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As a female how good are you at DIY?

196 replies

chickenriceorspud · 28/01/2024 20:23

I'm very impressed at all these fabulous woman that can do their own DIY. I need to learn more.

How handy are you?

OP posts:
SnapdragonToadflax · 29/01/2024 09:31

I have very little interest and would much, much rather pay someone. However, if I had to I can follow instructions and I'm sure I could do most simple things. I can definitely do flat pack and paint a room, I just find it really boring.

I find power tools terrifying and really have to psyche myself up to use them, because I vividly see myself cutting off a finger or something hideous. I will only do it if I'm sufficiently motivated.

Insidenumber09 · 29/01/2024 09:34

I have renovated 6 houses starting at 18 (while working full time) and have taught myself and got better as the years have gone on. I have plastered all of our current house, I can tile, lay flooring, plan and fit kitchens and all sorts - I am more competent that a lot of males I know. I’ve even done roof work on very high scaffolding on our house and knocked down a ceiling and was painting when I was 3 weeks from having my son 💪

EverySporkIsSacred · 29/01/2024 09:36

I am utterly awful at most practical skills. I'm sure DH only keeps me around because I'm great at paperwork and he hates shopping in any form 😂

Ginmonkeyagain · 29/01/2024 09:36

Crikey, there are some very competant people on here. I was feeling proud of the fact I replaced the hinges on a kitchen cupboard door and rehung it!

Natsku · 29/01/2024 10:04

If there's instructions to follow then I can do it (I actually quite enjoy putting together flat pack furniture - I like following instructions. And recently discovered I love reading hydraulic/pneumatic charts and putting the parts together, just a pity there's no use for that at home!) but not so much things I have to just figure out for myself. And I'm lazy so I'd rather someone else did it. I don't touch plumbing or electrics (even though I'd be interested, because instructions to follow) because that would invalidate our insurance but my partner is an electrician so he takes care of that kind of thing.

Trolltrotters · 29/01/2024 10:05

Average. I've recently had to get better.

I can re-seal (thanks to the poster who shared the link upthread - I learnt watching this, too!)

I can sand, paint gloss, caulk, and fill and get a pretty decent finish.

Fairly good at plastering.

Oh, and unlike the men in my life - I clean up after my jobs and don't flop in the chair and expect brushes to wash themselves.

I'd love to be able to tile, change taps, and door handles. Personal development Wink

Sonolanona · 29/01/2024 10:05

I'm lousy at DIY because dh is so good at it and wants perfection... so he prefers to do it (I'll happily slap paint on walls and sand down stuff but he is meticulous)
However on my allotment... I'm DIY queen... I can knock together raised beds, devise cunning any bug structures because that just for me.

The kids joke that if Dad dies we are all screwed... he fixes our house, our kids houses... he's great.

However if you hand him a laptop he panics and can barely use his phone... so all admin is my department and that works fine for us!

gannett · 29/01/2024 10:24

I'm crap at DIY and have no interest in getting better. Part and parcel of being useless at anything practical, including cooking and housework. Luckily DP is very good at all the above.

I'm bad at using my hands but good at using my brain, and I'm fun at parties.

SweetBirdsong · 29/01/2024 10:39

@CormorantStrikesBack

I built a gate about ten years ago, hung it by myself and it still works. Which I was thrilled with. I feel in a job interview if I’m ever asked what my proudest achievement is I’d want to tell them I built a gate 😁

This is so pure and wholesome. 😆 Made my heart smile! 😍

.

MrsSkylerWhite · 29/01/2024 10:40

Pretty good, been doing it for decades.

SweetBirdsong · 29/01/2024 10:42

Newstarto · 28/01/2024 22:56

Wtf this is like saying ‘as a man can you cook?’ Sexist old bullshit. It’s not a compliment to say women are ‘fabulous’ because they can do a basic life skill. This is embarrassing

Good grief calm down. It's really not that deep. 🙄It's just a bit of fun on a message forum. Are you this stressy and angry in real life? Confused

ItsRalf · 29/01/2024 10:48

I was raised by my dad and he pretty much taught me everything. He's a mechanical engineer. I know how to fix washers, dryer, fridge freezers, all that kind of stuff. I can decorate, tile and plaster. I can lay flooring, just not wooden. I service my own car. I'm in training at the moment in mechanical engineering. I love it 😬 at 31, I'm pretty much good on most things. I leave any electrical to the professionals though!

Alot is so easy to do. Follow you tube videos, I find that the best way to learn!

