Posted on 08/27/2010 3:53:37 AM PDT by Daisyjane69
As a long time Bob Vila viewer I know that water isn’t suppose to pour out of ceiling lights, wire strippers are not supposed to be blown out of your hand by a blinding flash of light , and the pointy end of a pick is not suppose to embed itself in your main water supply line.
Just another day in the life of this do-it-yourselfer and yes, all are on my list of the joys of home ownership I experienced.
I come from a long line of DIYers. Like the Dad in the Christmas Story forever battling the furnace in the basement, my Dad would disembowel himself with a wooden spoon before he’d listen to my Mom and hire a professional. At least until he had five or six attempts at fixing it and at least as many trips to Home Depot. You know, the place where other DIYers hang out and watch a guy in a orange apron explain the correct way to light a water heater pilot so you don’t blow up your house.
I believe there are two Americas. No, not red states and blue states, but DIYers and Hire-a-Guy-ers. I’m a DIYer for sure, and from what I can tell my 8-year old son will give Home Depot plenty of business himself someday.
We have a Small camp and, maintenance is high DIY. Told my daughter, proficient in roofing, deck building, and pro gopher, to make sure she finds someone proficient with a hammer and screwdriver.
You forgot the hammer.
“Compared to that era, DIY was allot less complicated with all the Federal, State and local codes today.”
Oh yes, I am sure of that.
My house was in a rural county, and the only inspection was
by an electrical inspector, before they would set a meter.
It was fun, and the house was added onto several times, but in the middle of one night, a fire broke out on the front porch. Absolutely NOTHING was saved other then our lives..wife, daughter, and myself.
A life’s worth of mementos, art, photos, and my ham radio station, just a pile of ashes.
As the ultimate procrastinator, I’m growing my own lumber.
LOL
I still haven't gotten around to transplanting my saplings... :P
now you got it a screw turner and a screw driver (sometimes called a hammer)
lol!
Compared to that era, DIY was allot less complicated with all the Federal, State and local codes today. Can't even put up an above ground pool without a building permit and codes inspection.
You can do whatever you want with your own property, just you have to find a place to bury the code official after he's dispatched.
My 28 year old son can do most of those things. He sure has a lot of experience with plumbing! His dad had him crawling under the house by the time he was a teenager to do minor repairs. He and his buddies can all do most minor stuff with cars that don’t have to do with the ‘brain’ in it.
Good story, thx for sharing that. Good dads are always underrated until you see how well they prepared you for life.
Okay, I have no idea how to ‘bleed a radiator’. I assume this is a cold-weather thing. The only radiators I spend any time around are the ones in my car. And I can drain/flush/remove/replace those.
I can do most things around the house, the problem is that my father can fix, make, repair, manufacture, design, build, construct, invent, create ANYTHING. If you gave him a dead bird, he would open it up, say, “Oh, here’s the problem,” sew it back up and have it fly away. He built his own house using, I think, a pair of pliers, baling wire and a tree. And the tree was rotten.
So, anything I do is always going to be pedestrian in comparison. Although, it’s great having him around for advice. I needed to replace a section of electrical wiring, so I called him up. He said, “You’ll need 12 gauge UL 23407. It’s $35 for a 25’ section at Lowe’s. Row 6, towards the back on the right. About head high.” The lessons I have learned from him a truly invaluable.
My husband can fix almost anything around here, and has saved us a lot of money over the years. He has tried mightily to teach our sons practical skills, with mixed results. Our younger son takes after his dad in terms of his affinity for hands-on work. He’s quick to dive in and figure it out as he goes along, and he knows his way around his dad’s manual and power tools. At 14, he’s well on his way. Our older son is 17, and he seems to take after my own dad, who is very intelligent, but just not handy. He has learned a few things, but he isn’t happy messing about in things that need to be fixed or built. He’s of a more theoretical bent. That said, between his dad’s instruction and his years in Boy Scouts, he probably has more practical skills than most boys his age.
Too funny!
You need to add a Dremel tool to your kit.
While the article is out of England, I’ve noticed the same thing over here.
Of my college age nephew and his friends, they are to a person lost under the hood of a car or inside a breaker box. Most of them are bright kids, but once outside their narrow focus they become lost little lambs.
I don’t honestly expect any of them to be capable of more than begging for guidance when the Big Bad finally comes.
And a chain saw and some dynamite.
My Grandfather was one of those who could fix anything with duct tape and/or hose clamps....
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