RICH

What projects have you undertaken. My gut feeling is most people hire a contractor for practically everything.

I am fixing termite damage, which involves replacing structural parts of my house, pulling out kitchen units, walls ceilings etc. Am I the only one who enjoys such things?

Bink

I enjoy doing it, but to be honest I don't have as much time with my family as I'd like so I do get people to do things that I would have traditionally done myself, in order to get more quality family time.

We're in a new house, so the only thing at the moment is painting. I'm going to lay some flagstones down on the patio though myself, other than that no real major projects upcoming.

Mummy in the foothills

In the last year we have.
Replaced both basins in the bathrooms, replaced the outside wall that gets all the sun, replaced the chimney cladding.
Dh won't hire anyone, he's in the middle of a plumbing project. He piped out the washing machine to water the trees.
I don't really enjoy it all, I get to "help" but I do like all the end results.

fatbrit

I just head for Home Depot's parking lot.

Michael

In another thread, I described a total home remodeling when I retired where I spent 2 years, 6 days a week, and at least 10 hours per day. The following thread (post 77 and 81) describes the project with pictures after the project was complete. I had a great time doing the work.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=750257&page=6

sir_eccles

I just redid the nursery. The wainscotting was a bitch but it looks awesome.

Love Home Depot. It's dog friendly so Betsy loves to along because one of the employees gives her duck breasted dog jerky treats.

christmasoompa

The list of what I haven't done might be shorter - a year ago we bought a derelict Georgian farmhouse (in the UK) and have done soooo much work to it, although we have used professionals for things like the new roof and rewiring. But the rest of it we've done ourself to save money.

My whole life is DIY at the moment.

tonrob

For those spending significant sums at Home Depot etc:

Go to the post office and ask for a free "movers pack". This is basically an envelope with a change of address form but also a load of coupons that companies throw at the PO for just this purpose. They usually include 10% at Home Deport or Lowes etc. (those stores also freely accept each others' coupons).

Gift cards can also be purchased at below face value at sites like Plastic Jungle, Cardpool etc.

Topcashback is a shopping portal that offers up to 4% rebate on gift card purchases through some of these sites - they rotate regularly so check when you're thinking of making a purchase.

Combined these methods should easily get you 15-20% off anything you ever buy at Home Depot, before you even start any "advanced" jiggery-pokery!

Bink

It's true and not a bad tactic to employ!

WEBlue

We're looking to buy a fixer-upper here (in the US). In the past we've refinished wood floors, plastered walls, painted inside & outside, wall-papered, etc. We've not done any major plumbing or wiring work, but who knows what our next house will bring?

When we've rented, we always do the small jobs ourselves, painting & repairs. Sometimes this works out, sometimes we've been told off. Seems stupid to depend on others when we're the ones who have to live with the results though.

Rete

Have you not read Herpes Simplex's post about his old home renovation? If not, please do. He did a superb job on taking an old run down home and making it a bit of a show place.

Be sure that you comply with city regulations and obtain the required permits and have the home inspected by the building agency (if required).

lisa67

What irks me is the cost over here to get anything done, even the windows cleaned. My friend lives in a 4 bed 2500 sq ft home with no great huge windows, just regular. She had to get them cleaned due to handing the house back through the military, and it cost her, just for the outside $250!!!

Yorkieabroad

Window cleaners round here regularly quote us 300+ for the outside. First time I got that sort of quote I asked how many times a month it covered - I thought I was getting an annual contract!

I don't do ladders, so we had really dirty upstairs windows by the time my saviour, Albert, arrived on the scene. He charges 165 for the outside and does a great job twice a year.

Yorkieabroad

On the DIY, it depends how big/what the job is, how busy I am with the kids, and what time of year it is. I don't do anything complicated with electrics, anything over ground floor level, or heavy outdoor work in the summer! I do all the decorating, but we've got one of those double height entries and I wont get up to paint that - going to have to find someone.

We recently had an outdoor bathroom/sauna/kitchen/patio cover added - that was contracted out, to one of the few contractors I have found that I would recommend. Most of the other contractors I've used here wouldn't get invited back for a second job, hence I tend to do as much as I can myself.

People round here seem to use "contractors" for all sorts of stuff - pest control, pool cleaning, lawn fertilizing, lawn cutting, mulching etc. Most of those I like to do myself, although I do take on a lawn crew for cutting during the summer while I'm away.

helwardman

We've lived in our house (8 years old) for just over 4 years. So far we have:

- Painted the walls, skirtings and mouldings in every room apart from the kitchen.
- Retiled the kitchen including worktops and backsplash.
- Fitted guttering across the back of the house.
- Added shelving in two closets.
- Built a fitted workbench and shelves in the garage.
- Replaced carpet in 3 bedrooms with laminate floor.
- Built a fence across the entire width of the back yard.
- Replaced part of the side fence after it blew down.
- Added a security light at the front of the house over the garage door.
- Added two flower beds in the back yard and planted trees and bushes.
- Removed three sago palms from the front of the house.
- Painted all the trim on the outside of the house.

I'd love to build a shed, but I've had a hard time convincing the Mrs that this is a good idea.