LightSpeeds · 29/01/2024 10:49

Mercychant · 29/01/2024 08:30

I am so ashamed. I am useless. I had to hang a door by myself and it won't close. I now have a socking great hole in a wall and I have to repair that. Its in a very obvious place too so a bodge job will look terrible. I have not learned these basic skills, and it's embarrassing. I need to remove my dishwasher, but I physically can't move it, so it needs to stay in situ.

I am on my own with children, which makes it worse. People expect you to have a degree of competence.

Hanging a door is a highly skilled job so well done for attempting it (it's something I'd be wary about taking on even though I'm quite a skilled DIYer).

I'm in the same boat as you as regards being able to move stuff with little or no help. I'm only small and really not very strong so moving big stuff is a big problem for me.

LutonBeds · 29/01/2024 10:51

Awful. I’m very cack-handed and break things very easily. Pulled a whole light fitting off trying to change a bulb once 😆

Willmafrockfit · 29/01/2024 10:51

rubbish
i can paint a wall
i can work out wires to plug in things,

Willmafrockfit · 29/01/2024 10:52

as regards my car, oil, water, tyre pressure, too nervous

Freakinfraser · 29/01/2024 10:53

I really don’t get why the op thinks it’s impressive if a woman can do it, as said it’s not a job you need a penis for. Not doing diy is a choice. Playing the helpless female, or believing in pink and blue jobs is a choice. A woman doing it is as impressive as a man doing it. I also don’t get why she was laughing out loud at only ever holding a box of screws, I’m not getting the joke.

i can and have , renovated furniture, sanded everything from furniture to window sills,decorated, filled holes, drilled holes, hung pics, hung blinds, laid flooring, and fixed a variety of things.

i dont do stuff that is too heavy and requires skill, for example my husband and friend rehung a heavy door after reducing its height due to new flooring making it hard to close , but id have done it with him if his friend wasn’t there, and i dont do electrics, my husband is an engineer and can do the basics, like change a new light fitting and rewire. We also hire a plasterer when required, or tradesmen to do the hard landscaping.

i dislike flat pack and have no patience, my husband and daughter will do that, as I’m for chucking it across the room after 5 mins, and my husband and his friends have built many outside structures, from a gazebo to a wood store. I don’t do that as my spatial awareness is poor and I understand my limitations.

DillDanding · 29/01/2024 10:59

I can paint, but that’s it. I’m very good at design and ideas.

My husband can turn his hand to anything - except plastering.

Newstarto · 29/01/2024 11:29

Good grief calm down. It's really not that deep. 🙄It's just a bit of fun on a message forum. Are you this stressy and angry in real life?

Yes, when I come across sexism. Why is it fun? Whats fun about this thread? Check your language for misogyny too with the ‘good grief calm down’ statement.

Augustus40 · 29/01/2024 11:35

No interest. I just pay a handyman twice a year instead.

I can tighten the o dd screw and spray wd40 on squeaking door hinges but beyond that learning diy just leaves me cold.

comeagainx · 29/01/2024 11:37

@Mercychant hanging a door is really a two person job. I wouldn't do it alone as you'd struggle to hold it up/support it accurately to screw in the hinges so it was all properly aligned. A door is v. heavy. I once re-did a stripped screw hold on a hinge alone and that was hard enough. I'm impressed you tried.

daffodilandtulip · 29/01/2024 12:05

Painting, wallpapering, tiling, filling, hanging shelves, gardening, hanging blinds, hanging doors, replacing locks, flat packs.
I'll replace electrics eg light fitting but if there was an electrical issue I'd get someone in.
I wish I had plumbing skills because I'd love to replace my bathroom.
Only have a gas boiler so wouldn't mess with any gas.

megletthesecond · 29/01/2024 12:30

mercy don't worry, I have learnt almost zero DIY after 15yrs of being a lone parent.
I'd need to choose and buy the correct tools, learn how to use then and find somewhere to store them (no garage or loft and only a tiny shed for bikes). It's simply too much hassle.

Wotchaz · 29/01/2024 12:40

I’m excellent at decorating or anything that has to be done to a flat surface/in a straight line like caulking, drilling etc. But my brain literally cannot imagine things in 3D so anything that involves putting things together is guaranteed to go wrong.

LeroyJenkinssss · 29/01/2024 17:01

CurlewKate · 29/01/2024 09:15

And I bet all these DIYing women do all the daily household tasks and childcare too!🤣

Unlike DIYing men who claim that putting up a yearly shelf is 50% of the domestic tasks.

I do sometimes wonder what people put on all those shelves......

I will say on this front I am absolutely useless unless it a deep clean. DH is a SAHP and I’m banned from cooking unless it’s one of those meal kits after food poisoning # 3.

as a previous poster said I detest gardening but I really like a nice garden. I live in hope that at some point I’ll find the joy and realise my dreams