The really useful column

Shower power

Are you fed up with leaks ruining the grouting and tiles in your shower? Are you looking for a sleek option to traditional tiles? Well now you can buy a veneered, interlocking melamine board as an alternative shower-wall covering.

Called mermaid board, simply glue it to the walls using a special adhesive and seal the overlapping junctions between boards.

No grouting or tiling is needed, and there are no leaks. To keep it clean just wipe it down. And at pounds 125 for a sheet 90cm by 2.4m, it can also work out cheaper than tiles. It is available in 50 different colours, including marble or tile effect, from Travis Perkins, Jewsons and many other bathroom or plumbing centres around town.

The price is right

Ever wanted to work out the cost of that dream extension or conservatory without the hassle of a high-pressure salesman breathing down your neck?

Now you can: www.growyour home.com is a website which allows you to measure the building area, select your materials, even choose a builder; you just fill in a form online and receive an estimate of the costs, including labour. As with any longdistance service, you probably won't get a completely accurate quote, but it will give you a good guide as to what you should be paying, so you can be ready and armed when that salesman drops by.

Build on trust

Fed up with cowboy tradesmen when all you want is someone who will turn up on time, do a good job and charge a fair rate? From Monday you will be able to call The London Tradesmen's Directory for a list of recommended and reliable workmen from all trades; all you pay is the cost of the telephone call. It even offers a competitively priced emergency callout service for plumbing problems, storm damage, lock outs, break ins and vandalism.

Is this the beginning of the end for rogue builders? I do hope so. You can call The London Tradesman's Directory on 0906 780 8888. The lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Do you know of any people, places or services that should be featured in The Really Useful Column? If so, email me at [email protected] and I'll investigate.

The really good kitchen idea

Giving away little gems is a bittersweet experience, as there is something undeniably delicious about discovering a fantastic supplier or workman. But it's my job, so here it is. When I renovated my present house, I scoured the kitchen-unit market and realised that it pretty much fell into two camps: bespoke (for which read second mortgage), or mass-produced, which means MDF carcasses and quite predictable designs. And then I discovered Paragon Furniture: traditional craftsmen who can turn out a solid wood bespoke kitchen for not much more than a mass-produced MDF effort.

How do they do it? They know, as I now do, that there is a huge profit in what I call "cardboard kitchens", and room to do better and still make a living. I was totally thrilled with my maple inlaid kitchen and they even built a breakfast table to match.

Oh, and they are nice to deal with as well.

Paragon Furniture can be contacted on 020 8503 0199.

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