I love the TV ads for B&Q at the moment. It bigs up the fact that it has experienced staff that can…read moreattend to your every DIY need. "I was a plumber for 22 years," says one bloke in an orange vest, smiling through gritted teeth, "I had me own van, me own business, it's all gone now," he fails to add. "I spent 10 years working as a decorator," says another, failing to mention "before you bastards came and showed people how to do it themselves". However, if you do want to do it yourself, then this is the warehouse to come to. Huge and sprawling, it's a haven for blokes who want to get out of the house, families at a loose end and those with actual pressing DIY needs. Although you are as likely to find a teenager as a fella with 30 years experience wandering the shop floor, you usually can find the advice you need.

As we've been doing a lot of DIY lately I was like a kid in a candy store when I first entered B&Q…read more It's massive and they have a huge selection of paint. They also had a large selection of skirting boards and the only place I could find the right sized ones I need to cover some holes that were bashed in the wall while removing the old ones, while still being thin enough to match the door frames. Some stuff is really cheap compared to the likes of Woodies but other things are really expensive which confused me. For example No More Nails is nearly twice as expensive but their own brand roller sets are way cheaper at 3 euro, bargain. They also don't have an Irish website which I found annoying, I'd like to check prices before I make a trip out.

Large tool store, big selection, plenty of parking. Not the…read morebest value for money, and won't price match.

This shop, although to my dismay has been there almost 2 years, is a real find for a whole array of…read morehousehold goods, DIY, and especially electrical goods! The problem is it is not easy to find...it is located through a lane way off the Main Street, at the entrance to Celbridge Hire and right beside Gimini Hair. The proprietor told me Kildare County Council will not allow him to advertise his shop with a sign on the Main Street so he has to rely on word of mouth! Yesterday, I was able to purchase a whole lot of different light bulbs for various light fittings, even one for my freezer...and might I add at an extremely reasonable rate. All you Celbridge people, do call to this amazing little shop for all your electrical needs and other household items!

My boyfriend and I just moved into a new apartment. As with any new place, you settle in and…read morerealize that some of the things you're used to, like plugs in the bathroom, or a door that opens, didn't come with the place. At first you rant and rave, "how could an apartment have no bathroom outlets!? Why is there a door here if it doesn't even open!? WTFFFFF" Then you rush out of the house in a huff and stumble upon a teeny hardware store and everything is better. That's what happened to us at least. We wandered in one day and chatted with the owner who was so helpful. We got set home with some extension cords and a kind of crowbar to bust that door open. Everything was fine and dandy, though I think we may have paid a premium for shopping at such a little place. But since the owner was there and it obviously is his livelihood, I didn't feel so bad.

Wow great shop, great atmosphere....the young guy is cute....its a must visit...kind of unique.The…read moreyoung guy is cute . .....C

Offering very good advice & large range of products at competitive prices. I bought paving slabs,…read morethey told me quantities I would need & costing. I priced around & they came in cheapest. Best of all I could get items delivered within a day of ordering.

I always forget something when I travel, and this time it was a bloody UK/US adapter plug…read more Initially, I bought one from the hotel which was so cheap, you could tell just by looking at the individually wrapped item as if it was a cookie from Circle K. It was unusable, so I returned it and searched out in the world. After passing up a sketchy place on Dame Street, I came across this hardware store that had a small selection of converter plugs. Both the gents working there were friendly and talkative, assuring me that they were of good enough quality, or they wouldn't sell them. I went for the less expensive of the two adapters, and it works just swell. Reasonable price. Lifesaver!!! I CAN PLUG IN MY ELECTRONICS OMFGGGGG... I have no other experience, and likely never will... but if I can find an excuse to start a home improvement project in Dublin, I'll come back here.

I'm a sucker for hardware stores, even when I'm travelling in a foreign land. I happened upon…read moreDecwells DIY while walking around town, and made it a point to stop in later in the day to look around. I was fine on adapter plugs, but needed a new lock for the gym back home. Found a nicely sized 3-number combo by ABUS. The nice and helpful guy helping me tried to steer me to a cheaper model, but I know what I wanted.

Known locally simply as Matt's, this is actually a cross between a treasure trove and a hardware…read morestore. About as far away from Woodies or B&Q as it's possible to get, avoid it at all costs if you like ordered aisles, signs, clearly displayed prices, or a lot of choice. To be sought out if you have a general sense of curiosity and might like to witness a wily, wiry man, not in the first flush of youth but nimble as a goat, disappear into the midst of what looks like pure chaos in the form of a shelving system, and arrive back within 60 seconds with precisely what you asked for - however odd or out of sight - and present it to you without fuss, usually at a cost of around two euros. If that's ok. Because he may well ask you. Bulbs. Paint. A colander. Electrical stuff. Wire. Rope. Pots. Plants. Trees. Keys. A laser spirit level, anyone? Lamps. Bike locks. Vacuum bags. It wouldn't surprise me to find there's a sofa in there somewhere, or a self-assembly garden shed (maybe even modest dwelling?), in fact next time I might ask. It might better be know as the hardware Tardis of D7, as it carries much more than its exterior suggests is possible. In fact, the question may be, what's not available in Matt's shop? I've yet to find out.

Every locality needs a good hardware store and Phibsboro's is Phibsboro Hardware. If you're doing…read moreeven the smallest spot of DIY at home, then here's the place to get your supplies. Whether it's paint, tools or nails that you're after, it's here. The photo of the shop's exterior says it all really. They even have plants and they sell Christmas trees during the Yuletide season. Only problem is you could go in there and lose track of time purchasing stuff that you never knew you wanted or needed!