Only freedom will do

edinburgher

Could you clean it up to provide a place to store the suitcases or something? I'm bad at visualising stuff from a verbal description, so I'm probably very far from the mark.

Visualise chopping a football in half and then that half a football is a curved hole in your wall! Not a useful space, just a sodding great hole :eek:

A_Frayed_Knot

edinburgher wrote: »

Visualise chopping a football in half and then that half a football is a curved hole in your wall! Not a useful space, just a sodding great hole :eek:

You might have just explained who (what) done it .... and how it got there

Watty1

edinburgher wrote: »

I have decided to do as much of the DIY for the house as I can. .....

First job (next weekend) will be repairing the floorboards by replacing the existing nails with screws and fixing any holes/overly warped boards. Terrified - not used to DIY.

Mr Watty took this view with his very first house. Aided by the Readers D1gest book of DIY and the maxim "if it was difficult a builder wouldn't be able to do it" he taught himself just about every trade he needed to renovate the house. He has since renovated the first house we bought together and now the one we live in. And is still heard muttering his "catchphrase" when repairing something. Have faith

mrsp1987

Hubby is pretty handy and has done 99% of the work in the house. We did get a builder to convert the garage into another room, to reinforce the timber in the empty space next to the dormer where we wanted to install a shower and to block in the old doorway to the main bedroom to create extra space in the bathroom for the bath.
He's done everything else including plumbing in two toilets and three sinks (utility room sink), building cupboards to block in the sink/toilet plumbing, installed the stair banister and spindles etc, floors, some carpeting, wallpapering, painting, light switches, replacing and hanging doors, replacing the lock on the front door.
He's only had one minor incident with a pipe he thought was dead but was actually the cold water feed to the boiler but in a really bizarre location. Other than that he's pretty darn handy!

Karmacat

Thanks Ed.

Aha, it's obviously possible to DIY and do a good job - could be just the thing you need - the MMM of Scotland

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

My first oh and I bought a house when we were still teenagers. We did all the work on it ourselves except wiring, which my father did. A combination of enthusiasm and the blissful ignorance of youth carried us through and we did a pretty good job which included plastering, rendering, damproofing, plumbing and knocking down walls. None of it is actually difficult, you just have to be brave. Unfortunately I am no longer so brave, but every now and again I surprise myself! Go for it - you will get a great sense of satisfaction.

edinburgher

Thanks for the anecodotes all. I don't remember when I told myself that I 'couldn't do DIY', probably a few badly planned jobs that knocked my confidence? I have achieved a few good things, my laminate flooring for the last place was a good job and I overcame some real challenges. Will do my research and just put the hours in.

Hole in the wall/wacky plastering type has been identified by helpful cousin, brother suggested an efficient fix for it, basically a thin metal mesh that sticks to the wall and gets a skim over the top.

Looking forward to the challenge

Made a few OPs this evening and a few £ matched betting.

AlexLK

Are you planning to stay in your current place for a long time, then?

DIY isn't difficult but you need to have patience and often two pairs of hands. Mrs K and I will have a go at almost anything. Buy good tools and if you need to have a go at things a couple of times, do so. Also get your wife involved and on board.

Knit_Witch

Oh and cultivate useful neighbours! We have a wonderful neighbour who is great at anything practical (replacing the bonnet of our car when it flipped open and smashed the windscreen!), Dr Witch barters with computer skills (Geek-Fu bartered with skills-fu!)

edinburgher

I think we'll be here until DD is old enough for secondary school, maybe longer (11 years+)?

I think we do have friendly and practical neighbours - will avoid relying on their skills and kindness until DD has stopped waking them up at 3 in the morning :rotfl:

Small OP made this morning, off to the first birthday party of DD's generation, can't believe that it has been nearly a year for her as well.