***This post was written in partnership with Newcastle Permanent who also provided the giveaway prize. All opinions are solely my own.***
Considering its construction was back in the 1920’s, our first home has served us well over the past 5 years.
It’s the house we returned to after getting engaged on our Bali holiday.
It’s where we held our pre-wedding lunch for all of our family and friends.
The sun room was where I sat in those early days of pregnancy soaking in the warm welcoming afternoon rays, wondering and pondering about the little beings I was growing inside.
This home will always hold many special, irreplaceable memories…just as long as Mr Surfer stays from further DIY home improvement projects.
It goes without saying how much I love my husband. His sweet, generous qualities are endearing. I drown with love in his ocean blue eyes.
But how do you get your husband to stop destructing your house without doing the same to his ego?
Dude, stick to financial services, I implore.
Childproofing a house should be straightforward, right?
In clearing all wires and cables from harm’s reach, Mr Surfer discovered a love for multi-purpose, highly versatile 3D Hooks. Genius!
His indecisive nature however, didn’t serve our walls well. Not so genius…
How one tiny hook could create such a monstrous hole, I’ll never know.
But I’ll hand it to him for doing a great job hiding it behind the TV. It took me six months to notice. Genius!
The latest project is to have the clothes dryer wall mounted in the laundry.
Like a cowboy preparing for a shoot down, Mr Surfer brought out the electric drill. While I thought wearing a dust mask was a little overkill, there was a fleeting moment where maybe he finally got it right.
Until I realized he was just drilling existing holes left behind from the previous owner’s perfect installation.
Needless to say, Project Clothes Dryer Wall Mount is pending. Indefinitely. Until someone can admit that it’s time to turn to the White Pages and find a handyman.
Know anyone?
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“What tips do you have to make a home reno stress free?”
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Joining Essentially Jess for IBOT
Ai Sakura says
oh no that wall!!! my hubby is kind of the opposite.. he doesn’t like to DIY anything much or drill our walls, preferring to outsource. I wish he would sometimes though to save us some $$ but he’s scared he’ll do such a bad help he’ll just need to call in help anyway hehe
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Mystery Case says
I’m a bit like your hubby when it comes to sewing. My hubby has actually threatened to divorce me if I ever take on another project that involves the sewing machine.
My hubby is very much like yours and while great with geeky IT stuff the handyman work around the house usually takes him ten times longer than it should and involves far too many extra processes to fix up all the mistakes made along the way and then usually needs a professional to come in after him.
In hindsight, as we had special wedding vows (he vowed to cook, clean and slave after me, I vowed to take more of an interest in Rugby League) I think I should have added no DIY jobs to the wedding vow list.
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Jody at Six Little Hearts says
Thankfully, our current home is already renovated and if I were planning to change anything, it would involve selling it and returning to rent closer to the heart of Melbourne!
I guess my one piece of advice (that I could possibly think of) would be remove the kids from the picture!
When we moved in here, our kids were so stressful and always in the way (on moving day). Our friend turned up unannounced and saved us by keeping them entertained while we packed the van.
Phew!
Jody at Six Little Hearts recently posted..The Melbourne Series – The Melbourne Star Observation Wheel – A Review – Plus Win a Family Pass!
Eleise @ A Very Blended Family says
My advice is to outsource where you can. My husband I spent about 20 hours each sanding our bathroom ceiling where the paint was peeling, treating the mould and repainting, we even had to buy new tools. 6 weeks later it peeled straight through. In the end it cost $600 and 4hours for a plasterer to do the job perfectly! So my advice is get quotes before you do anything and see if it is really worth doing yourself.
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Linda De says
Budget, budget budget and stick to it. And have a “yes” partner 🙂
Lisa says
Actually my hubby is quite handy when he puts his mind to it but we have renovated 3 houses with hubby and his dad (who is the real tradie). The secret is to find a handy friend/uncle/father to do the main work and supervise your hubby who works as an assistant to give him jobs he thinks are important but not really essential. Hope your wall is fixed soon!
Lisa recently posted..Guest Post at Successful Blogging.
Nic says
Hire people to do it while you’re away on holiday so you don’t have to have tradies traipsing through the house and you don’t have to do the work yourself!
Sonya says
I’m really bad at DIY but my hubby’s pretty good, but the problem is he starts something and then gets distracted so the job takes a-g-e-s to get done, so my tip is to get the job done ASAP so you don’t have a long drawn out scenario that means you have a messy house for months. With my hubby, I know threaten to call in the experts if he doesn’t do a job quickly enough and that works wonders!
Lee-Anne says
What a beautiful line, “I drown with love in his ocean blue eyes.” Gorgeous, Grace!
I know it’s really sexist and smacks of a 1950’s attitude, but I do wish men would leave the decor to us girls. Honestly. 😉
Lee-Anne recently posted..*Clutching the baton*
Emily @ Have A Laugh On Me says
1. Ask for help if needed
2. Stick to a budget
3. Move to a 5-star resort while it’s being done.
4. Don’t start it in the first place.
5. Make sure you have lots of wine to cope with all the dust and holes in wall
VOILA!
xxx
Emily @ Have A Laugh On Me recently posted..Why it’s important to make a difference to someone’s life!
Lee-Anne says
Oooops, forgot the tips!
Leave town, take up residence in a fancy hotel or go on an extended holiday until all the stress and drama has abated.
I know they’re bad and impractical, so I’ll have another go:
1. Practise meditation with Zen and Buddhist calm, every day.
2. Frequent cups of tea and rants to friends who’ve ‘been there’.
3. After 5 pm, frequent alcohol, close yourselves off, away from the mess and watch mindless TV.
🙂
Lee-Anne recently posted..*Clutching the baton*
Lisa says
My guy is pretty good, it’s the complaining before hand that gets me though.
