General rant....your opinion

[AnonymousImport]

I just wondered what every ones opinions are.
Although this is a diy forum, it amazes me how many people ask questions that shows they have no idea what they are doing for example " i have taken down a light from the ceiling and now i have all these wires and my lights dont work help"

I mean yes changing a light fitting is easy if
a) you know what you are doing
b) you do it in a logical manner i.e. mark the wires and note where they were First

also there is a popular misconception that these forums are only posted on by U.K residents here is a typical example //www.diynot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?TopicID=125

I know the admiistrators / owners are going to change it soon, but i wanted everyones opinion.

Also it would seem some people just post WITHOUT reading other posts FIRST, take the floor tiles one as an example, or you could try looking in the "how to" section as some questions are answered there with greater detail.

Also it would be nice if as previously mentioned if it were compulsory to register, that way the "signature" could also contain the posters country of posting

Well i have started a new thread what is YOUR OPINION?

U.K

 

[AnonymousImport]

if you,re so opinionated why are you anonymous

 

[AnonymousImport]

so are you, but for what its worth my name is David Jones, does that make you feel better?

 

[cjgarlick]

You will never prevent people from trying to do things themselves, and obviously there will be times when they bite off more than they can chew.

You cannot *blame* them for this, nor can you complain when they at least have the common sense to seek advice in this forum.

Surely it is far better that they ask a naive or duplicate question here, and get some guidance, than that they have a possibly fatal accident.

As for registering / identifying your locale, then yes I agree that there are aspects of (for example) electrical safety which could differ based on your local regs. However, since 'where are you?' is still only a 3-syllable question, if I were you I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[AnonymousImport]

it amazes me how come people do not read the "how to sections" first, some answers are there!

 

[AnonymousImport]

Yes it is a good idea to include the country of origin of any enquiry, and to supply all the information to hand befor making an enquiry. That having been said, th contributors to this site are, in general, people who want to help others, regardless of their country of origin, and the help offered may not need to be specific to that country. I think that diversity offers an increase to the knowledge of providers and receivers. Although this is a UK based site I for one welcome all users who find this sit a source of knowledge and enlightenment.

 

[AnonymousImport]

And if I could type without spelling mistakes, I might make the point better...(same anonymous as previous rant!!)

 

[AnonymousImport]

Being in a different country (without saying where you are ) is 50 % of "my arguement" Most English people assume that this forum is for them and are too stupid to realise that it is for EVERYONE
Onr typical example is the black wire in America is the hot (LIVE ) where as here it is the NEUTRAL, all it takes is some "know all" to say something they think is right (it may be for the U.K. ) and because the American poster hasnt realised they go ahead and do it and..........

Yes it does take two to tango, its just that we should all be aware that this is a "unversal" forum and we should all post in which country we reside, also America has different rules/ byelaws / regulations from state to state.

I had noticed that some people are taking notice and mentioning where they reside.

I also noticed a post where someone quite clearly pointed out after their explanation that all work should be carried out by a qualified person, and not to do so invalidates the product concernd's waranty.
Which i think was a good idea except for the fact they should not have said how to do what they did incase the person actually does what was posted and gets it wrong and.......

I must also point out that in the garage post (think that was the one) it was mentioned about getting power to it and every one was saying this way and that, and someone said there is a cheaper way, safe but un ethical, but wouldn't say what it was, then some joker goes and says what it is (run an extension lead) my point is that whilst i agree it will work it is not reliable and no doubt some one will do it (as the poster mentioned some one would)

It will work, is safe, but it should not be dome since an extension lead is only meant for tempory use not permanet, as over time it will no doubt get damaged which makes it dangerous, but as it has now been posted, i have no doubt someone will do it (please owner of the garage DON'T it will work but trust me it WILL go wrong)

People are alway looking to do things "on the cheap" yes i know that is why DIY came about, but it was never intended for people t do EVERYTHING on the cheap, somethings are best left to the professionals, as a proffesional makes it look easy, they know what they are doing and know what you can and can not do.

So please every one by all means ask but for your sake and that of others please THINK about what you are going to do and what can go wrong, there is no such thing as a quick fix, remember a life can not be rplaced and is PRICELESS

 

[alexnic]

I have to agree with the above post ...many DIY jobs if not done properly can result in expensive repairs so advice when not too sure of the task is a great help but as far as electricity is concerned there can be NO SHORTCUTS ...if you don't feel capable of or are unsure of the task then get a professional in!

I've come across a few jobs where extension cables etc have been used for fixed appliances or flexes running along fences to outside sockets and the like and believe me the people concerned have no idea how close they were to being fried!

