# Forum More Stuff Go to Whoa!  Good advice for DYI'ers doing a Go to Whoa

## namtrak

Bask in the Glory! 
It struck me the other day that there are many people building their own extensions, houses, rooms, toilets etc that don't get to enjoy their work.  Atypically they have spent an inordinate amount of time working on their job, however once it comes towards the end they don't start to enjoy their achievements. 
You know what I mean, you spend so much time focusing on the bits and pieces that when someone walks in and says our place looks great, you say "Yeh, but I didn't point the brick work very well, I need to go over the plaster joins once more, I've got to move a power point 2 inches to the left, the paint has a roller mark in the laundry cupboard etc ad infinitum" 
Well the bottom line is that 3rd parties can neither see the little errors you left, or probably care about them either.  So next time someone wanders into your pride and joy and says your place looks great just reply "Yeh, your right - I did a great job" now repeat after me..........

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## jago

Too true Namtrak ... pmsl my wife is good at pointing those things out like "oh and Jago has just got to...." thanks wifey! :Doh:

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## Chumley

Totally agree.  And it doesn't have to be a major project like an extension.  Just about every time I complete some project from a shelf to a cabinet to a gazebo to a letter opener I always see something that just didn't quite work out.  Most often the only others to see the error are other woodies. 
Good thought. 
Cheers,
Adam

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## Black Cat

I'm kind of lucky. Everyone who lives around here knows what I started with. So when they come in they can not shut up about the progress and so I have little time to draw their attention to the faults (of which there are many). It is pleasing when that happens as country folk can be fairly tight-mouthed when it comes to compliments ...

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## Vin

Stop talking about me! I only ever see the faults.  
But you know those folks that do shocking jobs, have rose coloured gasses,tell everyone how good they are, you know the type,  :Bird2:  well they get up my nose.

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## zacnelson

This thread is SO true!! I think we can all relate.

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## Make it work

I get really angry with myself when I make a blue, but then I get over it and move on to fixing it. I am a perfectionist and absolutely hate leaving a job with visable errors so now Wonder Wife & I just use one of these 3 things, 
1. Old House, this covers dents you paint over, marks in the floor or bench tops, etc...can't have everything look perfect in one part and a bit used in another... 
2. Hand Made, this covers the odd mitre or join that is not absolutely perfect, can't have everything look like it just came out of a shop. 
3. 1 metre rule, If you can't see it from 1 metre away then its OK. This covers the odd brush or roller mark, seams in curtains, a tiny bit of plaster chipped of a decorative ceiling pattern and any thing else that can only be seen from up close. 
This has been very helpful to us and I hope it helps others in the same way. It is not an excuse for shoddy or poor work but it certainly has helped us to see the good work we do rather than just see the oopsies. 
And NAMTRAK, Thanks for the reminder to BASK IN THE GLORY... 
EDIT: I am much happier to apply these three working principles to our own work than to ANY that I have had to pay for. There is only one thing worse than fixing your own stuff ups and that is fixing the ones you have paid someone else to make.

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## shauck

I'm with Make it work. Especially the old house bit. (1890s)  
When you pull ply off the walls and see doorways without lintels or made from extremely bent timber and the walls lean out a good 35mm or more from top of stud to bottom, you know anything you do is an improvement. Honestly, you can't even see this without a level.   
Hooray for any improvements, I say. 
Su

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## andy the pm

Well said namtrak, 
Although a couple of weeks ago I had just finished fitting top hat battens to one wall in the bedroom and (for once) was standing back admiring my work when the missus walked in, took a look at it, and said it looked like crap....which, I suppose to be fair, it does, but it still popped my bubble! 
I know I am too hard on myself, which is why I haven't posted anything in the go to whoa! 
Andy

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## Black Cat

I call the 'old house' challenges 'patina' and say I have left them there deliberately to show the use of the house over the years - and then look at the person who has made the comment as if they have no taste :2thumbsup:

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## wolfbunny

Well said namtrak and honourable mention to Make it work.
Not done many things around the house(yet!) but the few I've done the missus loves except to say why did you start the steps(outside steps on a very slopey hill leading to the backyard) from the bottom instead of the top where we always walk! I on the other hand look back at what I did and think I should've done this and that there instead of enjoying what I acheived. I think of the whatif's! 
PS if the water gauge wasn't at the end of the steps probably wouldn't get used much! 
Still haven't worked on the courage to start the top half of the steps but the ideas are flowing for lots of other things to be done!

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