Why have some British men lost their DIY skills?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.express.co...e-now-hopeless-at-DIY

It cannot be because they haven't the time, since they enjoy more leisure time than in the past.

Then perhaps it is because they are more affluent and can afford to pay others to do the job?

Or maybe in this day of equality, men are far too busy doing the cleaning and the ironing etc? (TITC remark honest)

Or could the reason be the same of why today's children have also lost the skills once held by the children of yesterday?

[woofgang]

Not sure what the point is...my dad was lousy at DIY...

[ummmm]

I have not got one single memory of my dad doing DIY....

My mum did it all. Hanging doors....laying carpets....you name it, she did it.

[jno]

it's true, jno jnr was useless when we tried to send him up the chimneys as a lad. It's dreadful the way these old craft skills are vanishing.

[boxtops]

My father never did anything except bang in a few nails, and he was scared of electricity. OH doesn't like doing DIY. I wish the same applied to the bloke next door...

[boxtops]

^^ and PS, it's because a lot of blokes don't like it, that we ladies have learned how to wield a drill, otherwise we'd never get anything done.

[Gromit]

The very premise of the question is wrong.

There are more people doing DIY now than there have ever been. Which means more men are successfully DIYing than there have ever been.

There have always been men who are hopeless at this kind of thing, I suspect the % of useless DIYers is the same now as it has ever been.

[snags]

I've spent the last few days prepping and painting various ceilings, walls and skirting... intensely tedious but the fumes are fun...

[douglas9401]

Don't know mate, I'll get somebody to look into it. :)

[LoftyLottie]

Both Mr LL and master LL (28) have brilliant DIY skills - like father like son. My father, however, had not. It depends on the person I suppose, although there is more of a tendency these days to employ others - we basically live in a more affluent society regardless of what people say.

Neither of my menfolk would dream of employing anybody if they can do it themselves, which sometimes causes great problems in actually getting things done because neither of them have much spare time!!

[LoftyLottie]

Neither of my grandfathers were interested or bothered with DIY either and I don't come from a well off background.

Also this obsession with decorating and renovating and making the house beautiful is relatively new. My grandparents lived with the same decorations and facilities for years and years and years, and new kitchens were unheard of. People were more satisfied with what they had - not always longing for bigger and better. I enjoyed those days more. People had more time for the important things in life in my opinion.

[craft1948]

My first husband was brilliant at DIY...........his father was rubbish.

[LoftyLottie]

My mum just nagged my Dad so no little jobs ever got done!!

[RATTER15]

I still do a lot of DIY I learned as a school child but I agree that so many youngsters these days would not which end of a screwdriver to hold.

[anotheoldgit]

Seems like some of you had very lazy Dads.

jno

Disregarding your sarcastic comment about sending children up chimneys, can jno jnr make his own trolley using a set of pram wheels, with no other tools than a saw, a hammer and a red-hot poker for a drill?

Or could he cut himself a branch out of the hedgerow and fashion himself a bow and arrow?

Could he make himself a fishing rod with a cane, a length of yarn, a bent pin and a few hair grips for runners?

Could he make a kite?

Could he make a 'Scotch Arrow' from a length of wood, fashion a flight out of stiff paper and then use a knotted piece of string to launch it.

Could he make a type of phone from 2 cans and a length of string?

Etc, Etc, Etc

Yesterday's child would have no help from his dad, because he was too busy doing the decorating, fixing the plumbing, or fixing something electrical.

[Carakeel]

Well I am not so sure that men today have more free time than they used to have. My ratter15 works 6 days a week and still does a lot of DIY and he does it very well. I used to do a fair bit myself, but can't anymore, so only do little jobs or act as ratter's assistant if I can. My father was absolutely useless at DIY and always had to get someone in to do any DIY jobs, except for painting walls (which usually my Mother ended up doing, lol). My two sons were both fairly good at DIY, but neither were great at it. I do think that women do more DIY now, partly out of necessity (no man around or one who hasn't the time or inclination) but also because it can be good fun too.

[RATTER15]

AOG, as a child I made all of those things, trouble is in today's world it very different, if you cut a stick you could be prosecuted, if you are seen with a bow and arrow you could be prosecuted, if you made a trolley you would probably get run over and killed if you took it on the road.

They dont need two cans and a piece of string when they have mobile phones.

A very different world, they miss out on so much these days.

If I wanted a bicycle I would go to the local tip and search through the rubbish until I found all the parts I needed to make one, cant do that these days either.

[anotheoldgit]

RATTER15

Oh so very true, unfortunately.

But how did we obtain all those skills?

Take the Sheath Knife, what kid did not carry one fastened to his belt?

But did he think of stabbing anyone with it, or coming to harm using it, no body I knew did?

[jno]

aog, jno jnr bought a flat and totally redesigned and remodelled it - ripped out all the interior walls (a top-floor flat, so they weren't load-bearing) put in new ones, tiled, painted and decorated the entire place - he got plumbers and electricians to do the dangerous stuff, but basically he built himself a home. But... he did not get any of this from his loving but not very competent parents. (He got it from watching property programmes on TV.)

So from the point of view of my own family, you've got it backwards. Kids are getting smarter.