So I tried writing this inaugural post about 38 times, and every single time i'd get about 15 minutes in, read it back, berate myself and then delete it and sentence myself to 17 lashes with a fucked up leather 'whip'...(you know, a bit like Paul Bettany in the Da Vinci Code).
I then realised that was just a little bit fucked up and maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself, so i'd make a cup of tea and instead of having 3 digestive biscuits, i'd restrict myself to two, just so on some level i'd know that I was disappointed with myself.
Anyway...let's get this sorted so I can get back to the socially acceptable 3 biscuit trip-dip!!
I've covered this part of my life here and there in a few instagram posts in the past, but I want to really cover the bases of how I got to where I am, in the hope that it may help a few people skip some of the disastrous mistakes I made along the way!!
So for me, up until March 2019, i'd never really used Instagram at all. Between April 2016 and December 2016 I had made 8 posts, but aside from that, I really didn't see what the point was, what the appeal was, or what the end game was. It just seemed like a place to share pictures and ultimately, that is what I was using facebook for.
In March 2018 we moved into our current house, it was a big step up in size and we knew from the get go that there would be work that we both WANTED to do, and work that we NEEDED to do, we maybe just got the order of those things a little bit mixed up initially!
We'd not been in but a week and I decided the best idea was to knock through the kitchen wall, because everything has to get worse before it gets better right...?!?
Anyway...this sets the scene for much of how 2018 would go.
Fast forward to March 2019...
- The house was in full turmoil, 27 jobs had been started and approximately 2.5 had been finished
- I had learned how to erect stud partitioning
- We had completely gutted the 'Central Heating System' and had underfloor heating installed downstairs, an entirely new pressurised central heating system throughout the entire house, and an air course heat pump to heat it all
- I had started the daunting task of laying 145sqm of continuous 25mm slate flooring throughout the entire downstairs
- Started the process of having the external concrete render removed from the entire house and having it redone in Lime, which had to be finished by April 2019 as we have bats!
- Completely gutted the upstairs bathroom and had it tiled as a wet room with new suite
- Foundations had been dug and steel installed for the sunroom extension
Now through all of this, I had tried to take on as much of the renovation work as I could in an attempt to not only ensure we were being efficient with the funds we had to do the work, but also because I have this unquenchable drive to learn, to know, to do!
Some jobs I had already decided I wanted to attempt (like the stud partitioning) and some jobs I was forced into (stupid quotes for doing the slate flooring) but all in all it was an amazing learning experience and it was at this point that my wife suggested we should start sharing on Instagram...which I was extremely reticent to do!
However I eventually gave in, and decided to do some posts over the course of a week, 'catching up' on what we had achieved the year before and then I started posting regularly about what I was doing.
And honestly...fuck my life was it underwhelming!! The responses and engagement I was getting versus the time and effort invested just felt utterly fucking pointless and I seriously started to question why I was bothering taking 30 mins to document, take pictures, post all this shit on Instagram, for 5 people to like it and not engage in any conversation about anything with anyone!
However, I endured! The first project I posted about regularly was the sunroom extension I had decided to take on myself, because...well...i fancied fucking doing it! My wife was less enthusiastic about this chartered accountant who had recently bought a drill and an impact driver and a 250mm mitre saw from B&Q building a structural part of the house...but I pushed on anyway, using that as a drive to prove her the fuck wrong!
So yeh...that got built, and then during this project (yes, during, not before, not after, smack bang in the fucking middle) I decided that the shed that was left by the previous owners was a bit shit, so I decided it needed knocking down and a brand new one erected in its place...winging the entire thing!
This was the project that people really started taking interest in, I started engaging with people regularly and it really encouraged me to post more regularly and document more of what I was doing.
I built this shed with the intention of it being a 'workshop'...a place to go into, chill out, make some stuff ( no fucking idea what...but I had good intentions) and I ultimately kitted it out with workbenches and storage with this goal in mind.
However...I then began turning my eye toward my garage and having engaged with people on instagram, started following more people and having my eyes opened to the world of woodworking, I decided that I needed more space...A LOT more space...
So in June 2019 this happened:
And by the close of August 2019, I had a fully enclosed workspace, workbenches almost wholly erected and my first pieces of Axminster and Festool equipment making their homes in my workshop to be...
It's worth noting at this point in time that I had absolutely no fucking idea where I was going, what I was doing, or where I eventually wanted to get to. I had no goals, no ambition, I was winging the entire fucking thing, but September 2019 was where things were really about to unknowingly kick off and I would start to find my feet and start to plot out some kind of direction...
I started to take Instagram seriously and entered into a whole new world of mega fuck ups and bandwagons...
To be continued...
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