As far as hobbies go, DIY is a pretty constructive one. Now DIY is a very broad term. It can range from light construction all the way to fixing your car. All so long as you do it yourself! Why do people do it themselves? For the satisfaction of being capable enough to complete the task, and to save having to call someone else out to do it for them.
What keeps people interested in DIY though? Why has it become a phenomenon? Are people trying to prove themselves, or is there a deeper reason? Anybody who does DIY knows it’s relaxing.
Some people build model kits to unwind. Others paint or draw. Something tactile with the hands that still keeps the mind occupied. Something that causes perfect sync between hand and mind. DIY is exactly that but is beneficial to your home.
Part of the appeal of DIY is in the preparation. It’s like preparing for war. You need to play it like a game of chess and have a plan for every scenario.
Getting your hands on materials early is essential. For example you can find woodworking adhesives through kenyon-group.co.uk and get yourself a little stockpile.
Say you’ve got some sagging or collapsing shelves. You notice just before it’s too late, and prevent whatever is on it going crashing to the ground. The shelves are clear, so you grab some extra timber and that adhesive you’ve got. You reinforce the shelves with the timber and stick it in with the adhesive.
This approach doesn’t just apply to woodworking though. Say for instance there’s a leak in the kitchen. You find the offending pipe and quickly turn the water off before it floods the room. Looking closer you realise the problem was a cracked washer that created a gap between pipes.
Out comes the trusty toolbox. A new washer is picked from the loose collection in there and applied to the pipe. Once it’s all set and secured again, the water goes back on. No spray, and no leaks.
DIY doesn’t just end at the indoors either. It extends to outdoors too. If you’re doing it for yourself in your home, it’s DIY.
Commonly DIY is for small household jobs. A fix here, and a fix there. It can be so much more ambitious than that though. You can go so far as to start creating your furniture rather than fixing it.
DIY is not a skill you learn overnight. It doesn’t have a very high entry either. It’s a skill you develop and keep with you over a lifetime. Even skilled contractors have to start from somewhere.
It’s important that you stick with DIY. A few frustrating projects gone wrong might turn you off it, but you have to think about the feeling when you get something right. It’s more than just joy; it’s accomplishment. You made this. You fixed that. You did it.
That’s what keeps people coming back to DIY. The triumph through the failure. You must first lose if you’re going to win. That is what DIY can be all about, fixing something that is broken.
