EDIT:

Thank you sooo much to everyone who's commented. I know my responses must seem rather defeatist (tried that, can't do that) but I've appreciated every suggestion and commiseration. Everyone's been so kind and supportive and I think that's what I needed.

I'll keep on keeping on and just accept I'll mess things up and have to keep redoing stuff. And while I continue my search for my dream handyperson, I'll absolutely start posting for advice on specific jobs here.

Thank you 🙏

ORIGINAL POST:

Bought my Edwardian house nearly 3 years ago and was fully gung ho to get stuck in and do minor repairs/improvements/decorating myself. As it turns out, I seem to lack any practical/manual skills, let alone the prerequisite common sense to be able to actually manage anything. Like, I'm not so terrible I can't put flat pack furniture together, but I can't seem to manage much else.

Realising I lack practical skills but having good savings (kept some aside after buying the house and have built savings back up to what I had pre-purchase), I've tried over the past 3 years to get people in, at least for the larger jobs, including:

My patio deck needs replacing, my lean-to conservatory roof leaks, and (having had some replastering done), I need to paint and wallpaper - but also have parts of walls that need (the new) plaster removed, salt corrosion treatment applied, and replastering. I need a French drain installed. My shed is on the outs and probably needs repairing/replacing. And so on and so on.

Meanwhile, so many additional small things have come up:

Tried to put a shelf up and it leans. The oven knob came off and I can't get it back on. Ditto one shower door handle. The toilet keeps running and despite looking up step-by-step guides, I couldn't make sense of the parts it was referring to.

Never mind the long-term, less necessary improvements I would like to make, such as:

Replacing the gas fire, backdrop and surrounds/mantle, installing built-in wardrobes in the bedroom, replacing tiles and splashbacks etc etc.

Thing is, I can't get anyone to come out and quote, or they come and quote but never come and do the work. I've posted on a previous account about how to get contractors in, but the advice, from others' experience, was to learn to do it myself.

But I just can't! I've looked at so many websites and videos and DIY manuals and old house manuals... Anything I try I can't get to work, or nothing is specific enough (like replacing an oven knob??), or I just can't understand how to follow the instructions. Like, I can comprehend the instructions, but just can't apply them!

This house is making me miserable. I've accomplished so little and am just stuck in how to accomplish more, whether repairs or maintenance or improvements or aesthetics. I haven't been able to put my mark on the house and make it feel comfortable or attractive. Having more money than know-how, I just wish I could find a contractor like my old landlords all seemed to have - people who could come at short notice and fix whatever needs fixing. I've reached out to so many contractors, both specific and general handypersons, both direct and via Checkatrade.

Genuinely, short of selling my house and buying a new-build, what do I do*?

(*And I specifically didn't buy a house that needed extensive renovation... I thought it would be manageable, but even maintenance - which would eventually be an issue even in a new-build - is so difficult for me).

(**Plus I'm at the remortgaging stage, so I can hardly sell a house that I've made no improvements to and which needs more refreshing now than when I bought it).