When I was fifteen I completed a Design & Tech GCSE in “Resistant Materials”, which included a practical woodworking section. I ambitiously tried to build a desk using mortise-and-tenon joints but struggled; my teacher laughed at my project, so I scrapped it and focused on passing the exam. Years later, my partner Jenny and I needed a gate to stop our dog Fern from going upstairs.

After finding a YouTube tutorial, I built a simple gate using a Black & Decker workmate, handsaws, a square, drill, screws, and wood glue bought at Screwfix. We sourced wood from Sydenhams and cut it to fit our Skoda Octavia. The gate took a weekend; my cuts weren’t perfectly straight, but it’s functional.

I mounted it with rawlplugs and later added screws after the gate sagged. I painted it with Dulux satinwood without primer. The drill scraped the wall, and we lack matching hallway paint.

Inspired, I started a patio raised bed project after our garden renovation, watching more YouTube tutorials.