Board Stupid

Before I start, board in the title isn’t a spelling mistake of bored, it’s a deliberate nod to my latest attempt at DIY!

Simple DIY

I quite enjoy having a go at pretty simple jobs around the house, you know the ones, fitting a new towel rail in the bathroom or changing a tap washer. I even managed to repair the shower a few weeks ago, which must have given me the confidence to attempt a far more difficult job than I had ever dared attempt before. The job involved was removing 3 lengths of plasterboard, replace the insulation behind and cover with new plasterboard. Simples?

What’s Needed?

Although someone skilled in plastering would be needed to finalise the job, my thinking was that if I could do all the work prior to plastering, then I would save quite a bit of money. Pat on the back time for me!! Now that the building stores are open again, all I needed to do was remove the old plasterboard and insulation and measure up for the new stuff and we could collect. To be honest, it was really straightforward and I was pleased there was very little mess. I even ordered the items needed online, ready for collection.

Measuring Up

I’m not one of these people that can work out the best size boards for the job, you know how some workmen can say, “…you need one piece of plasterboard, 18-foot x 3 foot and we can cut everything we need from it.” I measure up and see that I need 4 x 8-foot x 2-foot boards! That’s the way I do it. So, roof rack attached to the car and off we go to the local builders’ yard. Fortunately, it wasn’t too busy and they had everything I needed. The four plasterboards have to be loaded, one at a time, onto the roof rack, while the insulation, nails etc all go in the back of the car.

All Secure

I had no rope to secure the board to the roof rack, but I have those ‘Bungy’ elastic things with the hooks either end. The amount I have I was able to secure the board safely and we were soon on our way on the four-mile journey home. Keeping to 20 MPH all the way, there was no traffic and only one car passed us coming the other way. Although the roads are winding, there was hardly any wind and in fact, was a beautiful summers day. Arriving home, I jumped out of the car and shock horror!!! All that was left of the plasterboard was the pieces you can see in the main photograph!

Disappointed

Needless to say, I was very disappointed, or words to that effect. At first, my initial reaction was to burst out laughing, but the realisation kicked in of how stupid I had been and how daft I must look. My wife hadn’t even noticed, she just went to the back of the car and picked up the nails and some of the insulation and made her way into the house. How on earth do I tell her without bursting out laughing, plus the fact I’ve just lost about £75! I managed to compose myself and explain what had just happened. She agreed with one thing, that I’d been very stupid. There’s no way of going back to the builders’ yard and replacing the boards because the same thing is bound to happen again.

Leave It To The Experts

The only thing I could do is bite the bullet and call a professional in to do the job properly. I won’t mention that I did buy some boards, I’ll just say I’ve removed the old ones in the hope that we can save money. Oh well, it’s all gone a little Monty Python and this DIY job has turned into an expensive fiasco. Onwards and upwards as they say.

If you want to know how to DIY, this link might help you.

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64 Comments
  • majaalifee
    June 26, 2020

    Like ????✍️????

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you ????

  • jenanita01
    June 26, 2020

    Brave of you to even try to DIY. To me, this is just another word for disaster and usually doomed to failure, but still we try… (and sometimes it even works!)

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you and yes, disaster is a great description for it ????

  • parneetsachdev
    June 26, 2020

    I can relate to it Trev. ????????????????

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you, Parneet ????

  • Bear
    June 26, 2020

    And this is why it’s better to measure up jobs, expertly and with a keen eye,suck in air over the teeth noisily and pronounce ‘No, I think we’ll get someone in to do that.’ 🙂

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      You’re right, Bear, next time I will get the pro’s. Thank you ☺️

  • Peter's pondering
    June 26, 2020

    I graduated in “Wise after the Event” many years ago and have kept up with refresher courses ever since!

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      I’m a slow learner, Peter! Thank you ????

  • The Parmigiana Whisperer
    June 26, 2020

    me+DIY= Disaster! well done anyway!

  • conniejjasperson
    June 26, 2020

    Trev,

    You crack me up. I’m laughing with you, not at you, and feeling your financial pain! Based on your experience, I think we’ll go straight to the professional and skip the disaster.

    Connie

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you, Connie. I’m glad it made you laugh, just the ticket. ????

  • Eileen
    June 26, 2020

    Oh dear – and I thought it was only us . . . not that we’ve tried to carry plasterboard, but my husband once failed to properly secure two louvre doors for a fitted wardrobe and they blew away in strong winds and had to be rescued from a field with bullocks in. Hope you get it sorted. It was a good idea though 🙂

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Lol, at least you were able to retrieve them. Thank you, Eileen and yes, it will all be sorted, in the safe hands of a professional ????

