Why is every diy job a pain?

Golfmmad said:
I tackle most DIY jobs around the home and garden but there are three I will not touch. Electrics, Gas and Plumbing - always get the experts in. Much less hassle! :thup:
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I have a similar approach. I tackle most DIY jobs around the home and garden by picking up the phone and arranging to pay someone to do them for me. In the long run it's cheaper than trying to fix it myself and then paying someone to come in a fix my mistakes and then fix the original problem as well.
 
One ten minute DIY job took me 5 hours this weekend.

A very simple change of light fitting, did i need to take a pic of the wiring in the rose before i undid it all? Yes!!! Did i do it? NO... I had 16 cables to get into one junction and only one combination. It ended up with a tail between my legs call to my brother who is a sparky to much ridicule.
 
Rooter said:
One ten minute DIY job took me 5 hours this weekend.

A very simple change of light fitting, did i need to take a pic of the wiring in the rose before i undid it all? Yes!!! Did i do it? NO... I had 16 cables to get into one junction and only one combination. It ended up with a tail between my legs call to my brother who is a sparky to much ridicule.
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I have done similar, new years eve last year. I'd put up a few light fixtures around the house with one left. It was about 4.00, we were going out with her family about 6pm.. I said I'll do it tomorrow, it will only take a minute she said. 7pm I'd given up and called her brother round. Cable length became fiddly and couldn't get the wires to stick. I'm better at it now...

Although my quick bathroom replacement has taken over 18 months now.
 
I still have skirting boards to fit in the dining room after it was redecorated 3yrs ago, it's not that it's hard, it just that the dining room gets used rarely and no one would notice anyway.

The only DIY job I won't do is GAS work, plumbing and Electrics not a bother, I'll even do, plastering, brick laying, concrete work, roofing if I must but I'm not that good with heights without having scaffold.
 
Oh and never fit downlights. I can guarantee two years later your wife will hate them and you will have to fix the ceiling that now has 10 x 45mm holes in....

Can anyone guess what i'm doing tonight?
 
bobmac said:
Fitting LED light strips?
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I wish! Filling ten holes and trying to get a flat ceiling is my task. Especially now as the house is for sale and we have viewings on wed!

(I blame my wife fully, but in fairness, 2 of the down spots I fitted were in zone 1 above the bath which is a big no no!)
 
Plumb Base had a valve with the smaller screw thread for the rad and a bigger nut for the valve - all seems to be ok so just got to try and finish the job!

See next post in 2018
 
chrisd said:
Plumb Base had a valve with the smaller screw thread for the rad and a bigger nut for the valve - all seems to be ok so just got to try and finish the job!

See next post in 2018
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Surely the next post is "help, how do i dry carpets from a small flood?"

Good luck Chris, my sympathies are with you! I think Plumbing is my least fav of the DIY repertoire!
 
Rooter said:
I wish! Filling ten holes and trying to get a flat ceiling is my task. Especially now as the house is for sale and we have viewings on wed!

(I blame my wife fully, but in fairness, 2 of the down spots I fitted were in zone 1 above the bath which is a big no no!)
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Textured ceiling paint is your friend and instantly transports you back to the happier days of 1976.
 
Khamelion said:
I still have skirting boards to fit in the dining room after it was redecorated 3yrs ago, it's not that it's hard, it just that the dining room gets used rarely and no one would notice anyway.

The only DIY job I won't do is GAS work, plumbing and Electrics not a bother, I'll even do, plastering, brick laying, concrete work, roofing if I must but I'm not that good with heights without having scaffold.
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just aswell you dont do gas,as unless your a registered gas safe engineer then i do believe you would be committing an offence?
 
Rooter said:
Surely the next post is "help, how do i dry carpets from a small flood?"

Good luck Chris, my sympathies are with you! I think Plumbing is my least fav of the DIY repertoire!
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I did the drying from the original leak Rooter, but I'm not going to predict that there won't be another one!

Plumbing is the only thing I'd touch of the 3 biggies - gas, electric & plumbing!
 
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chrisd said:
I did the drying from the original leak Rooter, but I'm not going to predict that there won't be another one!

Plumbing is the only thing I'd touch of the 3 biggies - gas, electric & plumbing!
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Oh god, I would never touch gas!!!

Ceiling at mine is looking ok! One more finish and paint and I'm happy!
 
jdpjamesp said:
Textured ceiling paint is your friend and instantly transports you back to the happier days of 1976.
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If you mean Artex, don't do it!

At my last house all the ceilings were artexed, ok you might say, but all the coving was artexed as well! I mean, who in their right mind artexes coving?

When I re-decorated the lounge I had the greatest pleasure of chopping off the coving ready for the plasterer to skim the ceiling and put up, "Swan Neck" coving. Lovely smooth coving and ceiling, was well worth the £250 it cost to do it.
:whistle:
 
Went to do a simple job of correcting a bent jack connector in my guitar effects pedal last night. Simple, I see 10 star head screws. I get the philips from the kitchen drawer and go to work. Open it up and see another 10 screws holding in the PCB. I take them all out and try to pull out the PCB. The cat jumps up on the table and starts pawing at the screws. I get a tub for them.

I then have to pull off all the knobs to get the PCB out. I get it out after much swearing to reveal that I need a very small slotted driver as the female jack sockets are sealed. It's away to the cupboard to fetch a small slotted. I haven't been in there a while so the bag of driveway salt falls nicely at my feet. A few boxes are on top of my toolbox so I've made a mess of the hall to get one little slotted screwdriver.

I find it, and get to the job. Pop the long metal up a little to make better contact with the guitar cable. Put her all back together and try it out. Feeling all manly and proud of myself I plug the guitar in to find it's still bloody knackered and only coming out the right side headphone. Small screwdriver went in the kitchen drawer and I spend 10 minutes hoovering driveway salt out the carpet.
 
Paul77 said:
Went to do a simple job of correcting a bent jack connector in my guitar effects pedal last night. Simple, I see 10 star head screws. I get the philips from the kitchen drawer and go to work. Open it up and see another 10 screws holding in the PCB. I take them all out and try to pull out the PCB. The cat jumps up on the table and starts pawing at the screws. I get a tub for them.

I then have to pull off all the knobs to get the PCB out. I get it out after much swearing to reveal that I need a very small slotted driver as the female jack sockets are sealed. It's away to the cupboard to fetch a small slotted. I haven't been in there a while so the bag of driveway salt falls nicely at my feet. A few boxes are on top of my toolbox so I've made a mess of the hall to get one little slotted screwdriver.

I find it, and get to the job. Pop the long metal up a little to make better contact with the guitar cable. Put her all back together and try it out. Feeling all manly and proud of myself I plug the guitar in to find it's still bloody knackered and only coming out the right side headphone. Small screwdriver went in the kitchen drawer and I spend 10 minutes hoovering driveway salt out the carpet.
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The basis of a hit single in that story somewhere!
 
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