Man, not being handy is expensive

[Kaido]

Ever since owning a home (3.5 years ago), I've managed to fix quite a few things around the house by googling/youtube. Definitely takes some time to learn certain things, buy the right tools, etc, but the idea of saving $200 to replace a toilet's pump/flush for maybe 1 hour of learning, and 1 hour of labor definitely was worth it. Now I know how to fix all of my toilets if the internal parts fail. That's just one example.

Also replaced my garbage disposal which was easy because I already had the locking frame in place (same brand disposal replacement) so didn't need to reseal anything. The hard part was cutting the pipes to the correct lengths to get everything to fit properly. Also learned how to clean out sink drain pipes for clogs or slow draining.

But there definitely are other things that I either can't do myself, or am not willing to do myself and will spend the money to get fixed.

What frustrates me is how poorly things are designed. I worked for a custom-home builder every summer in college & it was amazing to see (1) how poor designs are still used as standards, simply because they work, technically, and (2) how even really expensive, multi-million-dollar homes have garbage underpinnings. Even for really simply things, like where you could spend an extra $10 to get a flexible waxless seal for mounting your toilet on, but instead wax rings are still used, get messed up because toilets require a bit of work to mount perfectly, and either have to be replaced, or just shoved in & have future leaks ignored because hey, it's done for today!

My buddy moved into a custom-built house by a carpenter, and it was such a genius design. Among other features, the previous owner built in hidden access panels for all of the electrical, plumbing, etc. You could work on anything, anytime, instantly, without having to tear our drywall or putty or have to repaint. Absolutely glorious!

 

[paperfist]

It's great for real life home ownership, but if you don't min-max before the super mutants show up, you're really going to regret not perking into sniper/assassin, or pure mele skills, instead of dividing all of those points into mechanics, intelligence, and "better aim."

The problem is there’s no respec option so if you find yourself maxed out on dex or if you got the uber crafting drops your guild will be inviting you on more family raids that turn into, “oh, btw can you craft this for me?”

 

[Red Squirrel]

What frustrates me is how poorly things are designed. I worked for a custom-home builder every summer in college & it was amazing to see (1) how poor designs are still used as standards, simply because they work, technically, and (2) how even really expensive, multi-million-dollar homes have garbage underpinnings. Even for really simply things, like where you could spend an extra $10 to get a flexible waxless seal for mounting your toilet on, but instead wax rings are still used, get messed up because toilets require a bit of work to mount perfectly, and either have to be replaced, or just shoved in & have future leaks ignored because hey, it's done for today!

My buddy moved into a custom-built house by a carpenter, and it was such a genius design. Among other features, the previous owner built in hidden access panels for all of the electrical, plumbing, etc. You could work on anything, anytime, instantly, without having to tear our drywall or putty or have to repaint. Absolutely glorious!

Yeah I find now days it's all about minimum code and cutting corners so they can cut costs and make more profit. Not just houses but pretty much all products. I kinda want to build my own house one day, I think it would be a cool experience and great to build it exactly like I want and the quality I want. Judging by how long it took me to build my shed it would probably take me like 10 years though LOL.

 

[Sonikku]

Around here, plumbing calls start at $200 to show up.

Damn, I would show up and then leave. >.>

 

[rstrohkirch]

This reminds me a bit of my interactions with my wife in regards to home improvements. I can do low to mid level repairs myself for reference.

They kind of go something like this. She will have an idea on a home improvement. I will ask her if We/I am doing this or if we are paying someone to do this. She will always respond with We/I. I will ask her to check the Youtube videos on how it's done. I give her a day or so and then she'll get back to me on whether it's something she wants to move forward on. She's actually getting fairly good at judging my technical aptitude vs the requirements shown in the video. For example, she felt that I was not qualified to rip up the tile floor in our kitchen and install a new one. I told her that I guess we'll find out and proceeded to get my sledge hammer out of the garage.

 

[NoTine42]

What are they physically doing that breaks a toilet?

 

[Sonikku]

What are they physically doing that breaks a toilet?

Sitting on it?

