To secretly wish my husband was better at DIY?

[SapphireSunday]

My DH is lovely but utterly useless at all things DIY. He tries things but to be honest he mostly makes them worse - we have wonky door handles, windows that won’t open anymore, doors that don’t fit the frames anymore because he’s over sanded them, random holes in the wall etc. I always try to persuade him to get someone in to do these odd jobs but he always insists he will do it and well… see above.

Anyway, I’ve got a few friends whose partners are very handy round the house and I’m secretly extremely jealous!! One of them has just installed a new bathroom which looks amazing, another is planning an outdoor kitchen. But they never need to get a man in to do anything because their DHs are great at DIY.

Usually I don’t buy into the stereotypes that women should be doing cleaning and childcare while men get on with their manly persuits like sport and hunting and fixing things around the house but urgh there is this teeny part of me that would absolutely love to come home and see my DH sweaty and topless having built us an extension on his day off 🙄

Anyone else?

I was thinking "Why don't you take a DIY course?" but if you just want to see him sweaty and topless then rock on!

Seriously though, why not do a day-long DIY course? Get your DH to come along "for moral support" and then you'll both be sorted.

I have a dh brilliant at diy but if I didn’t I would pay for someone to come in and be adamant about it - no need to hurt his feelings but just tell him no

i can do a bit myself but I’m not patient or skilled enough

I openly wish mine was better, would save me so much time, money and stress lol.

My DH is equally as crap at diy. In a rented house years ago before we bought he put a mirror up in the bathroom whilst I was out and there were about 15 holes behind the wall 😓 took me 10x as long to put right when we moved

I absolutely love this idea, I might just do this!!

I wish DH and I were both better tbh! Although he doesn't lack confidence unfortunately and will have a ho a most things. Usually it works, but sometimes not.......

The idea of doing a course is a good one.

An alternative is to ask around friends & family to see if anyone is prepared to take on a DIY task with your DH being the labourer/apprentice.

My DH is good at DIY and is a former electrician. He has helped out friends and family several times but on condition that the friend/family is prepared to assist and learn.

Of course you could be the labourer/apprentice

I wish one of us was any good at practical stuff. It would help enormously.

But really I secretly wish that DH might morph into someone who looks like Adam Driver or Jon Bernthal whilst doing DIY.

That would nice #sigh

Me too, I am openly green with envy at people who have partners who are good at DIY.
Mine is totally useless, and going on a course wouldn't change the cack-handed old git. He has other talents, I guess.
I'm not much better, to be fair.

My husband is rubbish at DIY so I get my dad to do it all , would be lovely if he could actually manage something one day !, he can't even paint properly. He wanted to strip the bannisters with a heat gun and melted my carpet which was 6 months old , never been allowed to do a thing since

My dad is terrible at DIY and my husband is great at it. It never ceases to amaze me how he can just do stuff!

I wish my husband was better at DIY too and I wouldn’t mind if I was either. I think he is actually worse than me, he can’t even paint, he is so slow, I can at least paint quickly and neatly. It is what it is though, we get people in when we need to.

I did a brilliant course some years ago where I learned wallpaper stripping and hanging, preparing and painting walls (masking, protecting flooring and cutting in Etc) and how to prepare woodwork for painting plus how to lay gloss paint onto doors, doorframes Etc.
Since then I’ve always done these jobs myself - and saved a fortune!
It’s definitely worth the course fee - and DH can learn, too!

My DH doesn't have the DIY gene either. I'm the one that is good at watching YouTube DIY videos the most practical so I do most of the decorating, hanging things, assembling flat packs etc

I'm in awe of people who can just fix anything or do plastering, tiling, plumbing etc. It must save a packet having someone like that in the family.

I feel your pain. My husband is terrible at DIY. Even building a basic ikea small bookcase was beyond him and all the shelves had the rough edges at the front. And his attempt at sealant in the bathroom was enraging. It looks like my dog did it. So I usually I do everything DIY related and it pisses me off that he shows zero interest in either fixing things or maintaining stuff, even painting. I'd quite enjoy a day's DIY course. I'd love to know how to build a shelving unit from scratch or tile a bathroom.

My grandad on the other hand was a brickie and brilliant at pretty much everything DIY related. He built their beds, fitted wardrobes, re-fitted a bathroom. And he loved doing it.

This is why I do all DIY jobs round the house. I don't rely on DH. I just get on with it 🤷

YANBU! I find it very attractive that my DH is able to do pretty much anything in and around the house.

My DH is fab at DIY, it just comes naturally to him and he's learnt along the way. We wouldn't have the house we have if we had to pay people to do things for us.

Some people just don't have the mindset for it. I'm sure your DH is good at other things.

A DIY course sounds like a great idea!

Careful what you wish for! My DH is a builder and is happy to do anything I ask around the house (and it is extremely attractive/saves us a fortune) but I seem to have become the unpaid labourer for these jobs and he works me bloody hard! Once he’s in “work mode” it’s non-stop.

I quite fancy doing a DIY course myself. I found this provider doing day and evening courses for women but also full-on DIY retreats! She Can Training

Not everyone is great at DIY though.

I am so I do it.

My father did all the DIY round the house when I was growing up. He was really good at it, did it when we were out, never made a mess, always tidied up and made a great job of it. Naively I thought all males were like this
My DP on the other hand will talk about a very minor job for weeks, will need to get a 'special tool' for the job, will finally start the job on a Saturday lunchtime when the kids have friends round, will tape areas of the house off with ridiculous signs saying 'DON'T USE DOWNSTAIRS TOILET /OVEN /COLD TAP', will huff and puff because everyone is in his way, give up half way through and leave all the tools out.
I now do all the DIY when he is at work. I find it quite satisfying to do it myself and have never found a job that I need a 'special tool' for.

I divorced after 30 of marriage. Ex was hopeless at diy so it was always me standing there “advising” but expecting him to wield the tools - I thought I couldn’t as didn’t have strength or skill .
after divorce I needed to redecorate and do some diy takes on my new home. With no man to ask I had to do it myself. I took to YouTube. Gave myself a stern talking to and reminded myself in most cases I was overseeing what ex did anyway.
I am proud to say I have nice straight shelves, curtains rails, tv mounts, self assembly furniture secured to walls, etc etc. I’ve taken out a build in wardrobe and fitted a new one.

lve not taken on much carpentry as I ve discovered I’m not good a manual sawing in straight lines due to eye issue, and I’d not do electrics or plumbing. I still get a bit anxious but give myself a stern talking to. I measure a lot and check a lot and I have you tube to hand

yes, you can do it. It isn’t actually that difficult. But blokes do like to make it see, that way to impress the “little women” or charge through the nose. For instance I’m a sewer and anyone who sews knows we have universal global needle sizes that list what thread and fabric and purpose each is used for. Most machine feet are well listed with what purpose each is used for and pretty consistent from brand to brand. In my ignorance I thought screws, raw plugs and drill bits would be like this- one universal system with a table that I could easily look up and say for this screw and wall type I need this universal raw plug and drill bit. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤦‍♀️nope. Apparently not. Every brand and every country uses different systems . Talk about overly complicating something quite easy and making it all “mysterious” so it needs an “expert” to do it. Seriously , jobs for the boys and money making lack of transparency

I now have my own table in my tool kit I’ve done. I know what my walls are made of in each room (it varies), and have those raw plugs (I stick to same make) with the drill size needed and width/length of screw for each plug
not that hard to do and now I have an easy foolproof system - why the hell can’t the manufactures do that 🤷🏼‍♀️🙄