Is DIY really a dying out skill?

[greenlotus]

On BBC Breakfast this morning was a rubbishy report mocking people who do DIY and Nick Knowles saying "don't even try, get in a builder".

DH and I renovated a whole house with only some input from a gas fitter and a plasterer. He learnt woodwork and how to use tools from his dad, we figured out everything else from books, Wickes leaflets or friends. We could never have afforded it if we'd had to get builders in.

I'm only 40 but I feel like an old codger for saying, in my family you were taught how to do practical things properly and safely and be self sufficient and resourceful. Now it's assumed that no member of the public could possibly put up a shelf or pick up a piece of sandpaper and know what to do with it, oh no dahhling, get a little man in to do it.

Is there nobody who can actually do anything for themselves any more, or who would want to?

I was really offended this morning on behalf of the young couple who'd clearly slaved away for a year renovating their house really well and were made to look like fools.

I think it's true that DIY building is a dying art - a bit like sewing and cooking. The skills aren't being passed on.

Some people just aren't cut out to be practical, though. My DH's dad is a builder, but it's not in the genes, DH can't be trusted with any kind of power tool. If we need to lay a carpet or tile a wall, believe it or not, we get my mum in, she's brilliant!

I laid new laminate flooring at the weekend. I did a damn good job, all round the door frames and everything. And I'm a girl. So there.

Well DH is slowly learning!

We have always had peopl in to fix things, fit things, but money is tight now so can't.

In the last 4 mths the oven packed in, the washer broke down and last but not least my tumble drier stopped working.

He has researched the faults on line, ordered the parts and fitted them himself. It's saved us a fortune really! I am very proud of him.

He has also done a bit of work on the car himself.

If he felt really out of his depth or unsure of safety he would still get in the experts though, it's not worth the risk.

DH is brilliant at DIY. I'd trust him to do things properly far more than a builder.

MrNC and I re-did our old maisonette (standard DIY stuff), and he's done loads on our current house, along with many builders that he's picked up advice from. So now there's a lot of stuff that he could do and has to weigh up how long it would take him compared to someone who does it every day and how much they charge.

But there's a lot you're not supposed to do yourself now - gas work, which makes sense, but most electrical stuff you're supposed to get done by a prof - MrNC does most of it himself and gets it signed off by an electrician with the right certs.

You need to know your limits - if you're just stripping walls and painting stuff and putting shelves in, the worst that can happen is it'll look blobby. But if you're moving walls or adding electrics then you either need to know a lot or get someone who does!

Given all the leaflets at Wickes etc explaining how to do stuff, and the perils of workmen, I think most people will do stuff themselves as much or more than they ever did. I certainly do way more DIY than my parents.

You laid laminate flooring round your door frames ! Wow...

I don't think so, no. I'm forgetting how to do it but only because DP is so bloody good. Needs must though - there's no way we'd have been able to afford most of what we've done to the house if we had to get people in.

i'm sort of good at it but have to be as dp isn't - the internet is great with advice

My DH is as much use with DIY as a fart in a bag on a wet afternoon (:o), but I do mini-DIY stuff all the time; I've built and put up all kinds of furniture, re-grouted and sealed the bathroom, put up venetian blinds, painted animals on the nursery wall, made roman blinds, covered an armchair, put a cat-flap in a door, made a garden gate, built a shed (while 8 months pg!) and designed and made my DDs a dolls' house (just uploaded a couple of pics of these things actually to prove it) :) [modest bragging emoticon]

My DH is clever but not practical - he would botch a job which we would have to pay to fix!

I can put together anything from ikea - does that count as a special DIY skill?

I would love a handy DH.....The problem is, he hates DIY, and I'm not mad keen. As both of us work, sometimes it's easier to GSI (Get Someone In).

Anything which requires a particular level of skill to avoid it looking rubbish (tiling, plastering, joinery), or which carries a risk of death (electrics, gas) we leave to others!!

But we've managed a few straightforward things between us - decorating, replacing a broken window, replacing a light-fitting, laying a patio, putting up a fence.....as long as I can work out what to do from my Collins DIY Manual, we'll have a go.