What are your best DIY tips?
Got any useful tricks or great techniques? Doing up the house soon so need to be prepared!
May I add – useful tips! – to any professionals out there (or near pro).
I am a perfectly capable human being who just wants to learn a bit of DIY! Can’t anyone do a good job themselves around here?!
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June 5th, 2010 at 5:17 am
Pay a proffesional !!!!!
June 5th, 2010 at 5:26 am
Call a professional.
June 5th, 2010 at 6:04 am
never nail you’re hand to the door, or head
June 5th, 2010 at 6:23 am
Be prepared for a nightmare and a mess!
June 5th, 2010 at 6:57 am
That rome wasnt built in a day.
June 5th, 2010 at 7:26 am
Perhaps some good advice from the previous answerer..
But it can be very rewarding and a lot cheaper to do it all yourself. My tip is don’t go out to some store all bright eyed and enthusiastic and buy a ton of stuff that you don’t need. Do it one small job at a time and buy only what you need at the time. A big mistake is to buy expensive pots of paint and wallpaper and then by the time you get round to doing that room you hate the colour or you’ve not bought enough and now the colour is out of stock.
Good luck, be prepared for a long hard slog…
🙂
Also tile or carpet clearance sales are really great for a bargain but work out exactly how much you need and buy some extra tiles incase of breakage, you don’t want to only have enough for half the bathroom when the line’s been discontinued. Sorry if I’m sounding negative, just advice!
June 5th, 2010 at 7:45 am
Nothing is as easy as it looks, unless you got a lot of money to pay for the DIY school of trial and error. Its cheaper to hire someone that does that job all the time……
June 5th, 2010 at 8:12 am
be patient,
June 5th, 2010 at 8:48 am
take your misses down the pub and say in front of all your mates ” i haven’t got a clue how to do ….(whatever)” be assured that one of your mates will say “I’m brilliant at that* then watch him squirm as your misses then gets him to do it instead. works every time, after 10pm that is.
June 5th, 2010 at 9:34 am
there is no reason why you can’t do things for yourself my only tip is if you feel something is totally out of your depth then get a pro in. cheaper in the long run.
June 5th, 2010 at 10:20 am
3 LAWS
First LAW
anything can be fixed with a hammer
SECOND LAW
anything can be fixed with apoxie resin
THIRD LAW
if the first or second law doesnt work use both together at the same time
😛
June 5th, 2010 at 11:06 am
I don’t have a CLUE why some of these people answered they way that they did. IMO they were just rude!!
Getting back to your question…We have some very good points…we just remodeled our home and we did it ALL OURSELVES! Please keep in mind, I am a stay at home Mom and my husband is a Data Manager over at the Dept. of Information Systems…quite funny when you think about it.
We have totally gutted out our kitchen replacing the cabinets. Even put down granite floors…ONE tip, if you do this and they don’t stay down, put “Gorilla glue” under them! You have to “babysit” them for like 4 to 6 hours and keep weights on them while the glue cures but that is easy…if you need to get the glue in there, then use a hypodermic needle to do so with a 16 or 18 gauge needle on the end!
We changed the tank water heater with a new tank less water heater.
We are also converting the garage into living space and so we are framing lots…get a good framing hammer!
If you want to put a fence up, you could use metal poles in conjunction with wood planks…the reason for this is that the metal poles last LONGER and are even cheaper in the end!
The biggest help for my husband was using the web to find answers to questions that he had…he used a lot of forums and asked questions that way. If you get stumped then you can always ask questions at the hardware stores or even the lumberyard.
Another point is that many lumberyards will deliver for free if you put an order in with them. That makes it a LOT easier in the end!
June 5th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Don’t be scared to ask if in doubt.
Buy good hand tools.
Respect your tools.
Treat power tools as if they are a deadly weapon just waiting to backfire..
Protect your eyes.
Protect your lungs.
Get your wife to pitch in.
Find a reliable supplier and use them as much as possible to gain the best discounts.
June 5th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
1. safety first. Good ladders, eye protection, gloves, and dust masks available at all times.
2. attitude. You’re going to make a mistake or two. Think of each mistake as a college credit toward your DIY degree.
3. If you run into a problem you can’t figure out, step back for a while. Do something else. Give your brain time to calculate without your frustration getting in the way.
4. Always have one battery in the charger.
5. Learn when to ask for help.
June 5th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
You aren’t specific enough, like are you painting or putting on a roof. Do what I do, get your husband to do it.
June 5th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
realise this..if u have never done diy b 4 do not expect perfection… dont touch gas,electric,water those r taboo for the novice…take one room at a time…..clean up as u go along…..take up yoga for stress relaxation…dont saw wood while ur chattin to friends…..buy a big first aid kit….superglue really does stick skin together….never go for a pee after using superglue….lol the list goes on but have fun and dont try anything ur really not sure of itll drive u crazy!!!
June 5th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
for any jobs you have to do a good idea and something I have done is check lowes.com they have allot of DIY instructions and a meter that says if its easy medium or hard levels of difficulty as far as things that you might need to do… one of the first things I like to do when I move into a new house or apt… I look at all the plugs and any of the plugs or switches that are painted over or old and loose I change them up… standard plugs and switches cost maybe 1.19 each if I remember correctly and its worth the investement knowing that everything you have is new and in full working order… furthermore you get to see if the wiring in your house is old and might need updating… that I would leave for a professional… updating light fixtures and painting also fairly simple things to do that make a big impact… changing faucets in a sink just a matter of screwing and unscrewing pipes… I would just suggest anything that you need to do or would like to have done look it up get a how to book if your really stuck and dont be afraid to do it yourself…
I taught myself how to rewire my house… redo a kitchen, lay tile, and do simple plumbing… if I knew how to soder I would have been set LOL…
June 5th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
One very simple tip but important-
“Measure twice and cut once” !
In fact there are occassions I wished I’d measured three times!
June 5th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
I guess one flaw I see a lot of DIY people do is they buy things before they plan the project. I am a DIY’er but you must learn to make a bill of materials for each project. Figure the lumber, accessories, tools, etc.
This way you will know your total cost, you have a plan from plan land that you need to work and adhere to. It’s OK to make some changes on the fly, but if they are major, you need to figure the downstream effect.
My father in law is a perfect example of this. He is a great guy, but when he starts a project, he just goes and buys “stuff”. Some 2×4’s, some 2×6’s, some nails, etc. Most times he comes up short or way over what he anticipated, and then he calls me to help him, only to find out I might have done it differently or given him some different ideas.
Don’t be afraid to ask others who are experienced for advice. Many will give it to you free of charge, and may even come and show you how to do the basics. I am not an expert at any home improvement projects, many I had to learn the hard way, but I learned from my mistakes, and applied what I learned. I enjoy the satisfaction It was something I could do myself, and saved a lot of money in the process. Have fun, and good luck!
June 5th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
You already have some good suggestions. Talk about your upcoming projects with friends and neighbors. If you find someone with a DIY project going or planned, offer to help. You can learn a lot by doing, and watching. Even if your “help” consists mainly of holding or fetching, you could learn something and maybe encourage some assistance in return. I have learned a lot about “how to” from lending a hand, and also learned a bit about “how Not to.” Just pay attention; almost everyone has a skill.
June 5th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
send you wife and kids out for the day when you do difficult jobs