there?
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I got the rawlplugs and screws from there too... they don't work either. I even got them to choose them for me because I wanted to make sure it was the right ones. The rawlplugs and screws are in the same pack and they don't work properly. They seem to small for the size of hole they have you drill, and the rawlplugs grab the screws and spin inside the hole. I've eventually got them in by just leaning heavily on the screwdriver and forcing it in as it turns. Once they're fully in they're tight...
I'm still unsure what to do. If I try and fix things and it doesn't work then I'm stuffed because I then have modified their stuff and I don't see how I can complain successfully.
I think the best option is to go down and see the store manager and ask them what they think the best option is. If they offer just a refund or a goodwill gift voucher I won't accept that.
I've been reading up here and I've at least got something to go on.
Soldato
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- Woking
With regards to the rawlplugs, try putting slivers of wood, or a bunch of match sticks in, and then screw the screws in.
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Dec 2006
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So what shelves are good i am looking to get some soon BoConcept look good but not the price
Ok does this help explain what is happening, and how you fix it?
It is a very simple hack!
The bit where it says Screw is pulled upwards should be Shelf is....
I was lazy and copied and pasted!
That's how I understood it... the stamp on the metal tube though is much more indented than yours might be... I'm now a lot more informed having just returned from Homebase.
Asked to speak to the manager, and I explained what had happened. He came back with saying he's not aware of returns, or a problem, he's got some up at home. I then produced the 18 page printout of bad reviews from their own site. I think that helped. He's going to go to head office about it and see what they say.
In the mean time I said I wasn't really looking for this to be expensive, or time consuming, and I still wanted shelves so if he could get something that worked then it'd be fine by me. I suggested dowels and he came back with small individual ones you would use for cabinet making, I took him instead to the long decorative dowel area and we found quadrants which would work better as they'd go past the punched out holes.
My worry was how could a circular dowel be snug inside a circular tube if it had to be smaller to avoid the punched hole. The answer I think is that it can't, it has to be non-circular, which is what I've got home with me. Homebase didn't charge for them.
We also found out that there's several different designs, even for the same shelf there were up to 3 different barcodes and some quite different metal fixings. The one I have is short and squat while others are thinner and longer. More importantly the one I have had much, much larger punched out holes contorting the metal much more. I think that might be the problem.
In any case I've got the quadrants home and I'm about to shove em down the tubes and give it a shot.
Asked to speak to the manager, and I explained what had happened. He came back with saying he's not aware of returns, or a problem, he's got some up at home. I then produced the 18 page printout of bad reviews from their own site. I think that helped. He's going to go to head office about it and see what they say.
In the mean time I said I wasn't really looking for this to be expensive, or time consuming, and I still wanted shelves so if he could get something that worked then it'd be fine by me. I suggested dowels and he came back with small individual ones you would use for cabinet making, I took him instead to the long decorative dowel area and we found quadrants which would work better as they'd go past the punched out holes.
My worry was how could a circular dowel be snug inside a circular tube if it had to be smaller to avoid the punched hole. The answer I think is that it can't, it has to be non-circular, which is what I've got home with me. Homebase didn't charge for them.
We also found out that there's several different designs, even for the same shelf there were up to 3 different barcodes and some quite different metal fixings. The one I have is short and squat while others are thinner and longer. More importantly the one I have had much, much larger punched out holes contorting the metal much more. I think that might be the problem.
In any case I've got the quadrants home and I'm about to shove em down the tubes and give it a shot.
Pinter and that's my complaint with kits that don't have everything needed and don't say you need to do something like that
the_halk, if the rawplug is spinning in place you can either use something like nonails to help fill the excess (leave it to dry for a while), or there is a specific filler for loose plugs, but I can't think of what it's called.
[edit]
It sounds like Homebase are ordering the basic shelf look but getting it from different suppliers, or pushing them to reduce the price thus the quality of the fittings etc goes down.
.
the_halk, if the rawplug is spinning in place you can either use something like nonails to help fill the excess (leave it to dry for a while), or there is a specific filler for loose plugs, but I can't think of what it's called.
[edit]
It sounds like Homebase are ordering the basic shelf look but getting it from different suppliers, or pushing them to reduce the price thus the quality of the fittings etc goes down.
.
Pinter and that's my complaint with kits that don't have everything needed and don't say you need to do something like that
the_halk, if the rawplug is spinning in place you can either use something like nonails to help fill the excess (leave it to dry for a while), or there is a specific filler for loose plugs, but I can't think of what it's called.
I found the best thing to do was just lean heavily into the wall and it eventually 'took'. Enough procrastinating though, it's time to get the hardwood out and shove it up a tight hole!
Edit : Nah the shelves all have the same packaging and same supplier. Just a different spec - maybe cost cutting?
Fail :/
The screw doesn't catch into the dowel, the reason being that the punchout on the metal support is too deep which means the dowel can't be as high up as it needs to be for the screw to catch.
Next step.. find longer screws I think.
Edit : I have no longer wood screws, I'll check at my dads, I'm off there for a Sunday roast later...
The screw doesn't catch into the dowel, the reason being that the punchout on the metal support is too deep which means the dowel can't be as high up as it needs to be for the screw to catch.
Next step.. find longer screws I think.
Edit : I have no longer wood screws, I'll check at my dads, I'm off there for a Sunday roast later...
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Ok does this help explain what is happening, and how you fix it?
It is a very simple hack!
The bit where it says Screw is pulled upwards should be Shelf is....
I was lazy and copied and pasted!
Ok.. I've now properly tried this and it doesn't work.
I suspect the shelves are supposed to sit on the metal rails and only be retained by the two screws. I don't think the two screws would be enough to bear the weight of the shelves.
I've tried cramming as thick a quadrant as is possible to fit in the pipes, I've tried 3 lengths of screws... I've even tried the shelves the other way up.
In any case, they still don't work and I'm down hours of effort on them. I'm waiting now on Homebase head office speaking to the manufacturer. Homebase did call me last night to say that. Until then I'm unwilling to try anything else that may be eventually get blamed as the reason they don't work.
Maybe try wrapping insulation tape around the black metal bar to increase its diameter and thus make it a snugger fit in the holes on the shelf. Looking at Pinter pic though, I would probably drill and tap the front end of the bar, and a corresponding hole in the shelf, to allow an adjustment screw in the front end of the shelf, and forget about the other screw.
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