Stress levels in our house have reached boiling over point and it looks like I will be living here myself in the not so distant future as my OH may well be walking shortly. He hates DIY with a vengeance, does little to help and finds it difficult to live like this.

I've had enough of trying to be everything to everyone and the DIY is just getting me down now. It's really hard being in here 24/7 with everything that still needs doing.

I would love to hand everything over to one person and say 'fix my house please' but I dont know who to approach. Should it be a builder (who would then subcontract to whatever trades are needed) or a joiner who might have other trades contacts or even a handyman type who would tackle everything?

I need doors hung, plaster cove put up and plasterboard filled (already been taped and first coat done) a kitchen fitted, a bathroom refurb and a new bannister/ stairparts. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and not sure what to do...any suggestions please? Who would be the best person to approach?

Or am I wanting too much and I need to get individual trades myself?

Appreciate any pointers guys.

Try and ask around loccally to you.

General (dare I say it) handyman

Just out of interest...........where are you?

What I thinkyou need to do is get 1 or two rooms sorted as a retreat from the rest of the house so you can shut the door and forget about it when you need to.

Even if it is not the most cost-effective as you will have to get the same trade in again for other rooms later, at least you will have some sanity restored

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I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

The asking around thing never worked Only-Me, most of the people I asked weren't happy with the tradesmen they got and wouldn't recommend them. That's why we ended up going down the DIY route ourselves for a large part of things. The tradesmen we did get in weren't good either and some work had to be redone.

I think it's going to have to be the Yellow Pages and a pin.

We're in the Highlands of Scotland btw, a little further North past Inverness.

Hoovie, I think the main issue is that the two rooms that are the biggest problem are the kitchen and bathrom....which obviously are the two most important ones and ones you cant avoid unfortunately.

I think I'm going to head off for a couple of days and forget about the lot of it.

Cheers guys.

Ali, We decided to prioritise the rooms, decide which room is most urgent and focus on that, 'tidy' the others, then tackle one room a year.

Give yourself and OH lots of 'me' time and 'OH' time.

By splitting rooms into years you will maintain enthusiam and keep cashflow under control.


John

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Growing old is compulsory, growing up is not!

Ali, I can sympathise with your plight - years ago (in a former life when I had money and property!) spent about 18 months living in a building site, trying to work and put up with everyone else grizzling about the living conditions.

Now working as a self-employed handyman - would love to help out, your hitlist is well within my remit, but a couple of hundred miles commute from Montrose is pushing it a bit - also booked up till October.

Wholeheartedly agree with prioritising rooms - you definitely need space to get away from the building site. You could also consider doing the work in phases. I eventually turned my nightmare around by throwing white emulsion at everything then going back at a later stage room by room to do exactly what I wanted ie coving, joinery, bathroom etc

Ali, I did ask round at work regarding joiners for you, 1 just said that all the good ones are busy & he didn't want to recommend anyone in case it came back to bite him, the other guy said he knew someone but he only worked for friends i'll ask about a bit more

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i love being married
it's great to find that one special person that you want to annoy for the rest of your life

Hi Ali
Sorry to here of your troubles and would love to help, it's just unfortunate
we live opposite ends of the country

Sounds like you need a good carpenter with other skills up his sleeve, yes
l know good trades are hard to find, but when you do, get the ball and chain out

As mentioned above if your going to carry on yourself, concentrate on
one room and finish it completely ( as theres nothing worse than having
to go back on things ) and set yourself working hours, if you don't
everything will just become a pain in the backside, then you won't want to
do anything

As for the OH, well

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There would be less trouble in the world
if l had not had six daughters

This may sound a bit childish, but you could also set yourself some tasks and rewards for completing each one, so you have something to look forward to for each milestone you reach

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I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

have tools, will travel

but its never sunny up there, so i cant help you



Bathroom fitter for the bathroom, kitchen fitter for the kitchen would be a start? I would have thought those ones would be fairly easy to get and arrange. Once they have been done, things would be looking much better

You need to find a handyman as well, try him on some small jobs and see if he's up to it, then give him more if he's good. He may also have a list of trades he uses (I have a plaster, joiner, spark, hard landscaper, plumber, gardener x 3!, all good, and I normally follow there work so i see what they have done)

Talk to you neighbours, local shop keepers, anyone local, and I'm sure you will start to get some recommendations

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www.craigthehandyman.com Wilmslow / Alderley Edge

Its lovely up here - not had me wellies out for weeks!

& the sheep are only now starting to relax

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i love being married
it's great to find that one special person that you want to annoy for the rest of your life

Thanks for the replies guys. Sorry I didn't answer sooner, I wasn't ignoring you, lol.

I took a couple of days out and buried my head.

Anyway, I got the coving up in the kitchen today so that's one job off the list.

I also spent some time giving OH an earful about what a selfish prat he was (John....was that what you meant about me time? ) and he has at least helped out with sanding etc so that was a help.

I have asked everyone I've come into contact with if they can recommend anyone and most wouldn't employ the same tradesmen again.

A neighbour got a joiner to put in a new bannister and spindle stairparts and every morning when she gets up, she has to straighten some of the spindles. It seems they're fixed at the bottom but not properly at the top.

I suspect the further North you go, the more laid back the tradesmen get.

Anyway, the tradesmen that have been good, seem to have their own circle of people they work for, or they are booked up till the year end.

OH says there is a guy who works near him in Inverness who used to be a kitchen fitter and is supposed to be excellent. He is continually being asked to fit kitchens but will only do it for family and very close friends. OH has tried everything including bribery but the chap is having none of it as he's just so busy.

He's the only one I've heard being recommended.

I'm considering doing a bit of freelance journalism and writing an article on the scarcity of the concientious Highland Tradesman. That should bring them out of the woodwork.

Thanks for the support guys.

Ali, good to hear you managed to kick your OH's lazy arse into touch, mrs VI now wants you to kick mine now
hope thing work out, still no luck in finding any recommendations from anyone at work

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i love being married
it's great to find that one special person that you want to annoy for the rest of your life

a sad state of affairs that you can't find decent tradesmen up there, Ali

I heard today that Scotland is trying to attract more immigrants - maybe this is part of the reason

_________________
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.