Nice chappie behind the counter, didn't make me feel silly being in a hardware shop as most men…read moreusually give me that look 'not on a Thursday' that old mag advert look that women and DIY do not mix, but no he was most helpful, polite and friendly. Very nicely priced items and very good too! We will be back for sure!

Bless them, they've got just about everything you could possibly imagine in this store!…read more Imagine taking the entire contents of B&Q, Wilkos and Poundstretcher and cramming it all into one little shop, and you've got Brian's! It's a real Alladin's cave selling absolutely everything you could ever need, and quite a lot that you could probably live without as well! Staff are friendly and some of the time it appears that they look just as lost as the customers in there! On the whole, it is a really useful little place to have in the town. A Wilkinsons opened recently which I think have taken a lot of business away from Brian's which is a shame as they're a bit of a Brigg institution, but hopefully they'll survive and continue to give the good service they have done for years.

My view is - If you cant get it in Bryan's you won't get it anywhere. The staff are extremely…read morehelpful and you rarely have to wait to be served however busy they might be

Great place for those essential DIY products that are sometimes hard to find, offering great…read more prices and useful info to get the job done.

This is one of those places that's been caught in a bit of a time warp. One of those that you look…read moreat and think How on earth does this place manage to stay in business?. It's not far from Homebase or the town centre, so they've certainly got competition, but somehow they have got their own niche market, and good on them! I called in while passing just looking for some hooks. It's a bit of an emporium inside, but just ask and they'll point you straight to what you're looking for. It wasn't expensive either, which is always a bonusin fact it was probably quite a lot cheaper than if I'd carried on as planned to Homebase! Small but welcoming, cluttered but lovely. Give them a try!

Being free from Wilkinson's Otley has little tool shops dotted around and about, this lovely shop…read moreis one of them. The shop-keeper stands on high a podium like plinth to stand on, complete with green body warmer and look of stern knowledge crossing his face. What to say, I was on a look out for a staple gun and in this mini-tardis there were many varieties one complete with staple remover. Extension cables of many varieties, screws, nails, fixtures and fittings, not terribly cheap but quality items at your convenience.

Being as I make jewellery it's really useful to have a wee drill bit to use, as I collect a good…read morenumber of shells to include in various pieces. As I like to hand pick a lot of these shells straight from the beach they invariably all need a hole drilling at some point! One of my tasks of the day was to find this tiny drill bit and so I decided to try The Tool Box in Otley. As soon as I ventured in I realised I was a little out of my league. Burley men looking at various power tools glanced up and raised an eyebrow at me, I suppose I can't blame them as I did look overwhelmed. Tools and DIY bits were everywhere. The shop was filled to burst with gear; when they named it The Tool Box they were not kidding. I couldn't believe it! They had gardening equipment, drills, rakes, saws, screws - I couldn't list everything, but I know that if you had some specific requirement The Tool Box would have it. In the end I slowly made my way round the entire shop, carefully checking the shelves for drill bits, and eventually (once I'd made it back to the entrance area) found the bits I needed. At first I could only see tiny drill bits in with a set of several extra ones, until I realised they had a sort of pick 'n' mix box of spare one off drill bits. It said they were all 60p each and so I found the tiniest one. Yay! Just what I needed. I went to get out my 60p and the guy went to charge me then realised I had the smallest bit in the world, and so just said "ahh, you can just have that. No worries." Awesome! Really great stuff. My main advice? Don't spend the entire time looking, it'd be quicker just to ask.

It's a bit of a cliché to say it, but this place really is an Aladdin's Cave of useful knickknacks…read more Well, it would be if Aladdin was a fan of doorknobs, staple guns and tins of paint, anyway. The owner here is one of the nicest men ever, and will always help you find what you need even if you're being a bit thick and not entirely sure yourself... I speak from experience! Prices are really competitive, much cheaper than the DIY stores in town and on a par with chain store prices, and I've never known anyone to need anything they didn't have somewhere on their shelves. Be prepared to ask though - the layout of the shop is chaotic to say the least.

