DYLAN Solutions

22/01/2026

Hi all, and I hope you all had a great Christmas break.

I was imagining that things might be quiet over winter, but it seems you lot have some great challenges for me!

A general flavour of the last month has been:

- many baths and showers re-siliconed
- many families of ladybirds evicted
- enamel baths and shower trays repaired
- 5m collapsible lean to shelter designed and built in one day on a log cabin
- emergency student house sofa repair
- many ceilings and bathrooms painted
- Georgian doors re-hung
- garage doors fitted
- 1 vicious shrew rescued (see image of the terrifying beast)
- bespoke kitchen installs undertaken
- double glazed doors adjusted and repaired
- thermostatic shower valves fitted
- and many more varied and obscure challenges together with the normal run of the mill stuff!

… oh and some fantastic cuppas from my wonderful clients! Cheers guys.

I’ve enjoyed taking pride in sorting all of these challenges in the most efficient way possible to provide a lasting solution, but one that both gets the client out of trouble quick but also makes financial sense.

Here’s to many more exciting challenges in 2026 so try me!

As always please do feel free to call for a no obligation chat and even if I can’t help you directly I can point you to someone who will.

All the best and hope to see you this year!

Dylan

23/11/2025

What a great week!

After a steady start we have taken on some great jobs for some lovely people both local and as far as Stalbridge. New challenges and rapid turnaround with pride taken at every stage.

New gate post, wonky shed straightened and patio doors trimmed for fit in Hyde

Wires boxed in and new boiler enclosure built in North Gorley

Sleeper wall with French drain in Sandleheath

No challenge ignored! Call us up to chat about how we can help.

18/11/2025

18/11/2025

A fantastic few weeks of helping people in need!

A lovely lady in Stalbridge who had 3 days to have her rotten floor joists and boards replaced so the carpet could be fitted. Job done in 2 days including various repairs to boards around the house.

A chap in North Gorley who needed his tv wires boxed in

A guy in Mere who wanted a lovely old airer installed on his tricky ceiling through 150mm of insulation! A robust solution was found!

A lady in Branksome who had previous water damage that resulted in peeling plaster and staining. All this was scraped back, PVA stabilised and re plastered. Like new!

A lady wanted a little shelf made from an old scaffolding board in her kitchen. This was planed down, charred to expose the grain and then waxed with a mid tone to create a lovely finish.

Lastly the mother of all flat packs! An extendable dining table for a lady in Ashford - quite a job this but exactly what she needed!

In all cases the properties were left spotless and all waste removed and responsibly disposed of.

A reminder that we are fully liability insured, CSC card holder and take great pride in what we do!

Jumper weather now! Stay warm!

Dylan

17/10/2025

Get 3 quotes!

Having spent most of my life not employing tradesmen I find it very hard for those things I have to admit are best left to a seasoned pro in his craft (plastering a house, building a house, wiring a house,…)

The most important thing for the customer is to know what you CANNOT do for them, and to make them aware of who CAN do it for them. Electrical and gas works are possibly the single most safety critical ones. Safety is EVERYTHING.

But when it comes to ‘everything else’ there are all manner of things that ni**le us daily or simply don’t work as they should, causing increasing frustration. That’s where Dylan Solutions comes in!

But we are already noticing that thanks to the might of eastern manufacture a lot of modern ‘new’ goods simply aren’t as well made as the items they are replacing. Sad but true.

The dilemma for me is do I give the customer the nice warm feeling of a new item - let’s say a new door handle, or do I remedy the existing item?

My motivation is actually to get the best, simplest solution, which in most all cases will be the best for the customer and the environment.

Sadly a lot of new hardware is simply built to cost and can be quite awful quality. I want my works to be long lasting and satisfying for the customer. Read that again - I mean it!

So in short, whilst the cheapest quote is likely to be a quick fix, and the most expensive, well make of that what you will, but at Dylan Solutions the intention is SMART working where we do what’s best to keep you going in the long term and well beyond the point where we have left your property.

That isn’t always new items!

As always we do exactly what the customer asks for, but we are dedicated to intelligent working so quite often what’s best for you is best for us and with the added bonus that we don’t generate land-fill whilst we are at it!

As always we remain at your disposal for a chat over your projects or issues!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Dylan Solutions

18/09/2025

Morning all.

DONT BE AFRAID OF BEING DEMANDING 🤓

I just wanted to highlight the importance of communication when it comes to dealing with tradesmen.

Now coming out of industry I am all too familiar with those who don’t want to be accountable avoiding all written communication - it’s infuriating.

I too have been burned in the past by trusting tradesmen to do what was agreed by word of mouth, only to find them stood on my doorstep asking for more money.

The answer? Simple. Write down exactly what you want and send it to the tradesman. Doesn’t matter if it’s text, WhatsApp, email, or at a push a hand written document, but this way there will be NO excuse should they decide to try and debate what was requested.

Don’t feel shy or ashamed. Ask them to confirm that they can do what you asked for, and if they have quoted then make sure they respond confirming the quote is for exactly what you requested.

If you are not an expert or don’t know exactly HOW to fix or build what you need just be sure to state what OUTCOME you want. Include a sketch by all means even if your design skills are more Di-Caprio than Davinci!

Too many tradesmen hide behind poor communication to avoid being held accountable. Following this advice protects not only you, but also them, and eliminates un-necessary arguments down the line.

At DYLAN solutions we will always keep you informed about the job and will ALWAYS confirm if we can’t undertake work.

Have a good day everyone

Dylan
07814 445453

15/09/2025

15/09/2025

Hello everyone.
After a 32 year career in high profile engineering I would like to bring my skills closer to home and help the immediate community. My main motivation is to ease the anxiety of older people or those struggling to keep the household working and in good shape in the most economical way.

I am going to set up offering ‘handyman’ services which can be literally anything that you need mending/constructing but I can help you with projects too, and bring in the right trades if we need. If I cannot help you immediately then I will recommend who can, and help you get in touch with them.

I intend to compliment local tradesmen but I can demonstrate a huge range of skills and projects to anyone interested.

Happy to visit and quote for free.

I am looking for an honest income but I am also looking to be good value and to do my little bit for the community.

Thanks all!
Dylan Phillips