[Misc] How competent are you at DIY?

[Cotton Socks]

I can fit new parts to a washing machine. If my house had any sensible wiring, I could do things like put a new socket in or light. The wiring here is so old that I had to google it. The upstairs light circuit is so messed up that when I put a new light in Jnrs room, turning that light on turned the toilet light on. It took bloody ages to work out how they added lights to the existing ring.

I have plastered over artex on an old fireplace, it took me forever as I got really pinickety (sp) & wanted a smooth finish without sanding! Painting also takes me forever as even the tiniest imperfection has to be filled or sanded. Someone took over painting Jnr's room, as I was taking too long. I can see everything that needed to be filled or sanded when I walk in there & it does my head in! Flatpack furniture is fine as well.

Plumbing I find a nightmare. I give it a 'go' after online diagnosis & YouTube instructions then inevitably it's not the correct diagnosis. Slightly leaking tap.... change washer 1st. Did that and couldn't turn it off at all. No shut off valves, which meant I couldn't turn off the hot water. I had to turn off all the water & get a plumber.
I have a problem with my hot kitchen tap, it will only turn on with magic. It hammers but it's not 'traditional' hammer pipe. It sometimes goes on if you turn the bathroom tap on for a bit. There's a 'flow' problem. Now that 'could' be a washer, most likely to need a need tap though. But there's some weird plumbing already been done that makes no logical sense to me. When I can work it out logically, I'll get Jnr to do it as he's doing plumbing. Flexi pipe attached to the copper tap pipe & someone suggested to cut the copper pipe & use a compression joint, why would I (he) need to? Surely just a longer flexi pipe is needed?
Don't get me started on the metric & imperial, & how to work out what size you need for a simple tap washer!

I'm useless at gardening. I can only just about manage to keep chilis & tomatoes alive. Bedding plants I just forget to water. But they look nice when I first plant them!

 

[OzMike]

Be doing it for 45 years.

 

[Perkino]

I have completed plenty of projects over the years, moving stud walls, rewiring electrics, tiling a bathroom, fitting a new kitchen, wallpapering a bedroom and building a BBQ from bricks (toughest one so far). I don't fancy plastering a wall and avoided plumbing so far

 

[TomandJerry]

Absolutely useless at IKEA flat pack.

But then again I usually throw the instructions away within 5 seconds and attempt to build it

 

[Binney on acid]

I am capable of ****ing up anything that I attempt to construct. I could cause an entire city to lose power, if I attempted to change a fuse. My computer skills don't go much beyond knowing how to switch it on. Luckily my best mate is the exact opposite, so I survive. Just !

 

[BN9 BHA]

Plumbing I find a nightmare. I give it a 'go' after online diagnosis & YouTube instructions then inevitably it's not the correct diagnosis. Slightly leaking tap.... change washer 1st. Did that and couldn't turn it off at all. No shut off valves, which meant I couldn't turn off the hot water. I had to turn off all the water & get a plumber.
I have a problem with my hot kitchen tap, it will only turn on with magic. It hammers but it's not 'traditional' hammer pipe. It sometimes goes on if you turn the bathroom tap on for a bit. There's a 'flow' problem. Now that 'could' be a washer, most likely to need a need tap though. But there's some weird plumbing already been done that makes no logical sense to me. When I can work it out logically, I'll get Jnr to do it as he's doing plumbing. Flexi pipe attached to the copper tap pipe & someone suggested to cut the copper pipe & use a compression joint, why would I (he) need to? Surely just a longer flexi pipe is needed?
Don't get me started on the metric & imperial, & how to work out what size you need for a simple tap washer!

And some people think it’s easy, a five minute job and we get paid too much

 

[wellquickwoody]

Great gardener, good at decorating, will attempt most other jobs with varying results. I do tend to pass on electrical and plumbing stuff because of costs/risks if it goes tits up. But……..I have learnt not to try and use tools not up to the job. Invest in good tools and things get much easier.

 

[Cotton Socks]

And some people think it’s easy, a five minute job and we get paid too much

It gives the impression that it's easy but I don't take into consideration all the things that could go wrong. Another example... push down plug got stuck. YouTube shows easy 5 min job. Disconnect waste pipe & basically hit it with a screwdriver, that worked fine. What went wrong was removing the waste pipe has moved another pipe & that now has a small leak. Bodging it with silicone hasn't worked.

 

[golddene]

I like doing DIY when I can be arsed, it makes a change from my day job.

Possibly like me. I even replumbed the house with a thermal store and did all the wiring for an extension years ago. The Velux windows haven't leaked either. I've built a few garden buildings from scratch, the oldest has lasted 17 years so far, another is an octagonal studio and the roof challenged my understanding of geometry. Plastering and brickwork are not my thing.

It wasn't that I couldn't afford to pay to have the work done. Most of my working life is spent looking at a screen or sitting in meetings, there's a lot of satisfaction in doing something practical for yourself. I like fiddling with my old car and motorbikes too but don't touch the main car. In the past, I had better things to do with the money, not so sure now I am older.

Yeah, plastering is a skill I’ve struggled with, patching up is not too bad as sanding down can give ok results, Mrs G decided the fire place was not to her liking so out it had to come, it’s bricked up ready for plastering now so I have invested in a speed skim and sponge float ! Hope to get on with it after we get back from our current visit to Ireland.