How do I ...

Jan 13, 2017 38 Replies

... stop my wife from "helping" with DIY?



By putting tools away in the wrong place By fetching the wrong tool By having to have jobs explained to her at such length it would have been easier to do it myself By getting in the way By thinking she's saving me the effort by doing jobs wrongly with the incorrect tool



And then getting all offended when I tell her to stop bloody "helping".


Bloody hell, you're hard to please.

You need to invest more time in training and have a better system for storing tools.

Treat her like an apprentice. Adam can give you tips.

Actually, whilst it may be a pain now, in the future, if you are not around, the knowledge she has of how to do simple DIY and the understanding of more complicated DIY will be of great help to her.

Offer to help her out by doing something she'd never let you do in a million years. Like trimming her hair. Or buy her some clothes. Then, when she complains, act all hurt, and say 'Okay, I'll never buy you another pair of shoes as long as you stay away from the DIY'. Blokes really do need to be better at this sort of stuff :-)

Already tried all of this. Didn't work.

Umm - divorces can be messy and expensive.

bit like "agreeing" not to buy each other presents, isn't it

tim

She's probably trying her best.

What's more important: a shelf that's straight or making her feel appreciated and part of a team?

That's what stops me from shouting at her (mostly). But I'd still like her to stop.

Consider yourself very lucky she has not yet helped you with the job of unblocking the sink (which she blocked in the first place) by taking control of the bucket of slops as you are underneath about to re-attach the U bend.

You know what comes next.

*grin* I'll stop complaining about her!

Put her in charge of decorating/Laying carpets. My wife excels at this.

Get her out in the garden.

Send her out shopping when you want to do it? Brian

She already is.

That too.

Another snippy exchange this evening when she stops watching her TV programme and comes to "help" me in the kitchen.

Another project that is hers such as a Summerhouse or similar outbuilding, from a kit of parts perhaps.

Or insist when she wants to get involved that while you are happy to risk chopping your fingers etc off that you don't want her to share the same fate and insist on full PPI must be worn Overalls, eye protection, steel toe capped boots ,gloves , ear plugs , hard hat when doing high cupboards. Tetanus injections brought up to date. By the time she has kitted up you may get a task done.

On a serious note, as a recent retiree you may be in a situation many professional couples find, you are probably spending a lot more time in the home together than you ever have done since you were young and has your move taken her away from just popping out distance from some of her friends.Unfortunately a lot of relationships fall apart at such a juncture as niggles build up to resentment. Getting that Dog you have always resisted getting and giving her the task of looking after it may be the lesser evil.

G.Harman

You should be happy that you have a wife who is willing to try to assist you.

Awww does yours not?

Yes. You do not even have a girlfriend Mr Hucker. Why do you not even have a girlfriend Mr Hucker? Why can't you get a girlfriend Mr Hucker? Don't say because you don't want one, that will not wash. Just tell us why.

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Naah. I've been working at home since 2009, so she's used to me being here.

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