Hurrah for make do and mend

mummysaver

We always had to make do and mend as kids, and much to my kids irritation sometimes we still do! I'll have a go at most things, though wiring or gas isn't something I'll try, not sure how the insurance would view me blowing up or burning down the house!

Unfortunately whilst I'll have a go, once I've solved the problem I tend to lose interest, chuck everything back together and not make it look all pretty again! Thankfully oh is something of a perfectionist - I have never used so much filler and sandpaper as I did when he helped me decorate, I got so fed up with all the sanding that I actually invested in an electronic one, still the walls look better for it!

I too had a non draining/spinning washing machine, and was told about the filter, big moneysaver! Recently my car needed an oil change, oh did it for me plus fitted a new filter, much cheaper than a garage, then I needed a new bulb, again just cost the price of the bulb. Little things but they all make a difference.

At the mo I have a large piece of wood drying out in my hallway, ready to become the new sill under my french windows, the old one has simply rotted away, oh and me are going to replace it, saving £500 quoted by local builder!

Many small things seem to just get thrown out now, for instance dd1 returned home from a sleepover a few weeks ago with some clothes that a friend had bought and never worn as she didn't like them when she got home! She also had a bag of stuff that the friend was going to bin as it was damaged - since when has a missing button or stuck zip been irreparable?! Anyway, thanks to the friend, dd1 has a lovely lot of new clothes!

ALIBOBSY

Glad to see so many doing it themselves so to speak lol.
I agree about gas we have a local guy who is great and corgi registered who does that stuff for us. But OH has been suprised by how he was able to do bits of plumbing.
My Dad was an electrical engineer (the guy who tells the electricians what to do lol) who came up through the shop floor so any wiring isn't a problem. In fact as OH is an IT tech he can solder etc and with Dads advice/help can pretty much tackle any electrical job .

I wish one of us knew more about cars though. Oh has a friend who does a lot in his spare time, his hobby is doing up old cars, especially landrovers. He is going to take OH through a service on the little car (an old rover), but the big car ( a zafira) has been off the road for 6 months as the big end (gulp) went. He had a pit at his last house but thinks he couldn't manage it with just the engine lifting gear and doesn't like to mess with modern cars which he reckons are much harder to fix/maintain.

ali x

deborah64

We very often have a go at repairing things ourselves.
In the summer we had the windows replaced in the house, living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and bathroom, a friend of my in laws has a friend who is a landlord, so went through his supplier, total cost about £2,000 including fitting by inlaws friend.
We have another friend who is a gas fitter, and usually he dosn't charge us for little jobs, so we usually put a good word in for him if people need a gas enginer

maryb

Our sash windows were rotten on the bottom rail because we get so much condensation. We also wanted draughtproofing. We were quoted a "HOW MUCH????!!!!" price for new sashes (over £3,000 for six sashes) so we went to the local timber merchant which sold the bottom rail ready machined. DH cut out the bottom rail where it was rotten and spliced in a length of new rail. Then we bought some draughtproofing bits - the sort professional window fitters use (made by Mighton in case anyone's interested theough they've got something similar in the Screwfix catalogue) and routed out the channels for the brush seal and replaced the parting bead with a flexible plastic one which makes a really good seal - it looks just like wood which is important as we are in a conservation area. Then we put them back in the frames and held them in place with staff bead with an integrated draughtproofing strip

It took three weeks working in the evening and at weekends but the reason it was slow was because I painted the sashes while they were out of the frame and it took time for each coat to dry.

Even with buying the router bits which were expensive it cost less than £200. And it has made a HUGE difference. No more rattling sashes and it's so much warmer and quieter

foxgloves

We had a terrible blocked pipe the other year....the one that goes from our kitchen sink under the patio to the main waste pipe. I tried all the usual things....boiling water, removing the drain cover, raking out the usual leaves & gunk, more boiling water, no use. Then tried poking a shepherd's crook (one of those things you hang a garden lantern from) down and that hooked out a white waxy substance from a couple of foot along the pipe. It was fat that must have been accumulating for years. Still couldn't shift it. Partner convinced we'd need a plumber as we'd tried everything & couldn't reach the blockage, but I remembered how I'd once paid a £40 call out charge for a blocked loo and he came in with a super-szied loo plunger did ONE PLUNGE and cleared it, and I convinced my partner to wait one more afternoon while I got some soda crystals thinking they'd dissolve the fat. Bought one bag, 69p, and chucked the whole lot straight down the pipe followed by a kettle of boiling water. it was clear within 10 mins. Now I just chuck a few crystals down the sink every so often. Also, going back to the £40+ for one plunge loo bill, I went to the ironmonger's the next day and bought an identical big loo plunger for......£3 !!!

charlies-aunt

We 'make do and mend' - and find that with duct tape, baler binding, no-more-nails and the trusty hot glue gun most things can, with a bt of ingenuity, be fixed/bodged safely & successfully.
I'm no sewstress but even wih limited skills, its possible to alter curtans, garments etc if you have a bit of patience.
Wilko's is a great place to shop for all the little DIY necessities :rolleyes: