DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

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DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby greenwoo » Mon Sep 30, 2019 8:38 am

A few weeks ago I had a guy round to do some works to one of the garages - that one has been used over the years for tools and anything non car related. In the process he had to remove some old freestanding shelving which was there when we moved in 20 years ago....

Big old timber construction....which lasted 45 seconds under the onslaught of his chainsaw.
Those old shelves were way too deep and whilst there was a frame, what acted as the shelf bits were random bits of wood.

I figured that i could reduce the depth on some new ones by 30% and create plenty of extra space for storage - which would allow me to park the Tiger in that garage, freeing up another for the poor old saab convertible which normally sits out in all weathers.

Now it just happens that i have another garage full of reclaimed 4x2 of varying lengths, but mostly under 1.8m. How hard can it be I mused, i mean, i have the timber, i have a drill and a saw.....and a cordless drill/driver. Hell, i can put some battens on the wall, cut some legs, tie them together, and bobs your uncle.

Well turns out that fanny isn't even my aunt.
I've talked to umpteen folks who smile as they talk about doing jobs at home, yep they actually smile and from that I deduced that it must be a good thing. Now? Now i think those smiles that they give are a/ rueful b/ set to entice some other normal person to join their club ( and to therefore experience the pain that DIY'ers must endure).

Under strict instructions from Mrs: '' wear your safety glasses and no noise before 9.30 as its sunday'', i mapped out my idea ( in my head, i mean why waste paper on something as simple as some garage shelving).

4 bays, linked together as one, 3 shelves high, enough space underneath for a dustbin. Easy peasey....except.....
Scrambling around i found 2x 8mm drill bits for masonry, and then couldn't find any drills
Obviously i wasnt on Mrs's wavelength as naturally she'd put them in the study rather than having me take them down to the garage with the other tools.
Similarly i couldnt find the long level, that was at the other end of the house in a utility room.
oh and the extension lead, nope that wasnt in the garage either, but in the larder.
1 hour in and all i had done was search tools.

1.5 hrs in and i couldnt release the chuck on the better of the 2 drills.....bugger. No matter, will crack on with the other one.
The first vertical batten went up like a dream, the others less so - more of a nightmare...

The drill bit burnt was a tad blunt, so wasted 45 mins going to Wickes to buy some more, hell, i bought 4. All that did was to waste another 15 mins when I got back as each burned out within minutes, with 1 more batten finished...well kind of, because the cordless drill/driver ran out of juice and needless to say Mrs has hidden the charger 'somewhere'.

Only 1 thing for it. New tools. SDS dtill, impact driver and new circular saw as couldn't find the old one.....yep by now it would have been cheaper to pay someone to build the frigging things!

I'll grant you that there was a small smirk of satisfaction as the new drill opened up holes in the concrete blocks. But that faded fast....when i realised i had no more fixings. Another run to Wickes.
With the frame up I measured, checked, measured again for some osb for the actual shelves. Figured that with careful cuts etc that 2 boards would do 2 shelves and half of the top, leaving me to cut an old bit of py for the remainder.

Oh if it were that simple. The boards would need notches cut out to let them sit around the uprights. Doddle with a jigsaw? Would have been with a fresh blade, which i didnt have. Nevertheless got the first one done, and realised as i went to slot it in......that it wouldnt go because of the framework above. So each 8ft length had to be cut in half and notched. I'd reckoned an hour - before that issue became apparent.....turned into 4 hrs.

Saturday i finished them. 4.5 metres of shelves, 3 high.....and realised that there still wasnt enough space to hold the various cans of paint, creosote, weedkiller etc....
so had to knock up 1 more across the back of the unit.

Course when i tidied up the crud that had been moved i found the lost circular saw, more fixings, more jigsaw blades....well you get the picture.

my 'free' shelves now stand me £250 or so....and have lost 2x 1/2 saturdays and a full saturday....Nope, i don't 'get' DIY, but for sure when I see another reluctant newbie, i'm going to give a little smile, and encourage them to have a go. Its the least i can do to spread the pain!

Oh, yep, it does mean that the Tiger and the lawnmower can coexist and chat in that one unit. But the downside? Means i have Tigers old unit to clean out and tidy before the Saab goes away for winter. GREAT, more frigging DIY......

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graham b
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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby graham b » Mon Sep 30, 2019 8:45 am

I shouldn't laugh but..
:lol: :D :D
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Tony C
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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby Tony C » Mon Sep 30, 2019 10:35 am

Best to stay WELL clear of DIY :lol: :lol:
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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby greenwoo » Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:21 am

Best to stay WELL clear of DIY


too right Tony, am thinking of waiting til 'bob a job' week and getting some Scouts up here, handing out a few power tools ( well those that I can find ) and having them crack on with DIY/Chores......i mean, what could possibly go wrong!

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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby locost220 » Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:37 am

I guess you either love it or hate it and obviously planning and checking you have the bits and going round with a tape helps.
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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby Rexholme » Mon Sep 30, 2019 1:54 pm

It never happened unless there’s photo evidence....

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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby Wingco » Mon Sep 30, 2019 5:46 pm

Mark, that bit of paper you saved by not using it ? well that's for planing ahead so you know you have all the tools to hand.
Look at this way Mark you succeeded in putting up your shelves plus one other, congratulations a job well done.
Also when you have finished you know you deserve that beer.
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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby DJ. » Mon Sep 30, 2019 5:51 pm

Once you've had a few weeks to enjoy your shelves, the painful memory will ease, you'll see those new tools and feel up for another challenge 8-)

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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby b33fy » Mon Sep 30, 2019 6:35 pm

Self build next weekend?..
Power.. small nail, fast hammer, Torque.. small nail, big hammer.. I got a big hammer :P

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Re: DIY - nope, i just don't get it.

Postby greenwoo » Tue Oct 01, 2019 7:00 am

'self build next weekend'


Ha ha....funnily enough, NO.

@ Rich, oh believe me mate, i measured more than 2x each cut - with my engineering background that was drummed in to me as an apprentice.

And....whilst I had no intention of sticking up more shelves. Just realized that the next garage/unit to be tidied has all the kit car gear in it, none of which is on shelving....Bugger, going to have to put atleast 1 more up! ( lessons learned - we'll see).


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