As many
of you are aware, Steve and I are renovating an old house in the Cote D’Armor
region of Brittany. Of course, I use the term, “Steve and I” loosely as it is
Steve who is doing the bulk of the work. With years of experience in building,
electrics, plumbing, carpentry and a host of other Hard Jobs (Capital H,
capital J there) he is without a doubt a man of immense talent and skill in
this field. He can put a fitted kitchen together, without so much as a glance
as the instructions. He can fix just about anything that requires fixing and
has come up with more ingenious ways to get round a seemingly insurmountable
problem than I can recall.
Steve putting the kitchen units together - instructions were not required!
The beginning of another Hard Job
Yikes is all I have to say
Yep, the
man’s good.
I, on the
other hand, have no discernible DIY skills whatsoever. I have no idea how to
change a fuse, put on a plug or any other remotely basic household tasks of
that nature. I stand in open mouthed awe at Steve’s efforts and am unceasingly
amazed at the results he has achieved in a few short months.
My stunning kitchen only a few weeks after Steve made a start on it
THIS is how it looked before Steve got to it
I am however a useful gopher, a cleaner upper, and most importantly, I make excellent egg custards. The fact that an egg custard has, to my knowledge, never been usefully applied in any DIY task is immaterial. They are an integral part of the process and have to be eaten on a regular basis if success is to be attained J Failure in this culinary area might well result in the universe as we know it disappearing down a black hole.
I am however a useful gopher, a cleaner upper, and most importantly, I make excellent egg custards. The fact that an egg custard has, to my knowledge, never been usefully applied in any DIY task is immaterial. They are an integral part of the process and have to be eaten on a regular basis if success is to be attained J Failure in this culinary area might well result in the universe as we know it disappearing down a black hole.
My little egg custard tarts - yes I know there's one missing, someone has to test them and Mikey wasn't here
What I AM
good at is mixing plaster (who knew). Our battles with the French plaster have
been documented in a previous blog, so I won’t repeat myself here. Suffice to
say, I have conquered the art of mixing French plaster, which affords me a
modicum of status and a (slightly) begrudging recognition from Steve as the best
person for this particular job.
I AM good at plaster mixing, but tend to end up wearing most of it
Now in
any renovation project of this scale, challenges are inevitable, and have to be
overcome. What I have discovered is that when Steve hits a problem, there are
certain things, which must never be said; suggestions, which must never be
offered, and advice, which under NO circumstances needs to be given.
I have
written this blog as a guide for others (OK, other women) who may find themselves in a
similar position. A kind of quick reference for correct responses if you like. Ladies,
take heed, it may save a lot of heartache.
Scenario Number One – The Leaky Tap
“I’ve got
a leak” announced Steve one day.
I
immediately adopted, what I felt was a suitably downcast expression to
demonstrate my solidarity.
“Oh no” I
mourned, “Where?”
“Small
bathroom” came the terse response. “I’ll have to sort it this morning, so the
water will be off for a while”
“Okay” I
said in a completely understanding tone, “Not a problem”.
The
minutes ticked by. I could hear the sound of tinkering, clattering and the
obligatory muttering which always accompanies such Hard Jobs. After ten minutes, I approached ……..
Pipes pipes and more pipes
Lesson Number
One; Offer No Sympathy
When your
husband is fixing a tricky leak in the small (or any other) bathroom, DO NOT
stand at the door like a sympathetic mother hen and ask, “How’s it going?” No matter
how compassionate you sound, and regardless of your well-meaning support, it is
absolutely NOT required or welcomed at this point. It will only result in a sharply and rather crossly spoken, "WHAT?" as he bangs his head coming up to hear what you're trying to ask him.
You will
be advised of “How it’s going” when the job is completed and NOT a moment
sooner.
Scenario Number Two – Awkward Wiring
“Right”
said Steve with determination.
I knew
that tone and immediately felt anxious, knowing that my assistance was required
in some capacity. I secretly hoped it was not plaster.
“What’s
up?” I asked brightly hoping he would just ask for a cup of coffee and leave me
out of it.
“See
these wires?” he said indicating a mutinous looking tangle of red, green and
yellow wires dangling from the ceiling.
“Yes” I
affirmed, my anxiety increasing by the minute.
“Well, I
need you to hold THIS one, don’t touch THAT one and feed me THESE ones through
that hole when I say so”
I eyed
the hole and looked back at the wires and made my error ……
Wiring hell - to me anyway
Lesson
Number Two; never question his judgement on what will go where
When your
husband has given what he feels are clear instructions on what you are required
to do to assist him in getting the Job done, do not utter the words,
“Are you
sure all those wires will fit through that hole?”
When I
made this rookie mistake, Steve adopted a pained expression, shook his head and
sighed.
