Do you DIY? why?

[mamadadawahwah]

I love to do things myself, it saves money and i feel like i have accomplished something. When you own a house or are responsible for repairs it saves a bundle.

Would be interested to hear of other mners who DIY and what your recent achievements have been. I just did all the tiles in my kitchen and have just grouted them. Instead of all white I left a few blank and filled them in with glass beads. It looks great and very original (and cost effective, translate: cheap!)

[dyzzidi]

I am useless but DP does all our DIY and he saves a fortune.

We have moved to a new house so no indoor DIY but the garden is his next project!

Good for you being able to do it yourself

[Janna]

I would love to be able to do stuff like tiles and put up shelves. i'm on my own so to be able to do anything like that would be fantastic. I can paint and things like that but not much else. Mind you I just recently redecorated my front room by myself (painted of course lol) which was a huge achievement for me.
mamadadawahwah how did you learn to tile and stuff??

[Mirage]

I do 99% of the DIY in our house-for the simple reason that if I didn't do it-no one would! Also if I am capable of it,why pay for someone else to do it?I have
Chopped down trees,
relaid a patio
laid 2 new paths
decorated the whole house more than once
swept the chimneys,
built 2 ponds
redesigned & planted a 2000sq ft garden
tiled the kitchen & bathroom
renovated a Victorian tiled floor
pointed up brickwork
built an aviary
removed a gas fire & opened up an old fireplace.

I love doing the work myself,I was bought up to understand that being female didn't mean that you were unable to do DIY ect & it gives me a great senceof achievement to know that I did a good job.And it is cheaper too!

[flashingnose]

Can I just ask mirage, what happens to your kids while you're doing it? At the mo. this is my major stumbling block as they're 6, 4 and 2 and I keep on having to break off from what I'm doing (not ideal when you're decorating).

[misdee]

i do all the DIY in the house, except for electrics and plumbing. i have laid several laminate floors in my time, and decorated many homes.

can put up shelves, i do all the gardening, paint the kids rooms etc etc.

but am struggling a bit atm and need a decorator to help. dh used to help me withthings which need 2 people, but cant atm.

[Mirage]

I have to admit,I have slowed down since having dd.Before she could walk,it wasn't too much of a problem,but now I only get the chance to get anything done when she is napping or dh is at home.She is 18months now & into everything.

I laid a new path in the garden a couple of weekends ago whilst she napped.It took me 2 days,as I was 28wks pregnant & can't move very fast .It looks fab though!Baby is due in 7wks,so I can see my DIY days coming to an end!

[flashingnose]

Well blimey, if you're laying paths at 28 weeks, I should be able to organise 3 children to help me - well done and good luck

[cori]

I am not great, usually loose motivation half way through.
But the first ever DIY was wallpapering and painting DS bedroom. He was a babe at the time so he slept a lot.
I need to tile bathroom floor but cant work out how to do it.

[mamadadawahwah]

Janna, tiling is easy. Its all about measurements. If its just a kitchen you are tiling, you need a tile cutter and maybe a pair of tile snippers to cut tiles around corners of sockets etc. Trial and error basically. Buy a book. its probably one of the easiest diy jobs.

[Janna]

ooh ta mamadadawahwah. I seriously need to do my bathroom tiles as they are vile and some are coming of the wall

ooh another thing.. anyone know how to get woodchip wall paper off a wall. The bloody stuff sticks like buggery and half of the plaster seems to come of with it???

[cori]

How do I cut floor tiles to fit around the toilet in the bathroom.?

[munz]

I've just painted my whole house, skirtings included, mainly to keep busy whilst DH was away, althou I enjoy doing DIY, if I don't do it normally it won't get done, althou DH does it if I start normally cos he doesn't want me tearing the hosue down!

[mamadadawahwah]

Cori, two ways, you can either "snip" at them with a tile nipper or you can hire an electric tile cutter. Make a template of the curve you need first, in paper, then transfer onto your tile. Are they ceramic tiles?