DIY made necessary by...?

[Bill Wright]

How much of your DIY is done to improve something, and how much is done merely to counter the ravages of time?

Bill

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It's only those who don't DIY that would 'improve' a perfectly good kitchen etc before it needed it, through wear etc.

Because if you DIY properly, you end up with something exactly as you want it. Not what someone else thinks is best for you.

[alan_m]

I cheaply renovated my house around 30 years ago and have repaired decorated since then but its got to the stage that the ravages of time mean some major works are now due.

[Brian Gaff]

The other reason is crap work by so called tradesmen for megabucks. At least if you have the skill to do it you are far more likely to care what sort of a job you end up with.

There is of course the trendy DIY lot who see something on a house make over prog on telly and want to do that as well.

People get so bored with the status quo these days, no not the band, the decoration of a room that lasts for more than a year. No wonder most paint fades.

Brian

[John Rumm]

That does rather assume you have been in a place long enough though. You may buy a place with a perfectly good kitchen that does not at all suit your taste or needs, and hence you want to improve it.

[Robin]

I think your first paragraph needs a "properly" after "DIY" in order to fit with your second. Without it, I am a counterfactual to your thesis.

[Bill Wright]

But if you move house you might want to improve things. And as time goes on and technology improves there are lots of things you might want to do: replacing outdoor halogens with LEDS or flood wiring with CAT 6, for instance. Then again your requirements might change. If you forgot to put a johnnie on just the once before you had an erection you might be needing a different type of erection now.

Bill

[John Rumm]

I would guess at 75% improvement / new, 25% repair / maintain.

(Not quite sure where one sticks decorating on that spectrum, since the motivation is usually a mixture of both)

[Harry Bloomfield]

I often find I can finish a job, then later decide I can improve on what I originally did. Sometimes the ravages of time and wear need to be addressed, which I have been doing a lot of in the past year.

[Huge]

The vast majority is done because something irritates me. So I fix/change it.

[Jim GM4DHJ ...]

mine is only to save money on "getting a man in"...

[spuorgelgoog]

A lot of mine is done for pure amusement.

It doesn't replace something that's worn out, and often the result isn't an improvement on what went before.

But at least it's my bodge and I know where the choc-bloc connections wrapped in tesco bags are buried in the plaster.

Owain

[Steve Walker]

And your tastes or practical requirements can change over time.

SteveW

[Tim Watts]

I've had a variety of experiences...

My wiring is neater in hidden places than what I later paid for (I put in a new CU and most rings, paid for 50 odd lighting cables to be pulled and wired as I simply did not have time). I find the certification more tricky than the application of the regs to be honest.

I have a plumber lined up for my CH who's work I have seen and their soldering is better than mine, but my pipe runs are perfect, like theirs.

My wall tiling is impeccable, but I made some mistakes on a bathroom floor (too wide a joint and too light grout - this is OK but leads to a lot of scrubbing to keep it "OK"). I tend to sub out floor tiling now and that chap is like an artist - his work is perfect.

Builders are the ones I have the biggest problems with - they tend to bodge everything.

In the end, there's only so much you can do yourself - but if you've done a bit of everything, it can help:

1) You can set up a job so the pro can get the best result and not waste time on trivia - eg pre-PVA your walls for the plasterer, otherwise you are paying a good hourly rate for something a child could do;

2) You tend to be able to specify the job better - because you imagine you doing it, you don't try using bevelled metro tiles somewhere that has 10 electrical accessories then have to bodge all the faceplate-tile massive gaps with silicone :)

[Huge]

[7 lines snipped]

*grin* At least you wrap them in a Tesco bag.

[whisky-dave]

This is s a joke right.... most of the DIY I've seen and heard about is because the misses wants X or Y and it's done for a quieter life or sex.

[John Rumm]

Modern tesco bags (i.e. anything less than 20 years probably) are crap for this as they are of the biodegradeable type that fall apart after a few years!

You need a nice quality PVC bag for chock block insulating ;-)

[Huge]

Hardly going to biodegrade when they're buried in a wall, are they?

:o)

[whisky-dave]

a few years I'd say weeks, they also have holes in the bottom.

and for putting over heads :-)

[John Rumm]

Well they fall apart into so much plastic chaff when left in a dark cupboard for a few years...