DIY frustration

[Nigel Watts]

This afternoon was one of those day when nothing seemed to go right.

I mixed a batch of wallpaper paste to get some lining paper up but the Tetrion filler I applied earlier to reinforce a failed screw hole for a wall light fitting hole hand't set so I couldn't get the paper up. Another piece of filler all cracked and came loose. Then I cut the 7 foot plus length of staff bead needed for my staircase window a quarter of an inch too short and dropped some filler on the carpet. I then discovered that an old bag I had left in my very damp wine cellar contained one of my late father's favourite set of tools, which had now had gone badly rusty. The oil I then applied to get them working again spilled on my trousers and one of my best shirts, which I shouldn't have been wearing.

GRRRR!

 

[DJH]

Been there Nigel, got the tee shirt as well! I predict this topic will go to many pages......

Molten lead makes a mess of leather shoes when dripped on them especially after being told to change those shoes or you'll damage them..... :roll: :roll:

Doug

 

[markm]

My sympathies Nigel

Sometimes I look at my clothes and they all seem to covered in paint or some other building material.

In another life I used to wear suits and nice shirts, now I wear the same shirts, but the collars are all worn through.

 

[worms]

Yes, why is light coloured trousers are magnets for engine oil, while dark trousers always attract lime or bleach?

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Never a good idea to leave an 'old bag' in the cellar--it will come back to haunt you!
Commiserations Nigel, !

 

[Penners]

the Tetrion filler I applied earlier to reinforce a failed screw hole for a wall light fitting hole hadn't set

I don't know whether you've tried it yet, Nigel, but I swear by Polyfilla One Fill. http://www.polycell.co.uk/products/polycell_one_fill_polyfilla.jsp

It's strange stuff - it's so light that when you pick up the tub you'll think it's empty! You can fill huge holes with it, without it slumping, and for little filling jobs such as screw heads it's usually dry in well under half an hour. Best of all, if you use a good clean filler knife, you can usually get a perfect, no-sanding-needed finish straight off. It's not cheap stuff, but I love it.

As for your other problems, I can offer no real solutions, except for the old adage, "measure twice, cut once". The clothing degradation is, I'm afraid, unavoidable. I have two wardrobes - one for my good clothes and one for my work clothes. The migration between the two is so rapid that the first is always half empty and the second is invariably bulging.

 

[plasticpigeon]

What a frustrating day. I hate to say it but most days I do DIY follow a similar pattern.

 

[88v8]

Oh dear.
Cutting things too short can result in some interesting extemporisation involving the insertion of blocks and bits of odd moulding, or scarfing and filling which takes multiples of the time it would have taken to do the job properly in the first place doh...
Even more annoying when it involves sheets of glass.

And it always intrigued me how I could walk the 30ft from the garage to the house, and the oil from the garage floor was still on the bottom of my shoe.

Ivor

 

[Nigel Watts]

I decided to lengthen my staff bead by splicing a piece on using a scarf joint, then recutting the mitre a quarter of an inch beyond my first attempt. It now fits perfectly, which is at least one benefit from having got it wrong first time. Before nailing it in place I will drill pilot holes to make sure it doesn't split.

 

[Lime]

My forte for getting things wrong is when cutting something at an angle I cut the opposite to what it should be so it is a mirror image.
Some days this can go on for hours, DOH!!!

 

[plasticpigeon]

I did just that with some stop bead on a sash window about 3 times in one day.

 

[Flyfisher]

My forte for getting things wrong is when cutting something at an angle I cut the opposite to what it should be so it is a mirror image.
Some days this can go on for hours, DOH!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol:
I'm sure we've all done that - I know I certainly have! The really, really annoying thing about it is when you're fully aware of the potential for mistakes and take extra special care to get it right, but still get it wrong. :twisted:

 

[Penners]

If I had a pound for every time I've done that....

 

[Lime]

My forte for getting things wrong is when cutting something at an angle I cut the opposite to what it should be so it is a mirror image.
Some days this can go on for hours, DOH!!!

Almost as common and often as an infuriating sequel to the above, cutting the correct angle with unrepeatable accuracy but on the wrong end of an asymmetric moulding.