Anyone else got a DH who is rubbish at DIY

[soupmaker]

DH is an electrician to trade. He's got tools galore. He works in a clinical environment where work has to be exact, clean and up to standard.

So why the actual fuck can he not even seal the bath without making a complete hash of it. It's a bloody mess. Silicone all over taps, looks like our 9 year old has done it. He didn't fill the bath with water or use masking tape. He didn't even scrape off all the discoloured old sealant. FFS.

I'm shit at DIY and think I'd have done a better job.

But you’ve listed all the things he should have done and didn’t , which suggests you know far more about this task at least than he does? I know sweet FA about DIY, and it never occurs to me DH should know any more just because he has testicles. If you know what you’re doing, why didn’t you do this?

Mate, I’ not gonna lie, as weird responses go, uou win, he doesn’t care. Lol, do you know him then? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

All I did was a quick google search of how to seal a bath @LesserBohemians it didn't cross my mind that DH wouldn't do likewise and follow the instructions.

My sister is properly handy (which is good cos her DH is useless at DIY too) but she always used to love watching my dad fix stuff. She has changed tyres, fixed washing machines and stuff...all just from watching my dad growing up.

I remember being a teenager and my dad trying to teach me too. I actually remember thinking "for God's sake dad, I'm gonna have a husband to do all this stuff for me!"

And now neither me nor DH have any idea what to do lol!

To be fair to DH he is very good at fixing the washing machine. That he has mastered.

I don't repair my house or my car. I pay other proper men to do this :)

Multi million pound International accounts. Yes, I can do them, and get paid for that.

Horses for courses.

My DH doesn't do DIY. I always have. same when I was growing up, my dad could barely hang a picture but my mum painted the house.

and I have fixed the mastic on the bath - no training but I watch the youtube videos carefully and take my time over it.

wanting the finished article to be of high quality is a big part of it.

The leak appeared recently, it needed to be sorted ASAP. He sorted it and made a mess.

I don’t really see how his job has much to do with it. He isn’t a tiler or a painter and decorator. I don’t expect his job routinely requires using products that can drip and smear.

There is very little about being an electrician that requires an appreciation of aesthetics, unlike some other trades.

DH attempted to superglue the wobbly toilet roll holder back onto the wall rather than do the sensible thing and tighten up the screw with a screwdriver! Drives me nuts.

His favourite phrase when we were decorating the house was, "that'll do". No it bloody won't because it looks like shit!

@JamMakingWannaBe My DH's catchphrase is "it's good enough" so similar ilk to yours. He didn't wipe paint of a radiator when we were painting years ago and couldn't get why I thought he should have done!

Have the reverse here....both dh and our lovely polish lodger fix everything except the boiler inside bits.....not needed to call anyone for a job for years, only for boiler repairs, but we did change the knobs and control panel ourselves after watching a youtube video. going to get someone to do the roof as dh too old to go up now and dont want lodger falling off....Sometimes neighbours ask us the most simple questions about diy, we just assumed most people can do basic stuff due to our own experiences.

Don't get me started on my dh 🤬 I think he's secretly glad he's shit at DIY because I literally deal with everything that goes wrong!!
My dad was my go to and he did everything for us he could basically do anything but then I moved away so I don't have dad to call anymore sadly, I've done all the painting, many repair jobs, tried my hand at everything and if I can't do it I have to get someone in and pay them.
Dh doesn't even try and couldn't care less if there's a leak like there was recently he just listened to me and walked away for me to sort..like I'm some bloody expert but at least I try!!
Rant over...

@CrotchetyCrocheting and @Dacadactyl this was my experience too growing up. Well it was my papa who was the DIY person and he took the time to explain / show / let me try things. Well into his 90's now and given half the chance would still do DIY for us ❤️ DIY wise I still seek his counsel on occasion for advice or to check I'm doing things correctly but need to be deliberately vague about when I'm doing it so he doesn't show up to do it for us 🙈 we came home once from holiday and he had been busy in the garden painting the fence and shed as I had said in conversation a few weeks previously it was on the to do list!

