Well I guess that I am both Andy Grogan and the DIY Hobbit!
By day I am an Senior IT leader for the last 28 years, but by night … well, mid-evenings and weekends I am an intermediate DIY enthusiast which has been developing those skills over the last five years whilst doing up parts of my 200 year old cottage.
“ So why the DIY Hobbit?
Well, it is a long story that I will try to summarise here!
I am a single dad – have been for a number of years. My son moved in with me in my rented flat in South West London when he was younger and it quickly became apparent that whilst he and I living together was amazing – we needed more space and it was time for me to seriously considering buying a home for us.
So, the search began.
The history (well, for now) of how the hunt went is covered in my first few blog posts – but as a summary it turned out that buying a home in the middle of COVID wasn’t perhaps one of my greatest plans. I viewed a number of places, but the cottage grabbed me right from the word go and my heart was set on it.
However, whilst I viewed it twice – these were restricted to 10 minutes at a time. I also made the mistake of doing these viewings during the height of summer.
There wasn’t much chance to really see what may have been lurking under the surface – so after falling in love with the place I took it as seen and regretted it for a very long time!
Turns out that the previous owner was simply mental. No real heating system, no insulation (anywhere), scary electrics, botched carpentry, damp (rising and penetrating), dodgy plumbing (everywhere) and building regulation violations everywhere and an unresolved / undeclared dispute with the estate of the cottage next door – it was just crazy!
Anyhow – whilst I knew that I was going to spend quite a sum of money putting these things right I could not afford to have professional trades do it all – so I had to pick my battles!
With that borne in mind I realised that I needed to learn how to sort quite a few things myself – and my little cottage was going to be a marathon rather than a sprint – so I set about learning as much as I could from the Internet.
Over the last 4 years I have spent a lot of time learning carpentry, a bit of joinery, refreshing my knowledge on electrical (I was a sparky a long time ago), ground work, kitchen fitting, wood reclamation – you name it I have had to figure it out – apart from Plumbing.
Plumbing is my nemesis. I don’t know how you Plumbers do it!
Aside from learning various DIY techniques, I have also had to teach myself how to use the various tools which I have collected … there are literally hundreds of them now squashed into my little cottage of doom. It does now seem that I have something that will pretty much do any job … apart from Plumbing.
“ So back to the question why the DIY Hobbit … well ….
-
- Hobbits lived in the Shire
- The cottage is in Berk(shire)
- I am short(ish) and hairy (like a Hobbit)
- I do DIY!
Therefore – the DIY Hobbit!
It has been a very interesting journey, moving from someone who knew very little about getting work done by professional trades, to getting services in – then to taking on a lot of work myself which was all about fixing things that were wrong – to now being a person who makes things with the skills I have acquired which are beautiful.
I have developed a passion for working with reclaimed, unloved wood and the things that I make are perfectly imperfect. The idea of something that looks like it could have been made several decades ago whilst adding a more modern twist to it really appeals to me.
Now, a disclaimer – I am not a professional trade and I know that some of you who are may stumble on this site and feel the need to point out what I have done or am doing wrong on my various little projects.
I am all up for learning how to do something in a different, better way from someone who knows more – but bear in mind that I am a relative newbie all this – so try and be kind. Telling me that something is a pile of brown smelly stuff doesn’t represent a teaching opportunity and it is unlikely that I will be that interested! 😀
This site is for me really, I would obviously be delighted if it helps someone else out – but it is my place to record what I create and build.