Andy131 wrote:

OK I HATE getting tradesmen in to do a job I am perfectly capable of doing.

The wallpaper (supaglypta = polystyrene raised lumps) in the living room has been on for 30 years - painted every 4-5 years, but the house was built in the 1920s and the walls are like a dogs back leg.

Gill's just had lymph nodes out in one arm, and I have had heart surgery - lets get "someone" in

3 weeks of quotes, we are now down to bare walls and have been for a couple of weeks - strange thing is I have spent the last 3 weekends "preparing" the room for the plasterer & joiner & decorator - would have been quicker to do it myself and £3k cheaper.
Decorator has stripped most of the walls - but Gill and I have had to do the tricky bits - oh and I have to remove the light fittings and sockets unless I want to pay an electrician
Oh and radiators would have needed a plumber - over my dead body.
Looking like it might be finished late July.

I thought the idea was you "get a man in" and go away on holiday for a couple of weeks, when you come back it's all done.

Bedroom is getting done later on in the year - and I am definitely doing it myself, because I am a greater risk of a heart attack watching these "tradesmen" than doing the work myself.

Decorated my whole house myself 12 years ago, fitted new kitchen, bathroom, bashed out fireplace and fitted wood burner.
prior to that I redecorated the farm cottage in a similar way, my Dad was so impressed with the place that he moved in and chucked me out into the tired farmhouse.

Since then Ive decided my day job cant allow this to happen again, As i need to stay focused on livelihood, So we now get decorators in. slowly insulating the place when we can too so if a room is redone I get insulated plaster board fitted on outside walls and skimmed over, that jobs above my pay grade.

Like most old farmhouses, size is the problem here, the house is 18m long 12m wide so each room is a big task.

Window cleaner comes 6 times a year and charges £13 a time so I aint washing windows myself for that, just pop round with karcher if they get stained between cleans, bird crap or bird collision marks mainly, you know when you get the full imprint of the bird on window, body and outspread wings and all.

workwise I stick to tending to patio areas, mainly blowing fallen roof moss away and the occasional power wash.
cordless leaf blow is a boon here, great for power drying the car too. much more powerful than I expected, I have petrol backpack blower too but the little cordless impresses. At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

The only bit I don't feel confident to do is the top of the stair well. All that balancing on planks and stuff just isn't worth the fear any more. That said, I don't see the point in decorating unless it really needs doing. Buy a newly decorated house, live in it for 20 years, sell it on and buy another (bit like when I used to buy an Austin A60 with new MoT, transfer the good bits from the old one, run it into the ground, repeat next year).
My last house was early Victorian jerry-built. All the walls covered in thick paper and painted. I repainted a few myself but never touched the paper. Guy who bought it was surprised when he decided to decorate, pulled the paper off and the plaster came with it. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.