Not so handy handyman...

You are not alone. 2 years ago the hubby decided to rip up the tile in the kitchen and laundry room ( which was still in ok shape) He put down the ceramic tiles in the kitchen. Never took the excess grout off them and never put the floor back in the laundry room. Why should he care if the laundry room floor is ice cold, not like he ever goes in there... I am missing trim strips around my back door becuase he took them down when we were painting (this was about the same time as the floor project was started) and broke some of them. Sortly after all these projects were started I found out I was expecting and I have never gotten around to doing it myself. AAAAGGG I am right there with you!

My husband now, will finish a project that he starts. My ex husband however, would start on something, drop it, start on something else, drop it and so on. Be thankful taht your husband at least gets the jobs to 3/4's completion. My ex-husband, if he had to put the tub in I would be lucky if I could use the water after three weeks. Caulking would have been the least of my issues. We had a hole in our ceiling from where a former tenant had stood up because he was so tall and he knocked a hole in the ceiling with his head. that never got fixed the entire time we lived there. The entire time we lived in that place I had to use pliers to turn on the bath tub water. Now can you see why I divorced him? I know that it drives you nuts, but being through what I have and dealing with the numbnut that I was married to I would be more than happy to get on the DIY help site and find out how to help get those into completion. Caulking is not difficult at all, it's surprisingly easy after you find out how to do it. filling in nail holes are quite easy too. Sanding and repainting can be done in a pinch during naptime for your kids. However, the painting I would wait on because of the fumes with the kids in the house. Maybe you can get on the DIY help site and impress your husband with your new found knowledge and help him complete those projects! Sometimes it takes you kicking him in the pants or jumping in to get him motivated.

I think a lot of people are this way. When I was growing up we had a neighbor that just about every room in the whole house had some kind of project going on in it.

I have seen this done many times and most of the people i know have the best of intentions but for some reason they get burned out on the job and lose the interest. You are not alone but saying that I do not know what to tell you. I am a guy who took shop in school and can do some things but I know in my heart that my skills are limited and would not take on a major repair job like you describe. I fouond in the long run it was cheaper and less evasive on my wife to just hire a professional handyman to do your work. There are a lot of people who "think" they can do plumbing, electrical, and mechanical work but they end up making the job worse then if they would have never touched it in the first place. Your husband will not be easily motivated to hire someone to finish what he started. In most cases what he had done is make the improvements worse then if he had never started them in the first place plus he is making his place look bad and if you have a mortgage on your house he is probably violating the rules by devaluing the property..it would be like if you took a hammer to his car or truck or took his tools and threw them in the river...(not a bad idea) but he is not doing anyone any favors and creating a health risk for you and the kids..subtle hints are lost on him as he is to thick to be aware of his own faults...my condolences to you and the kids..soon you may be homeless

Sounds like my hubby! He painted most of the house...but never finished the trim or put the closet doors back on!! He has been "fixing" our bathroom for months...let me say it is a mess of spackle, purple paint (yes, he tried painting it purple!) and now some weird faux style he likes in there also to go with the circa 1970's vinyl tile...He tried telling me he wanted to start his own handyman business...lol...I think i convinced him to do something else when i had to have my dad com & fix one of his projects, lol!!

You are definitely not alone, I have had this problem with my hubby too. I found a trick to get the things that need to get finished done. Before he starts on the next major project, go around the house and make a list of all the unfinished bits and pieces of projects he has left to do. Then give him the list and say, "Honey I know you are excited about starting a new big project, but before you can start this, these little things need to get done. Will you please finish these things on the list? When you are finished I will fully support you new project idea." Then over the next few days while he finishes up his little project things, give him compliments and ego petting, like, "Wow, dear, you are so good at...blah, blah, blah...It looks so great now that it is done, I am proud of my handy man!" These kinds of things make him want to do a good job to get your approval. I was amazed at the higher quality of work my hubby started putting out after I started doing this. When he used to loose interest half way through, he now wants me to come look at see how much he has done, and I give him compliments on what he has accomplished. It is neat how just a little approval from us motivates our men. It is a great power we hold and we should wield it with benevolence.

Hey, don't think that you are the only woman on earth who has this handyman problem. My husband is the same way. We have owned our home for 5 1/2 years now and I have so many half finished projects. I am willing to help but he changes his mind once he has already started them. My dining room has been 1/2 drywalled since the 1st year we moved in. I decided this year that my new years resolution would be to finish it since I wasn't working. I went to all the trouble of taking a course and reading up on it, only to find out that now he wants to gut the outer wall and re-insulate it and put in a drop ceiling. I am sick of looking at it. The sad part is I already have the paint color picked out and all the accessories to put in it. I don't think I will ever get to use them. I also have a bathroom that we started. We installed a shower stall looks great, water is hooked up and can even run but we can't use it because we don't have and exhaust vent installed. This has been like this for about 2 years. Then last year he started to insulate and drywall the basement. This is getting out of control. He is also starting to think about moving. No one will buy this place looking the way it does. I am fed up with all of it. Ready to hire someone to finish these projects if he won't. The worst part of it all is the fact that my husband is a contractor/carpenter.........LOL! So in answer to your question, I think every woman has a man who gets excited to renovate, ut gets bored very quickly with the idea once it is started. I only have one thing to say to all these men who do this to us, THINK before you start a project and review the whole idea and requirements before you start it, PLEASE for the sanity of your wives.