Where to draw the line with DIY?

[PJ87]

I do some bits.. much more these days.. ill give things a go

however 2 months ago I drilled through a pipe.. in the wall.. didnt expect it to be there at all.. when my builder mate came round he said why on earth is there a pipe here.. then it dawned on me.. this used to be the kitchen years ago (before I owned it) so its where the boiler used to be.. not anymore ofc but explains the pipe

I know own a stud detector lol

at the weekend I secured a waste pipe to the outside wall of my dads house only because he kept putting off doing it (no idea why) cost me 80p in brackets and 4 screws... took me 20 mins (mostly time changing between drill bits)

when we first moved in none of our kitchen doors (3 in total) had latches to stay closed.. 2 didnt have handles... mrs wanted to get someone in so I did it instead and used the money saved to buy a decent drill.. youtubed the whole process (had neve done a latch before)

fitted an electrical heated towel rail in the bathroom (to an existing socket that I replaced with a timer socket) got a sparky at work to check it over via facetime just to explain the whole "part p" deal

I wont do anything that involves heavy lifting or extreme heights though ... saying that I bought a folding ladder few years ago.. then I decided to help out the wifes grand parents and rewired an aerial cable for them to there bedroom via the outside of the house... cost me £10 for the drill bit and few hours of my time (cleaned their windows for them aswell)

 

[chrisd]

I've just had a BIG kitchen job done and I only did the decorating there, and most of the of the rest of the house - 4 months of hard graft though

 

[Leftie]

When I was still working, I would compare how long it would take me to do the job (things that I could do for myself) x my hourly earnings rate against the tradesman's price. Usually the tradesman's price came out cheaper (not because of my earning rate but because he would probably do the job in half the time - and better quality).

Now, retired, I'm obviously so wealthy that I would always get a tradesman in. Could explain perhaps why I've had virtually nothing done in the last few years. :mmm:

 

[Rooter]

Gas or final fix electric. I will and have done everything else from building walls, partitions, plastering, first fix elec, plumbing. Anything I didn’t know, I will do a course on such as bricklaying and I’m building a 30m2 extension right now.

 

[jim8flog]

I had a 'funny' last year when changing a lot of radiators and rerouting some of the pipes.

A lady in Screwfix claimed that what I was doing was illegal and required someone with appropriate qualifications.

 

[lex!]

I used to do loads, decorating, electrical, plumbing, carpentry. But nowadays try and do as little of that as poss. Put up some shelves on Monday night after we had a new floor put in and that was the first job in ages. Too boring. The bloke we use to do the decorating can turn a room around in a single day and it's all immaculately done. We choose the colour and he mixes it himself. Only thing is we get the call the night before he decides to arrive, but it's well worth it. We had a new washing machine arrive on Sunday and I even paid for it to be connected.

 

[Khamelion]

I'll tackle anything DIY, the exception to that is GAS, can't stand the smell, so that is a no go. On the plumbing I'll be rerouting pipes when we do our bathroom next year, will do the tiling. Electrical, again running in a few cables to light up the loft or move wires around t fit new lights not a bother. But things where you need a tradesman like fitting a new combi boiler or re-wiring the house, defo get the pros in.

Plastering not a problem, my dad is a plasterer by trade and although now 81 he can still wield a trowel and he's shown me how to plaster, not as easy at it looks.

 

[Rooter]

he's shown me how to plaster, not as easy at it looks.

It's a bloomin art form! Looks so easy watching a pro, i am now 'ok' at it, i know my limits though, new extension and kitchen i will pay for. A small room i can do, but our living room ceiling which is 8mx4m was too much for me, i wouldn't be able to do one pass without the starting side drying out!!

 

[IanM]

Best place to draw the line? .... when the wife says "we need a job doing...."

Why deprive a tradesman with a family to feed of income? (or the chance to no have to DIY)