EDITOR’S NOTE

AFEW MONTHS ago I said we were in the process of buying our house. Well, it’s happened, and I’m pleased to say it went through about as painlessly as we could have hoped. No DNA samples were even required by the bank, which means I’ll no longer be surrendering monthly rental payments to a landlord. Instead, as the months tick over, more and more of the property will actually belong to us and not the bank, which is a rather rewarding thought.

More practically, we’ve already put some of our own touches on the place. The living-room/dining-room space is freshly painted, but what I’m most proud of is the corner bookshelf cabinet and the new TV unit I built myself during my end-of-year holiday. The pics here show you the end products – they’ve turned out exactly how I envisioned. I won’t say it was easy, but tackling the task methodically paid off. I’m not all that experienced in the cabinetbuilding department, so I think what we’ve made (my partner helped me a lot – it turns out she’s a skilled cabinet painter) really proves that with a clear vision, concise planning, good measurements and patience, it’s possible for anyone to improve their homes themselves. Okay, having decent tools, and a brother and father who are skilled at such tasks also helps.

There’s something intrinsically pure about building something with your hands. I think all this screenand-keyboard time we suffer from has separated us from this fact, and I find myself re-energised when I put away my phone and get stuck in with my tape measure, drill, and sanding block, even if I’m tired from office deadlines.

I realise I’m riding a bit of a DIY wave at the moment, and the momentum is driving me to share the enthusiasm with you. Don’t worry – I haven’t lost sight of the fact that Popular Mechanics is much more than just being about DIY and home improvements, as you’ll see by the wealth of interesting content we’re carrying this month. Still, I hope you’ll humour me, and continue to put up with my updates. Perhaps you’ll also drop us a mail at popularmechanics@ramsaymedia.co.za to share what you’ve created with your hands lately.