Do-it-yourself vs call the professional

[Backroads]

So my grandmother's toilet was troubled and she wanted to call the plumber. Having worked janitorial through college (at a college full of... young persons), I feel quite confident about handling mild-to-moderate toilet troubles.

The toilet is now fine (yay me) but my grandma was terrified my skills wouldn't be enough.

Now, I'm not so full-hardy to attempt something I don't feel comfortable about, but I thought this would be an interesting poll.

When it comes to household problems, do you lean towards fixing it yourself or immediately calling a professional?

[Guest]

More than once we've spent more money and grief trying to fix something ourselves than if we'd had a professional do it.

[pam]

My ex was that way. He refused to pay someone to fix a car. Once we spent over 1K in parts and rental of a self service shop and loss of wages taking the time to attempt to fix it. Never could get the problem fixed. So we spent another 1K having a professional fix the fixes he attempted to do.

[EarlJibbs]

My last house, I finished a wall in my basement. I then paid someone to make it look like it was done correctly. I didn't do terrible, but anything less than perfect in a wall is highly noticeable :)

New house now, I turned a game room into a bedroom and had to finish a half wall. I didn't even attempt, I got bids and had it professionally done. Not only was it done correctly, but it was done in a week. I would have taken a month and then still call someone!

Now small items like garden boxes.... I will never pay or buy something like that.

[Mahone]

My parents both refuse to go down the DIY method. One is merely lazy, the other is terrified of the potential risks if its not something she has already been shown how to do.

Throughout my childhood, I was bought up to have the same fear of DIY as the latter parent and as a result just assumed that things really were too complex and beyond my capabilities - I was never given the opportunity to try things for myself.

Then the internet came along in my early teenage years, and I had immediate access to one of the largest knowledge bases ever to exist. I started off teaching myself about computers, networks, and IT infrastructure merely out of curiosity (one of the first questions I ever typed into a search engine was "how does the internet work"), and found that DIY IT is actually much easier to understand and much easier to work on than it had been made out to be.

I then used the same thought process in others areas. If I wasn't sure how to do something, I spent a few minutes/hours researching and then put that knowledge I had gained into practise - I found that 95% of things that we'd previously called professionals in to do were actually really easy to resolve once the research had been put in.

Now, unless illegal, extremely dangerous or the potential costs of repairs is more than we can afford, I always attempt the DIY route before calling a professional - I much prefer to be independent. If I don't take the risk, I'll never gain that knowledge. If I break it, I'll know not to try that method again and then find out what I should have done from the professional as he repairs my mess.

[Guest]

I don't know what it is about my husband but he takes everything like it's his JOB to KNOW how to fix it. Or my sons'. So a broken toilet... he's calling my sons and showing them how to fix it. The problem is... it's still leaking after he fixes it. And my sons are like... meh.

Me, I'm satisfied to know that the toilet connects to the sewer through that hole underneath it and that this little rod connects to the lever and this rubber ball shuts the water off... If I have to fix it, I'm sure I can figure it out. But, I have no dreams of making a career out of fixing toilets, so I'm calling somebody else to do it instead of wasting my time on it. I can take on an extra hour at my job making money to pay for the plumber instead... and I will like what I'm doing better!

[Mahone]

I don't know what it is about my husband but he takes everything like it's his JOB to KNOW how to fix it. Or my sons'. So a broken toilet... he's calling my sons and showing them how to fix it. The problem is... it's still leaking after he fixes it. And my sons are like... meh.

Me, I'm satisfied to know that the toilet connects to the sewer through that hole underneath it and that this little rod connects to the lever and this rubber ball shuts the water off... If I have to fix it, I'm sure I can figure it out. But, I have no dreams of making a career out of fixing toilets, so I'm calling somebody else to do it instead of wasting my time on it. I can take on an extra hour at my job making money to pay for the plumber instead... and I will like what I'm doing better!

There are always going to be times when you need to fix something critically, and a professional, or the DIY relative that everyone has just isn't immediately available. It's only then that you realise how dependent on others you really are. Don't under estimate how useful the knowledge gained by at least attempting DIY can be. Not all the knowledge you gain has to serve career related purposes :)

[Iggy]

As a child I took apart anything that I could to see how it worked. The first thing I took apart was the phone. Heavy, black, rotary phone. I cried when all that was in it was wires and a bell and clapper. No tiny little people.

The next thing was my Mom's am radio. Again, full of wires and no tiny little people.

The next thing was the wall outlet. I had overheard my Dad and Uncle talking about the *juice* not getting through because the lamp worked just fine at the other outlet.

I took the cover off, and attempted to unscrew the outlet - they had put in a new outlet - when the electrical shock knocked me clear across the room and slammed me into the opposite wall.

I started out at 7 years old with the phone, and at 10 with the outlet. From then on, I asked Dad to show me rather than take it upon myself to take apart things.

When I was 38 I went to work at the local hardware store. There I learned how to do plumbing and electrical from the DIY'ers and the professionals who came in to purchase parts. I read the instructions on how to replace the plugs, switches, etc. on lamps, and appliances. I am extremely visual - so when a DIY'er is telling me their problem with the kitchen/bathroom sink drain - I can see it and generally can see what is wrong.

