Why do men always think they know best...

One sadness for me moving from my old house is that I loved it and I had just about got it to where I wanted it to be - all the major jobs had been done and the dust and upheaval were only a dim and distant memory. Approximately 18 months before we moved we'd just installed a dream bathroom, which I still miss now!

Our new house is not very new at all, it's an old stone farmhouse, with 3 foot thick walls. We've had to learn its ways; we had mould, we've let the house breath, we've had bats in the roof and we've grown to like them, we've had mice (see previous posting), um we're still working on that one!

Now don't get me wrong, J is very handy and very clever at DIY, he just refuses to read instructions or look into anything before hand. A case in point occurred this weekend. J was laying down the sub floor in the kitchen in preparation for tiling. He carried on regardless and put down T&G chipboard (which is what we had taken up I admit). He asked me to research whether we needed to screw it down or leave it 'floating'. Big mistake. I researched using the Internet and everywhere but everywhere said DON'T DO IT, do not EVER use chipboard with tiles - emphatically a definite NO NO (as apparently eventually the movement in the wooden floor cracks the grout and the tiles - bit like trying to tile a trampoline I suppose - makes sense to me).

Unfortunately when I relayed this information to J he was not best pleased. He took it out on me - a bit unfair I thought as I was just the messenger!

J huffed, puffed, stamped his feet and shouted just a bit. The floor is coming up tomorrow and we're starting again.

When I relayed this to Him and Her Next Door, He was a bit quiet (Him Next Door had helped J lay the floor). Her Next Door on the other hand was quite relieved as she'd also read things on the Internet but hadn't wanted (dared) to interfere.

Definitely a male problem then.

I've now been appointed site manager! I think I need a hard hat.