d i y.

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

before i start i have no qualifications or had formal training at plumbing/electrics/woodwork etc etc........so as this is a diy forum i thought i would list what i have done to my house in the last 4 yrs with a difficulty rating aswell.

knocked down a supporting wall 2/10
built a stud wall 4/10
attached plaster board 3/10
tried plastering 10/10
fitted new bathroom suite 5/10
plumbing in above suite 8/10
rewiring for electric shower 4/10
installing 6 downlighters 5/10
tiling bathroom 10/10
laying laminate floor in bathroom/hall/kitchen/lounge 9/10
laying carpet in bedrooms 3/10
installing new kitchen units/doors/sink 7/10
laying decking 3/10
building 8' wide front gate 8/10
fitting new skirting boards to whole house 5/10
building brick barbecue 10/10
building summer house and shed 5/10

it seems that the jobs that are rated 10 are the proper trademen jobs so from now on i just pay for their services.but at least i have tried.

almost forgot.
bringing up kids 10000000000/10

 

[ninebob]

Funny how some people seem better suited to certain jobs. For example you've listed laying laminate floor as 9/10 when I breezed ours, yet you've listed knocking down a supporting wall as only 2/10 when I wouldn't dare attempt it or even have a clue where to start!

 

[Richardp]

hope you didnt replace the supporting wall with the stud wall
I've replaced all the electics in the house,{we used to have a genny and had to rewire for mains electric).It would be easier to say what we havnt done!! not reroofed yet but its on the cards, the next gale should do the trick I hate plumbing, love carpentry, don't like heights.

 

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

in an ideal world all rooms should only have 1 door and no pipes attached to skirting or a fireplace or even a 100% level floor THEN laying laminate would be a 2/10

 

[AdamW]

A level floor? I'd be content with right angles that are right angles!

I think that the far more important factor is actually "frustration". Tiling, for instance: I found that quite easy to do. However, I found it quite boring and therefore doing lots of it was frustrating. This meant it dragged on for weeks as I procrastinated, which made it double frustrating.

I don't mind doing something hard, and even undoing what I've just done and redoing it in order to get it right. But, I hate doing things that are just plain boring.

For me (frustration points, negative indicates it was stress-relieving)

Removed internal stud-walls: -5 (when using a big hammer)
Blocking up internal doorway with studwork: 4 (had a glass light above it, getting rid of all broken glass was annoying)
Building a studwall: 2 (was great because it goes up quickly and you accomplish lots in a short time)
Removing old bathroom: -2 (big hammer again)
Installing new bathroom: 6 (leaky compression joints)
Tiling new bathroom: 10 (I won't fully-tile again unless it's a wetroom, and then I'll get a tiler in to do it)
Ripping out old kitchen: -3 (4lb lump hammer)
Installing new kitchen: 3
Getting carpenter to fit new kitchen worktops: 10 (didn't show up, despite us getting so far as to agree when he was doing it)
Chasing blockwork for new wiring: 10 (the work was easy and fun, but the dust made it an a**e)
Installing downlights: 4 (the work was easy, but working in a hot loft wasn't fun)
Installing laminate floors: 2 for the first one, 4 for the second (the locks were too stiff and didn't work as easily)
Moving airing cupboard door to a different room: 3
Replacing a knackered artex ceiling with a flat plaster one: 4 (surprisingly easy and not that messy! It was pretty easy work, although balancing 12.5mm board on your head whilst you screw it on isn't ideal!)
Replumbing kitchen: -2 I had discovered pushfit by this time, so was able to do a very neat and satisfying job
Replacing immersion element: 5 (was in there so tight I buckled the area of the cylinder around the fitting)

 

[andy]

Removed internal stud-walls: -5 (when using a big hammer)
Removing old bathroom: -2 (big hammer again)

always the same. destruction gets better marks. so, what do you get for demolishin an old, almost falling down house? -9 3/4?

 

[AdamW]

The score is actually how he rated the difficulty/enjoyment of the job... not the finished effect!

Different people like different things. I have a friend who is very much into the finishing touches. She likes the painting, the skirting, the carpets. Me, I like smashing up the old stuff (it is fun, isn't it Andrew! ), I like chasing walls, I like building STUFF... when it gets to the "paint it and make it look nice" stage, I'm not so bothered. But then I'm someone who wishes Top Gear would lift the bonnets on cars, and prefer the scenes of building in Property Ladder to Llewellwewwelwwtyn Bowen painting some MDF.

I must say, whenever I see "lol" I can't help but imagine someone ACTUALLY laughing out loud (this is the correct use for it, "laughs out loud")... now it appears to be a punctuation mark for some. Please, please, PLEASE don't use LOL unless you ACTUALLY laughed out loud, or we'll just think you are some compulsively-giggling maniac

 

[pipme]

LOL !

 

[Nige F]

MWahhahahahahahahahhhaa...ha ha

 

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

L M A O

 

[pipme]

L M A O

LMAO Laughing Man At Office

LMAO Leave Me Alone

LMAO Lick Me All Over

LMAO Laughing My Arm Off

LMAO Laughing My Ahem Off

LMAO Laughing My Assets Off