How proficient are your DIY skills?

[CardboardBoxesLily]

I feel rather proud when I’ve hung a mirror or shelf (simple, I know) and just wondering how skilled others are in DIY? Are you confident using power tools, saws and so on? Any tips or general advice?

YABU - I can do basic DIY
YANBU - I need help with most DIY

I am capable of most DIY - my dad was keen to teach us all he could. However I live in a stupid old house and every simple job has mission creep because everything is wonky and/or previously bodged and/or really old and/or very broken.

Capable? Reasonably.

Willing? No.

I can manage a fair bit. My dad always did our DIY from basics to electrics and plumbing so I picked up a lot from him. Me and my ex bought a shit hole subsided first house that we stripped back to brick and did all the work ourselves, I picked up a lot doing that and made a lot of mistakes! Two things I can't do, plastering, tried and failed many times, and I've never tried to remove a radiator before.

I actually really enjoy DIY though and I think its much easier to learn something when you enjoy it. I don't enjoy drilling into brick, that's a job I'll palm off if I can 😅

Terrible. I’ve done plenty but don’t retain any skills or memory of how to do it. I’m also quite cack handed.

i can’t carry skillls over- ie I was fine drilling and hanging things in my previous solid brick house, I now live in a new build with internal plasterboard and I’ve been here for 10 years and not worked out how to hang things in it.

As a 60yo woman, I can hang a picture, attach a TV bracket to a wall, redecorate a room, clean skylights, repoint brickwork, tile a bathroom and repair plasterwork within reason.

I can repair a bike puncture, do basic car maintenance like oil levels and coolant etc and change a wheel in an emergency.

I've replaced panes of glass in my greenhouse and installed one of those auto openers.

It comes from being a single mum - there's no-one else to do it. And YouTube is very good at showing us how.

Well done OP. Women on the 21st century. 😎

I have done it in the past but don’t enjoy it. My partner is pretty good but he can’t be arsed either. We pay someone to do anything we need.

I have done loads, mainly because we can’t afford to pay anyone else to do it. I’ve painted, wallpapered, put up shelves and all sorts.

I don't like using power tools they scare me (I'm autistic it's the noise). I've changed a few taps though!

I'm fairly proficient. Happy to use power tools. Can plaster, fit skirting boards etc, have fitted kitchens in the past.

Autistic and have all the power tools and know how to use them. Can't tolerate strangers in my house/garden so I do everything myself. Was raised to be independent.

When I was young & single and bought my first house (ex-LA 1930's TBS) it was in a terrible state but my Ddad said that we could make it habitable in 3-months.
It was had work but luckily my Ddad was very practical (ex-trade) so I learnt a lot and having got a few rooms sorted I did indeed move in 3-months later. With the plumbing, electrics & alterations sorted (by Ddad) the remainder I did when living there, often decorating into the small hours after a day at work. I built up a brilliant set of tools and once was even given an electric planer & set of wood chisels as a birthday gift so I could fit a set of new doors (and done very successfully even if I say so myself)!

Nowadays I still tend to do the decorating but mainly as my OH does all the heavier jobs.
That said, I have my own area in my OH's workshop where I can work on projects that are too big/heavy/dirty for my art room.
My next thing is to have a small spray booth set up, I have a compressor but overspray is a real problem. Because of this, projects are on hold for now but when up & running I will be painting parts of my OH's vintage motorcycle.😁

I can do most things. Certainly competent with power tools etc. These days I more often get someone in but that is purely a time thing.

My husband just put a new roof on our house. Having got ridiculous quotes, he has saved us a fortune.

@Meadowfinch
"I can repair a bike puncture, do basic car maintenance like oil levels and coolant etc and change a wheel in an emergency."

Well done.👍

That reminds me.
When In started to drive my Ddad suggested I went on a basic car maintenance course at the local collage, proved to be very useful and I think some level of competency should be compulsory.
I was already fairly practical as I was driving cars (on private property) at a very young age and at 16 started riding a moped as it was the only way to get to work & college. That sort of thing tends to make you independent very quickly.

I can do a fair bit and if a job comes up that I'm not sure of, then I will research, watch YouTube videos etc. I can be a bit of a geek and quite like learning this stuff!

I also do all my own decorating. Decorators charge an absolute fortune and I've seen enough complaints about their work to know its no guarantee they'd do a better job than me.

I don't really like paying people to do things I can do myself. I'm not tight generally, can spend a bit too much on other things! But I do have a lot of free time to do stuff myself.

Very proficient. I'm an engineer so there'd be something very wrong if I couldn't manage some DIY.

That said, I absolutely hate DIY and definitely don't want to spend my leisure time doing it so I almost always just get someone in.

I'm not autistic but I'm like that with the noise. Headphones help, but with drills you need to hear the change in sound.
I have had to get past it to some degree as I used to struggle with the hoover noise and had to leave the house when the washing machine was on.

I think if I got on and used them I'd get over it. I associate loud noise with something bad happening for some reason. I used to hate the blender but I'm fine now I'm used to it. I did try a jigsaw recently but turned it off as soon as it was on but it took a second ro tow to actually stop and I ended up with a wonky shelf 😂. Luckily it's in a cupboard.

I love a power tool! One of my best presents ever is a cordless drill/driver.
I can do most things except plumbing (OH isn't bad at basic stuff) and living in a Victorian property, I'd love to be able to plaster. That is definitely a job for a professional.
There are jobs I won't do again eg fitting laminate flooring (ruined my knees) and balancing on the bannister to paint our very high stairwell.

I don't like the noise.

Power tools, lawn mower, washing machine at full spin.

It makes me want to escape my own skin iyswim.

Hammer and nails, fine. Putting flat-pack together, no problem.

I know how to do it. I just won't - and earplugs etc don't help.

I made myself do some sanding on the upstairs floor recently, with headphones. Like you I associate the sound with bad things happening. I've always been the same, no idea why.

Absolutely zero. I’m not proud. I am incredibly useless and lazy.

That’s really impressive. I’ve not ventured into tiling yet but I do have the basics down and feel like along with YouTube I could tackle this. I have a bathroom that needs redecorating and was going to just paint it but I feel inspired now.

Fitted a kitchen, wow. All of the levelling and fitting and joining of worktops must take a lot of precision and skill.

I found my diy skills improved exponentially when we first bought our house and were super poor!

Honestly, there's a you tube video on how to do almost anything!