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May 22, 2004
The Tyranny of D-I-Y.
Most of us Do It Yourself because the job is too small or too expensive to get an artisan in to do it for us. The problem, of course, is that as we are not artisans (and most DIYers aren’t!), we rarely have the skill or the know how to do it a) efficiently, or b) within a reasonable timescale. Speaking for myself, I find that any DIY project I tackle invariably turns out to take around four times as long as I allowed for it, and usually has to have at least one bit of “corrective reinstallation”.
Perhaps I should stick to the day job. I am good at putting out fires, cutting open cars, and telling people how to avoid the fire, but not good at fixing or repairing things, unless it is equipment directly related to putting out fires or cutting open cars, etc.
Today’s “little” task is a good example. How difficult is it to put up a Venetian blind? Well, it seems the manufacturers build these things with some pretty small clearances on the controlling bits. So if you put the brackets where they are in contact with these bits….. .
OK, so I should have measured more carefully; I thought I had. I thought I had followed the instructions to the letter. The brackets still wound up in contact. Solution? Move the brackets about half an inch (Alright! Alright! 12.25 mm! – There, I do know my metric!) It still doubles the time I allowed for this job. At least I now have a working blind in the kitchen window – important, since it faces West and gets pretty hot in the late afternoon.
Painting the tiles (I will replace them later, but can’t stand the green tile paint the previous owner used any longer and haven’t time to undertake a major tiling job just now!) will now have to wait until another night.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh !!
Posted by The Gray Monk at May 22, 2004 08:05 PM
Comments
Ah, good 'ol DIY. Been there. Yup. messed up many a DIY. Then asked a friend to hang some doors on a bookcase (simple, eh?) and that ended up to be a grave error on my part. I stereotyped him, thinking that all men are handy and know how to attach doors to bookcases and hang shelves. Nah uh. Would have been better if I did it myself.
In the meantime, what TILES are you PAINTING? Where are these tiles? What room? What paint are you using? [/me didn't know you can paint over tiles.]
Posted by: Cindy at May 22, 2004 09:06 PM
I used to work at a home improvement store, so my wife expects me to be an expert on everything. I'm not.
Did you know that installing a room air conditioner is a carpentry project? It is when I do it.
Posted by: Warren at May 23, 2004 02:06 AM