“This is
not my first rodeo” he said with what I felt was an unnecessary edge of sarcasm.
“Of COURSE they’ll fit”
Questioning his good judgement in such matters is highly improper in
terms of DIY etiquette. I might as well have said,
“You’re
wrong you know, you have no idea what you’re doing. Those wires aren’t going to
fit through that hole”.
They
fitted.
He knows EXACTLY what he's doing thank you
Scenario Number Three – The Unfinished Job
Steve is
always busy. He might have a dozen or more jobs on the go at any one time. Here’s
a bit of useful advice in regard to those unfinished little jobs you might
observe around the house.
A hundred and one jobs on the go at any one time
Steve had
been working on some really difficult plumbing. He had put an en-suite bathroom
in our bedroom, where there had previously been NO bathroom at all.
Consequently, he had to create ALL the plumbing necessary for the sink, shower
and toilet. I can tell you from having watched him do this, that it is no mean
feat and takes a lot of time, effort and thinking. I would see him in the
evening sitting staring into space “thinking” about his plumbing Job. Holes
were made, pipes were fitted, connections were joined up and slowly, the complex
network of plumbing took shape. By necessity, it had to come down through the
floor in order to hook up with main drains and away. This meant that a big fat pipe was running along the ceiling in the living room.
I had to
do it, I had to open my big mouth ……
Steve's Hard bathroom Job
Lesson
Number Three; do NOT ask obvious questions
Casting a
critical eye at the fat pipe in the living room I asked,
“Are you
boxing that big fat pipe in?”
Sigh
Steve’s
response?
“No, I
thought I’d leave it like that and have it on display. Of COURSE I’m boxing it
in” – there's that sarcasm again.
Me (in
small voice) “Sorry”
THE big fat pipe
Big fat pipe now boxed in and being painted over
Scenario Number Four – The Uncooperative Dishwasher
We had
purchased a 2nd hand dishwasher from one of those Facebook sites.
The people we bought it from were very nice and assured us that it worked
perfectly. Indeed, the inside of it was all wet where the man had given it a
test run before we came.
We bought it.
We bought it.
After a
bit of thought, Steve decided to put my washing machine under the stairs, so I
could have the dishwasher in the kitchen. Yes of course, that was the practical
thing to do. I mean, who wants a dishwasher under the stairs? So, after some
wrestling with the washing machine, and some not so strenuous manoeuvring of
the dishwasher, Steve went to plumb it in.
It wouldn’t work L
I bit my lip, looked worried and tried so hard not to speak, but I couldn’t help it; it just came out.
It wouldn’t work L
I bit my lip, looked worried and tried so hard not to speak, but I couldn’t help it; it just came out.
Sorting yet more plumbing
Lesson
Number Five; do NOT use a tone of voice usually reserved for four year old
children
I could
see Steve’s frustration beginning to mount as the dishwasher refused to
cooperate.
“Try
again” he said tersely after another attempt to rectify the problem.
I tried –
it made the right sound, but no water was going in.
“It’s not
working” I said unhelpfully stating the obvious.
Steve
dragged the reluctant machine out once again and seeing how annoyed he was, I
made another clumsy attempt to be helpful. Adopting a soothing tone, which I
would normally reserve for children around the age of four who have fallen and
bumped their knee I said,
“Never
mind, leave it for now. I’m sure you’ll work it out in a bit”
I can
almost hear the audible gasps and sharp intakes of breath at this most
offensive of faux pas. In my misguided effort to “help” I had committed a
cardinal sin, no TWO cardinal sins;
-
I had said “never mind”; not only did Steve mind,
he minded so much he was prepared to stay there all week if he had to in order
to conquer this Hard dishwasher Job.
-
I suggested he “Leave it for now” – I might as
well have said, “Obviously, you can’t fix this, so why not leave it alone and
we’ll get someone in who knows what he’s doing”
My
transgression was instantly apparent from the look on his face. With only
slightly clenched teeth he spoke slowly and quietly,
“I CAN
fix it, I know EXACTLY what the problem is, I just don’t have the right fitting”.
He then went into a long (unnecessarily long I thought) explanation of how the
water pressure was affecting the flow of the water, so it wasn’t reaching the
dishwasher, and how he needed a special valve to address this. Anxious to make amends, I nodded
enthusiastically and said “I see” a lot, when I didn’t see at all.
One trip
to Bricomarche later to get the valve and hey presto – dishwasher working
perfectly, as he always knew it would J
One dishwasher in perfect working order
Scenario
Number Six; the busy busy man
It is
important to understand that when a man is as busy as Steve, he is focused, he
is determined, he has a plan. He does NOT want to be diverted from that plan by
non-stop offers of food or drink and he especially does not need to be called
away to watch the latest funny video of a cat on Facebook L
On this
particular day, Steve had many Hard Jobs on the go. He was knocking a door
through from one room to another, raising startling amounts of dust and debris.
