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The DIY Guide

2006-04-19 13:55:13 CRIENGLISH.com

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Unlike the days of old when people had to grow their own vegetables, make their own clothes, and build their own furniture, the latest generation of 20-somethings often has no idea even on how to unclog a drain or sew a hem.

So, if you find yourself struggling with some simple household chores, here is China Drive Features Correspondent Su Xiaowei with some DIY tips.

To save a little money decorating your apartment, you might want to hang your own wallpaper. This DIY project is actually not that difficult. It's best to start behind the door, because the first bit always goes wrong. It helps to choose wallpaper with a simple, easy-to-align pattern.

Lay the wallpaper section face down on your wallpaper table and brush the paste down the middle and out from the edges. Let it soak in for a bit.

Now, stick the top half lightly to the wall and slide it into position. Did I mention you should leave some overlap when cutting? Never mind. It's too late now. Smooth the paper into place from the centre out with a brush - but not the pasty brush. Walls are rarely perfectly vertical. Use this as an excuse.

If, by the time you come to your first corner, and vertical strips have become diagonal zig zags, give up and ring a professional.

Unblocking drains
First, apply a plunger to the plughole of the shower or sink and press downward and pull up repeatedly. This won't do anything, but you can give it a try.

The proper clearing of blocked drains is simple, but disgusting, and requires drain rods, a set of flexible wands which can be screwed together until they reach far enough down the pipe to poke at the blockage. Be careful the rods don't come unscrewed as you poke, or you'll end up with a drain blocked with drain rods.

Hemming trousers
The person to whom the trousers belong will need to put them on. If they're your trousers, you'll need help. Fold the fabric up and under until you've got the hemline where you want it, and then pin it in place. Remove trousers and turn them inside out, taking care not to dislodge the pins.

Using thread slightly darker than the trousers, sew in zigzags across the edge of the fabric, in a manner that leaves big stitches on the inside and tiny ones on the outside, all the way round.

Shoddy stitching can be covered by turn-ups, but then the trousers will be too short. Your choice. If you're in a hurry, use a stapler!

Flat-pack furniture
Remember back in the olden days when people played with jigsaw puzzles for entertainment? Flat-pack furniture is a little like that, and offers good, clean fun for all the family. Before you begin, as with all jigsaws, it makes sense to check that you've got all the pieces first.

Then there are two questions you should ask yourself: 1) Do you have the correct screwdriver? 2) Do you have the patience of a saint?

Then read through the instructions. And again. Now crumple them up and rely on common sense instead.

There will always be a couple of screws left over after you have assembled your furniture. This is a little joke played by the people at Ikea that you should not be worried about.

China Drive is one of CRI's radio programs aired from Monday to Friday. Chinastic picks the most interesting life reports from China Drive. Stay tuned.

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