What's the best D.I.Y. advice you've ever received?

[Jason]

Hi everyone,

Whether it's a cherished lesson passed on from one generation to the next, a throwaway line from a mate, or something you've personally learned the hard way, please share your favourite D.I.Y. tips in the discussion below.

What is the best D.I.Y advice you've ever received?

Jason

[EleventhCoastal]

I’ve just shared a tip in my insta that if your short in time and have some tricky screws that don’t grab to start with rub the tips on a bar of soap and they will grab and go in straight away. Works a treat each time I’ve done it 

[Dave-1]

Best advice 

That can think of is to define your project before you start. Know where the cut off point is (painting a room and then stretching into another room and so on) 

I allow myself three projects to work on at once max, Front yard, back yard and inside the house. Otherwise I find myself starting too many things and nothing being finished. I wont let myself start on another job in the front yard if the first one isnt complete.

The inside job was added to accomodate rainy days

Dave

[MitchellMc]

Great point, @Dave-1.  Also, portioning a project so you finish at least a section is important. With every completed project, you get a rush of dopamine and an overwhelming sense of satisfaction that programs your brain to search for it again by cracking on with the next project. If you start not finishing projects on time, the opposite occurs, and you start becoming reluctant to tackle the next obstacle as things become overwhelming.

The best projects are those that you can start Saturday morning and have finished by Sunday afternoon. You can then sit back and relax, enjoying what you have achieved. Pro tip: Do the shopping for that project on a Friday night after the kids have gone to bed (provided there's someone home to look after them of course), so you have everything ready to go first thing Saturday morning. The stores are quiet, there are plenty of team members to assist, and most importantly, if something isn't in stock or you can't find what you need, you've got time to sort that out. If you try and pick up the materials on Saturday, half your day will be gone before you know it.

Mitchell

[Dave-1]

@MitchellMc 

Yep to getting the resources before hand. and I wish my projects were that short lol I am also lucky enoug h to have 3 bunnings within 20 mins drive to check if something is out of stock

Dave

[TedBear]

That sounds like a great tip.

With too many tasks on my DIY To-Do list,  it's one I'd better take up Dave-1.

[MikeTNZ]

"If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy" - Red Green (the king of Duct Tape repairs).

[MikeTNZ]

A few from me:

> Never, ever work outside of your own experience level, it is so much easier to get a professional in to do things and they will do it so much faster and better than you can.

> Knowing what your actual experience level is will save costly over-runs and wasted materials and lost time just trying to "make it through".

> Always start a project with a "fresh head", if you get home from work at say 6pm, that is NOT the time to even start a project, wait until the next morning, your focus is not going to be EXACT, which it should be, when starting out with a new project, start as you mean to finish it, one wrong saw cut angle or a piece of timber that is 3mm too short, is where you start that project.

> Always have your tools sharp and clean, if you use a worn saw blade or blunt chisels, you will end up with the result that this allows and can actually be quite dangerous with worn tools that take more effort to use and having them slip during use can cause serious or fatal injuries.

> Everyone loves power tools these days, make sure that before you use these tools, you know and understand how they operate and what can go wrong, especially with things like routers and circular saws, even though it might "only" be powered by a battery, that does not mean that it will not sever your fingers or your arm, if you lose control of it.

> One final bit of advice is this, if you are buying a measuring tape, get one that has the widest blade on it, it might be 5 metres long, but if the blade is only 12.5 mm wide, it can upset your measurements, most tradies use a 32mm wide tape for anything over 3-4 metres.

These are often more reliable over time.

And don't ever run the tape back into the body at full speed, it ruins the accuracy of the end piece on the tape itself, this could be 1-3mm over time.

Cheers,

Mike T.

[Noyade]

"It's not as hard as it looks - give it a go" *

Welding.

                  (*Advice from next-door neighbour - 1998)

[Akanksha]

That one's a classic, @Noyade, and so true! 

Reminds me of when @redbournreno said “having a go” at new things is the best way to boost your D.I.Y. confidence. She shares more wonderful advice in: Expert help with renovation projects (a highly recommended read).

Akanksha 

[Essdubbya]

Always unplug or remove the battery from power tools before changing, bits, blades, abrasives etc.