Nothing infuriates me more...

[Iain p]

See this is the same as when i got plaster for my kitchen, when asked what it was for i stated i was doing my kitchen walls.
i was told that i really needed my walls doing by a professional because plastering was difficult.
sod that says i, so i skimmed my walls myself.
in fact i've since done some friends walls too, turns out i'm a bit of a natural, but tbh it was all pretty academic, you gets it wet enough to stick but not to run and you apply in even layers. wasn't rocket science, polished it too.

same when putting flooring down, or doing some plumbing. what is it nowdays with people thinking that if you haven't been to college to do a course you're not capable of cutting, screwing and soldering a bit of bloody copper pipe?

You really shouldn't polish plaster as the paint has nothing to key to.
O.k. if papering though

 

[asterix]

I have bought some English plaster over to do my French barn conversion. I tried French plaster but it goes off before you can say Jack Robinson or even Jacques Leblanc. I think the stuff they sell in French DIY sheds is past its sell-by date - they don't put a date on the bags but then it is called 'Joker'.

 

[funnymummy]

I've been told most of my adult life "You can't do that" or "You'll never be able to...."
It doesn't infuriate me, just makes me more determined to do it.
Was told i'd never walk again, and i'd never have kids (Ok I believed that bit), was told (as a woman) i'd never succeed in my former career, was told (by my ex) You'll never cope on your own, was told 5 years ago my son would never walk/talk, lead a normal life again...
Sorry But you were all wrong... NEVER say never to me!

 

[Arch]

I've been told most of my adult life "You can't do that" or "You'll never be able to...."
It doesn't infuriate me, just makes me more determined to do it.
Was told i'd never walk again, and i'd never have kids (Ok I believed that bit), was told (as a woman) i'd never succeed in my former career, was told (by my ex) You'll never cope on your own, was told 5 years ago my son would never walk/talk, lead a normal life again...
Sorry But you were all wrong... NEVER say never to me!

AH, you'll never turn up on my doorstep with a huge chocolate cake...

 

[vernon]

AH, you'll never turn up on my doorstep with a huge chocolate cake...

That's because she'll never turn up at my house with a huge chocolate cake first.

 

[funnymummy]

Next time i'm ooop norf

 

[XmisterIS]

Nothing infuriates me more than when the men in white coats turn up at Macdonalds, with the police, and calmly and gently tell me to put the knife down and put my clothes back on.

 

[asterix]

Nothing infuriates me more than when the men in white coats turn up at Macdonalds, with the police, and calmly and gently tell me to put the knife down and put my clothes back on.

Totally. Anything you say..

 

[swee'pea99]

If you do plumbing you'll soon realise that for the simple stuff you don't need a big brain; you just need common sense. Of course I would never attempt to replace a boiler or anything complex but stuff like copper pipes, wastes, traps, valves etc. are designed to be easy to use.

A friend once told me that plumbers get the rates they do as a hangover from the old days, when it was all cut & solder and weld and you had to use special tools and learn how to use them and be able to judge the temperatures so's to get the metals to bond and not melt in the wrong places and so on and so forth. 'Now it's all plastic, with pre-formed joints and sections that screw together with big easy nuts. Meccano's more difficult.'

 

[asterix]

You want to try plumbing in France.. The biggie is figuring out what you want then finding a store that has it. Usually they have all the simple stuff but then you find everyone has run out of the more arcane items. No-one round here has had decent plastic 20mm gate valves for months. I don't think they will ever again.

The really easy bit is sticking it all together so long as you really did get the right components and not something that looks exactly like it but isn't..

 

[fossyant]

I'll generally give most things a go. Don't tend to touch plumbing as we've a relatively new house and needs now't doing. Electrics, I've added additional lights to the circuit and added in additional alarm sensors (before the new regulations).

I've replaced the screen on my wife's phone - bit fiddly, but got it sorted.

I service and maintain our cars - some jobs I'll let the local garage do - erm the only one has been rear pads on my car as they are a right 'bar steward' to wind the pistons in (fronts are a doddle).

Even pulled my wife's dash to bits to diagnose a problem with the radio reception - got a replacement unit for £22.50 off ebay - an audio repair place wanted £150 just to repair it - god knows what the stealership would have wanted.

Logical approach is all that's needed.

That said, my sister and BIL are useless - they get my dad round to do the decorating and practical stuff, or professionals in - really haven't a clue.

 

[Melonfish]

wow, now i feel like some sort of plastering god lol!
must admit tho it is quite fun, perhaps i missed my calling?

i do like to polish the wall as it just looks better, plus once you get a matt white undercoat on you can then paint or paper without probs.

 

[monkeypony]

...than being told "You can't do that!"

Just nipped out to get some rubber heels to re-heel my shoes. Ended up trogging from place to place (wearing the heels out even more) asking and being directed each time to another shop. Ended up in a local market hall where a very rude man refused to sell me a pair and offered to re-heel my shoes for £7 then sneered when I said I'd like to try doing them myself. That infuriated me so much that I shot off to the local town where a stall in that market offered to do them for £9. Then Timpson's who sell soles but not heels (why?) and charge £14. I smell a cartel here, even Wilkinson's, roughly the same shop as Woolies should have been, stopped selling them some months ago. Why should I pay someone to do such a simple repair? Back to the office where I found two websites selling all my shoe repair requirements.

It was the same with the battery on my iPod - I refused to pay someone else £33.00 to do it and I got the damned awkward thing open and soldered in a new battery for £7.00.

It's the same with all kinds of other simple repairs and jobs around the house - I hate it when somebody sucks their teeth and says "Difficult job that - best call a professional". I got this reaction from plumbers when I fitted my solar panel; they rolled their eyes and muttered about Legionella. No wonder really, when they charge £5000 for something that cost me £500.

Surely £7 is a small price to pay for not having to waste your own time doing a rather dull job. You could then spend the time saved by doing something fun. Not to mention the time you then wasted trudging from shop to shop.

Life is too short.

 

[swee'pea99]

Surely £7 is a small price to pay for not having to waste your own time doing a rather dull job. You could then spend the time saved by doing something fun. Not to mention the time you then wasted trudging from shop to shop.

Life is too short.

I tend to agree, but...
When I recently had my shoes soled 'n heeled, I got charged £27. I mean, they did a nice job, but...

 

[Globalti]

I would agree normally; you have to put a value on your time. But in this case I wanted to try my own shoe repairs and I don't think it will take more than a few minutes.