I reckon that I'm quite a handyman when it comes to building things, so when my son asked me to build a new doghouse for his dog I thought I could just go ahead and build it.
I was sure that I could just form a picture in my head of the finished doghouse and make one based on my own ideas.
That is when I started to run into trouble, it seemed a simple job but somehow I kept running into difficulties.
I was unsure what timber would be suitable and I had no idea what paint to use to protect it from the weather.
I knew that a dog could get pretty sick by chewing on a piece of wood that had been treated to make it weatherproof and I had no idea what was safe and what was not.
I did have one advantage however, I did have a set of plans that showed me how to build my own doghouse.
These plans showed me in simple steps how to make all the sections and how to fit them together.
The best part was a list of all the bits and pieces I would need, especially the different kinds and sizes of timber.
So, armed with my lists I set off to my local DIY store.
This is where the plans really kicked in.
All the timber was standard sizes and all the hardware was regular stock, so I had no trouble getting all the materials I needed.
I took everything back home and then got started.
Once again, having the plans really helped me get on with the project.
Every step was clearly explained and the pictures were a great help.
All in all, I managed to build the doghouse in a single weekend much to the delight of my family.