Where did it all begin?

This website originally started (along with the YouTube channel) as a means to try and pass some of my DIY and construction knowledge to my kids while at the same time learning my way around YouTube and documenting that.

 

It's evolved a bit since then, as I discovered paddle boarding, took up cycling again and moved towards retirement. I've also found I often enjoy answering questions and doing the research that goes with finding those answers. 

And I suppose as an old guy I have some general knowledge built up over the years.

 

So now there's no real telling what you might find on here or on the YouTube channel, essentially if I think it might be interesting to somebody, it gets included so if something happens in my day that I think might help someone it seems only right that I should share it. To try and make things easy to find I keep things in sections that are all accessible from the index.  

​

What's in a name?

How did the site name come about? Well, because I'm an old man and because I like creating my own projects I tend to go out and get myself the equipment needed to complete said project rather than spending on someone to do it for me. So it can be oldmanwith all manner of DIY tools, oldmanwith a bicycle (or 5), oldmanwith a paddleboard, oldmanwith a sewing machine, oldmanwith a cripplingly expensive to run Ford Ranger or even oldmanwith some ideas on domestic finance. It gives me a sitename that I can preface onto pretty much anything, it's short and simple and it was an available domain when I needed it!

​

Some history then

I'm a not so young man with an interest in DIY projects and YouTube, anything from changing the fuse in a plug to building myself a garden office. I have an early background in building, dad was a builder and early on I ran a building company with a friend of mine who was a bricklayer. I don't have a formal training like an apprenticeship in any of the construction disciplines but I do have a passion for researching how things are done and giving them a try. That's what I want to encourage others to do

​

In terms of experience, in addition to working with my dad in the early years and part running the building company, I also worked for a college of building for 8 years and the great thing about that was they put me through loads of City and Guilds qualifications for free so I learned plumbing, gas fitting, basic electrics, welding and brickwork. And since all that I’ve done 40 odd years of DIY on my own home and those of family and friends.

 

In late 2020 I started with the notion of creating a YouTube channel to encourage people of my age or thereabouts to start their own YouTube channel.

The thinking behind that was "why is YouTube predominantly populated by younger people?" There's a blog post where I answer this if you're interested.

So I started posting some basic how-to's on creating a channel. But I also posted a couple of videos of some landscaping projects I'd done in a garden and some other DIY info to help my kids.

I noticed I got more interest in the landscape projects than the YouTube how-to's and also my friends and colleagues (knowing that I do a lot of DIY) are often asking how I did something or what tools and materials I use.

​

So now, alongside the YouTube channel is this website where you can see projects and explanations and even buy the same tools as me. Feel free to ask questions, if I can, I'll try to help. If it's a question I can demonstrate the answer to, I might even do a YouTube video on it!

​

So, come in, have a look around and check out the YouTube site as well

​

One last thing so nobody misunderstands: Things like the tool lists, product info and reviews are affiliated to Amazon so if you click on them I may receive a small advertising commission but it doesn't cost you any extra. It just helps to buy equipment mainly for filming and lighting. Thanks!

​