For stress free DIY…. I say in my nicest voice, next weekend I’d love to put those shelves up… then when the time comes, he’s already had it in his mind…. DIYtactics!
Kylie Purtell says
Outsource, outsource, outsource! That is my best tip! Sure you might save yourself money doing it yourself, but is it really worth the stress and potential divorce fight? I think not!
(stopping by for #teamIBOT too).
Kylie Purtell recently posted..Five Things I’ve Been Loving {A Cup of Tea with Me (and Pip!)}
Elise says
Live with the problem first for a little while to work out the right solution! Nothing worse than wasting time, money and emotion on a solution that either solves a problem that didn’t exist, or isn’t the right solution. Take time to live with it, trial a temporary solution if possible, and research the options! Rushing is the renovators downfall 🙂
Elise recently posted..What’s In The Box?
karina l says
Pay someone else to do it, and try and get recommendations if you can!
Susan Lattwein says
Nice to meet you Grace. I’m afraid my husband can’t help yours with mounting a dryer. Ours crashed to the floor one night. I thought we were being burgled. It doesn’t sound like yours is ‘Mr Can’t Be Done’, though. 🙂
Renee at Mummy, Wife, Me says
Oh boy! I am very spoilt. My hubby is an ex-builder so he knows his stuff. My tips though would be to get someone other than your husband if he’s not up for the job and head away for the weekend/week while it’s done.
Renee at Mummy, Wife, Me recently posted..Balance, business and bloody good cake
EssentiallyJess says
Ha ha!! Boatman doesn’t do home reno’s, but he does come up with some ideas that have me rather convened. Like how to build his own heater using bricks and a gas cooker.
It’s terrifying. 😉
EssentiallyJess recently posted..Multi-Thinking and Mind-Ladders #IBOT
Bec @ The Plumbette says
To make a home reno stress free, employ a project manager rather than have you or your partner project manage. It saves money and stress because there are less fights. Most project managers have much more knowledge on the sequence of events when doing a renovation than an amateur would. Renovating with your partner can really put a strain on your relationship!
Helen says
I’ve found what works for stress-free reno work is doing it with someone you can have a laugh with. Simple but true! I always love going to a mate’s place, cranking some tunes, bashing out a wall or painting while having a chat and a good time. My husband and I did a lot of mad last minute renos to our house before our baby was born (my nesting was EXTREME!) and even with pregnancy hormones we had such a good time and created some beautiful memories.
melanie w says
Research , Ask question and watch how to videos on you tube .
Janette says
Always provide the tradespeople with regular offers of hot drinks and snacks throughout the day, they’ll appreciate your kindness and be happy to help with those renovation hiccups!
Bec @ Seeing the Lighter Side of Parenting says
Call Hire A Hubby and pay someone else to do it! Oh, and win Tattslotto first:)
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tizzerina says
The first plan of attack would be to send hubby out of my hair!! lol
Get a few quotes from tradies first and make sure they are reputable.
Have everything cleared and organised and make sure everything is safe!!
laura powers says
I always sit with hubby and goggle the project we need to get done, watch ‘how to videos’ and ask for help when we are buying products at the hardware store.
Amanda Gorton says
Hahahaha – looks like you discovered that the best part of renovating is the disaster stories you can look back on and laugh!!!!!
My advice?…….Keep an expandable folder with dividers for each category of work containing logged decisions from phone calls and meetings, photographs of before, during and after project and retained receipts. This is especially handy for reference should anything go wrong or if plans change.
Benjamin Travia says
Have a plan on what you actually want to achieve, how, when and with what cost. Otherwise you are undertaking an open ended, vague project with endless complications and stress.
Melinda says
My best tip would be use professionals, don’t use family…it will end in tears!
Jennifer B. says
Large jobs… use a REAL builder/handyman to project manage.
Small chores… check You-tube for videos from manufacturers/hardware suppliers and assess the risk. Then use a REAL builder to project manage…
Stacey Shailer says
After our last reno, we’ve decided that it is just better to wait a little longer to save up the extra money, so that we can pay someone else to do the ENTIRE job themselves, rather than trying to do as much of it ourselves between full-time jobs and 2 toddlers!
JILL MACMULLEN says
I have a storage cupboard,
that I now wish had a key,
filled with reno products,
for the husband and me.
From tools and hardware to paints galore,
all the warm earthy colours that we adore.
But this is the story of an earlier day,
involving my three year old – gone astray.
I left her alone so I could wash,
I heard a crash and ohh my gosh!
A tin of brown paint was no more,
it had spilled onto the floor.
My blood was boiling, but it doesn’t end there,
I look ahead to more despair.
Brown footprints were throughout the loungeroom,
on the new carpet – what stress and gloom!
This certainly has taught me a costly lesson,
live in reno’s with a toddler – don’t consider it for a second!!!!
Cleaning and ripping up carpet comprised the rest of my day,
after I LOCKED the remaining paint away!
sapna says
Planning is really important and it includes having a project plan to keep you and your tradies on track and ensure the renovation comes in on time and on budget. Making project milestones will help you track and measure progress.
Penny George says
A spoonful of patience, a cup of resilience, a bowl of humour and suitcase of memories to remember why you started in the first place!
Penny
Elizabeth says
To do a home reno stress-free,
I beg you to listen to me,
for I’ve failed before dreadfully!
Step one: Preparation!
it’s the start of your new creation!
Make sure you have the right tools
and avoid hiring fools.
You can do it alone
but keep close a phone
for if it all goes awry
you might want to cry!