D.I.Y from a female view...what is the most extreme you have tackled.

Bikergran could start her own business.. plenty of people would be interested. Me, for one!

Why DIY when you can pay someone else to do it..this is as extreme as I get with DIY. However I once had to repaint my hallway myself as it was done very badly by the person I hired. I went after him and got my money back to his dismay!

Funnily enough, 30 mins ago, hob extractor fan in kitchen has just crashed down. Was put there by the diy ‘wizard’ (bodgit man) ex-husband. Omg. I am clueless All I’ve managed is to put bit of cardboard over hole in wall as it’s cold. Can you bike over here please, bikersgran?!

My favourite tool is my mole grips. They're excellent for when a strong hand is needed and you aren't strong. Also heavy enough to give something a good bash as well.

As far as I remember (it was a very long time ago) it was attached to the wiring so that you could strip out the old wiring and pull through the new wiring. A mouse - can get through little spaces.
I just remember shouts of 'Can you see the mouse yet'?

A mouse is also a mouse shaped power tool as Chewbacca says, used for sanding. I think DH has one but I've never used it.

My favourite power tool Jalima! I sanded down 8 internal doors and burnt the motor out of the first cheapo one but my current model is ace! I'm waiting for Spring dry weather so I can sand down the teak garden bench before Danish oiling it again. casts eye looking for more wood to sandown

Oooh, do tell! what does this mouse do?

I do know what a mouse is too.
Not the live version
Not the one next to the computer

The one used when rewiring a house!

Ohh I am in awwwwwww reading all your little stories! sometimes I think that D.I.Y is still seen as a "mans domain" I love it when you hear of a female that has done brilliant things and yes that is what it is.."girl power" lol

I think we have more patience and like to do a "proper job"

Last year (and you are all capable of doing this)! one of my radiators wasn't working..I thought right!! Mr Google lets see what you have to say..so just typed in radiator not getting hot when thermostat turned.

It turned out that the little pin inside was sticking,,,so had a bit of a read and went down to screwfix for a new radiator control (you know the little chubby thing with numbers on) undid the old one fit the new one and Bingo!! perfect! cost? around £7-00 no man needed no plumber with call out charge charging me extortionate rates! I have since changed 3 more took 5 mins!

I think the worst job I did was erecting one of those metal sheds (must have been 100s of little tiny nuts n bolts) and I did!! require another pair of hands at one stage (got my friend with her painted posh nails to hold the bolts whilst I screwed the nuts on lol)
Gosh I would love to write a book about all us gals that have done d.i.y projects...I think the men folk would be impressed I would loved! to have a had a trade like the men used to have...possibly plumbing as I have changed taps and put new worktops on at daughters.

The reason why we/I started d.i.y was that we / just couldn't afford to get the tradesmen in.
My late dh was an old school painter and decorator.
Also I love!! flat packs..I would love to come and help you out with all your little jobs I am in my element ...I have requested a few times one of those tool pouches (you know like a belt you wear and you put your tools in the slots) but alas looks like I'm going to have to buy my own lol...

Keep up the good work gals! love it lol..

Hardboard not cardboard

When I bought my house 10 years ago it needed totally gutting and , to save on costs, I was the labourer. I've chipped plaster off all the walls; scraped lime paint off woodwork and woodworm treated it before repainting; stood up the chimney to scrape out decades of loose stonework and soot ready for a new chimney liner to be fitted; bashed down partition walls; hammered off bathroom tiles that had been on for decades; ripped out a bath, sink and toilet ready for remastering and refit; ripped out and dismantled an old kitchen; built flat pack kitchen cupboards and drawers; crawled in the loft space (along beams) to drag out the old insulation and ripped cardboard off a wall in a bedroom to reveal an original cast iron fireplace which I then restored. Then I decorated the house myself and have done it every couple of years since.
Think this was more demolition work than constructive!

I wouldn't have a clue. I was taught to knit, sew and cook, but not how to do DIY. My husband just seems to be able to turn his hand to anything, but our son hasn't any practical skills. I think it's down to what way your brain is wired.