 

[AnonymousImport]

My reasoning for doing things myself is not because I want to save money, but becuse I like doing it. If I worked for the amount of time I spend researching and learning how to do something, planning and actually doing it, I would easily earn the money to pay a pro. I choose not to.

To fix my wreak of a home, I paid a plasterer to skim (I'm crap - but I tried), a gas fitter (not allowed) and a carpet fitter (time involved), but have done everything else myself - demolished and built walls (brick and stud), fitted windows, fitted new and replacement joists and trimmers, poisoned woodworm, spliced joists, laid floors and ceilings, rewired the entire house, fitted and plumbed the bathroom and kitchen.

Some people like model trains, some woodworking. Some play on computers. I programme computers all day so I relax by remodelling my own home.

 

[AnonymousImport]

I'm not surprised quite a lot of people do some stuff themselves. As a UK based electrician I have seen a lot of crap wiring and building work people actually paid "professionals" for.

 

[AnonymousImport]

The long winded 'Anonymous' a few posts back seems to think this Forum is frequented by easily led DIY loving children.Any person asking for advice on here is doing just that - asking for advice - .It is then up to the individual concerned whether to act on that advice, or as another poster said, seek a professional opinion.If a reply states how to do a given task you should not be telling them not to bother giving the advice if they then tell them to consult an expert just in case they take the advice.We are all adults and can make a judgement ourselves so don't insult the advice giver by calling them jokers.Regarding the post on the Garage electric supply, you yourself have admitted it will work and it is safe so where is your problem ? If a problem occurs then the fuse in the extension will go, and for further safety the user can always use an RCD so my point is don't think that the person asking for advice is so 'stupid' that they will rush off and use the first bit of advice they get.Getting other people's opinion on a subject will no doubt help them make a much more informed decision as to the best course of action for their situation which I'm sure is the answer they are looking for.

 

[AnonymousImport]

I understand and hear what you say, but disagree, on the grounds that people DO, do things just because "this will work / do, It would appear that you fall into this category, no I bear you no ill, its just that you agreed that an extension lead could be used in the "garage post" yes it can but it is unethical to do so it is "dangerous" because the extension lead should be secured out of the way, the lead itself will perish over time, which could cause a fire an rcd will not necesailly protect against this, neither will it if the end user changes the size of fuse to bigger than the extension lead in use can handle (sometimes this is done through ignorance, for example did you know that a coiled or part coiled extension lead can safley carry LESS current than if it were fully extended.

Also if you care to read the post which asks about which size of pipe should be used for a gas installation, this is a typical example of what i am reffering to, people will as some one mentioned "bite off more than they can chew" by which time it is too late.

As for "if in doubt please consult a qualified........... " that is technically a leagal disclaimer, although those who post know what they mean and are qualified to do such tasks, they can not be held resonible for peoples missinterpritations of thier comments or any "short cuts" the person doing the job may take

 

[loftus75]

I frequently work with DIYer's and self-builders, in the main I actually enjoy it and though I've been involved in construction for over 35 years as an electrician, I often find I can learn something new from their approach, mainly because as one post said, the research they do is often too expensive in time for the pro's, or because the pro's tend to use the same suppliers year in year out, they don't always get the cutting edge technologies brought to their attention. Or, the pro's are so set in their ways they refuse to accept that new technologies can be better in many ways. I have to accept I've even been guilty of this at times, though I do try and keep myself open to advances in our industry.

On the other side of the coin, I have also worked with individuals that seem to think that bodging is a mandentory function of the DIY approach. These people only ever ask for advice when either, the job has completely failed leaving them no choice and resentful that they could not do what they set out to do, or, their wives have had enough of the problems they've caused. So anyone asking for advice before starting a project tends to get my vote.

It's the latter of the above that tend to annoy me because often one problem will be interlinked to other areas, so in the process of correcting the problems the pro's also have to put up with allegations of profiteering or taking advantage simply because the bodger has no idea of what they were doing in the first place and even less idea of what the pro's are doing to correct their mistakes.

This is not to say sometimes even after having asked, further questions will be asked while the job's in progress, or problems occur even though advice was sought at the outset. So asking at any stage is better then not asking at all.

However, if you have to ask a pro, accept that they are trying to give you their best advice and that there is no benefit to them in 'taking advantage'. And unless you have clear evidence to support that claim, it's very likely the pro will just walk away leaving you to your problems, spo be very sure of yourself before you start spouting off.

Most pro's want you to be satisfied as we want you to come back to us with further work, and you won't if you feel cheated. But then some people feel cheated no matter how good a deal they're offered or how good a product they end up with. In my view these people are not DIY'ers or self-builders, they're just cheap, usually ending up with something that looks cheap and is rarely safe.

www/electrics.me.uk

 

[AnonymousImport]

well said loftus, hope this shuts david jones up...though i doubt that it will