[Misc] What do your DIY skills stretch to ?

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

I worked out many years ago that I am better off paying for a professional to to the job first time as it is cheaper than paying them to do the job and fix my half arsed attempts at doing it.

I don’t enjoy DIY and I’m no good at it so just don’t bother any more.

 

[zefarelly]

I don't enjoy DIY, but can.

It's a curse.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Have learnt since being here that a lot of it is about having the correct tools. In a previous life I would attempt to muddle through with an undersized or adapted tool, now I just go out and buy the right thing first. I have a sliding compound mitre saw now FFS!

 

[drew]

Spent most of my life working in an office but I'll have a bash at anything. You Tube is a god send. Also, many jobs become a lot easier if you have the right tools. I've fitted our own kitchen, including underfloor heating (final connections by electrician), done a bathroom or two including plumbing. In my younger days, I changed the clutch and gearbox on a triumph toledo. Just finishing off an en suite with shower panels (can't stand tiling) and then doing some decking in the garden. However, as age creeps up, my wife doesn't appreciate the time it takes!!

 

[dadams2k11]

Had Annual leave last week and the week before so I have built a picket fence, cleaned up and turned over the garden ready for new turd at the weekend, and laid reclaimed sleepers for retaining wall.

Before Xmas I lowered and insulated the ceilings in frontroom and extension along with tiling the toilet and now got the bathroom to do.

I am far from a tradesman (I work has a Pen tester) but YouTube has been my friend and I've absolutely loved the projects and got to add new tools to my collection.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Had Annual leave last week and the week before so I have built a picket fence, cleaned up and turned over the garden ready for new turd at the weekend, and laid reclaimed sleepers for retaining wall.

Before Xmas I lowered and insulated the ceilings in frontroom and extension along with tiling the toilet and now got the bathroom to do.

I am far from a tradesman (I work has a Pen tester) but YouTube has been my friend and I've absolutely loved the projects and got to add new tools to my collection.

You may want to re-read your post

 

[pb21]

OK at the technical stuff, basic wiring, plumbing and fixing bits and bibs, shite at painting and stuff like that.

 

[B-right-on]

My biggest DIY bug bear - it is now and always was - was that I could never work out which drill bits were for wood and which were for masonry. Why can't they just colour code them or something!

There's 3 main types of drill bits
1. Masonry. Easily distinguished because they have an extra tungsten carbide tip welded to the steel drill bit at the top otherwise to cut through brick and block. Quite blunt as they use force to drill a hole

2. Wood. The ends are nearly always sharp and have a thin point in the middle. They 'chew' their way through wood.

3. Steel. The ends look like masonry bits but don't have the extra tungsten carbide tip welded on. Not as sharp as wood bits.

HTH

 

[B-right-on]

My project last year. Fully insulated and functioning 5x3m garden office at the bottom of the garden. Did everything on my own apart from the plastering.

Have built a wall before but it is a lot harder than it looks. Don't do plastering. But can do pretty much everything else, carpentry, plumbing, electrics (C&G qualified sparks) fitted kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors, roofing etc...

 

[OzMike]

Option 1, I do building and property maintenance.

 

[OzMike]

View attachment 159577View attachment 159578

My project last year. Fully insulated and functioning 5x3m garden office at the bottom of the garden. Did everything on my own apart from the plastering.

Have built a wall before but it is a lot harder than it looks. Don't do plastering. But can do pretty much everything else, carpentry, plumbing, electrics (C&G qualified sparks) fitted kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors, roofing etc...

Looks good, though I would have laid the flooring in the other direction.
Wood grain planks look better going in the longer direction.

 

[GT49er]

There's 3 main types of drill bits
1. Masonry. Easily distinguished because they have an extra tungsten carbide tip welded to the steel drill bit at the top otherwise to cut through brick and block. Quite blunt as they use force to drill a hole

2. Wood. The ends are nearly always sharp and have a thin point in the middle. They 'chew' their way through wood.

3. Steel. The ends look like masonry bits but don't have the extra tungsten carbide tip welded on. Not as sharp as wood bits.

