Would it be unreasonable of me to do this behind DH's back?

[VivaLeBeaver]

pay a man to come round and fit the laminate in the hallway?

Dh is going on holiday with his mates in sept for a week so it will be the perfect opportunity.

We bought the laminate nearly two years ago. It's been piled up in a corner of the dining room for two years. The hallway carpet is 20 years old, it smells of dog and has a 2ft square hole in one corner.

Dh says he will fit it but he needs to remove all the skirting boards first and sand the nasty mahogany varnish off. He wants the laminate to go under the skirting boards not up to them. He never does it, if I mention it he explodes and says he's working hard and doesn't have time.

Not true though. He's a bugger for starting stuff and not finishing. This weekend he's spent the weekend sanding and painting all the external windowsills. He's done a fab job but I'd rather he sorted out the hallway.

He won't be happy if I do it as he'll moan that the skirting boards will need painting with new laminate in situ.

Then there is the threadbare sitting room carpet that I'm not allowed to replace until he gets round to plastering under the bay window. That's been bare brick for two years with no sign of it been sorted. I'd like to get a new carpet down in there while he's away as well but no way can I empty the room of furniture on my own.

He sounds like my DH, he is utterly useless when it comes to work around the house, we have a huge list of work to do, and he is always busy or tired or has a headache!

I would get someone in if we could afford it!

Do it!

To take of nasty varnish and leave stripped wood I recommend using paint stripper first, then finishing it off by sanding.

If you get a good paint stripper the job is not that difficult.

YANBU.

But I'm lucky as DH would rather do overtime and pay someone to do any DIY. As he hates it.

On the other hand we seem to be the place that computer come once they have died for him to fix.

So can I put the paint stripper on while the boards are still on the Walls?

Yes, nitromorse is amazing stuff

Marking place to see what happens with this.

But YANBU - I start a job when DH has been saying he will do it and doesn't get around to it, I then find after five minutes of tutting he takes over and I go back to watching TV

Just been on b&q website, skirting boards are really cheap. If they've got to come off and go back on anyway I'm getting new ones. Life is too short.

Indeed

I feel your pain, and I would do it.

You could angle it that you felt sorry for him what with him working so hard and it's one less thing for him to do!

.

Well handy andy is coming on Wednesday. I'm going to have to swear him to secrecy, he'll think I'm nuts won't he?

If dh flips his lid I'll tell him Mumsnet made me do it.

You're all going to have to wait till sept for an update though.

Or it was an early Christmas present to yourself/him/the cat whatever.

Do the heartbroken face, I thought you would be pleased that it was sorted

Can you get a match for the same style of skirting you have elsewhere, also what finish do have elsewhere, what wood is the flooring?

NJS980 and paradise chick, your posts made me laugh out loud. I do the same. For maximum effect I pick up the most dangerous-looking or inappropriate tool for the job - think chainsaws, axes and the like - DH can't take over fast enough! (Helps if I've managed to make a start, so there's no going back). I know I should be offended, but in the interests of getting the job done, it's worth it.

Well done you and Handy Andy. When I moved in with DH there were no dire handles in the entire house. Lovely doors, he'd picked them specially in France but then couldn't be arsed to fit the handles. You hand to drag each door open with your nails.
After a particularly bad nail break and getting stuck in the bedroom, I got a bloke in to sort it all. DH reacted like I'd booked a bloke to come round and play with his willy, and flounced out, but was v pleased with the result.
YANBU. Some faint hearted DIYers need saving from themselves, it's an act of love.

This is a brilliant idea. I have a list as long as my arm and a husband who cant put up a shelf.

Ive done some.stuff myself but am not superwoman. Once im back at work im starting a Maintenance Saving Plan.

haven't read it all yet, but some posters have stated what you need to do and I agree: take off the skirting boards, and replace them after the floor is done. they can be taken outside and stripped, painted or put new ones down. then you nail them in place and fill and touch up nail holes.

I'd get the handyman to do the wall too. he could move furniture if it is up to homeowner, but maybe carpet people handle moving furniture. but husband would likely take more years to do it.

Whenever we've had skirting boards taken off they've ripped and needed to be replaced. Unless there's something particularly ornate or individual about them just buy new ones, it will be cheaper than the labour to sand the existing ones.
If you want them to stay as fresh wood, do put some wax or oil on them as they will get scuffed a lot.

I'd also put some coat hooks & a shelf in the hallway, if it's wide enough.

One of my friends has a dh who has no sense of smell at all. One day she just re-painted the bathroom (a completely different color), and then pretended that she hadn't - he couldn't remember what colour it had been that morning, and couldn't smell the fresh paint, but felt that something was different.

oh, and get the plastering done as well - you'll have to wait for it to dry before you can do the next bit, so that could be next week's year's project.

i never understand these threads. if its been bugging you for years why dont you just do it yourself. its not rocket science

YANBU OP - my dh is the same. He has all these plans about diy he's going to do, buys the necessary stuff and then it just sits there gathering dust.

If he does manage to get round to it, he tries to do it as fast as possible, and cuts every corner that he can - the end result is that nothing in our house is done properly.

We're the only people I know with louvre doors hung upside down!

neveradullmomentinparadise NJS980 and ParadiseChickexactly the sane happens here too!

DH is a plumber/joiner and yes he's busy with lots of paying jobs for other folk, so getting him to do anything at home can be like trying to plait fog, however, I have my own toolkit, it's bright pink and very well equipped.

If I need something doing, I start the job off and then leave the pink toolbox in a strategic position where DH is most likely to trip over it as close to the job as possible.

This usually works, but on the off chance that it doesn't, I find wandering through the house carrying his nailgun is failsafe

It is a bit of a busmans holiday for him doing DIY at home and not being paid for it, but this is one of the reasons I turned down chance of buying a beautiful bungalow at a really cheap price. It needs modernising and doing up completely, and though he sounded willing to do it, I dint think it would be fair on him.

As for OP YANBU, just get it done!!!!
I would!!

GnocchiNineDoors my DH has a day rate of £110 plus materials and he will happily work for 8-10 hours or so from a list getting all the annoying little jobs done.

There is probably someone in your area who works like this too, always worth asking what their day rate is - try trustedtraders.com ??

Yanbu I have given up waiting for dp to do jobs that need doing in the house since last summer, he is away for a week in August so I am now getting quotes whilst he is at work and will be getting everything done whilst he is away - im sure he will have a moan when he gets back but its tough, I think a year is long enough to wait!

YANBU - I am not afraid of a it of DIY, but I have never laid laminate floor and would be a bit worried about mucking it up so I would probably do the same. Either that or get my Dad to supervise/help me doing it.

Brilliant Babylon, ill check that out.