I'm not a fan of DIY
Electrics, car repairs and gardening are no problem, but anything involving water or wood, and a plumber or joiner does the job.

Possibly I have learned this because my grandad used to try to do everything himself, and ended up making an arse of it. He was also reluctant to spend money (even though he had it), if he could bodge something for free.

He was a great advocate of the six inch nail. My gran once asked him to put up some hooks in the kitchen so she could hang her towels on them. Shortly afterwards, the end of the kitchen table was sporting a number of large nails...

They owned a property comprising three flats - they stayed in the upper level and rented out the two on the ground floor. One night, the bloke in one of the downstairs flats came in from the pub and put on a pan of chips to fry...... the fire brigade saved the day, but the flat was gutted.

The electrics were all replaced after the fire. My grandad kept the old cable, charred insulation and everything, and used it to wire up some lights in his shed. Amazingly it worked, despite the lack of cable insulation in parts, and no one was killed.

He also used to collect doors. Every time someone he knew was fitting a new door, he'd go and collect the old one (often after phoning me to come and help with it). The idea was that my gran wanted a door on their close, but he was too tight fisted to buy one and get a joiner to fit it.

He died aged 92 without ever completing this job, with a shed containing 8 doors of varying size, none of which matched the close entrance.

We had a great bonfire though.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Fri 4 Apr 2008, 9:29, 4 replies)

That's a nice story :)
Laughs and smiles all round.
( TY&GN, Fri 4 Apr 2008, 9:35, closed)

The doors
remind me of my mate from Hicksville, Co. Cavan whose mother wanted a conservatory. He and his brothers built her one - from mismatched windows they found at the dump. I wish I'd seen photos.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Fri 4 Apr 2008, 9:57, closed)

Er, perhaps I have misunderstood...
But he died, and you had a bonfire?

Are you a Hindu? ;-)
(Reverend Fister "a disciplined fuckwit", Fri 4 Apr 2008, 14:21, closed)

^
But there was some amount of combustible shite (doors included) in his shed!
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Fri 4 Apr 2008, 17:12, closed)