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DIY - what have you proved to be incapable of doing?


spikey
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I can't do neat sealant either.

 

But my own superpower is being unable (to motivate myself) to do the little finishing jobs on a project. Hence the B residence is a cornucopia of small, unpainted areas, skirting boards that finish an inch or so from where they should, and kitchen countertops that will, one day, get the bits of T-section inserted to cover the joins. Probably the day before the house goes on the market.

Edited by PatB
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I used to be hopeless with sealant.

 

But on my most recent job the letting agent's inventory clerk actually complained that there was no sealant around the new bath tub. Either he should have gone to Specsavers or I have got rather good with the sealant. My skills with the gun are slightly improved but, above all, it is the availability of a rather neat  little tool that has done the business.

 

Now to get leakproof joints on my plumbing...

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I am now restricted on any job where straight lines and right angles are required to doing the job in bright enough sunshine to stop out the variable and differing astigmatism in both of my eyes*. so lots of jobs have to wait for good summer days when plentiful sunlight is assured.

 

*The consultant tells me I will 'grow out of it' - that's the variability of the astigmatism by light level - by loss of retinal sensitivity so that the iris aperture is large enough that the astigmatism will always be present. Alternatively I could have the astigmatism correction in a  pair of really dark sunglasses which would keep the iris aperture large, and thus consistently present, but we agreed that was no option really!

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Guest CLARENCE

According to my wife, I can't do anything right, so I've stopped trying! (except for my railway, of course, where I do excellent work).

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Silicone is easy, apply a bead of it,then paint a solution of washing up liquid and water over it,then smooth if off using a tool of some description or your finger.

 

The washing up liquid stops it sticking to anything other than the surface/join you want to seal.

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Plastering with traditional UK plaster. Impossible stuff. Unfortunately I am good with most other diy stuff. So my wife has plenty of good ideas....

Might have to face that soon, planning on ripping various things out of the bedroom (fitted wardrobes and a boxed in chimney breast). I've never even tried plastering so I'll have to leave that to someone who knows what they're doing. It'll require getting the cellar dry enough to stick some cupboards in to store all the junk in the wardrobes first (and hopefully my bit-of-a-layout), and I'm wondering how much to attempt DIYing that. The dirt floor might be a problem (I suspect the original stone floor is what's backfilling the original stairs, which come down from what's now next door).

 

I've not encountered any particularly difficult DIY jobs so far though, but then again I've not actually tried anything much beyond a bit of painting and rebuilding the garden gate.

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Can't plaster a wall for toffee, renovated a house from top to bottom, did it all myself except the walls.

Me too, I can usually make an acceptable job of most constructional jobs including brick/block laying but, plastering the merest patch of wall or, even worse ceiling is quiet beyond me. And I have honestly tried my best over many years of trying.

 

Guy

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Plastering with traditional UK plaster. Impossible stuff. Unfortunately I am good with most other diy stuff. So my wife has plenty of good ideas....

 

You think UK plaster is difficult. French plaster goes off before you can pick up the bucket.

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Not moving a large ornament to a place of safety before moving the mattress out of the bedroom prior to decorating. 

 

Good job I bought a new bottle of superglue.

 

Think I have got all the bits.

 

Oops...………. :(  

 

Should have heard the language from SWMBO.....

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For those of you struggling with sealant, try one of these....Makes it a doddle.

 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/FUGI-PROFESSIONAL-Grouting-Silicone-Profiling/dp/B018SMCHKW

 

Hmmmm.  Looks to be the biz, but ... £17!!??  I could buy a wagon for that!  Anybody know of anything less comprehensive and therefore cheaper?

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I seem to buy faulty spirit-levels:

 

I can see that the shelf is crooked.

The pencil rolls off it.

But the spirit level bubble stubbornly sits exactly in the centre of the lines.

 

So I trust the level and fix the shelf according to the bubble, and anyone who beholds the shelf says:

 

"It's crooked!"

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