What’s the fiddly-ist DIY job?

Tabnabs

alchemist33 wrote: »

Problem with the wipers is it's so long between changing them that I forgot the knack of doing it.

And you walk away with a nagging doubt over whether or not it was done right and if the wiper going to fly off randomly, on a dark night, in a rain storm, on the M50...

seamus

embraer170 wrote: »

Lots of jobs on modern cars.

Changing the oil and oil filer was an easy job on every car I have had until I got a Golf 7. You have to jack the car up and remove the panelling under the engine compartment (just to change the oil filter).

I remember the Renault Scenic I had where it was physically impossible to both see and touch the back of the headlight at the same time. So you had to look to see what it looked like and then slip your hand in and feel your way around to replace a bulb. There was also just about enough clearance to get your hand in so you couldn't twist very far in any direction. Took me 45 minutes to replace the bulb one day.

When I looked it up, the correct way to replace the headlight bulb is to jack the car up, remove the front wheel and access the bulb through a flap in the wheel arch. WTAF. I'd love five minutes in a room with the prick who thought that was a good idea.

the_pen_turner

Deleted User wrote: »

When I paint,I get as much paint off the brush as I can..I put it in a plastic bag,tie a knot, the brush wont dry out,and can be used next day.I never clean brushes untill the job is done.

i do the same but i put paint on the brush. it lasts a lot longer than a brush with very little paint. make sure to get out as much air as posible . i like to fold the bag aroun the brush and tape it . i find they last better that way

Hurrache

seamus wrote: »

WTAF. I'd love five minutes in a room with the prick who thought that was a good idea.

I think someone did as they've been very easy, well in other Renaults anyway, to replace since that notorious system. Even some that have a small scew/bolt holding the entire unit in place come with a tool designed to be part of the fixing system to make it even easier.

the_pen_turner

electrics with too short of cables
fitting taps on a kitchen sink or bath. no room , cant get into position to see what your doing and fidly washers and nuts. especially those horse shoe shaped ones on the taps with the 2 flexi pipes

bath panels can be a nightmare sometimes

integrated dishwashers doors
cheap and crap laminat flooring that has to be put in in one long row and then clicked in. horrible job sometimes . just get one end in and the other pops out. repeat until swearing starts.

the_pen_turner

those screw on hindges that have no adjustment . horrible things

ted1

Anything my wife gets me to do. I swear to God she just complicates everything. e.g. she loves getting heavy mirrors and expects me to hang on them in the center of stud wall, right between the studs. our house is built in 84 and the plasterboard has no strength.

or we'll have just painted the room and ask me to add extra sockets or remove down lighters and put in a pendant

neddynasty

Curtain poles. Hate them. If you have 4 holes to drill, 2 either side of the window, 3 holes will be fine and the 4th I'll always hit something hard and have to adjust. Will finally get the poles and curtains up and I'll be told they're either too low down and the curtains are dragging on the floor or the curtains are too high up off the floor (they should just barely graze off the floor apparently) or they are somehow otherwise uneven compared to something else like the floor, the ceiling, a bookcase etc. Every time I say never again but always go back for more punishment.

karlitob

neddynasty wrote: »

Curtain poles. Hate them. If you have 4 holes to drill, 2 either side of the window, 3 holes will be fine and the 4th I'll always hit something hard and have to adjust. Will finally get the poles and curtains up and I'll be told they're either too low down and the curtains are dragging on the floor or the curtains are too high up off the floor (they should just barely graze off the floor apparently) or they are somehow otherwise uneven compared to something else like the floor, the ceiling, a bookcase etc. Every time I say never again but always go back for more punishment.

I would have agreed with you (see pic) - but then I was exposed to the wonderful world of Roman blind hidden clips. Nearly kicked the window in.

Supercell

neddynasty wrote: »

Curtain poles. Hate them. If you have 4 holes to drill, 2 either side of the window, 3 holes will be fine and the 4th I'll always hit something hard and have to adjust. Will finally get the poles and curtains up and I'll be told they're either too low down and the curtains are dragging on the floor or the curtains are too high up off the floor (they should just barely graze off the floor apparently) or they are somehow otherwise uneven compared to something else like the floor, the ceiling, a bookcase etc. Every time I say never again but always go back for more punishment.

Buy her a sewing machine.

astrofool

listermint wrote: »

Don't touch your consumer board. But in the past if you had to pulls anything bigger than 1.5 sq cable into your board you'll know cable does not like to be bent the sheating also is not slick and likes to catch and drag on all surfaces it's basically designed to slowly rub everywhere and resist and and all types of lateral movement.

Cables are big pricks.

Fishing cables through floors by yourself, networked 1.75 by myself (first house and 75% of the second house), and finding that if there is something to snag on, the cable will find it, was once feeding a 10mm for a shower, room completely clear apart from the radiator, and it managed to find the radiator valve and wrap itself around it.

Kids are old enough now to help out, which is great

GreeBo

neddynasty wrote: »

Curtain poles. Hate them. If you have 4 holes to drill, 2 either side of the window, 3 holes will be fine and the 4th I'll always hit something hard and have to adjust. Will finally get the poles and curtains up and I'll be told they're either too low down and the curtains are dragging on the floor or the curtains are too high up off the floor (they should just barely graze off the floor apparently) or they are somehow otherwise uneven compared to something else like the floor, the ceiling, a bookcase etc. Every time I say never again but always go back for more punishment.

I no longer will fit curtains or roller blinds directly to the wall.
I insist on using some sort of painted timber (that can be fixed to studs) and then it's so much easier to fix the curtain pole or blind fixing to the timber.

MayoForSam

neddynasty wrote: »

Curtain poles. Hate them. If you have 4 holes to drill, 2 either side of the window, 3 holes will be fine and the 4th I'll always hit something hard and have to adjust. Will finally get the poles and curtains up and I'll be told they're either too low down and the curtains are dragging on the floor or the curtains are too high up off the floor (they should just barely graze off the floor apparently) or they are somehow otherwise uneven compared to something else like the floor, the ceiling, a bookcase etc. Every time I say never again but always go back for more punishment.

Totally agree with this one - I had to put in 2 last week over the living room windows and even with my SDS drill, it was near enough impossible to drill holes more than 10mm deep, the lintels must be made out of diamond or something. I barely got 2 screws in about halfway on each.

One is slightly off level on one side but the missus can bugger off if she wants it fixed (she hasn't noticed yet )

I get asked to do the odd job for friends and family and 99% of the time its not a problem until I'm asked to hang a curtain pole. I've been putting off hanging one for a sibling for the bones of a decade now.

DublinDilbert

Snotaul Goodman wrote: »

I get asked to do the odd job for friends and family and 99% of the time its not a problem until I'm asked to hang a curtain pole. I've been putting off hanging one for a sibling for the bones of a decade now.

Why what's the problem with a curtain pole?

BrokenArrows

Wiring up electrical sockets/switches which have a bunch of wires in them and very hard to fit inside the box.