  • KINDNESS
    June 26, 2020

    It has been suggested you should be awarded ???? the Star ✳️ of WordPress. We gave 2 million votes ????

  • susiesopinions
    June 26, 2020

    Something my husband would have done. You are not on your own.

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you, Susie. I’m glad I’m not alone ????

  • luisa zambrotta
    June 26, 2020

    You so were brave to try to DIY.
    ???? ???? ????

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you, Luisa. I did try, but alas, it was not to be. 🙂

      • luisa zambrotta
        June 26, 2020

        Sorry… I wanted to write “you were so brave”, and now I have to add “you are very understanding”
        😉

        • Trev
          June 27, 2020

          Thank you again, Luisa, I appreciate all of your comments. 🙂

  • Yetismith
    June 26, 2020

    Oh dear. I can’t believe you didn’t hear anything. Did you have music playing? Not that I am criticizing. I would have done the same. The chap who takes on these things for me ties everything on like a Christmas parcel, round and round and up and down. He also goes in and looks at the boards and says “nah, they’re warped” and we have to drag off looking for another store….well, that was pre-covid. I think he’s retired now. Keeps moaning about his knees. He’s 20 years younger than me! So I have a fireplace that is still not finished, since last November. Time for me to start moaning myself. I would even do it myself but it’s all got to be fire-proof etc etc. Maybe I’ll just pretend it’s a new look!
    Bravo to you for trying, anyway. XX

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you, Yeti. No, neither of us heard a thing. I suppose the wind blowing around the car and plasterboard being what it is, it just broke away and either fell on the roof or flew away into a passing field. I hope you get your fireplace sorted sooner rather than later. 🙂

  • Roadtirement
    June 26, 2020

    As others have clearly stated, you need not feel like the Lone Ranger. I won’t bore you with my list of expensive ooops over the years.

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you, Roadtirement. I certainly don’t feel so alone in my stupidity reading some of the replies here. 🙂 Thank you again.

  • Rosaliene Bacchus
    June 26, 2020

    As you’ve found out, DIY can end up being more expensive and leaving you with a great headache. But, think on the bright side: Somebody got themselves some free plasterboards 🙂

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you, Rosaliene although I doubt any plaster board they found would be of much use to them 🙂

  • Invisibly Me
    June 26, 2020

    Oh noooooo! I was going to say it was lucky you had a roof rack, but clearly it would have been better if you didn’t and then you wouldn’t have attempted this in the first place. What happened, the pressure end up snapping the boards? I thought at first they’d all fallen off and wondered how you wouldn’t have noticed, but it looks like they’ve bent over the car and snapped. Maybe paying for home delivery is worth it in rare instances like this – what a horrible waste of money, I feel awful for you because I would be so, so annoyed! Maybe complain to store? “Excuse me sir/mam, the boards you sold me seem incredibly brittle and thin. I picked them up, the cat sneezed on one of them and it snapped in half. Very poor quality”. xx

    • Trev
      June 26, 2020

      Thank you, Caz. I think the wind got beneath them and snapped them off and then the weight of the pieces that were left just collapsed. Don’t feel too awful, we learn from our mistakes, or hopefully we do. I think I’ll take your advice next time and opt for home delivery. Lesson learned. Thank you, Caz 😉

  • gold tap
    June 27, 2020

    the article that I just read is very interactive and I got a lot of knowledge from here. are you really a writer? I was amazed by your writing, very easy and I was able to understand.. this article is very useful to us thanks for sharing this info with us…

    • Trev
      June 27, 2020

      Thank you ????

  • SueW
    June 27, 2020

    Oh, Trev, that is so funny, but at the same time tragic! Hope you don’t need to wait too long for the builders!

    • Trev
      June 27, 2020

      Thank you, Sue. All sorted now. ????

  • gulfcoastpoet@gmail.com
    June 27, 2020

    Hilarious! (except when you are the one it’s happening to) It is good to be able to poke fun at yourself. Luckily, the fiasco didn’t cost more.

    • Trev
      June 27, 2020

      Thank you, Cheryl. You have to laugh, otherwise, well you know. 😀

  • jimflanigan
    June 27, 2020

    I hate carrying 4 x 8 plasterboard. Such an awkward size.

    • Trev
      June 27, 2020

      Thanks Jim. I didn’t have to carry it far, well, not in that size. 😉

  • Herb
    June 30, 2020

    I really hate when things like that happen. Unless you had some sort of experience to give you a hint, how would you know. I guess the sales person could have asked you something like, “Um, Mr. Trevor, do you think that’s the best way to transport those?” If they knew.

