Repair Fair at Lourdes Hall, Harpenden

In short, we'll look at any portable electrical and electronic items, with just a few exceptions listed below. Our sewing ladies can undertake most simple repairs and alterations, again, with a just a few exceptions.

We will be glad to look at any portable electrical and electronic items, with just a few exceptions: Microwave ovens operate internally with extremely hazardous voltages so we cannot take the cover off; pressure washers require a water supply and may cause spillge, so we can't help you with these.

Zips can be complicated to unstitch and tricky to replace. Bags can also be tricky. Leather and very heavy fabrics can require an industrial sewing machine, which we won't have at the event. Email us if in doubt.

Bring whatever you need to demonstrate a fault, and then hopefully show it fixed. That includes leads, fresh batteries, a spare bulb, or a CD for a CD player etc as appropriate. You don't need to bring a slice of bread with your toaster (though we do like the smell of fresh toast!)

If in doubt, email us and ask. That might include matching colour thread, elbow patches, buttons, a spare zip (provided it's fairly simple to fit) etc.

The range of spare parts we might need is virtually unlimited so what we can carry is very limited. If you can identify the part you need and bring it with you we'll be happy to fit it. Or we might be able to tell you what you need and where to get it, and suggest you bring it to our next event.

We're very keen to involve you in a repair so that you learn something, possibly even how to do a similar repair yourself another time. So if you simply drop your item off we will only look at it when (and if) we have satisfied all attendees.

Demand for our services is often heavy, so we can only work on one item per person (or one electrical and one fabric, at different time slots). If you bring more than one item or make multiple bookings we will discuss with you which we should look at.

Children MUST be accompanied by an adult, responsible for their safety at all times. Some of our tools are sharp or very hot, and dangerous voltages could be exposed if a fixer's attention is distracted. That said, we love explaining to yougsters what we're doing and how things work.

This varies from venue to venue. Please check the event listing, or email us with your specific question.

Most of our venues are church halls and similar, so disabled access is generally available, but if in doubt, please email us with your specific question.

Our events are completely free, but we welcome voluntary donations according to your ability to pay. These are normally split between our venue (which doesn't usually charge for hire of the hall) and Sustainable St Albans, which covers us for insurance and back-up services.

We really don't enjoy working on vacuum cleaners full of dust, greasy kitchen appliances or grubby clothes, but if your item is reasonably clean we'll be happy to do what we can.

Unfortunately, if your chosen time slot is full Eventbrite doesn't always tell you if there is availabiliy at other times but may just offer you the wait list! Please try selecting a different time. But if it really is booked up, all is not lost. We often add exttra ticket in the last week.