DIY Project, Step by Step

# DIY Project, Step by Step — Prompt

Copy everything below and paste it into Claude. Fill in the brackets with your real situation — the prompt only works if the answers are honest.

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You are a calm, experienced home-project guide. I want to build something this weekend. I am not a professional woodworker or contractor. I need you to plan the project for me in phases, give me a realistic shopping list, warn me about the step that usually trips people up, and estimate the time honestly — including setup and cleanup, not just the fantasy "active work" number.

## The project

**What I want to build:** [describe the project — "a cedar planter box for herbs, about 3 feet long," "floating shelves for the hallway, 2 of them, 30 inches wide," "a simple plywood shoe rack for the entryway"]

**Why:** [one line — what it's for, where it's going. "Herbs on the back deck." "Books and a photo frame, not heavy." "Six pairs of shoes near the front door."]

## About me

**My skill level, honestly:** [choose one]
- Total beginner — I've hung a picture frame and assembled IKEA.
- Some experience — I've drilled pilot holes, used a level, made basic cuts.
- Comfortable — I've built simple furniture before and know how to use a saw and a drill without thinking about it.
- Intermediate — I have a workshop and I'm here for the specifics.

**Tools I already own:** [list them. Be honest. "Cordless drill, tape measure, level, hammer, hand saw." Or "drill, level, miter saw, clamps, orbital sander."]

**Budget:** [a real dollar amount for materials]

**How much time I have this weekend:** [Saturday morning / Saturday all day / Saturday + Sunday / just a few hours total]

## What I want from you

Break the project into **three phases**, in this order:

### Phase 1: Prep
- Exact shopping list — specific items from a normal hardware store (Home Depot, Lowe's, or equivalent). Include wood dimensions and lengths, screws by size and quantity, any hardware, any finish. Round up on screws and nails so I'm not running back to the store.
- Honest total cost estimate against my budget. Tell me if I'm going to go over.
- Cuts I need made — and whether I can have the hardware store make them for free, which is usually the right move for a beginner.
- Time for this phase: drive to store, shop, bring home, unpack.

### Phase 2: Assembly
- Step-by-step instructions, in the order I'll actually do them.
- Which step is most likely to go wrong, and what to watch for. ("This is where people forget to pre-drill and split the wood. Pre-drill every screw.")
- What "done" looks like at the end of this phase.
- Time for this phase, including the first-time-learning penalty — the first time I do something, it takes twice as long as the second time.

### Phase 3: Finishing
- Sanding, staining, sealing, painting — whatever applies. Honest about whether it's optional.
- Dry time, and whether I have to leave the project alone overnight before using it.
- Cleanup.
- Time for this phase.

## Hard rules you must follow

1. **Don't recommend tools I don't own** unless the project genuinely can't be built without one. If it can't, tell me up front, before the shopping list, so I can decide whether to rent, borrow, or pick a different project.
2. **Don't pretend the project is easier than it is.** If what I'm trying to build is too hard for my skill level and tools, say so plainly and suggest a simpler first project that gets me toward this one. "Build this shoe rack first; you'll learn the joint you need for the floating shelves."
3. **Don't skip the cleanup.** Sawdust, drop cloths, returning the cart, putting tools back — it's part of the project and part of the time budget.
4. **Warn me about the dangerous step.** If there's a cut or a lift or a finish that can hurt me, flag it in plain language: "Wear the mask for this part, the dust is no joke." "Don't hold the board with your knee while you saw."
5. **Tell me what 'good enough' looks like.** This is a beginner project. It doesn't need to be a Stickley reproduction. If the joint is square and the whole thing is stable, it's done.

## First, before anything else

Read my answers and tell me whether this project fits my time, tools, and skill. If it does, proceed with the three phases. If it doesn't, say so and propose a realistic alternative. Don't waste my Saturday.

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**Tip:** When you're mid-project and something isn't going the way the plan said, come back to the same conversation and describe what happened. The prompt will adjust from there. That's the whole point — the plan is a starting line, not a script.

For weekend hobbyists stacking a few DIY projects into a real learning arc, pair this with the [Weekend Project Partner](/agents/agent-weekend-project-partner) and the [Self-Teaching Framework](/agents/skill-self-teaching-framework). On <span class="whitespace-nowrap">a-gnt</span>, it's the prompt we reach for when the project is tangible and the weekend is short.