FFS, I decided to make a list of “things to do”, and align with an apparent lethargy in the trade, its really got me down:

a) New bathroom needed

b) Mancave needs new glass and door before it all falls outs (when will Mr Fix it ever come back with a price?)

c) Overgrown 20ft spiky tree/bush needs a heavy trim, Arbs aren’t interested because its either not a tree, too spiky or both

d) Lawn needs reseeding

e) Theres a big crack in the newish kitchen plaster, why did we decide to use a shade of off-white that I can’t remember?

f) New sofa needed soon

g) longer term mancave project to turn it to an office/extension, go-to builder busy for 2 years.

h) Minor leak in the roof needs fixing

sigh….

Any multi talented people here need 6 months work?  I have Reg Prescott levels of ability

/moan.

Watch some of Reg on you tube, that’ll cheer you up!

C D E F H are probably 2 days work? Its like revision its ok once you start.

Sounds like a normal house. MrsF on furlough, I’m working from home, and have had an endless list of jobs. This weekend, putting decking down for her best mate ! Two day job, plus re-laying slate slabs easily.

I have a roof with multiple leaks and have been quoted basically all the money to fix it. It will be leaking for quite some time. Part of the bathroom ceiling collapsed last week because of a new leak.

Lawn looks like a battlefield because kids. That’ll be staying like it is too.

Considering renting out our bathroom to be used as a set for one of those gorenography / torture porn horror flicks. Would need a quick clean or it will just look unrealistic.

Lots of cracked plaster from the uninsured drunk driver putting a hole in the house back in March. Finally getting sorted now, but can’t claim the excess back.

Op you haven’t said where you are. From the tone of your post you seem to have missed some of the very good trades people out there and stumbled on the poor quality ones ( of which there are many). As with most things we spend our money on there is good and bad and we have to choose what suites us.

I had 3 months on furlough.

Turns out I wasn’t finishing the bathroom tiling because I didn’t have the time.

Op you haven’t said where you are. From the tone of your post you seem to have missed some of the very good trades people out there and stumbled on the poor quality ones ( of which there are many). As with most things we spend our money on there is good and bad and we have to choose what suites us.

Near J25 of the M25.   To be honest the windows / door guy did our garage and is very good.  He came to measure up 4 days ago, and I’m wondering how long I wait until I phone back and ask when he’s going to quote, I want the done before winter.

The Arbs were recommended to us, very polite, asked for my address by text and said they’d come back with a time to visit and quote.  No answer to a follow up call, feels like no one is interested TBH.

The bathroom – well one of the walls is a plasterboard wall with tiles floor to ceiling, feels a bit like Kitchen levels of effort and we had new carpet up stairs and hall last year, which now feels like a prioritisation error.  Needs a new window too.

And I forgot, the bespoke double glazed back door is on its way out, and we’ve cracks in the outside rendering which need fixing.

Maybe work isn’t helping, its looking closer to the fact I won’t make my targets so less money, a shouty end of year, work over Christmas, Mrs K is redundant of course.

Woe is me! (I know, it could be much worse I should count myself lucky).

You should come round our place, it’d cheer you right up 😂

Had six weeks off over the summer, then two weeks off to use up leave before starting a new job.

Have completed hardly any of the jobs on the list apart from “buy a car”. I’m happier with this outcome than MrsMC.

And I forgot, the bespoke double glazed back door is on its way out, and we’ve cracks in the outside rendering which need fixing.

If its just the glass thats frank sidebottom levels of diy.

Pop the inside trim off measure the glass pop it back in while you wait for the new glass you ordered to arrive.

For it to be ‘DIY Depression’, I believe you have to be doing it yourself, so it seems like you’re OK.

Out of that lot I’d suggest sorting the roof as a priority. Everything else is mostly cosmetic, a roof like a teabag even short-term will give you grief for years.

You should come round our place, it’d cheer you right up 😂

This. Only, my place, I don’t know what yours looks like.

I might start a “who lives in the biggest shit-tip” thread after I’ve moved.

Our house looks like its already been burgled / ransacked so one less thing to worry about

I thought my diy skillz were quite good, but making a new sofa? no thanks….

Out of that lot I’d suggest sorting the roof as a priority. Everything else is mostly cosmetic, a roof like a teabag even short-term will give you grief for years.

It’s a small leak, that only happens in torrential rain at the V of our roofs.  We think the water backs up the lead channel as the gutter can’t get rid of it quick enough and seeps through the tiles as it “sits”.   We had a roofer look at it, who replaced a chipped tile with a new on which reduced it from a pour to a trickle, but he couldn’t see anything else.

But yes, especially as it’s right above said bathroom…

I reckon C and D are quite easy, will be a bit fiddly but once started will be quite straightforward. I’d give those a bash no bother. Rest of the stuff, I reckon I could do but it’d be messy and probably not right as my knowledge and skills for DIY are somewhat low.

