Always done my own stuff, was trained by uncle who was a building services engineer and architect who taught me to plan, draw and undertake some serious DIY projects, remember those proper DIY magazines in the 60's ?
Being able to submit my own drawings and tech stuff for planning and building regs has saved me loads over the years
I've re-roofed my mums old listed cottage, replaced every window in our previous house, built a lovely hardwood conservatory from scratch (my employer had a joiners shop I was allowed to make it in), kitchens, bathrooms, massive cut-n-fill landscaping in steep gardens, taking chimneys down, extensions and garages, the only pro's I had to hire was the piling rig last time for some seriously deep foundations
Without 50 odd years of graft, I would never have been able to move up the property ladder and live where we currently are
The only slight downside is that the extended family think now I'm retired I've got loads of time (and inclination) to do all the DIY they can't manage