Bikergran my daughter was a serious DIY-er from very small when she "adapted" the device that she had to wear to stop her from thumbsucking (her thumb was green around the nail from constantly being wet, I thought it would rot) with her dad's pliers. When the adaptation wasn't satisfactory, she whacked it with a hammer ... (what were we thinking, it was like an instrument of torture, a plate to stop her making skin contact between thumb and the roof of her mouth, with wires). She must have been about 5 or 6.

She still does tons of DIY mostly upcycling furniture. She is also a potter and general craftswoman, master crocheter and knitter etc! I often wonder who she is channelling ...

Black and Decker plus drill bits and plugs was a very useful Christmas present many years ago. DH is not a bit practical so I do all the decorating here, minor electrical repairs, put up shelves, try to fix anything that's not working, do the garden etc. Also cannot resist skips, I've had some really useful stuff from skips. Outside is my builder's yard: sheets of glass, bricks, bits and pieces that might be useful. But nothing like Bikergran. Hat's off to you. You're amazing.

Hope they weren't in it GrannyRowe

GannyRowe

What a woman my none DIY husband would divorce and marry you in a flash, lol as it would save him no end of money. Before I was ill I loved to have a go at things and really think I should have been a male as alot off feminine pursuits don't really interest me. Hope your current project is a success.x

GannyRowe that’s the funniest thing I have read in ages ?!

The most extreme I have ever tackled has more to do with access than the job it self.

We once owned a large and tall Victorian house. We had builders in to repoint a chimney. I realised that the presence of the scaffolding was my one chance to get at the wood work round an attic skylight and paint it. DH was away on business and the scaffolding would come down on the Monday. I climbed the scaffolding, clutching paint and paint brush and holding the scaffolding with one hand with one foot braced against the tiles, the other hand stretched out with paint brush, I could just reach all the way round the window. I did this three times to make sure the wood work was thoroughly painted. Each time I got back to ground level my legs were shaking.

You sound just like my sort of person, Bikergran. At the moment I am in the middle of replacing the newel posts, banisters, etc. I wanted to take out the whole staircase but DH wouldn't let me so I have clad them in oak. It takes me ages and I have to rely on my DH for any really heavy lifting but I will be pleased when it is finished. I have always been the one to do the decorating, lay the laminate flooring, etc. Before I met my DH as a single parent I refitted a kitchen and bathroom with the help of my mother. In desperation, I have fitted a new accelerator on the car when money was really tight. I remember my Mum doing the central heating when I was younger and she didn't feel there was anything a man could do that she couldn't. I guess I've picked up some of her attitude. There is nothing I like more than looking round the tool section of the DIY stores and I always have a project in mind.

I always fancied a cast iron spiral staircase then when we bought this house (in France) we found that we actually needed one. I made dozens of measurements and several drawings. Then I found one on Ebay for exactly the right price in South Wales, hired a van, bought it and brought back all the bits. A good painting all over with Hammerite made it look great. I then had to weld the central pole - a first for me - get it positioned precisely, then carry each step up the old stairs to be lowered gently on a rope into its final position. It was all very exciting! Then the stanchions and the handrails went in with a little more welding. All this was entirely single handed. Everyone seeing it thinks it's beautiful and now six years later I still can't take my eyes off it, it's so elegant. Plus it's as solid as a rock!

Since I downsized I now can afford to pay someone else for those jobs.

I've made kitchen unit doors before. I went and bought the wood a bit at a time and caught the bus home with it. They turned out rather 'rustic' looking.
I've fitted worktops (well) and tiled my bathroom (badly)
I'm not physically strong enough these days to lug stuff around.

In a previous house, I converted an unused alcove into a kitchen cabinet; I put together kitchen units in another house and have put together various flat packs from Ikea - the large pine computer desk was the best and I'd just one screw left over! I'm not so good with the old tools nowadays as my hands and wrists aren't as strong as they once were.

In days of yore, when you had to attach a plug, I could do that, or change a fuse or a lightbulb.?I enjoy decorating, especially gloss paint.
I can assemble things from bits when required to do so ( our bathroom cabinet had so many bits it resembled Lego.)
That’s about it.
DH is always gloating over new acquisitions such as power drills and such stuff, so he does any heavy duty jobs around the house.