Buying Pipe Insulation From Screwfix, B&Q, Homebase, Wickes and Toolstation: a Comparison

Pipe insulation is important across homes and industries. It helps to prevent pipes from bursting during extreme cold temperatures and potentially flooding the house. It also helps save energy by preventing heat loss.

Whether you are doing a new project or updating old systems, chances are you will be required to buy pipe insulation.

In the UK, the 4 major stores; Screwfix, Toolstation, B&Q and Wickes are some of the most popular places to buy pipe insulation from due to their extensive store networks through out the UK. Although their range of options is quite limited compared to other specialist pipe insulation suppliers like ourselves at Buy Insulation Online.

Products such as polyethylene foam pipe lagging, outside tap insulation jackets and spiral pipe insulation wrap can be found on all these platforms.

Luckily, the following comparison provides comprehensive details of these companies hence making your work easy.

Key Takeaways

All 5 of the big hardware stores offer polyethelene foam pipe lagging as their main product. Most also stock some kind of pipe wrap such as ThermaWrap Spiral Pipe Insulation and hot water jackets. Only B&Q stock Polyethelene foam and Nitrile Rubber (Armaflex type) pipe lagging.
Screwfix and Toolstation are the cheapest for smaller amounts of polyethelene pipe insulation at £0.98 per metre. For bulk orders Buy Insulation Online's Climaflex is cheaper at £0.79 (At time of writing in June 2024)
Homebase is the most expensive for foam pipe lagging followed by B&Q.
All offer limited choices in terms of materials. None of them stock any fibreglass, phenolic or Rockwool insulation like we do for example.
All allow customers to click and collect pipe insulation within a few minutes of placing the order.
Only Wickes, B&Q and Homebase offer delivery.
Between them cover most if not all of the UK
These stores may offer seasonal discounts, bundle deals, and loyalty programs for added savings and convenience.

Screwfix Pipe Insulation

Screwfix offers a variety of pipe insulation products, including ThermaWrap Spiral Pipe Insulation and radiator reflector foil. Another common product is polythene pipe insulation which is beneficial for both frost protection and thermal insulation.

However, this type of insulation is only available for pickup at the nearest local store. Even if you buy online you will have to pick it up from the nearest Screwfix store.

There are other insulation products such as the multipanel cylinder jacket, radiator reflector foil and an outside insulated tap cover. These products are not pipe insulation directly. But they are important as the parts they insulate connect onto pipes.

Buy Pipe Insulation

Buy Foam Pipe Insulation Online

Why buy Screwfix Pipe Lagging?

Screwfix's main strength is its extensive distribution of stores across the UK. This wide network allows them to reach a broad customer base, providing convenient access for both trade professionals and DIY enthusiasts.

The extensive footprint of Screwfix stores means:

1. Convenience : Customers can easily find a Screwfix store nearby, reducing the time and effort required to obtain necessary tools and supplies.
2. Quick Order Fulfillment: With many locations, Screwfix can offer quick "click and collect" services, often within minutes.
3. Customer Support: Local stores ensure personalized service and face-to-face customer support, enhancing the overall customer experience.
4. Supply Chain Efficiency: A broad network helps in streamlining the logistics and supply chain operations, ensuring consistent stock availability and timely replenishment.

Additionally, their strong online presence complements their physical stores, offering a comprehensive range of products accessible both in-person and click and collect online (Although you cannot get pipe insulation delivered from Screwfix). This hybrid model enhances their service flexibility and customer reach.

Why not to buy pipe insulation from Screwfix?

If you are just looking for cheap and cheerful but not too effective pipe insulation then polyethylene is not a bad choice per se but there are much better options on the market in our opinion.

Also they do not deliver pipe insulation direct to you, you have to go pick it up from their stores which may not be feasible if you do not drive or your car is too small to pack into all the materials you need.

They do not sell any mineral wool pipe insulation, rubber or acoustic pipe lagging. None of the products they sell are fire resistance and are rated E only, meaning they are combustible. They do not sell foil faced pipe insulation like Rockwool or Isover Climpipe like we do.

To sum up buying Pipe Lagging from Screwfix

In summary, the following is true if you intend to buy pipe lagging from Screwfix.

Very cheap prices. Polyethelene Economy Pipe Insulation 15MM X 13MM = £0.98 per Metre
Have a wide network of stores.
Can shop for other bits and bobs for your project including copper and plastic pipes.
Have a poor selection of materials, only polyethelene pipe lagging is available
Do not offer delivery, only collection from one of their stores

Toolstation Pipe Insulation

Toolstation offers pretty much the same range of pipe insulation products, including the ThermaWrap Spiral Pipe Insulation and Polyethelene.