@soupmaker 'it's good enough' is my DH mantra too. Makes my teeth itch!! When we were freshening up the bedroom walls recently he offered to help which I accepted with gritted teeth as it meant I wasn't up / down the steps as much. He couldn't understand why it made me frustrated he wasn't dealing with splashes on the light switches / sockets / skirting etc 🤬

My DH isn't great at DIY, but thinks he "should" be able to do things. Any suggestions I try to give him will be seen as criticism and if he's working on something I'd better stay out of the way or I might be interpreted as "staring at him" and ready to tell him all that's wrong.

Difficulty is, I probably am a bit more handy than he is, but struggle to start jobs and benefit from doing things together. My father was skilled - but not much of a teacher - so there are some things I do know a reasonable amount about how to do well. And finally, as alluded to by others - I like to read instructions / research techniques / work out what I'm going to do, then do it. Not treat instructions as a last resort ...

Our shower tray got cracked. I noticed, researched options for replacing it, realised it wasn't going to be possible to do a like-for-like replacement and we'd need help. So kept an eye on it till it actually had to be done. At which point DH starts looking into it, convinced he should do it despite my suggestions otherwise, lo and behold connecting the drain to the new shower tray didn't work properly and we had a leak. Shower has remained unused for a few years awaiting the bathroom redo ...

We’re both rubbish. We pay people to do simple stuff that’s beyond us.

DH is rubbish at DIY. Fortunately FIL is excellent and will help with anything he can. DH is good at shifting heavy stuff and climbing on shed and garage roofs to help FIL.
I'd like to go to DIY classes for women.

Oh come on now, that's a copout and you know it.

If you're shit at DIY, learn to do it. There are millions of tutorials on Youtube and anyway 'DIY' covers such a vast array of things, it's impossible to be shit at all of it 🙄

It's like when people claim to be 'shit' at cooking, that's another copout.

My dh is crap at everything diy. It's spurred me on to learn because that's the only way anything's going to get fixed. I even learnt brickwork and built a wall. I can do nearly everything around the home now including minor electrics.

What job do you do OP?
Presumably your DH has a specific skill set in his trade, but doesn’t mean the skills are transferable.
I like cleaning, doesn’t mean I am good at baking.
You may be a nurse, doesn’t mean you understand a spreadsheet

@Dacadactyl - I hear you! In my case, DM could fix anything. My DBs are always knocking up shelves or teaching themselves to build something. I will have a go with the help of a YouTube video or whatever and only struggle due to sheer lack of strength (I am annoyingly petite and weak!). I am very practical and can judge sizes and where things will fit just by looking at them. DH has no idea at all. Won’t even try and was brought up by wealthy DPs who threw cash at everything, cash we simply don’t have. I’m not pissed off he can’t do DIY but I am annoyed he won’t try, or does such a half arsed job on purpose, I won’t ask again. It’s wrong and strike me down, but I envy friends with handy, ‘manly’ DHs.

I agree, like it or not and I know its not PC but I find it really unattractive for a guy not to have some basic DIY skills, it may be because I am quite handy, not sure but yeah.... yanbu imo.

DH is appalling at DIY. So much so he won't even attempt it. But he's an accountant by trade. I do the DIY, decorating etc.

It's exasperating at times (I also have a full time professional job), but without DH I wouldn't have a penny in savings or a decent pension (numbers are not by strong point).

My point being nobody is an expert at everything.

I don’t understand why an electrician with ‘tools galore’ should be good at sealing a bath. And you can’t really moan if you’re shit at it too.

We’re both ok at DIY but don’t enjoy it so we have pay others to do it. We have a handyman in for something or another every few weeks.

My husband is an electrician but he's pretty good at most DIY jobs luckily. However he did have to seal our new bath the other day and we discovered this is actually a really hard job to get right and look perfect

Took him many attempts and me eventually saying we need to get someone professional in as "we can't leave it like that", then he finally mastered the art.

Siliconing is really deceptively tricky!!