What "man jobs" have you done today?

Nutty667 said:
Carried Christmas tree all the way through garden centre on my shoulder.
Basically this but bushier..
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CIA got you pushing pencils m8?
 
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Cut a piece of insulation to go over some joist at the bottom of the stairs, managed to put the sticky foam on the wrong side. Also using the heat gun to dry some water off the liquid bitumen I put down yesterday and the heat gun decided to give up on me.
 
Put up some wallpaper (my first time) in the spare bedroom. Did about half a wall and then gave up and tore it down because it looked like crap. This is harder than it looks in youtube videos :/ None of my old plaster walls are actually straight.
 
SheepBeast said:
Put up some wallpaper (my first time) in the spare bedroom. Did about half a wall and then gave up and tore it down because it looked like crap. This is harder than it looks in youtube videos :/ None of my old plaster walls are actually straight.
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Possibly too late, but I’ve found paste the wall paper is a million times easier to apply, and keeps mess to a minimum too… mark a level line in the centre of your main wall, then move out from that, using it to make sure the edge of your first strip is perfectly straight.

As long as your line is perfectly level, you’ll get on well from this point. Trickiest bit of papering can be corners and light switches and sockets. Corners are sometimes best done by either cutting into them, then starting on the next wall with another level line. Depends on how level your corners are, if they’re good enough you might be able to continue the paper around them.

For switches and sockets I’ve always taken them off the wall, after papering over them initially to get the correct position. You press the paper against the corners of them to mark the position of the socket in it, before cutting an ‘X’ across the corners you’ve marked, leaving a cm or so each side, and then cut the excess away, so it’s like a square or rectangular hole.

Once you move the paper out of the way again, you can take the screws out of the socket and when putting the paper back, slide the socket through the hole you made in it.

For the edges of ceilings, skirting etc., I’ve always found it best to press the paper into those, using either a cloth, papering brush, or carefully using your fingernail, to mark a crease line in the paper, that you can then use to cut when you move the paper back at an angle.

You need really sharp scissors to make your cuts nice and clean.

I’d recommend starting on a wall with no sockets if possible, just to get the hang of it.

Hope that helps.
 
SheepBeast said:
Those are some excellent tips - I'll be having another crack at it tomorrow so I'll try to follow your suggestions and hopefully it'll turn out better! Thanks!
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You’re very welcome. Don’t give up, you’ll get there I’m sure! Patience also helps, so give yourself plenty of time to work on it, and if needed, step out and have a cuppa then come back for another look. Good luck
 
Friday night I had a gas engineer come and first fix a supply so I can replace our standalone cooker with a built-in electric oven and gas hob. Yesterday managed to:

Remove flooring
Chase a second electric back box
Wire up the cooker supply with an oven outlet and a smaller fused outlet for the hob spark
Add cables for above
Build the IKEA cabinet
Fit counter top and cut out for the hob Realise it's the wrong cabinet and doesn't have a vent for ovens
Cut a vent out of the cabinet rather than drive to IKEA in a panic

I was doing so well! A little behind as we're out of town today, but gas man comes back Tuesday morning to connect the hob. Fingers crossed I can get this all finished after work tomorrow.
 
Rerouted the cable from the Starlink dish to the router from downstairs to upstairs.

Drilling 60cm thick walls with a 1m drill bit is always fun!
 
Assembled and wooden rabbit run and tried and failed to attach it to the rabbit hutch. Then ordered the right bits to attach it at a later date :cry:
 
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SheepBeast said:
Put up some wallpaper (my first time) in the spare bedroom. Did about half a wall and then gave up and tore it down because it looked like crap. This is harder than it looks in youtube videos :/ None of my old plaster walls are actually straight.
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I used to have problems wallpapering untill I asked a mate who did it for a living.
I was pasting them then putting it straight onto wall.
He said cut 5 sheets -Paste each one first then start putting them up.
You have to wait till paste has soaked into the paper - Also never had bubbles after that.
After you paste one sheet fold it in half and put it over a chair or something.
 
SheepBeast said:
Put up some wallpaper (my first time) in the spare bedroom. Did about half a wall and then gave up and tore it down because it looked like crap. This is harder than it looks in youtube videos :/ None of my old plaster walls are actually straight.
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It can be frustrating in an older house with wonky walls. Our is a 30s house and literally none of the walls are straight. I find, depending on budget obviously, that a more expensive wallpaper is easier. They tend to be thicker and can take more sliding and stretching.

Our living room is *very* patterned.

This kind of gives you an idea. The bay window was the worst bit, I almost went on a murder spree at one point. It's not a round bay, but a 3 sided one, and none of the 3 sides are actually straight.

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