I spent around 500 EU on various tools and some materials yesterday, in what I call the 'holy trinity' of hardware stores in Castelo Branco.
I start off in MaxMat - which is mainly building supplies, that's the most tedious, then I go to Agriloga - which is mainly agricultural stuff (think large scale gardening) and finally I go to BricoMarche which is basically B and Q - more expensive than the previous two but generally better stocked, and next to a garage and supermarket so I can food shop and fill up with fuel before heading back.
I think it's a pretty optimal shopping routine - cheaper shops first and then if they don't have what I need, get from the final more expensive outlet (if I really can't wait!).
Going around these shops by oneself can be draining, especially because I frequently don't know what I want, all the instructions are in a foreign language and there's so many distractions.
For example I made the mistake of turning right in MaxMat straight out the gate and got distracted for 10 minutes with bits of plastic pipe and connectors - I hadn't even gone in for that, but I ended coming out with what I think was a workable downpipe system upgrade, which also required silicone - another challenge as there is literally a wall full of the stuff in MaxMat - I ended up just going cheap, bottom shelf as the pipes already fitted pretty snugly.
I also got some gravel (for levelling posts) - I will get some delivered but this was me being impatient, so I bought two bags, some gloves (you can never have enough!), nails, a replacement pruning saw, i mislaid two already, and some containers for screws and bits and bobs - the kind you can hook into a van, quite cheap!
I resisted buying (another) wheelbarrow, it's a while until I'll need to mix any cement, and maybe by then I would have got my head around the idea of buying a generator and a cement mixer.
I had to then go to Agriloga to get some post setting equipment - namely and augur for drilling the holes, a manual one, like a cork screw, and a post basher, you know one of those metal things you put over a post, and two tarps - I thought I was buying one but somehow I picked up two - still, they come in handy.
Finally in BricoMarche I found a decent cordless sander, well it's actually an angle grinder - which set me back about 200 EU, but most of that was the batteries....
I figure this will come in handy down the years - I'll now be able to cut metal sheeting and pipes and it sands like a charm - if anything I need to be careful to have a light touch.
This was the main thing I wanted - I need to sand back the beams in my strawbale house, they look a bit manky, this should make light work of those!
I rounded off by buying another pair of safety boots, a full tank of fuel and some fruit, veggies and a cheeky bag of Haribo.
Then headed back home around 500 EU lighter, but happy to found everything I wanted.
The thing about DIY projects is that you do have to spend money in order to do the 'doing' bit of them!