Other products they stock related to pipe insulation are Cylinder Jackets and Celafelt Stitched Pipe Lagging which you wrap around the pipe in a spiral.

Benefits and Drawbacks of buying Toolstation pipe lagging

The exact same pros and cons of buying from Screwfix apply to Toolstation. Their business models are nearly identical so there is not much else to be said (See Screwfix section of the article above)

Price wise their 15mm x 13mm Polyethelene Economy Pipe Insulation Wrap is the same low price as Screwfix at £0.98 per m.

Wickes Pipe Insulation

Wickes is another popular store to buy pipe insulation from. Much of the same can be said for Wickes as we have already mentioned for Screwfix and Toolstation however they seem to offer a delivery service. Quick summary below;

Wickes Economy Pipe Insulation 15mm x 13mm = £1.48 per metre that comes in 2m lengths
They only sell polyethelene foam pipe insulation alongside felt pipe wrap
They do offer delivery of above pipe lagging
They have a large network of stores across the UK to either go browse or click and collect from.
Offer a trade discount card
Can shop for other bits and bobs for your project including copper and plastic pipes.

B&Q Pipe Insulation

Out of all the major hardware stores, B&Q has the best selection of pipe insulation materials, albeit only 1 extra one in the form of their Noma Nitrile Rubber pipe lagging in addition to PE foam. Their prices seem quite expensive though compared to Buy Insulation Online and Screwfix.

Climaflex Polyethylene Pipe lagging 15 x 13mm = £1.79 per metre which is the 2nd most expensive of all.
Noma Rubber foam Pipe lagging 15mm x 13mm = £3.19 per metre which is also quite expensive compared to Buy Insulation Online.
They do offer a delivery service
They do offer Click and Collect
Have a wide network of stores
Can shop for other bits and bobs for your project including copper and plastic pipes.

Homebase Pipe Insulation

Once again, Homebase only offers polyethelene foam pipe lagging at very expensive prices in comparison to Screwfix and Toolstation, 3 x the price! They do offer home delivery though alonside click and collect. There are much better options than Homebase when buying pipe insulation.

Climaflex Polyethylene Pipe lagging 15 x 13mm = £3 per metre which is the most expensive of all on this list.
Poor selection of materials to choose from
They do offer a delivery service
They do offer Click and Collect
Have a wide network of stores
Can shop for other bits and bobs for your project including copper and plastic pipes.

Buy Pipe Insulation

Buy Pipe Insulation Online

Online retailers, including platforms like eBay and Amazon, can offer a broader selection and competitive pricing. They provide the convenience of shopping from home, with the added benefit of reading reviews from other customers. However, be mindful of shipping times and costs.

Alternatively, we at Buy Insulation Online also offer a variety of pipe insulation and supplies at low costs. In addition to Thermawrap, and PE foam pipe insulation, we also offer nitrile rubber pipe insulation, Rockwool, Isover, Kingspan, Supaphen, Paroc and Knauf brands at affordable prices.

Furthermore, we offer purchase in box-quantities, that helps you save on material costs! Visit our website, and check out a range of pipe insulation products online.

Here is a table of common pipe materials that we sell at Buy Insulation Online and prices you can use as a quick comparison against the other stores.

Brand Name	Material	Size and Length	Price £ Inc VAT (As of June 2024)	Who is Cheaper? (As of June 2024)
Climaflex	Polyethelene Foam	15mm x 13mm x 1m (Sold in 128m / Box)	£0.79	Buy Insulation Online for bulk amounts but for small amounts Screwfix and Toolstation at £0.98
Armaflex / K Flex	Nitrile Rubber	15mm x 13mm x 2m	£5.29	Buy Insulation Online (B&Q is £6.38 x 2m)
Rockwool	Mineral Wool	15mm x 20mm x 1m	£5.80	Only Buy Insulation Online sells on this list.
Isover Climpipe	Fibreglass	15mm x 20mm x 1.2m	£6.28	Only Buy Insulation Online sells on this list.
Kingspan Kooltherm	Phenolic	15mm x 15mm x 1m	£5.33	Only Buy Insulation Online sells on this list.

Conclusion

To wrap up, the choice between where to buy pipe insulation depends on comparing each stores product range, pricing, delivery options and availability.

Take into account whether the store is a specialist in pipe insulation (like we are at Buy Insulation Online), customer service, additional benefits, and promotions to improve your shopping experience.

By evaluating all these factors, you can make an informed decision tailored to your specific insulation requirements, ensuring you get the best deal and quality for your project.