Feeling ambitious? Here’s a tip that will save you a return trip: always buy 10–15% more material than you think you need. Whether it’s timber for a deck or bags of postcrete, the extra accounts for mistakes, cuts, and that one weird joint that requires two more blocks. Covers is happy to see you back, but you’d rather be sipping tea on your finished patio, right?
Another modern trick: use their trade counter like a pro. If you’re polite and ask for advice during quieter hours (mid-morning, Tuesday–Thursday), the staff will often share tradesperson-level hacks. For instance, did you know you can seal a timber end-grain with a bit of candle wax to prevent moisture absorption? It’s a small detail that can make a deck last an extra five years.
And let’s talk about concrete. Southampton’s clay soil means your fence posts need a wider base. A standard 600mm hole simply won’t cut it—go for 750mm deep with a gravel collar for drainage. The staff at Covers will nod knowingly when you mention this. They’ve seen the town’s fence panels leaning like tired sailors.
Covers Southampton moving to Empress Road
The Cultural Connection: A Nod to the City
Southampton has always been a place of transformation. From the Titanic’s departure to the docks that rebuilt a nation, this is a city that understands materials and movement. Covers Timber sits quietly within that story—a staging ground for every extension, every renovated wet room, every garden shed that becomes a man-cave.
It’s no surprise that locals use phrases like “it’s a bit nippy today” when discussing which insulation board to buy. The language of building is woven into the local dialect. A “joist” is just a happy beam, but a “noggin” is the little block between them—a word so charming it could be a character in a Roald Dahl book.