Happy to give it a bash, but don’t really have the know how to do the job right first time.

C and D, I think I’d probably find slightly theraputic and could be done in stages.

C probably just needs a start to trim the stuff you can reach and get it narrow enough to allow you to get a ladder against it for the higher stuff…probably 15 minute stints during a lunch hour and it will be sorted in a week.

It’s a small leak, that only happens in torrential rain at the V of our roofs. We think the water backs up the lead channel as the gutter can’t get rid of it quick enough and seeps through the tiles as it “sits”. We had a roofer look at it, who replaced a chipped tile with a new on which reduced it from a pour to a trickle, but he couldn’t see anything else.

Will probably be the lead flashing thats cracked, ours did the same, quite a big job to replace the lead flashing in the valley between the roofs.

I have a similarly long list of jobs that need doing – if it makes you feel any better:-

1. Leaky roof – probably due to cracked lead flashing in a valley – different valley to the one we had fixed a few years ago.

2. Various double glazing units have failed and are misty

3. None of the inside doors in our house actually work – ie they dont actually close

4. lots of cracked plaster needs fixing

5. Hygroscopic salts on the inside walls of the chimney flues from 100 years of burning fires attracts moisture leaving large stains – need to hack the plaster off and dry line. Got 3 chimney flues like this.

6. various loose floorboards need sorting out

7. New carpet needed in a couple of rooms

None of it will get done – there’s always something more interesting to spend money/time on.

I was made redundant in March – so did get a few jobs done though:-

1. Got rid of enormous spiky bush/hedge
2.knocked down really dodgy/rotting lean to on side of house
3.Serviced caterham 7
4. Serviced full sus MTB
5. bought new EMTB
6. fitted rack in garage for new EMTB
7. Build new shed

Been back at work a couple of months now, so no chance of any more work getting done on the house

For C can’t you hire one of those long-reach strimmers? That and a ladder and a helper to hold said ladder should get you done in an afternoon.

Can I have your list Kryton – that’s a weekends work compared to the list the wife and I came up with during lock-down! 🙂

For C can’t you hire one of those long-reach strimmers? That and a ladder and a helper to hold said ladder should get you done in an afternoon.

Unfortunately some of the branches are 2-3 inches in diameter, it needs a proper saw thingy.   I think the fact its likely an hours work with the proper tools compound the issue – e.g. they don’t want to travel just for an hour.

I’ve a day off tomorrow to go with Jnr on his first walk to secondary, so I’ll cut/weed the grass in prep for sowing with that special weed removing grass seed on Saturday before it rains on Sunday….   that one off the list!

Some of the other stories are making me feel better though! 😀

It does all add up and can get you down. I tend to make a list and tackle one job at a time, seeing the jobs slowly ticked off gives you motivation to get on with others and it shows progress so helps the mental side of things.

For things like the sofa – unless it needs replacing right now, try not to worry about it. It will get onto the list when it needs it. If you cant do that (some brains don’t work like that) then just get it replaced now. That can be one of those easier jobs that can be ticked off.

Just imagine how you’d feel if you couldn’t afford tradespeople and you had figure out how to do all that stuff yourself.

DIY depression?….. Hold my beer

I’m a highly trained construction professional with an extensive network of tradesmen and sub contractors and ninja-level DIY skills.

You’d imagine that, as a result, my house would be in pristine, tip-top, showroom condition.

You’d be wrong.

I live in a Victorian house that is in a constant state of managed decay. I reckon I currently need about £50k of pretty urgent repairs, and another £50k of non-urgent stuff.

I spend my entire working life stressing about the maintenance of other peoples properties and I can’t be arsed with my own when I get home. I also refuse to have any of my sub contractors work in my home as i don’t personally want to owe them any favours.

The house is a bloody millstone round my neck most of the time but I love it anyway.

Unfortunately you just have to get on and do these things.

I hate, no, I detest DIY.

I detest it because over the years I’ve been in the same situation as you and cracked on and done as well as I could. As molgrips says; if you can’t afford to get the pros in, you end up having to get on with it.

Go and buy a bow saw, and get started on the tree.

https://www.toolstation.com/bulldog-bowsaw-with-2-blades/p82618?store=GC&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvfD19JTZ6wIVdSB7Ch0AIgLUEAkYASABEgKDGfD_BwE

Whilst it may not have solved your DIY depression, this thread has helped with mine seeing so many others in the same boat!
My list
– Need the lead flashing doing on my chimneys as the previous owner bodged a seal with silicone. Only leaks in torrential rain so got the roofer i know coming round before winter
– End wall needs repointing and the area above the kitchen window needs doing too.
– 2x Extra air-bricks needed on kitchen wall and a couple of bricks need replacing. Need to repaint the brickwork after
– New consumer unit
– UPVC door needs a new central panel as the previous owner cut a cat flap in. Judging by the cut line they had one eye and a tremor
– One double glazed panel in the sitting room has failed so that needs replacing too
– All the upstairs windows need resealing as whoever did it first time, didn’t
The general trend is that at least one of the previous owners of this house were chumps and have bodged a ridiculous amount of things that weren’t actually that hard to fix! (Expanding foam in the bathroom vent!!!)

