DH rant coming up...

It all sounds very Doris Day

How kind Silverlady333. Yes it is the weight of the cutlery but the bottom fell out and we had it repaired by a joiner a few months ago. He replaced the bottom panel and it was quite sturdy for a while but has now come apart again. It was a cheap as chips kitchen 40 yrs ago but the doors are real wood and it's the MDF innards which collapse. I asked the joiner about fitting a new kitchen but he said it would be cheaper to repair.
Sizes are completely different now so you can't just get a new drawer.

Grammaretto when you say a broken drawer, is it the runners or the actual drawer?
I ask because I had a kitchen with MDF drawers (an old MFI kitchen). My cutlery draw broke at the back corner. They can be glued back together with a very strong glue. Just make sure you clamp it while drying or wedge it between heavy objects while it is drying and make sure it is square.
I found it was the weight of all the cutlery that caused the problem and had to take some out! Hope this helps.

I have always known my limitations, I could shift furniture around, emulsion a room, no problem, but health issues have limited my ability to do many DIY jobs

I was always more practical than DH but I do miss having him around to do the jobs I can't (I've been a widow for 7 years). I now rely on DD & DiL to help me. DiL has DH's drill & some of his tools

At the moment I'm decorating my bedroom, my problem is lack of space to move furniture around & store all the bits & pieces that normally occupy my bedroom.

My dressing table has been in my Lounge since last November when we discovered a leaking roof. New roof & repair to damaged corner in bedroom completed on the very day "lockdown" was announced. Most of the painting is now complete except the wall behind my bed can't move it without help, pine bed, no castors

I'm now going to start on my Lounge, again this involves lots of furniture moving.

I painted my Hallway before Christmas, needs a new light fitting & that will be completed, I need a Handyman who is competent at Electrics

Due to problems with my hands I can't do lots of little jobs, I just do what I can & if it takes me days/weeks/months at least it's down to me

I was in this boat until recently when I sadly lost my DH to cancer. Six months in I have put in some shutters, hung the Ring doorbell, moved mountains of stuff in the house and garage and done so much decorating I can’t quite believe what I’ve achieved. All those years of waiting for hubby to get around to it. I miss him so much but this new found independence is a revelation. I’m shocked at my decent work, I think I absorbed it from DH in the 43 years we were together. Mind you You Tube helps,

I’ve always done all our decorating, but as I get older I’m finding it harder to do. As for diy, husband is hopeless, but as luck would have it, we have a son who loves a project. So he does all our diy jobs big and small. ??

Can you not do it yourself?

Oh dear, understand your frustration and like your tactics, even though on this occasion you haven't achieved the desired result! Another idea for future reference is to manipulate things so that he comes up with the idea, you can congratulate him on the brilliant idea and get your own way, win win. (this advice coming from a now single divorcee, can't say my methods work!)

Lucca
More shelves... more excuse for clutter and knicknacks^
That's exactly what my husband said six years ago when I brought home two shelves from IKEA for the lounge. So I thought they would be ideal in the study for books etc. It didnt happen. Then the same with the kitchen. They are still waiting to be unwrapped and used somewhere.......

My ex used to do stuff but never prepped and never finished. Eg if painting a bed room he would paint round furniture so it could never be moved elsewhere! I used to wait till he went away on business and finish off what was needed. He never noticed.

I was referring to how best to store perfume in my last post.

There is nothing sexist in what Grannyrebel said. Division of labour is according to who is best at what or has most time. I couldn't put shelves up no matter what anyone thinks, but I do all the grouting and resealing of shower etc and help with wallpapering. My husband loves ironing. We don't know who does what in Grannyrebel's household but we do know a lot of men react as her OH did. He was rude to say he can think of his own projects - she was trying to ask nicely and persuade him to do the job.. But why should she have to. Men don't have to do that with women.

Hi! How many of these do you want?
OoRoo

I have never relied on my DH to do anything for me as I tend to just make my mind up and get on and do it myself (whatever it is) . Wouldn’t touch gas (illegal anyway) but I have done most other things . Wallpapering, painting , putting up shelves, fitting new taps and waste pipes and everything in between .

In 2 of my AD houses its they who do the lions share of the decorating, gardening,& DIY.(despite one of thems OH being a builder/plasterer!) And in eldest sons home hes the one who is in charge of laundry cleaning mending etc,while his wife does the baking.(pity my 2 youngest,still here at home never learned all that!)

Suggest sweetly that you will get a handyman in to do the job (this works for any job, in fact).

It could go one of two ways. Usually male pride will forbid the entrance of a competent and willing person who will make the DH look bad. Or he'll say yes and the job will be done by a competent and willing person.

I usually ask my 21yr old if a jobs urgent(like when the curtain track broke) as i have bad osteoarthritis- but ive been waiting over 6mths now for him to put together a flat- pack coffee table- (he's very good at following the instructions) and now I've finished knitting HIS blanket I'm hoping he will do table so i can do myself a jig-saw on it! He finished ALL his uni work completely yesterday& he announced he'd do my table today!(without prompting!) But I'm still waiting for him to start. (Strange,cause when he gets flat pack for his room,he wacks it up within an hour!)

I’m very lucky, my farmer husband enjoys being asked to do DIY jobs. He does them as soon as I mention them. The only reason I don’t turn my hand to it is that I really can’t be bothered lol. Although, I am a qualified painter and decorator so I do all the wallpapering etc which he proudly shows off to any visitors. He also does a lot of the cooking which I don’t complain about lol

I have to admit I am rubbish at DIY, in fact my wife is better than me on the rare occasions we decide to carry out jobs around the house.

Cooking, cleaning and gardening I quite enjoy doing, but DIY, get the man with van in. The cost can be higher but at least it does not end up in a disaster which so often happens when we attempt anything. ??

The answer to Can you could be Cannot or Cant. The answer to Will you could be Will Not or Wont. I don't think many loved ones want to say the second one to each other. Sometimes it's not what you ask but how you ask it.

But why can't you put shelves up...It's not that difficult...I'm a woman by the way but I was a single parent for quite a few years so just had to learn how to do these things and get on with it. I can actually understand why your husband huffed and puffed a bit...

Definitely a DIY household here - if I want anything doing , I do it myself!

This always worked with my husband- all done gently gently as I only asked him to do something I was not able to at the time. This was very rarely as I did all that sort of decorating around our many houses but there were times when I could have done with some help.

I would say 'I would LIKE you to .............. whatever it was. I would say "I have made a note of this on the calender so I know how long it will take you to get around to doing said task".....

So, the next time you would like me to.....Take up a new pair of trousers, put a button back on your favourite shirt, cut your hair ( I always did this for him), make you your very favourite curry etc etc etc I would say to him that yes of course I would be happy to do this for him but it would be on the same timeline that you took to help me.

Neither of us waited for long if you treat others as they treat you there are no complaints.....
But now he is gone I miss him awful. Xx

During my marriage (ended long ago), I was the one who bought and operated an electric drill. I rather enjoyed drilling holes in walls and putting up shelves. I still have that drill, but probably my hands and wrists wouldn't cope with it. Better send for DS1 or 2 .

Craftycat

My DH has been cajoled against his better judgement into painting the inside of our sash windows during lockdown. Our bedroom sashes were in a bit of a state due to condensation so he didn't put up much of a fight about those, and from there he's moved on to others. He's enjoying it so much that he's started on some of the accessible outside ones too! You can get paint delivered from B&Q if necessary.

I should add that I've been subtly hinting that they all needed doing since the outside paintwork was done by professionals 3 years ago.