• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

This does not look good for our LBC.

Gliderman8

Great Pumpkin
Country flag
Offline
I know one of those people.... my son.
Whenever I go to Boston to visit he presents me with a list of things that need repair or replacing. Light switches, wipers on car, replace outside motion sensor light. The list goes on. My son could not change the oil on his car whatsoever.
He just has no interest in mechanical things.
Fortunately he makes enough $ to pay others (expect dad :smile:) to do the work.
 
Country flag
Offline
My nieces are that way, they have no interest in learning much of any manual tasks. And I just learned by doing and things I saw on This Old House and such. So I've done wallboard with mud and tape, painting, replacing plumbing fixtures, fixing leaks, replace swtiches/outlets/breakers and so on. They don't understand the sense of accomplishment in being able to do it yourself I think.
 

YakkoWarner

Jedi Warrior
Country flag
Offline
I try to do as much myself as I can - I have had to use paid services when something is beyond my abilities or (far more frequently) I can't get time off from work to do it and it needs immediate action. So I had to pay to get roofing done, have some major repairs to my truck (rear diff rebuild, reman. engine, full 4 wheel brake rebuild) and such.

One of the few things I willingly pay to get done because I am quite frankly afraid to do myself is tax preparation. Working on a car if you make a mistake it doesn't work - if you miss something on the roof it might leak - if you miss something on your tax return you go to jail (and being in jail doesn't count as an excused absence from work so now you end up living under a freeway overpass). So I leave that to the professionals...
 

waltesefalcon

Yoda
Silver
Country flag
Online
I do all my own work around my house and on my cars, at first it was because I couldn't afford to pay someone else to do it, now it is because I cannot imagine paying that much for someone else to do what I can do for the cost of supplies. About the only thing I'll pay someone to do is replace the timing belt on my mom's Rav4 and that is just because the engine has to be pulled to access the belt.
 

Basil

Administrator
Staff member
Boss
Offline
I do all my own work around my house and on my cars, at first it was because I couldn't afford to pay someone else to do it, now it is because I cannot imagine paying that much for someone else to do what I can do for the cost of supplies. About the only thing I'll pay someone to do is replace the timing belt on my mom's Rav4 and that is just because the engine has to be pulled to access the belt.

I try to do most things around the house and on cars myself, unless I determine it is something really beyond my skill level or if I just don't have the time. I pulled up the carpets in our house and installed 3/4" oak flooring. I didn't do it to save money, but rather just because I felt if I did it myself I knew it would meet my standards (I went overkill on nails but have no squeaks). While money wasn't my primary reason for doing it myself, I did determine that I saved several thousand in labor costs. Yes, it took me longer than a team of "pros" would have taken, but the result was exactly what I wanted.


Office Before​
Before


Office After (Recent)​
Office May 2019 small.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Master Bed Before.jpg
    Master Bed Before.jpg
    38.3 KB · Views: 24
Last edited:
OP
D

DavidApp

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Our youngest daughter gets a hard time from her husband when she says "I'll ask my Dad he will know" or he can do it. The other daughter's huaband is all in favour of getting my help or his Dad's help. Over Christmas I was helping them remodel a bathroom. Did not get finished before I had to leave. 2 weeks later he was still waiting for his Dad to arrive to help him finish it.

David
 

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
Gold
Offline
Oh, the stories I can tell.

Neighbor's son (only child) is 30. Never shoveled snow, never mowed the lawn, had private tennis lessons all through teen years, parents paid for apartment and tuition for college years, got married and parents bought them new house with pool, furnished the place, and dad does all the repairs on the house *and* the three Alfa's parents gave them with the new house. Calls dad when car oil needs changing, when new tires are needed, when engine needs work, when a circuit breaker trips in the house, when furnace filter needs changing, when pool needs chlorine - and when they need taxi to airport for the European vacations parents give them.

Teach your children to be self-reliant. Seems to be a fast-disappearing motto.
 

LarryK

Yoda
Gold
Country flag
Offline
I like John's way. I would never pay anybody to do something that charged more per hour than I made. Worked until I retired, now too many things to do not to hire help.
 
OP
D

DavidApp

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Seen too many corners cut by professionals to hire out anything that I can do myself. I may take longer but I am sure it is right.

