Catching Confidence: A DIY Journey

6 days ago
5 min read

Have you ever wondered how to get from uncertainty in completing a DIY task to really knowing what you're doing? Then you're in the right place.

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I've been thinking about this a lot this past 18 months. I've struggled to get trades people in to do the work, there's been shortages of stock and horrors of past poor workmanship all impacting and halting on the new work.

Living with daily dust, your stuff in boxes, no end in sight - I'll be honest it nearly broke me. My fed-up to the point of despair which went on for many months, some are still not resolved, well, this motivated my to make changes. Now I'm no newbie to DIY or running projects but the uncertainty and issues caused by national and global circumstances has shaken everyone trades included. I have to say looking back had I not had this experience then I would never have done what came next.

I'm sat outside my cabin waiting for trades, knowing the budget had gone to hell in a handcart, crying when I had my, as MJ Demarco describes in his books, Millionaires Fast Lane & Unscripted, as "F**K THIS SH*T" moment. Instead of crying and doing my woe is me act, I started to think about how I make changes.

First to understand the problem, it was complex but the big issue was I didn't understand a good portion of the work and I was unable to do it myself. Now I'm a big believer in going to the fountain of knowledge and whilst we have YouTube where you can learn practically anything, they can't reach through the internet, put a tool in my hand and say this is how you do it, which is what I really needed.

So I hit the phones and hit the jackpot. My local college was running FREE yes FREE courses in pretty much everything I needed to know - 6 weeks two 3 hour sessions per week of practical, hands-on stuff with a qualification at the end. SOLD :) :) :)

I was nervous, I'm female and trades are still predominately male so I expected some "don't worry your pretty little head about that sweetheart" moments - there were none, by the way. I worried that I wouldn't be able to do it, I worried about traveling over the winter months. Lets cut this short and just say I WORRIED.

Happily the reality was very different that the obstacles my brain put up and sure it wasn't plain sailing, but then nothing worth doing ever is. Yes there was snow which prevented me getting in one session, and at first I did struggle with my hands. None of these things matter, you see I met some brilliant people, I fell in love with carpentry, I'm gutted that my plumbing was cancelled, I'm excited for brick laying and am seriously considering doing kitchen fitting next year.

Do I want to fit another kitchen? - Not right now but I know the skills I'll learn on the course will help me do pretty much anything I want to DIY wise. Sure I'm not going to be a contestant on Handmade any time soon, for clarity that's Channel 4 Britain's best woodworker competition not The Handmaid's Tale, about life in dystopian Gilead.

What I can do is finish the skirting board in the bedroom which has needed doing long before I moved here 9 years ago. I've made my own picture frames. I can finish my cabin ceiling which will save me about 500 quid. I'm offering, yes, offering to help friends and family with their stuff and I know what I'm talking about and what I'm doing. 6 weeks folks, 6 weeks was all it took to change a lifelong fearful DIYier to competent newbie woodworker.

I'm not being silly here I know I have much to learn before I could put a new roof on and be signed off for the work, and I don't want that anyway. That said, I am now able to watch the YouTube videos sort out the fountain of knowledge ones from the empty birdbath full of moss ones, put the saw in my own hand, and get on with the job at hand.

Now please bear in mind I'm lucky, Dave my woodwork tutor said throughout that we'd learn transferable skills, and we have, but what neither of us knew was I already had quite a lot. I can read a drawing, I can produce a drawing, I can cut straight, and I understand how things go together. What Dave my woodworking Guru bought to the party was the knowledge of how to use the tools, to cut and connect this wonderful new-to-me material called wood. Did I mention I'm hooked?

Now about those transferable skills. I'm just fitting some mdf wainscoting panels to my hall stairs and landing. This will hide the imperfect plaster and make decorating easier, whilst adding a beautiful feature. I was quoted £1000+ to decorate this area, this is far more practical and will look good for years to come. The cost of materials about £60. The other job I'm doing this month is adding coving to our kitchen ceiling this is another different material Duropolymer a dense polystyrene type product which requires accurate cutting of complex angles. Cost about £60 for materials cost to get someone in probably £250.

Now I mentioned at the start about catching confidence, I've told my story, and now we need to put some steps together for you patient lovely readers. Here goes:

What is it that's stopping you from being confident. Is it lack of knowledge? Is it lack of skill or experience? Is it a worry of if you do it wrong how much it could cost. Is it that you could hurt yourself or do something dangerous? Is it lack of time to apply yourself to get where you need to be?

Take a moment and consider these and any other questions which are holding you back. Then think about what is is that you are lacking I have always been able to plan, design, budget, manage time, buy well, paint and wallpaper so i left those alone and started with woodwork with bricklaying, plastering, tiling and plumbing to follow. You're journey will be completely different depending on the skills you have and where you want to get to. Once you have the answer to these two questions take a look at what's available in your area support wise and go for it!

I suspect that my family thought I was mad doing this but as this is not my first foray into doing the unexpected, they grunted and nodded their approval and I did it anyway. My daughter managed to get her own dinner my relationship survived not having Tuesday and Thursday evenings together and my mum thinks it's been really good for me. The only one who regrets it is the dog - he always misses me.

I'm not going to answer the question of did I catch confidence - I'll let you be the judge, and if you're on this site I'll encourage you to find yours!

A few things I now feel confident and competent I can do...