This place truly saved my bacon back when I lived in Hyde Park. I think they've cornered their…read moremarket and chosen well, they are situated right in the centre of studentville - where better to be with tons of people year in and year out moving house? I needed hardware supplies, badly. I wanted to put up pictures, paint my walls, put up some shelves - generally overhaul my room to make it mine. So my Mum and I trotted five minutes down the road to this place and had a browse. Initially we were B&Q bound but I wanted to get on with things immediately so persuaded her to pop here instead. It was totally the right choice! The staff were excellent and friendly and helped us find exactly what we needed, without any of the usual patronising back chat we've received from other places for being women doing DIY. Brilliant. Everything was cheaper than B&Q, which is pretty great too - closer, better service and cheaper prices! I managed to purchase everything I needed well under budget. Couldn't be happier with my shopping experience! Awesome.

Meanwood branch. I went in today with my elderly mother. As she walked through the door she…read moretripped. Rather than asking if she was alright, the owner asked her if she'd enjoyed her trip. This is the last time I will go into this store. On previous visits I have left the shop due to the owner's horrible attitude. I would just like to add that the other staff working there are all nice and polite but not the older man who, due to his arrogance, I believe is the owner. Rather than shopping locally, I will go to Wilko's in future for a better, and more polite, shopping experience.

I've had 4 encounters with this store. The first time I went in trying to buy a powerful electric…read moredrill and screwdriver. I'd never heard of the brand on offer, and the advice given to me suggested they didn't really know whether or not their device would be appropriate for the task I had in hand. They really just left me to read the box. So much for local shops offering a better service than reading a description on Amazon. Fail number 1. I ended up buying from Amazon - a trusted brand and it has worked very well indeed. The second time I was wanting to buy a hasp lock for a cupboard to make it secure. I've never had any experience with this type of lock, took photos of my cupboard and thought I'd give this local business my support by asking them to help me. I chose the lock myself and then asked them about a padlock for it. I made sure that I had a conversation with the staff about my situation and showed them the lock and padlock I was planning to use. They said they would be fine. After all that, the lock fitted but the padlock didn't fit. So, I had to go back to the store for a third time to tell them. They tried to sell me a key-based padlock (I had made it clear that I didn't want to be messing around with keys and wanted a combination lock). They were out of stock of the next size up, so I agreed to come back a week later when they had more. I returned a week later for a fourth time. By now the trips into town were getting tiresome and I wished I'd just ordered online and had the thing delivered, hassle-free. Anyway, I paid an extra pound to exchange my padlock for the next size up. The quality of the padlock is atrocious. The wheels don't turn properly, and you often have to press the lock down in a weird way, in order to reach the opening combination. Four visits. Time wasted. Very unsatisfactory outcome. In future I'll go to Argos. At least you can get a good quality, branded item. Or if I don't mind waiting then I'll order it from Amazon.

Over recent years I have used this store now and again. Now I use it far more often and I no longer…read morewaste my time going to these large DIY places. Blackburns are far more knowledgeable and always make sure you walk out with the correct stuff and they are better prices. Total no brainer!

I am very happy with the beautiful fireplace and gas fire from the living room. Everyone from the…read moreshowroom to the fitters could not have been more helpful and friendly. I would hIngle recommend them. Thank you

I needed a fire and fireplace to be installed in double quick time and they were amazing. They did…read moreexactly what I asked - wasted no time. Very pleased with the fireplace. It looks beautiful and the electric fire is easy to use for my mother. I had initially approached another company who were more local to my mum's address, but they were pretty unresponsive and so I googled around and found The Living Room - thankfully! They surpassed my expectations. Beautiful fire surrounds to choose from. Great staff who are eager to please. I would happily recommend these people. Thank you Mr Roberts