Knocking the door through. I turn a blind eye to the dust!
He was still tinkering with the plumbing, and had the removal of a staircase on his mind.
The staircase that had to come out was on his mind
The weather here in Brittany was warming up, and I had all the windows flung wide open. This was all well and good, but as is often the case, we had many uninvited flies in the house. I loved to have the back door open too, but being in the kitchen, the flies were too much of a problem. But I was too hot, and so came yet another blunder.
Knocking the door through. I turn a blind eye to the dust!
He was still tinkering with the plumbing, and had the removal of a staircase on his mind.
The staircase that had to come out was on his mind
The weather here in Brittany was warming up, and I had all the windows flung wide open. This was all well and good, but as is often the case, we had many uninvited flies in the house. I loved to have the back door open too, but being in the kitchen, the flies were too much of a problem. But I was too hot, and so came yet another blunder.
Lesson
Number Six; do NOT divert a busy busy man
I
collared Steve as he passed through the kitchen.
“I know
you’re busy darling, but you couldn’t just fit me that fly screen so I can have
the back door open could you? It’s awfully hot”
Now, like
most men, Steve likes a challenge. He was busy; so very busy, but his woman had
made a request of him and had used the words, “You couldn’t just”……….. The
caveman in him took over. He COULD just, and he would do it before she could
repeat the words, “It’s awfully hot”.
“Right”
he snapped in a Basil Fawlty way; “Get the mesh”.
I
scuttled off and got the roll of mesh we had bought for such a purpose. He
measured it with steely eyed determination, thrust it back at me and demanded I
cut it where he indicated.
I did so,
knowing by now that I really shouldn’t have asked him to do this, while he was so busy with other Jobs. I tried to
back track.
“If you’re
too busy, leave it for now, do it another time, honestly, it doesn’t matter”
Foolish woman, there you go again saying it doesn’t matter.
Foolish woman, there you go again saying it doesn’t matter.
All I got
was a raised eyebrow and “The look”.
I kept cutting.
I kept cutting.
Steve
went outside; he hammered, sawed, nailed and muttered. In less than one hour,
he had constructed a temporary, yet perfectly functional fly screen. The back
door could be open all day – yey.
“It’s
only temporary” growled Steve darkly, “I’ll do it properly when I have more
time” he added pointedly as he returned to his Hard, and far more important Job
of knocking a door through.
I just
about got away with it, but it’s never a good idea to disturb an already busy
man, especially one who is beginning to resemble a grubby Quaker with that bearded look; which is dirt by the way!
DO NOT disturb
And so
ladies, I hope that this short guide might assist you in knowing what not to
say or do in your efforts to be helpful. I will leave you with a few more
useful tips J Happy renovating
everyone.
- When there is a problem, never ask, “Is there anything I can do to help?” –
There won’t be. If HE can’t do it, you certainly can’t. You may ask the question if there is no problem, as you may be required to clean up, make a coffee or mix plaster. This is acceptable.
-
Do NOT under any circumstances suggest getting
someone in to help him. He does not want anyone else’s help. He wants to do it
ALL himself and by God he will.
-
You MUST resist the urge to touch him while he is working out a problem. No matter
how sympathetic you are feeling, you MUST not touch him, no, no, no. Do not
stroke his arm, put a hand on his back or in any way make bodily contact. Now
is not the time. If you do, you may as well pat him on the head and say “There
there”.
-
Under no circumstance utter the words, “Ahhh don’t
worry about it” - these words are futile
-
And my final rule just for me; even in moments of
weakness, I must NEVER mention how good I am at mixing plaster J That would just be rude!
www.freyabarrington.com
Freya
Hi Freya & Steve
ReplyDeleteWe appear to be living your lives in reverse; we are currently selling up the house we've renovated in France and moving to Gozo!
I bought my husband your book and he gobbled it up over the weekend - he loved it. I'd be really grateful if you would follow our blog - I have a feeling you could give us some really practical advice.... We will reciprocate, of course, though I think you have it covered with taking rubble to the déchetterie (I have vocab for infected toes, lawnmowers and headlice!) Bonne chance!
PS; I don't seem to have a link for your blog?
DeleteHi Danielle, How amazing! I am grateful to you for sharing the Gozo book with your husband and am pleased he enjoyed it. I will follow your blog with pleasure. Love the varied vocab there ha ha. With our rescue dog, I've learned how to say, "He pulls like a train" :) My email is freyabarrington@gmail.com if you'd like to drop me a line and let me have your email too. Be happy to keep in touch. All the best Freya x
ReplyDelete