DIY skills you wish you had

[peach]

I wish I could hang things on my walls.

I have terrible math skills. terrible. And I am usually pretty picky about where I want things hung....exactly centered between this and this, and exactly this high...

And when I try to figure it out, factoring in the hangar on the back of the frame is not even with the top of the frame, and trying to find center...omg. It's a disaster and I make holes in the wrong spots. Dh does it in 30 seconds flat and perfectly every time.

I also wish I was braver with electrical. I'd love to be able to hang light fixtures and DH has showed me how a few times. I am pretty sure I could do it, but I am so nervous I always chicken out and let him do it. PLus I think my arms would fall off trying to hold the fixture up for that long.

[thewop]

I wish I knew how to finish drywall and run electrical. We'd probably have a finished basement if I could do it myself instead of paying someone.

[sa]

I wish I could sew well and build furniture and I wish I actually enjoyed doing those things.

[wawa]

Nov 28, 2012 11:39:35 GMT -5 thewop said:

I wish I knew how to finish drywall and run electrical. We'd probably have a finished basement if I could do it myself instead of paying someone.

If you can frost a cake you can finish drywall. I promise it's not that hard. It just requires a fair amount of patience and a lot of sanding as you work your way up the learning curve. If cake frosting frustrates you then, probably a no on the drywall. (though I actually think drywall is easier. You can't sand out mistakes on a cake)

Between MH and I we've got most of our bases covered, but I wish I was better at the actual decorating end of things. Ending up with a really pulled together room is really hard for me.

[emoflamingo]

I wish I was good at a lot of things, but usually it's "practice makes perfect" so I have to actually try. Painting, I am finally good at. I was AWFUL when we first bought our house. The red paint on the trim of the dining nook is evidence. (I curse at myself when I look at it.)

[artichokie]

I wish I knew how to sew! But then that would require patience with that bobbin thingie. And threading and little threads everywhere. I'd never get a straight line. HOW DO PEOPLE DO IT? It is a mystery to me!

I tried it once and broke my mom's old sewing maching. Never mind that it's a 1976 Singer. And now it's sitting in my spare room, all broken and mocking me.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Plumbing baffles me. And it shouldn't - it's just a big puzzle, really - but all the different pipe pieces and what they do and venting and 15 different ways to attach one pipe to another is just overwhelming to me. I'd also like to try my hand at actual floor-to-rafters construction. One of the things I've talked R into is if/when we buy an actual house, he'll let me build a "shed" in the backyard to act as my office.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Patience.

I just want things done. I've never been that motivated to be patient because 'good enough' is honestly good enough for me. I very very rarely look back with regrets or notice imperfections.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Patience.

I just want things done. I've never been that motivated to be patient because 'good enough' is honestly good enough for me. I very very rarely look back with regrets or notice imperfections.

[wawa]

Nov 28, 2012 13:33:28 GMT -5 bunnymendelbaum said:

Patience.

I just want things done. I've never been that motivated to be patient because 'good enough' is honestly good enough for me. I very very rarely look back with regrets or notice imperfections.

I sometimes wish I could be more like this. The patience to make things perfect makes certain tasks REALLY slow. See: tiling and drywall finishing.

I can point out every single mistake in the tile job in our downstairs shower. Some of them really annoy me too. I can't really unsee them.

But i can totally unsee dirt. I'm hoping once we're done with this project those abilities switch, because otherwise I'm going to be that person with the filthy filthy house who obsesses over the 2 dings in the wall.

[hbomdiggity]

Sewing and general craftiness.

[roselis]

Building. That way I don't have to rely on friends to help so much

[bunnymendelbaum]

Nov 28, 2012 13:38:04 GMT -5 wawa said:

Nov 28, 2012 13:33:28 GMT -5 bunnymendelbaum said:

Patience.

I just want things done. I've never been that motivated to be patient because 'good enough' is honestly good enough for me. I very very rarely look back with regrets or notice imperfections.

I sometimes wish I could be more like this. The patience to make things perfect makes certain tasks REALLY slow. See: tiling and drywall finishing.

I can point out every single mistake in the tile job in our downstairs shower. Some of them really annoy me too. I can't really unsee them.

But i can totally unsee dirt. I'm hoping once we're done with this project those abilities switch, because otherwise I'm going to be that person with the filthy filthy house who obsesses over the 2 dings in the wall.

wawa - that is my husband and honestly, it causes a lot of of issues in our relationship. The man does incredible work, but it takes FOREVER or never gets done.

[wawa]

Nov 28, 2012 16:08:24 GMT -5 bunnymendelbaum said:

Nov 28, 2012 13:38:04 GMT -5 wawa said:

I sometimes wish I could be more like this. The patience to make things perfect makes certain tasks REALLY slow. See: tiling and drywall finishing.

I can point out every single mistake in the tile job in our downstairs shower. Some of them really annoy me too. I can't really unsee them.

But i can totally unsee dirt. I'm hoping once we're done with this project those abilities switch, because otherwise I'm going to be that person with the filthy filthy house who obsesses over the 2 dings in the wall.

wawa - that is my husband and honestly, it causes a lot of of issues in our relationship. The man does incredible work, but it takes FOREVER or never gets done.

Luckily MH and I are both like this. he's actually worse than I am, but whenever I get punchy he just reminds me that I have to look at the results for YEARS and I can settle myself.

And this is why our renovation is almost a full year past what we originally projected.

Oh, there's another skill I wish I had! The ability to ACCURATELY project project timelines.