HTH

I know ..... well, I don't actually. Forget about the steel, I've never tried or wanted to drill that. It's one of those things where I just need a human to show me (and remind me in a few months time when I'm faced with the same dilemna again!) I know, I know, I know - but it's a mental block I've got. Believe me, I've been trying to sort it for years!

Thanks anyway - that's as good an explanation I've ever had. I'll try it!

 

[Gabbafella]

A couple of years back, me and the Mrs spoke about doing some bits around the flat to liven it up a bit, lick of paint and the like.
I had never done any DIY so I thought I'd try something small, I figured I'd change all the door handles. Everything went ok, on to the next job. Changed all the light switches from your normal rocker switch to push switches. Again, all went really well. New shelves up, this is easy.
We both hated the bathroom, plain old white tiles, awful shower curtain, crappy old shower that dribbled out water. I'm basically a qualified builder now anyway, so let's do the bathroom.
I started taking the tiles off at the foot of the bath, absolute doddle, flying off, barely even attached to the wall, I'll be done by lunchtime.
Nobody told me that after about a foot, the concrete stopped and the plasterboard started, I took a massive chunk out of the wall. But why stop there? Next tile came off, also with a chunk of wall. Next thing I know, half the wall has collapsed and I'm now looking at a major rebuild.
So what should have been a day or two turned into a month's worth of no bathroom, a very pissed off Mrs and a very tired and stressed me.
YouTube videos got me through the worst of it and I managed to build a new wall, tiles went up nicely (a couple a little pissed but who cares at this point?) The shower screen and shower took about 10hrs to drill the holes into the new 500 mile thick adamantium tiles, that was fun.
Never again, but at least it looks good now it's finished.
I also made the same mistake by deciding to lay my own flooring. Easier than I thought but also, never again as I ached for days after.
My advice, no your limits. Pay a pro to do it properly. Sure, you get the satisfaction of standing back afterwards and saying "I did that" but quite frankly, nobody gives a shit that you did, just that it took several weeks longer to get it finished and it only looks a little bit better than it did before.

 

[CaptainDaveUK]

Done quite a bit of DIY over the years, currently building a house from scratch with my brother. We’ve never built a house before, until now!

 

[Hove Lagoonery]

This is my latest bathroom refurbishment. Required plumbing, tiling, decorating, building, carpentry and some basic electrical skills

You forgot to put the bath back in!

 

[Bozza]

My skills extend to posting on NSC, asking how to deal with problem X.

I'm the opposite of Andy, who lives across the road from me, who is currently single-handedly building a side extension to his house. He's done every single bit of it from digging the foundations to where he is right now, putting the roof on. He gives most other men a bad name and I hate him for it.

 

[Hove Lagoonery]

My biggest DIY bug bear - it is now and always was - was that I could never work out which drill bits were for wood and which were for masonry. Why can't they just colour code them or something!

They do though don't they, at least for masonry bits which I thought always had a red band near the tip, which is also a tad wider than the shaft. Aren't bits for metal usually made from a copper coloured alloy? Wood ones are either flat or spiralled, I think.

 

[jcdenton08]

What do you do for work? Sounds intriguing.

Theatre stage management mate

 

[jcdenton08]

Oh did I mention cooking haha. I paid out good money for chefs over the years but love cooking and baking so I used them to teach me. I'm used to cooking for large amounts of people as well. My late wife, bless her, was ok doing basic stuff like take out of wrapper put in oven but I did all the interesting stuff.

View attachment 159560

Just one of my creations. In fact got to do one tomorrow for my son in laws family.

I'll give anything a go.

Beautiful job mate. All your work?!

 

[Hove Lagoonery]

from digging the foundations to where he is right now, putting the roof on.

He's putting the roof on at midnight??