Not as clever as I thought I was.

Hi

After reading about all the fantastic DIY projects people do on here, I decided to have a go myself.

How hard can it be?

I am ace, but very slow at decorating.

I can do all sorts of weird Maths in my head, no calculator needed.

Saturday, the door handle from the lounge to the hall refused to work.

Dismantled it, broken bits of metal inside. the door is stained solid wood, as is the frame, so three hours later I managed to get it open without damaging either.

It is a weird size, but after 4 visits to different suppliers, managed to get a new bit to fit, put it in and job done.

Well chuffed with myself.

I had also got my water bill, I am on a meter, what a shock.

Looked round and found one of my loos running water into the bowl.

Off we go, can't be too difficult can it?

It is a dual flush button thing.

Could not get the top off, so onto Youtube.

That looked easy, so off we go.

Turned the shut off valve off, flushed the loo and emptied it.

Now a simple thing, lift the buttons out and unscrew the bolt.

Mine looked nothing like the video, but 40 minutes later, I did manage to get the lid off the cistern.

Oh dear, it looks nothing like the video, but carry one, it is only the seal at the bottom which has gone.

Got everything out and managed to get a seal which looked remarkably like the one I have from Toolstation.

Enough is enough, so decided to leave it until this morning to replace it.

Tuuk the whole thing out, did not take a photo, just laid it all out in order on the floor.

I am still in my leg brace, so a bit unstable, got up and managed to knock all the bits over the floor.

An hour later I had worked out where everything went.

Put the thing back together again, but the screw at the bottom was not tight enough.

Took it apart again, this time using the vice grips to tighten it.

You can guess, snapped the plastic nut.

Net result, no loo and a complete new unit required.

Waiting for a plumber now, the old unit is obsolete and beyond my capability to fix.

The cistern has to come off completely for the entire unit to be replaced.

The fixings are rusted solid.

Do I feel a right prat?

Absolutely.

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

As they say SF, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing....

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

Hi

Totally Barry.

I am frequently surprised by my own stupidity.

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

oh dear SF....but really its the effort that counts and you had a good go ...now call in the experts lol

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

I frequently ask myself 'why on earth did I start this' as one 'little' job turns into a multitude

Still, at least you tried Gibbs and a task completed gives great satisfaction .

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

I'm sorry Swimmy, but I couldn't help laugh at your ordeal.
I could just picture it all as I read your post.
Aren't I rotten, sorry Sweetpea - but it was just like you see in a funny film.

I must remember not to ask you to fix my plumbing anytime . . . . x

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

Don't be too hard on yourself Swim. As a plumber, I can tell you that those things happen to us too but we have the tools and spare parts to put them right.

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

Don't beat yourself up Swim, I consider myself to be quite handy, but your story has a very familiar ring to it....

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

Great that you had a go at it swim I really respect that.

Re: Not as clever as I thought I was.

Swimmy you wont be the first to have tried and failed and even professionals get things wrong sometimes.