DIY Fails

Posted on October 04, 2013

20130905_101953A member of our web team this week spotted this crazy contraption whilst out and about in Bingham. It might not be easy to tell what it is at first glance, but we believe it to be a home-made, DIY, make-shift retractable parking post.

Hinged parking posts are very useful in situations where you need to control the passing of traffic or control the availability of specific parking spaces. They allow the owner to block or allow cars as necessary. If you wish to prohibit the access of unwanted vehicles, then you can do so by installing a parking post which will block the way. Similarly, pedestrians walking near the closed roadway have extra protection from motor vehicles when a parking post is in place. Being fitted with a hinge, the retractable parking post can be folded down flat and therefore allowing cars to pass freely.

If you think you need a parking post, why not copy the idea of the example above and make your own by following these not so simple steps.

1. Dig a small hole into the ground – if you are doing this on your concrete driveway then you will need to find a pneumatic drill in order to create the hole.

2. Carefully remove the pronged end from a large garden fork and wrap the entire handle of the fork in anything you have lying around that is yellow. Yellow paper, yellow material or even paint it yellow yourself.

3. Place the newly made parking post into the already made hole in the ground and secure it with a padlock – so you can lift and flatten the post as you wish.

4. To finish off, decorate the post with something reflective. The example we have uses a small bike-style reflector so that cars will see the post even when it is dark.

So, you can go through all this hassle to create your very own parking post. Or for less effort and maximum efficiency you can simply buy one here. (If you are still considering making your own, then we do also sell padlocks and reflective items.)

We decided to continue this theme and mention a couple of “inventions” that would be easier to go out and purchase. Next up we have “The Bike Mower” and here is how to make your own:

bike-mower1. Remove the front wheel from a standard push bike.

2. Where the wheel used to be attached, secure a lawnmower to it and hey presto!

Or, instead of dismantling your bicycle, you can just buy a lawnmower, which will be easier to work with, to move around your garden and it will be a whole lot safer in general.

Now we would like to present to you the prospect of “working on the road”. This innovation in work/driving will give you the ability to achieve those all-important company sales figures even when you are out and about. Here’s how:

work-on-the-road

2. Fit a desk into the vacant passenger side of the car, ensuring that the distance between the desk and the driver’s seat is not too far so that you cannot reach between the two.

3. Finally, equip your desk with your laptop, files, coffee and any other personal touches you might want to add to your personal desktop.

This might sound like a brilliant idea to work away from the office and to escape your colleagues every so often. However, you continue going into the office, buy modern and practical office furniture and have more space and comfort for you to do your work.

The final item is one which us here in The Workplace Depot office decided to try and have a go at making ourselves. Our DIY attempt was the trust step-stool. Here is how we did it:

1. Take a normal, regular waste-paper bin.

2. Turn it upside down. Like so.

IMAG0482 IMAG0483

And that is it! We are not very impressed with the design however. You could just buy a kick-step which would be more stable, sturdy and made from a much more durable material for stepping on. Also, a step-stool can be moved easily on different surfaces unlike our bin (incidentally, we do actually sell bins too!)

These examples go to show that rather than doing a make-shift attempt at creating something for yourself, the majority of the time it is easier, quicker and generally better to buy the product that you are looking for in the first place.


Posted in Amusing