Are you a bodger of perfectionist?

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Are you a bodger of perfectionist?

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jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28235
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 9:24 am Post subject: Are you a bodger of perfectionist?
trying to lay a floor this morning, and decided that rather than lay the tiles direct onto the wood, it would be better to lay a sheet of plywood on top, for a more even surface. This made me think of the subject, I'd say I was somewhere in between, and sometimes pretty erratic depending on my level of patiences on the day

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 9:39 am Post subject:
in a nutshell it depends how tired I am...

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 9:54 am Post subject:
Complete perfectionist. But Jema, incidentally - probably a wise idea to lay the plywood as in my bathroom I tiled straight onto the floor and of course then the tiles moved and I had to redo it over plywood. Only make sure that you seal it well or it'll get wet and in the long term start to stink. Damp plywood is a smell like no other.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 10:22 am Post subject:
Perfectionist - but it takes time and you need to know when to stop. Plastering and entire wall is a good example. It will never be perfectly flat, but it's on a par with the rest of the house and better than many other places I've been in. With the plywood, obviously make sure it's a good waterproof one. If possible not just an external grade one but I think you can get a better marine ply?

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28235
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 11:02 am Post subject:

moogie wrote:

Complete perfectionist. But Jema, incidentally - probably a wise idea to lay the plywood as in my bathroom I tiled straight onto the floor and of course then the tiles moved and I had to redo it over plywood. Only make sure that you seal it well or it'll get wet and in the long term start to stink. Damp plywood is a smell like no other.

Plywood AND the marble floor are now layed

For once I am ahead of schedule. Having done it, not question is made sense and almost certainly speeded up the process.

judyofthewoods

Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 804
Location: Pembrokeshire

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 11:37 am Post subject:

Depends on the job, sometimes bodged together, at other times total perfection (where professional pride is at stake, usually). When I want something to get working asap, I'll cut a few corners, but try to do the job as best I can within the time or resource constraints, and eventually do it 'properly', usually in the year dot, or when the bodged job needs repairing.
I suppose you already have the tiles, but for anyone considering laying a floor which needs to be splash proof, you can get some really nice real lino, the stuff made with linseed oil etc, and if the floor is not too uneven, sheets of hardboard would be a cheap and ecological alternative. Real lino, too, has a lowish ecological footprint (comparativly speeking).

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28235
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 11:39 am Post subject:
In this case, as we will have to sell the house, creating a bathroom to expectations of buyers has to count higher for us than other considerations. Hence the marble.

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 1:47 pm Post subject:
I'm a perfectionist until time runs out and then I bodge to get the job done - or leave it for a few years (bath panel etc)

*Fluffykitten*

Joined: 03 Dec 2004
Posts: 74
Location: Merthyr Tydfil

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 2:04 pm Post subject:
That sounds so familiar Behemoth!! Towards the end of a project I kind of 'snap' and its just got to be finished in the next few minutes or not at all!! For 'bigger' jobs we usually get someone in who knows what they are doing trouble is when its finished I always think that I could have done it better myself.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 2:11 pm Post subject:
Depends on the job and how visible the results will be/how long I'm going to live with them. I'm quite perfectionist about prepping for decoration, because if you do it properly once it'll be easy on future occasions. I'd also just like to point out that bodging is a highly skilled craft which is unjustly maligned by this usage of the term.

Marigold123

Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 224

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 2:25 pm Post subject:

Behemoth wrote:

I'm a perfectionist until time runs out and then I bodge to get the job done - or leave it for a few years (bath panel etc)

Me too. I'm a perfectionist, until I get tired and realise I'm not quite as capable as I'd thought and it will have to do. Pretty OK most of the time, though, and sometimes you do something so well that you surprise yourself. Those are the days to really enjoy.

Guest

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 2:58 pm Post subject:
Hubby is a perfectionise, especially with DIY preparation, me q bit the opposite. We balance each other out a bit, though, whihc is good. Bodging is something to do with chairmaking or woodland work, I think, isn't it? Botching is the word you are looking for.

culpepper

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 638
Location: Kent

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 5:31 pm Post subject:

My hubby drives me mad ,he is so finicky

I like to do everything down to the last detail but Im not manic about it. I do watercolour and pencil drawings and small models and will keep going till im happy with them but thats only with my hobby things. With a mending job I'll just do what works and leave it at that. for instance,We've got a white plastic fence which I 'mended' a few years ago ,you couldnt climb on it but it looks okay.

Blacksmith

Joined: 25 Jan 2005
Posts: 5025
Location: Berkshire

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 05 11:41 pm Post subject:
Depends on your definition of " bodging" ( originally chair makers in the woods, working a pole lathe, i belive) Sometimes a "quick fix" or" bodge" can save time and money, I repair production line machinery, downtime costs ��. But to take short cuts, not doing the job properly when you have got the time is just poor practice. Dave

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