In my younger days any physical work was treated as a form of training for rugby. In my teens I helped my uncle with haymaking, volunteering to stack bales. Great workout.
In our first house I dug out the footings for an extension by hand. Did the labouring for my BIL to build the structure but we “did a deal” for the concrete. Lorry arrived and we laid it in 20 mins.
As the years passed I tended to ease off really heavy jobs but did hire tools/ equipment to save manual stuff. So much easier and meant more time for getting the job done and saving time. Laid a large patio area from scratch by hand, moving materials by barrow etc due to no rear access. Planning the job saved excessive double handling etc..
The last “ heavy” work was about 5 years ago. Removing a plum tree that wasno good to clear space for a shed. Worst par5 was getting the roots up. Dug out the b@se, back filled with hardcore, used a mixer to make mortar to lay spare slabs for the base. Decided then to ease off really heavy jobs. Muscles were protesting a lot!
I enjoy DIY but have changed how I do it. Either hire the tools or, ifa big job get the pros in.
We recently remodelled the garden. Too big for me and would have taken a long time with assosciated earache from SWBO. The patio was porcelain not sandstone ( convinced SWMBO and she loved it after seeing some laid out. The pro who did it was a perfectionist. Took him a week. Well worth the money for the finish and time saved.
Same for a fence. Paid a recommended supplier. Excellent job and done quickly.
We had a budget for work when we moved here and used it.
Next job is finishing clearout of stuff we brought with us. Shed and garage.
Garage refurb planned so a good time to do it. Get rid of the temporary storage and replace with better. VERY tempted with a scissor lift to ease access for the Mog.
