Today we’re thinking about DIY. It’s something you either love or hate and more often than not it can be an argument maker and a key area of dispute between couples. We’ve all been there, whether it’s witnessing your parents arguing about how to fit a toilet seat, or whether you’re the one arguing with your partner about the best way to paint a wall…it’s a common occurrence and one we can all relate to.

New Flat

Having moved into a new flat I didn’t expect to be doing any DIY – for a start it’s rented and I didn’t think the landlord would be happy with me making changes to her beautiful property. And, don’t get me wrong, it is a very beautiful property and I wouldn’t change a thing, however, upon moving in, the first thing I noticed was that the bedroom and bathroom doors didn’t actually close. Now that to me is a bit of problem, especially if someone requires privacy in the bathroom!

What to do?

So, I thought I better contact the landlord in order to inform them and to seek advice and guidance about steps to take as I didn’t want to set about breaching any contract I had just signed, or any landlord insurance policy the landlord had taken out, by hacking away at the doors to make them fit.

The landlord, however, was rather relaxed about the whole thing and advised me to have a go at fixing them myself, providing I knew what I was doing. I settled any doubts they had by telling them I have an A-Level in Design & Technology (without sounding too Del-Boy and Rodney-esque) and that I would be able to sort the doors out without a problem. The landlord was so relaxed about it because they intended to get some new doors in the property at some point in the near future anyway.

Having a go

So I went out, bought the right tools, and got to work. It was NOT as simple as I first thought it might be. Basically I wanted to plane the sides of the doors whilst they were still attached to the hinges. Whilst it was indeed do-able, it was a bit of a hassle and I would advise anyone else to take the doors off the hinges first.

That’s not rocket science but I thought, why bother taking them off the hinges when it would only be a thirty second job? Well, it wasn’t a thirty second job as I soon found out. It took a while and after I had planed the doors I decided to smooth them down with sandpaper. It was easy enough, but it still didn’t stop an argument between me and my girlfriend. She was of course, as usual, correct when she advised me to take the doors off the hinges, but I just didn’t listen did I?!

This is a bit of mild example of a DIY tiff but an example nonetheless, and I’m sure over coming years there will be many more arguments as a result of a bit of pesky DIY.

Do you have any amusing examples of DIY you’ve carried out?