You need hands that do dishes as soft as your……..

airwave

I’ve been beaten, horribly beaten by a garden table and chairs from I&£A! I brought them 6 months ago and was determined to get them out, unpacked and built for the first bbq of the season, or so I thought.

I kept dropping washers, nuts and bolts, down they clattered and into the gaps between the decking , my blooming fingers don’t do what they’re supposed to do, two hours later after my helpful son left I just managed one chair after retrieving some of the parts, I had to go and scrounge around my toolboxes to find and replace some parts.

You may wonder why I’m making a fuss, well to me this is the end of the road, not being able to do jobs around the house, boo hoo! I’ll put up with pain as long as I get my diy jobs done, but times they are a changing. I suppose I’ll have to ask for half pint glasses soon?

it’s a grin, honest!

stickywicket

It's certainly not the end of the road, airwave. Not for you. You're a battler.

I accept that hands are very useful things and very annoying when they decide for themselves what tó hold and what to drop. They dislike little fiddly things like nuts and bolts and anti-magnetism seems to feature. I don't have any great answers. Some things have to be abandoned but we can become quite ingenious at devising ways round others and I definitely see you in this category.

All I can currently think of that might help is that some pick-up sticks have a little magnet on the end which might be useful.

Half pints? If you do, remember to order them in twos. But also remember that a glass with a handle is easier to lift, tankards are useful as they also have big bottoms (make up your own jokes) and one hand can be placed underneath for balance so that you can either celebrate your victories or drown your sorrows. Cheers😉

Lilymary

You could try putting a bed sheet on the floor before doing fiddly diy, it’s stops bits you drop rolling off across the floor (or worse, under the decking). I&EA challenges even skilled tradesmen, there’s no shame in finding it a faff. You don’t seem the type to give in. Just turn the radio up (to cover the swearing?) and do it slower and in smaller bites next time. With extra tea breaks.

N1gel

Reminds me of the garden chair I bought off eB*y a few years back, just about to buy one when I found it £5 cheaper so bought that one instead.

It arrived and to stop losing bits I built it in the hall. A few hours and aching joints later I looked at the completed chair and thought 'It's a good job it folds because that's never going to fit out of the door'..

You guessed it; the extra £5 got you the folding version🤣

But it was very comfortable when I got it outside..

Lilymary

@N1gel, that reminds me of a story I heard when working in Tamworth, the home of the Reliant Robin. A worker at the factory effectively pinched a car, one part at a time, and assembled it in his loft, which they only found when he moved out. I don't he thought that through.

Loggiemod

Mine was a gas BBQ - the company name was something like easybuild and I should have taken that as a warning. Some 4 hours later I finally finished assembling it and proudly went to tell the family who all then said "we don't like barbeque food!" Used it once and then one day a friend of mine called round and said he was looking for a new BBQ so I gave him mine. True story

stickywicket

Another thought, airwave. You DIYers tend to have quite rough and - dare I say it - insensitive finger ends. A spot of petroleum Jelly or some such applied daily might help a little

airwave

Thanks for your comments, it did all happen like that but a couple of days later I built two chairs in twenty minutes, I must have been having a REALLY bad day! Like the sheet idea. 👍

its a grin, honest!

frogmorton

Oh @airwave 🙄

How aggravating!

I am very pleased to see that you have since been your usual super-human furniture building self!

Just a bad day😊

take care

Toni xx