Should I hire a pro?

I’m sure this isn’t that unusual, but my husband thinks he’s an expert in everything! He’s good at his job in an office but he also believes he’s great at DIY, which he isn’t. For example, he tried to fix his car brakes himself, but then crashed. I now insist on driving my own car when we go out together and I get it serviced by the garage in spite of his complaints!

And recently, he put up a shelf, but it later came crashing down, narrowly missing the poor cat. He’s since put up a very heavy shelf above the bed in the spare room. I’ve looked at it and it’s fixed in the same way as the one that came down. My friend is coming to stay and I know my husband won’t agree to having someone round to do it properly. What can I do?

Suzie says:

Don’t ask your husband – simply call a workperson in! If he objects, point out to him that if those shelves followed the example of the other one, he’d have a civil case and possibly a criminal one to answer – as well as the mortification of harming your friend. That would be far more expensive and humiliating than having it done properly by someone else. If he still wants to prove his masculinity or competence, help him find something he can do – because it’s not this.