 

[Kaido]

Yeah I find now days it's all about minimum code and cutting corners so they can cut costs and make more profit. Not just houses but pretty much all products. I kinda want to build my own house one day, I think it would be a cool experience and great to build it exactly like I want and the quality I want. Judging by how long it took me to build my shed it would probably take me like 10 years though LOL.

Yeah, I pretty much have mine planned out, with all of the little tips & tricks I've learned along the way...Quad-Lock ICF, access panels & conduit tubes, PEX, smarthouse integration, Eldorado Stone, Driveway Impressions, etc. Just need some bucks & free time to get it done lol.

It's a bit like with cooking your own food or building your own computer...when YOU are the manager of the process, you can put more TLC into the end-product & choose better-quality materials & do a better-quality job with the entire setup & installation procedure. Otherwise, you're paying someone to do a job, on a deadline, while they're probably juggling other projects as well, and just kind of hoping for the best...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Damn, I would show up and then leave. >.>

"Yep, it's broke." *leaves bill*

 

[paperfist]

Yeah I find now days it's all about minimum code and cutting corners so they can cut costs and make more profit. Not just houses but pretty much all products. I kinda want to build my own house one day, I think it would be a cool experience and great to build it exactly like I want and the quality I want. Judging by how long it took me to build my shed it would probably take me like 10 years though LOL.

Just hire Mike Holmes to be your contractor and do it right

 

[Red Squirrel]

Just hire Mike Holmes to be your contractor and do it right

Actually it would be fun to hire him after the fact to see what he thinks of my work. He'd either be proud of me overdoing stuff, or tell me that it's completely wrong. "Take it all down boys!"

 

[paperfist]

Actually it would be fun to hire him after the fact to see what he thinks of my work. He'd either be proud of me overdoing stuff, or tell me that it's completely wrong. "Take it all down boys!"

He’d probably demolish your projects. He’s got a show with his son and he hammers on him too

But that would be a cool show, Mike Holmes takes on Avg Joe.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

When it comes to plumbing, I'm not handy and would pay to have it done. Replacing O-rings and flappers is one thing, but I'd pay someone to replace dishwashers or toilets. It isn't worth my time and frustration. With that being said, you can often find deals on things like that on sites like Angie's List. I'll generally do my own electrical as long as I don't have to fish cables between floors, in which case I hire that done.

 

[Genx87]

Owning a house requires the ability to these smaller jobs. Or you will spend a lot of money paying somebody else to replace a faucet or connect a dishwasher. Two easy fixes imo. Bigger things like furnace\AC. Yeah, I will get a guy out to diagnose the issue. And I can usually replace the part. Though we finally caved and replaced our old furnace last fall.

 

[local]

I do pretty much everything. On home stuff I haven't paid anyone other than the backflow inspector for the 10 years we have owned it. And for automotive the only thing I pay for is tire replacements and oil changes because I don't care enough to climb under there for the small fee to get it done, but I still watch. One of the first automotive tasks I did was an engine swap from a V6 to a V8. I have been building my own computers since the 90's as well. I cannot imagine the amount of money I have saved over the years by not paying people to do fairly simple tasks.

 

[brianmanahan]

Anyone made a pun joke about 'handy' being expensive yet

nope we saved it for you

 

[snoopy7548]

Certain things I'll call someone for, but most of the time I like to do it myself. Preventative maintenance goes a long way though, so you're almost never in a rush to get something fixed since you'll know if it's starting to wear down. Lots of people don't keep up on simple yearly tasks like flushing their water heater.

My radon fan started making a squealing noise last year so I just bought a new one, went into my attic, and replaced it. Took about an hour but I always take my time when working on stuff. I probably would have had to pay someone $500 to replace it. I also installed a new kitchen sink and faucet myself, and replaced my walkout basement door due to rot.

But car stuff... I don't really mess with that. I wash it, wax it, and change the tires in the winter/spring. I feel like if I screw something up I'll either die in a crash or not have a working car to get me anywhere.

 

[spacejamz]

Last summer, on Nextdoor, someone was asking for referrals on replacing a broken sprinkler head. I replied to their post saying it was a 5 minute job to replace it...just unscrew the old one, take it to home depot/lowes and get the same one (size and pattern) and just screw it back in and then adjust it. I even linked a youtube video (the rainbird one) on how to do it. I still wonder if they paid someone to do it...

