Rainy Day DIY

So I got hold of my aluminium angles! Hurrah!!!! They certainly are shiny and metallic, and they got here super-quick, so what more could I ask for? I have yet to drill them or anything mind, but you guys have seen what the weather has been like of late, and there is no way I am going out to do work in that; I might catch a cold.

One of my rather fetching Aluminium Angles

<sarcasm>Fortunately for me there is always work to be done indoors</sarcasm> and I whilst I would rather spend my weekends watching TV, having a drink with some buddies, messing around on the PC or -heaven forbid - relaxing with my wife. Alas, my wife prefers to relax sans my company, which I'm pretty sure is why she has conceived all of these DIY projects for me to accomplish.

She isn't all bad mind, as she does give me a choice of which of her DIY projects I would prefer to accomplish; so at least I do have some say in the matter. True to my nature, I decided to go for something that would also benefit me, and as my little ones and I enjoy a bit of corridor football, I decided to fabricate a guard for the upstairs landing / stairway.

Basically, our landing and stairwell are made for grown-up who cannot (and have no desire or inclination to) slip in between the slats and go tumbling down the stairs. Sadly meine frau thinks that one day the kids may fancy doing just that; which is why I have fix it.....

I thought to myself "Self, no matter what you do, this is not gonna look great; so lets try to minimise its eye-cathyness", this was quite the brain wave, as it really focused my mind on what I would need - something transparent. Glass would obviously have been a poor choice (what with corridor football and all), so I scoped out some Plexiglass (AKA Perspex or clear acrylic sheeting - who knew?).

Plastic is not normally the kind of thing I would go for, but I have to say I would happily divorce my wife and marry this stuff if I were able. She will have to remain as "my beard" sadly, as lets be honest people still complain that two guys / gals can marry; they'd probably explode if some dude tried to wed a clear acrylic Perspex sheet.

Anywho, I found a pretty neat guide on how to drill acrylic sheets, from the website that I ordered my cut to size acrylic sheets from (they were a handy bunch, I will probably use them again); so once the lovably easy-to-use sheets arrived, I followed the easy-to-follow drilling instructions, attached them to the bannister, and was done is less than an hour.

My Glorious Handy Work

I. Am. Awesome.

Wooden Planters & My Aluminium Solution

Well here it is, my first actual post on DIY. It’s only going to be a short one because, frankly, it was only a short project (even for me!)

We’ve had a revamp of our garden lately (not by me, I must add) by some very professional and hard-working guys and it looks fantastic. There’s plenty of space for friends and family when the sun is out, a lovely patio and some great raised planters which my wife has been keen on for ages.

And while they are great, we’ve noticed a bit of a problem at the corners which I decided to fix myself. They are constructed from wood, so when the corners come together there are some unfinished edges which can be a problem when you’re working on the plants or the kids are around. We’ve both received a few splinters over the past few weeks and I’ve had to tell the kids not to go near them.

Anyway, I was considering getting the gardeners back to have a look, but then I visited a friend who had smaller, individual planters that were similar, only they were freestanding. His pots had strips of aluminium round the side, adding a nice finish and making them look more attractive too. So I decided to do a bit of research on it and it seems the best thing to use for me was aluminium angle.

I’d seen a few pieces of info on it online, and obviously anyone with a basic knowledge of aluminium will know it’s a good choice. The main benefit to me in this instance is that it’s rust-proof, but it can also be painted which is great if we change our mind in future and want a different look.

Anyway, I bought the right bits of aluminium angle online and they were all cut to the right size, so I didn’t need to go out and hire any tools. Once they arrived, I just drilled a hole through, got my screws ready and secured them to the flowerbeds. To be honest, I thought it was going to be much more difficult than that, but it was pretty easy! So I’d recommend trying it, even if you don’t think you know what you’re doing.

*Hopefully pictures coming soon!

Welcome To My Blog - Expect DIY Tips, Tricks & Hints

Hey there!

Welcome to my blog, the incredibly cleverly named, imDIYing (get it? i'm DIY-ing / i'm dying; it really is very clever). In case the name of my blog didn't make it very clear, I am not a fan of doing it myself. As a matter of fact I would much rather to pay some nice gentleman (or lady) to come over to my house and do it for me; but alas they tend to be expensive and I would rather spend what little money I am able to keep to myself on comics, lego and other things that my wife insists ought to belong to our son. 

Frankly I think she is being unfair, I mean our daughter may enjoy comics and lego too; girls can like that kinna stuff too, just like some boys enjoy tap dancing (Michael Flatley in the 1994 Eurovision song contest; just wow). I have told her to keep her rampant sexism in check, but she insists on being all "men do these things, women do these things, memememmememememe". 

This is actually part of the reason why I have decided to start blogging (something I promised myself I would never do), because you see, as a result of the aforementioned rampant sexism I have been - and still am being - practically forced into carrying out all sorts of DIY shenanigans. So please, consider this my place to vent and your place to laugh hysterically at my misfortune and the occasional mediocre witticism.

But no, I do intend to impart some actual knowledge on here, including DIY materials I have used, where I sourced them from, what I made (or tried to make) with them, and all sorts of other general DIY tips. Now i am sure that some people reading this will suddenly think to themselves "por qué?"! And its a good question, considering how much I A) dislike and B) suck at DIY why would I do a blog about DIY.

Well basically the reason why I would do this is because I am a real swell guy and I don't want others to suffer in the same way I have too....Also I have a tremendously sized ego and seek constant approval for even the smallest, most insignificant thing I achieve; and this seems like as good a way as any! I may also set up a DIY Pinterest board to further my reach, I really have not decided yet.

Anyway I have set this up at a good time as it will soon by DIY season at the Kord household, so please stay tuned and thanks for swinging by!