    • Trev
      June 30, 2020

      All I can say, Herb, is that I have learned my lesson, the hard and expensive way. Thank you 🙂

  • Amoghavarsha
    July 1, 2020

    Can I Ask You Something….
    Please Don’t Mind…..

    What Is The Exact Meaning Of Grumpliciousness……???

    Please Respond…..
    I’m Curious…..

    • Trev
      July 1, 2020

      I don’t even know if it’s a real word. I used it because the first part, Grump means to be grumpy, miserable, something like that. So to make it more likeable, I added the ‘liciousness’ in which is usually used as something to mean ‘delicious.’ A piece of chocolate or your favourite cake could be described as delicious. So adding grump to liciousness is my way of saying I might be Grumpy but I’m not seriously grumpy, I have a nice side too. I hope that explains it for you and thank you for asking 🙂

      • Amoghavarsha
        July 1, 2020

        ????

      • Hope
        July 2, 2020

        Grumpliciousness
        ????Dictionary.com no such word
        Grump means person given to constant complaining.
        Informal. the grumps, a depressed or sulky mood.
        verb (used without object)
        to complain or sulk.
        ????Merriam-Webster
        No such word. The closest I could find was “grumpinesses”, now this word equals grumpy, that definition is moodily cross then you go on to surly.
        ????The Free Dictionary.com
        No such word. The website said go to Google and so I did.
        Well to say the least you are very, very popular Silly Old Sod with that word.
        Plus it looks like the word is used in books at “murderincommon.com”. Writers Ilene B. Benator & Jennifer Schneider.
        ????So now what do you think about yourself? If you are looking for sympathy you are not going to get it from me. My mom had an old saying if people were looking for sympathy just to get attention – sympathy in the dictionary is between “s–t & syphilis”. (sorry if I offended anyone). Please remember this goes back eons ago and I do mean eons ago. Dictionaries were a lot smaller.
        ???????????????? Thank you Sillo Old Sod! I learned a lot today.

        • Trev
          July 2, 2020

          Lol, the last thing I want is sympathy. 🙂 I’m just grumplicious. Perhaps I have invented the word then 🙂

          • Hope
            July 6, 2020

            Hello! Your word “grumplicious” should be submitted to Merriam-Webster.com, Dictionary.com, The Free Dictionary.com and let us not forget en.Wikiapedia.org and en.Wiktionary.org!
            Bravo Silly Old Sod!

          • Trev
            July 6, 2020

            Thank you, Hope. ????????

  • Amoghavarsha
    July 1, 2020

    Grumply Means A SURLY PERSON
    In Scotland

    • Trev
      July 1, 2020

      I think I was just trying to play on words, I’m not really grumpy, but I wanted to sound as though I can be grumpy, but in a funny sort of way. 🙂

  • Nancy Nelson
    July 2, 2020

    AMAZING WORK

    • Trev
      July 2, 2020

      That’s very kind of you, thank you, Nancy.

  • Krishnapriya
    July 3, 2020

    Not a DIY but my grandpa loves fixing things too. The only accomplishment he has, till date, is annoying grandma!!

    • Trev
      July 3, 2020

      Thank you, Krishna, I know how your Grandpa feels 🙂

      • your blog is great and i like it very much. It turns out that what I have been looking for so far is in this paper, I am very happy to find several articles on this blog, I am interested in your sentence above, very opinion building in my opinion, why? because you wrote it in language that is easy to understand.

        • Trev
          July 4, 2020

          Thank you, Robinet, very kind of you ????

  • Efrona Mor
    July 4, 2020

    I hope you sort it out quickly! (:

    • Trev
      July 4, 2020

      Yes, all sorted now, thank you, Efrona. ????

  • singhpiyush6089
    July 9, 2020

    Haha… That got ruined…. Quite relatable.. We all boast of doing new things efficiently until we really do them..

    • Trev
      July 9, 2020

      Thank you. 😀

  • bekitschig
    July 11, 2020

    Oh, I feel for you! I always torture my family with my DIY projects, like a cat tree out of real tree, and I start with that attitude, I CAN DO THIS BY MYSELF. Until I run out of strengh or there’s a fancy tool missing and hubby or our friend with the fancy tools has to step in …. Even though it does get finished in the end, I always end up frustrated 😉 Nice loosing all your gear without noticing 😉

    • Trev
      July 11, 2020

      Thank you, you sound like an expert in DIY ????

  • bekitschig
    July 11, 2020

    An expert in screw it yourself …