This is all before i get to the redecorating and new bathroom. Next job on that is learning to hang lining paper

Unlike perchy i’m not afraid to owe a favour so I’ve got mates in the trades coming round to do a good amount of this and will call in more from work if i need it.

Ticking things off a list is a huge motivator to get the more complex things done.

If you are struggling with time / skills it might be worth looking around for a good odd job person / jack of all trades (usually retired firemen). I have a bloke who is not a professional trades but very, very good diyer who comes round to do stuff for me. He is much easier to get hold of than actual tradesmen, is much cheaper (£15 p/h plus materials) and just gets on with it. He does stuff quicker and better than I could do it. I’d rather pay him for 3 hours to do a great job than me sweat it for 6 hours to do a rubbish job.

On your list he would do C, D, E. He would also have a look at H and perhaps even A.

Plenty of these types of handymen around, a good one could save you a whole lot of stress.

Before lockdown I moved, knocked down internal wall took everything back to bare brick,fitted new kitchen, wood burner, landscaped garden. In lockdown I repointed the house, rebuilt front wall of garage, Im ripping bathroom out and putting a new one in after next weeks holiday but cannot be arsed fitting about 3m of new skirting board that’s looks at me at breakfast everyday. Go figure.

I bought a tin of red paint on 28th September 1997 to paint my back door.

It’s still green.

Where do people buy Sofas these days?

I’ve looked in DFS in one of their “sales” they all just look horrible and cheap.

Mrs like Sofology, but they’re all MASSIVE, very expensive and seem have been styled to fit in a Gypsy lottery winners caravan.

We had a long list of problems with our caravan as well this year. All minor, but when you are going for a ‘break’ it’s not what you needed.

Working on van for the two weeks before lockdown, then came back to loo leaks and breakages, completely over grown garden etc etc. Was getting sick of going and having nothing but jobs. Touch wood, since August, all has been OK.

Re the bush/tree, take £50 down to B&Q and get the Fiskars lopper. It has a saw attachment that will sort out your 3″ branches no bother. It’s operated via a cable from the bottom end.

I bought a tin of red paint on 28th September 1997 to paint my back door.

It’s still green.

Like 10% of the male population, I am red green colourblind. If I was to see it, your back door would like perfectly fine.

Where do people buy Sofas these days?

Wayfair. You can’t sit on them first but plenty of choice, good value and decent delivery service.

Where do people buy Sofas these days?

I got mine from Furniture Village, bit pricier than DFS but had a better range (for my taste anyway)

Have a look for a s/h sofa before you buy new. Lots of people sell perfectly fine ones for naff all money. Facebook marketplace, gumtree or ebay. Both mine are s/h and i’ve only spent £150 in total including shipping one from london to yorkshire

Where do people buy Sofas these days?

IKEA, avoid the cheapest models and the rest are pretty decent and last well. We replaced our previous sofa after 15 years of heavy use.

And just get an extendable pruning saw for those tall branches. Take a bit of care that it doesn’t fall on you on the way down, of course 🙂

2nd the facebook marketplace for Sofa, we got a pair of brown leather sofa’s for free, just had to pay man+van £45 to collect and deliver to us. They are in great condition and the owner was just getting rid as they had re decorated so needed a different colour. Loads better quality than our DFS one which fell to bits and probably saved >£1.5k

Apart from B, H, and possibly E (depending on your definition of big) you don’t really have any problems they are wants, or it would be nice ifs.

Prioritise the bits that are going to let water in or fall down. Six or twelve months extra thinking time over a big project may help you resolve exactly what you want/need so you’ll end up with a better job.

Having said that out neighbour got so infuriated with my lack of lawn care that he started cutting the bit which affects his house value himself a couple of years ago. I’ve also found that teenage kids love amateur arboriculture (particular when there is the added excitement of the possibility of taking out a neighbours greenhouse) – The handheld chain saw with each end tied to a climbing rope while using the middle of the rope to ensure the branch fell the right way was a work of genius

We got a four grand sofa and rotating chair for £150 a while back from Facebook Marketplace. I had to spend £40 on hiring a box trailer to get it from Bristol, but we were still way ahead. People don’t have the means to get rid of sofas (vans etc) so they sell them for cheap. We had to re-stuff the cushions recently, but that was a case of buying a roll of fluff, removing the wad of old stuffing, wrapping it once in the fluff and stapling it all back together. Good idea for any older sofa tbh.