 

[boomhower]

When I bought my house I knew exactly dick about home repair/maintenance. Before even moving in I replaced every lighting fixture and ceiling fan (purely for aesthetics), two toilets plus your usual painting. I've replaced the washer, dryer, washing machine and faucets. One of my proudest achievements was installing a transfer switch for my generator. Youtube is a great resource. Take your time and most things are not rocket science, just be especially careful with electricity.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Put me down as someone who also prefers to do handyman jobs around the house (and build computers every once and a while). I'll do electric from the circuit box in, any rough carpentry, and straightforward plumbing jobs.

Last fall one of the outside faucets started leaking. Being over thirty years old, I figured it would be best to just replace the whole thing. The faucet was one of those "frost proof" ones where the valve seat is about a foot inside the wall. I watched all the YouTube videos and understood that I should be able to just break it loose and unscrew it from the pipe end inside the wall.

But... There was no separate shut-off for that faucet and so I would be shutting off the water off for the entire house while I extracted it and then ran out to buy a replacement. And if anything went wrong, the water would have to remain off and I would be in big trouble with the wife. So I rather reluctantly decided to call in a plumber.

That turned out to be a very smart call! He took one look at the faucet and decided he needed to expose the joint where the faucet screwed into the pipe (had a nice little access panel to install to cover it). It turned out that the faucet had been screwed in (as expected) and then soldered! He told me that he'd seen this many times as a quick way to seal leaks during initial plumbing installation. If I remember correctly, he completed the job in less than an hour and charged me around $120. Well worth it. I hate to think how badly it would have gone if I had given it a try.

 

[rh71]

I learned to replace the wax ring under my toilets. Wasn't fun (including lifting the whole nasty thing up), but considering we have a few to do when a couple started leaking, it saved me a ton. Also learned to do sprinkler heads and sprinkler line patches. Some stuff under the hood like spark plugs and coils, the filters, etc. Never bothered doing my own oil changes though - that's not worth the savings IMO.

Around here, plumbing calls start at $200 to show up.

We have http://www.a4995.com here for clogs - it's great.

 

[kn51]

I learned to replace the wax ring under my toilets. Wasn't fun (including lifting the whole nasty thing up), but considering we have a few to do when a couple started leaking, it saved me a ton. Also learned to do sprinkler heads and sprinkler line patches. Some stuff under the hood like spark plugs and coils, the filters, etc. Never bothered doing my own oil changes though - that's not worth the savings IMO.



We have http://www.a4995.com here for clogs - it's great.

I do 99% of stuff with the house and the cars besides roofing and a garage door. The one thing that pisses me of is some of the nickle and diming stuff. Replaced a water heater. Well now I have to buy risers for the water lines? Replace the dishwasher? Need to purchase an elbow on the newer one for the water line? (BTW, remember to take it off before they haul the haul the old one away.)

 

[snoopy7548]

For those who do electrical work, do you still get permits? I want to have a subpanel wired to my attached garage, and the main panel is only about 10' away. I feel comfortable doing this myself, but I feel like it's better to have a licensed electrician doing it - I wonder if I'd run into problems with my town.

 

[Exterous]

For those who do electrical work, do you still get permits? I want to have a subpanel wired to my attached garage, and the main panel is only about 10' away. I feel comfortable doing this myself, but I feel like it's better to have a licensed electrician doing it - I wonder if I'd run into problems with my town.

I don't. I tried once but my area has decided they won't do an electrical inspection and offer permits if the work is done in such a way to help make space habitable that doesn't meet other non-electrical building code requirements. So basically in a basement without an emergency egress they won't look at electrical additions that help make the space habitable (ie finish\partially finish a basement). Apparently they'd rather let someone die from an electrical fire

And its not dissuading anyone. So many people have unpermitted finished basements around here. When we sold our last house no questions about a permit or my electrical work came up

 

[luv2liv]

so true!
my dad wanted to remodel the bathroom with new shower stall and tiles and cabinets. contractors wanted at least $5000 in labor.
we youtube almost everything and spent only $1000 in labor for stuff we could not google.