When I was building our house the cabinet guy was putting in the kitchen island. His helper was screwing the work surface to the cabinet when I noticed a bubble appear in the surface. Look at that I said pointing to the blister. So he just backed out the screw and wanted to leave it at that saying it would be fine. Made him replace the counter top.
I only hired out a few jobs on the house. Cabinets being one. Also hired out the Sheetrock finishing and painting. I did the rest of the work with the help of a neighbor. Never plan to shingle a roof again. Talk about a pain as we did not have air nailers.

David
 

Basil

Administrator
Staff member
Boss
Offline
Seen too many corners cut by professionals to hire out anything that I can do myself. I may take longer but I am sure it is right.

When I was building our house the cabinet guy was putting in the kitchen island. His helper was screwing the work surface to the cabinet when I noticed a bubble appear in the surface. Look at that I said pointing to the blister. So he just backed out the screw and wanted to leave it at that saying it would be fine. Made him replace the counter top.
I only hired out a few jobs on the house. Cabinets being one. Also hired out the Sheetrock finishing and painting. I did the rest of the work with the help of a neighbor. Never plan to shingle a roof again. Talk about a pain as we did not have air nailers.

David

When I redid my kitchen, I did the removal of all the old cabinets, sink, counters, etc, then designed exactly what I wanted and had it installed professionally. I watched every step of the installation. The guy did a really good job - no shot cuts that I could see. Then, after the cabinets were in, before the stone countertop was installed, I installed the sink (under counter) and did all the plumbing. Then had the pros do the countertops.
 
Country flag
Offline
For me, it's a matter of time. Something I can fix in 15-20 minutes or wait 2,3,4 days + for a repair person to come out to look at, then tell me it's 1-2 weeks to order parts and then schedule a follow up call.......PLUS the service call $$$$....... In the cases when someone does have to come out, I respectfully watch what/how they do it so when it happens again - as it sometimes does - I know what to do.
 

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
Platinum
Country flag
Offline
The parents' goal was to raise two self-sufficient sons. Rarely (until recently) has anyone been hired to do anything to our home. Now we need to replace the roof, the last time it was me and a couple pals. Not doing it again.

Once told by a friend he would loan me his DK wet saw to cut the floor tile for the hovel and his knee pads... but he wouldn't help because he knew how particular I could be. :smirk:

I will still do all the electrical work and plumbing, added a laundry room onto the back of the house to get rid of the washer/dryer/hot water tank in the garage. Set up that room to function also as a sewing room, two CAT-5 drops, co-axial feed for TV, quad 110 outlets waist high and six feet apart for sewing table & work surface convenience. Will tile the floor with the "leftovers" from the house and bathroom remodel jobs. Waste not was another of the lessons the 'rents instilled.

Amazed at the "attitude" of many younger folks, the disdain they exhibit toward technicians and tradespeople. And no desire to learn even simple things. I respect Mike Rowe.
 

waltesefalcon

Yoda
Silver
Country flag
Online
Bas, that's a good looking floor.
 

PAUL161

Great Pumpkin
Silver
Country flag
Offline
By the looks of that floor, you could start a side business! :encouragement: Looks great! PJ
 

Basil

Administrator
Staff member
Boss
Offline
Bas, that's a good looking floor.

By the looks of that floor, you could start a side business! :encouragement: Looks great! PJ

Thanks guys! Once again, Youtube came to the rescue - I watched several "how to do flooring" videos which really helped! I did the entire house except the kitchen and bathroom where I did tile. Here are before and after of my living room:

Before​

Living Room Before copy.jpg
After​
7D_10_18mm_First_Livingroom.jpg
 

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
Gold
Offline
The parents' goal was to raise two self-sufficient sons.

...

Amazed at the "attitude" of many younger folks, the disdain they exhibit toward technicians and tradespeople. And no desire to learn even simple things. I respect Mike Rowe.

:applause:

Interesting how this thread started on "young folks' disinterest in doing work" - and quickly changed to "older folks' interest in doing work".
 

Gliderman8

Great Pumpkin
Country flag
Offline
:applause:

Interesting how this thread started on "young folks' disinterest in doing work" - and quickly changed to "older folks' interest in doing work".

 

pdplot

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
DIY is great - up to a point. You have to know when to call in a pro. And you have to be physically able to do the work.
 
Top