My Ex refused to hire a pro to do much of anything, yet he never got around to doing the repair job. I got tired of having to turn the water on and then off to keep from flooding the floors.

I knew toilets didn't weigh all that much - you just needed to be careful and not drop them. I knew where the main water shut off was, so I replaced my toilet. I was appalled at the mess in the drain - good grief, no wonder the toilet kept backing up. There was a crack in the side of the tank - thus it needed to be replaced. And since they were light blue (my bathroom was pale green walls with ivory tub and sink) I replaced the entire thing.

Once I got it done, I used Enforcer brand drain cleaner. It is good bacteria and enzymes that clean out your drain lines.

I replaced the kitchen sink and drain lines - then used Enforcer drain cleaner. I also turned the electricity off to the house and replaced every single outlet. I was so tired of the duct tape Exhubby used to keep the plugs to stay in the outlets. Had to take several days - 'cause I could only do this during day lit hours. It was easier to just shut the power (juice) off than it was to try to figure which breaker powered which wall of outlets.

Now I am 61, and I am overweight, stoved up and can only lift the lid off the tank of the toilet and not the entire toilet. Back 6 years ago, I helped new Hubby replace the toilet. It nearly did us both in. We decided then that the next toilet would be purchased by us, but installed by someone much younger and knowledgeable in it. We did the vanity, bathroom sink and faucet. I can still do faucets - IF someone other than my husband uses a hoist system to get me off the floor.

For a year we have been putting up with a shower diverter that only diverts 1/4 of the water to the shower head, and a hot water tap that constantly leaks. We were sure that the entire shower system would have to be replaced meaning that wall would have to be cut into from the laundry room. We were prepared for that - The plumber checked it out and replaced the diverter stem, put new washers in the hot and cold taps, replaced the bathroom faucets with the ones I had purchased (high arched spout and paddle handles) in both bathrooms.

Took him 3.5 hours-which included the drive to and from here - and only cost us $293.95. He even gave us credit for the brass he will be recycling from our old faucets - not a whole lot, just $5.00. But that is better than not getting anything back at all.

He was great - cleaned up after himself and used his own old towels and rags. I installed the new personal shower. When Hubby took his shower, he said there just wasn't an improvement in the water flow. Yep, there wasn't. He wanted me to call the water department. A month earlier they had to fix the water line at the beginning of our street. The pipe had burst. He felt that their repair caused a reduced flow. Well, I knew it wasn't the outside line, because the pressure in the kitchen and the bathroom sink taps were fine. The pressure at the shower faucet was fine.

So I took the personal shower off the hose and inside the head was a flow restrictor. Took me 15 minutes of prying, but I got it out. We have water flow now! So much so that the personal shower will whip around in the tub like it is alive!! The next time I go into town to shop, I'll take the shower head and get a flat washer that will fit in it to act like a flow restrictor, just not one that only lets a teeny little flow of water through.

So, Backroads - if it is something I can do without causing damage to the house or myself - I do it. I am not so vain that I refuse to admit that it is beyond my doing. Husband is more of a geek- he does all of the computer repair, and the small electrical appliance repairs. He is quick to call in professional help when it is more than he can do.

It bothers me that I can no longer get on a ladder and clean out the gutters, or even mow my own lawn area. I do it, but it takes me three times as long and I take three times as long to recover from the aches of sore muscles, and I have an electric mower! I can't even weed the area in front of my raised up 3 feet off the ground pot stand - have to hire a teenager to do that work. I can't even wash my own windows on the outside. Can't lift my arms up high enough, let alone long enough to get the job done. Again, this is a job for the Home Teacher and his two teen sons to do for us. That and replace the light bulbs in all of our ceiling fixtures.

[Dravin]

I lean towards fixing it myself but I keep in mind my limitations in:

• Time
  
• Tools
  
• Parts
  
• Experience
  

[Palerider]

More than once we've spent more money and grief trying to fix something ourselves than if we'd had a professional do it.

For me my skills are limited. It's worth it for me to call someone. This way I don't get worked up and make it worse or lose temper and use language I don't believe in using. Lol

[Finrock]

I think I can fix anything...until I can't.

-Finrock

[Quin]

I hire out electrical.

Too many firefighter friends.

Too much self awareness (electricity and I should never be crossing swords).

Aside from that... If I don't know how to do it, I generally trade a fifth of nice scotch + dinner to one of our local contractors to "teach" me how. (Meaning sit and eat pizza or ribs, risotto, whatever... and tell me what I'm doing wrong/ what tricks will make something fast or smooth -like building a spacer for keeping fence slats parallel, so you only have to level the first one/ ... just generally laugh at me being all awkward. Win/win.). So for $50-$100 I save between $500 & $5,000.

At this point, I can fix most things that go wrong. From snaking a side sewer & replacing burst pipes, to leaky roofs, holes in drywall, laying hardwood, taping and mudding, fridge & dishwasher clogs, squeaky boards, insulating, all that jazz. And if I can't fix it, I can usually learn how to.

I like knowing how things work.

Q