Interesting. Here on the other side of the pond, we're going through a DIY revolution of sorts. Thanks in part to the big box stores (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) and television (Home & Garden, DIY Channel, This Old house, etc.), it seems that more and more people are jumping into home projects by themselves. For me, it really depends on the job. I installed our sprinkler system by myself, and I enjoy building furniture; however, I called in the plumber to sweat a new pipe on the water main, and a professional will be installing my new water heater. As a general rule, I don't mess with the gas line. -monkey
Isnt it cheaper to hire a Polish/Eastern European handyman? I usually do the smaller jobs myself but when it comes to complicated things or stuff i don't know i leave it up to the experts.
Last time I had to put up shelves, I made my own rawl plugs; guess I'm making up for everyone else Somehing to consider is that tools are a lot cheaper state-side, for the price we pay for B&Q's power tools you could buy DeWalt in America
(Don't tell anyone but I used to be a plumber & gasfitter then spent a stint volunteering as general warehouse maintenance for a large charity, it just wouldn't be right to hire anyone else.) Spoiler Then again I'm not British so ignore my entire post.
I DIY a lot, built decking with my step-father when I was about 14, it still stands. The problem is not that people can't be bothered, it's just that we had the DIY fad a while ago, there are still a large number of TV channels and TV programs dedicated to it, but people aren't passing on the skills. So the article interviews a man who got his dad to put them up, but did the dad ever say to his son "Hey, why don't you help me with this?"
Same in Oz. Here the major pushers for it are the Bunnings hardware chain and the Better Homes and Gardens show/magazine. It also helps that we're still in a housing boom at the moment so everyone is trying to do cheap home renovations and then sell for a wad-load more cash. It's sad to see the demise of some skills in the general public. A loss of knowlege is always a sad thing.
To be honest, although we get a lot of UK TV time on subjects like cookery, DIY and gardening, they no longer show you how to actually do anything in the slow detail you got back in the days of Delia Smith, Barry Bucknell and Geoff Hamilton. Now they're all "personalities" out to entertain viewers with a 10-second attention span, glamour stuff instead of how to lay tiles. I'd really like to set fire to Ainsley Harriet and put Worral-Thomson through a mincer.
yeah, at this rate someday soon we'll even forget how we built the pyramids - oh wait The "reality" tv here (Canada & USA) is also about personalities to a level at least equal to the products they make or jobs they do. Frankly I think many of these shows (the Orange County Choppers and such) are almost soap operas.
I've just finished helping my dad with the livingroom. New ceiling, walls redone, ethernet cabling in the living room. And my brother just bought a house, so the DIYing will continu for some time.
