Who else does DIY on their house as a form of work?

[anorak]

I don't go out to work. I have a very part-time job writing questions for TV quiz shows and I have a very small crafts hobby/business with my sister. My main source of income is that when I buy a new home I make sure it's solid but in need of modernisation and I'm the one that does most of it while my dh is out at work.

I do carpentry, tiling, decorating, garden remodelling, make curtains and other soft furnishings etc etc.

Are there any other mums who slot this kind of work in around their kids? If so it would be great if we could get together and pool our knowledge on mumsnet. I couldn't find a topic that exactly fitted this so would be interested to know if there's enough people here to ask for a new topic.

Please post what kind of DIY jobs you do and what projects you're working on at the moment.

I'm just about to go out in the garden and plant up around a waterfall I built last week. I plan to come in every few minutes to cool down!!

[Donbean]

concrete arrived yesterday for the flooring in the garage. Walls should go up next week then we will order the roof. The roof bit is always fab fun and pulls every thing together. Cant wait for that bit...hehehehe

[anorak]

We're going to do a bit of paving in our back garden this afternoon. We've been gradually paving it all over so we have a patio garden. But it's taken ages cos of my dodgy leg - I get worn out easily so we can only do a couple of hours at a time.

I pave and dh is my muck mixing monkey

But we are lightweights compared with you donbean!

[Donbean]

Not at all!
We did/do all of our work like you, piecemeal, a bit here and a bit there as time permits.
It all gets finished eventually doesnt it.

It has rained torentially over night so dh was worried about his freshly laid concrete but actually it looks ok this morning.
Hoping that now the bricks and blocks will start to get used up for the walls because they are stacked up in the garden taking up space.
I really really want my garden back so that i can begin to make it look nice again.
We have moved thise bloody bricks twice now. Once from the end of the drive to the back garden and then again as they were in the way! (brick by bloody brick i have to add)
still, when the garage is up, we can empty the spare room of all dh's power tools etc and can begin to think about another baby!!!!!!
Good luck with your bricks this afternoon, hope the weather holds off for you x

[littlerach]

Can I join you?

We are busy pulling horrid oak panelling off the lounge walls, it is very satisfying.

Before children I used to really get into DIY and stuff, now I read more magazines about it rather than do it.

[anorak]

Yes littlerach I like the demolition work, it's fun. Especially when you see how badly it's been done sometimes it makes you feel more confident about your own skills!

In my last house I found places where a wallpaper border had been put up with staples

The house we're in now didn't have anything awful in it, it was just old fashioned as the people who sold it to us were elderly and hadn't changed anything for years.

Yes donbean we got our bit of paving done. Only the cut bits to do now. I tried cutting the slabs on my largest electric tile cutter. It cut them but clogged up every minute or two so will have to hire a tool. Not sure what really. This job is a bit beyond me so have asked bf's husband to come over in a couple of weeks to do the cutting. He's done stuff like that before. Anyone know what tool I need to hire?