Are you grateful you are a handyman.....? And has is been worth the time and expense

[the old grind]

Heh, I already got 98% of the rust out of my eyes & nostrils from crawling under the truck last weekend replacing the last brake line. (RF) I pay for haircuts and dental cleaning/crowning, front end alignments, car oil/coolant changes, trans flush, etc, and had someone else roof my fourth house and second barn.

I tell ya, it's that crawling under and back out from the car, truck, golf cart to replace that motor or mount, starter or U-joint that keeps you/me young. No heated garages or power lifts, HVAC or tractor cabs. I've got a dozen square of vinyl siding in the barn that I'll be putting on the house mostly by myself as always. (.. because it's quicker than waiting for "I'll help you with that" to EVER happen. :laughing

I've rarely considered paying someone to do something I can do myself. Of course, I've been widowed for 37 yrs, went from bicycles to clocks in Jr High, rebuilt my own engines (Hondas to Harleys) retired from among the 'handiest' of trades (Toolmaker/Tool Grinder) and had some help raising a son to pay 90% for his own col degrees.

I consider myself to be extremely and uncommonly fortunate to have the talent, the time, the patience and the opportunity to explore every aspect of er .. manly DIY-ness. Also because despite losing my L5 disc, cartilage and a few tendons in both knees and ~1/2 grip strength since I was 45, I've put on but 10lbs since HS, BP is still 110/70, and I survived 45 yrs of smoking cigs.

Dishes, laundry, and yard work as chores are almost 'fun' compared to many 'jobs' b'cuz they're so darned easy on your hands .. compared to say 'tubing'/mounting mower tires, brake jobs, changing hydro & filter, servicing sharpening saws/chains or an engine swap. :thumbsup: (I'll be 67 in May, btw)

As to the gist of this thread: ... I say embrace, enjoy, and put to use the things you can do. Appreciate what you've learned and the time and effort you've invested in being who you are. I could say it's what being a man is all about, but ladies have been raising the bar since forever and in all categories, so it's really a HUMAN thing, and btw, like it or not we are all 'cousins' so IMO it's never too soon to treat each other as such no matter what we 'can' or choose to do.

 

[teejk]

I think a lot of DIY originates from necessity...I wasn't making much money when I bought my first house. As I progressed through life I was doing better financially and could afford to hire out but by then I had acquired a "quest for knowledge"...I wanted to know how things were done and had already acquired many of the tools needed for common tasks. Now like the OP stated, age is not kind to many of us...plus having been around the block a few times on many things, I have a very good assessment of what I like to do and what I don't. I hire the latter stuff out with a good understanding of what is involved (invaluable in assessing the knowledge of any "pro" so I know when I may need to look for a different one). As an aside, my wife has been my best helper...to the point where she tackles many things on her own. And my youngest son helped in the building of our current house and loved to work with electricity.

 

[Bird]

age is not kind to many of us.

Ain't it the truth! I used to have a bit of a reputation in my neighborhood as a handyman, but I now hire out many of the things I used to do myself.

 

[teejk]

Ain't it the truth! I used to have a bit of a reputation in my neighborhood as a handyman, but I now hire out many of the things I used to do myself.

Hanging sheetrock on your list of "hire out"? How about under sink plumbing? Roofing? My list is getting longer with every year it seems.

 

[ultrarunner]

Last week I needed to repair a section of roofing... about a 1.5 story building and nothing I have not done many times in the past.

Taking the first roll of torch down up the ladder on my shoulder is when it hit me... why am I still doing this?

I'm around a lot of people that can't or won't do things... after awhile it does make you wonder who is smarter.

 

[mcfarmall]

Three things tell me being handy for a lifetime is better than not:

1). I have to think being handy is a blessing and a skill that brings you satisfaction most people cant get. You have to admit being the go to guy feels good and you cant put a price on the gratitude people bestow upon you.

2). The collection, organization and maintenance of my tools and supplies are a great piece of my hobby time. I enjoy the whole "process."

3). If you hired it out, the end result would rarely be done to your standards.

I am grateful I have the courage to tackle a few of the projects I have done and a wife that helps (really, she helps, no kidding).

Could not have said this better myself. Those of us who can troubleshoot and fix 99% of the problems thrown our way are a dying breed for sure.

 

[JRobyn]

I AM grateful that I have the skills to accomplish almost any "fixit" or "buildit" task, and that I've been able to accumulate sufficient tools to do so. I thank God and my daddy almost every night. I get great satisfaction when I am able to use the talents I've been given to help someone in need. It is extra nice that I can do a better job for way less $$ than hiring it out. In the final judgement of my life's worth, I believe that the "fixing" I did for others will be what makes me "me".

 

[Teachu2]

I enjoy the challenge of doing things myself, and doing them better than I could have hired them done. For the last four decades, if I could buy the tools needed to do the project for about what I would have to pay someone else to do it, I bought the tools. When we were newlyweds, my wife thought I was a bit nuts - but then she started coming up with problems for me to solve. When we moved this last time, it took two trips with a 26' box truck with a liftgate to move my tools. The NEXT move will involve an auction, unless we buy a farm somewhere - I didn't have a tractor, implements, UTV, riding mower, chainsaws, etc when we moved to where we are today.

I enjoy fixing and improving things immensely. Most of what I've done has been special projects - once or twice, then on to the next challenge. OTOH, I've replaced every garbage disposal in every house we've ever owned, and I hate laying under a sink doing that particular task. I HATE the Badger 5 (cheap, noisy, easily clogged POS every builder puts in), but I've gotten good at ripping them out and installing better units.

 

[murph1]

I find your reply to be incredibly insulting. Most of all because you failed to address what I said in the last paragraph. Was my taking time to learn how to do things myself a wasted effort or not? No, you did not take heed of that, Just want to tell you a few things that you obviously do not understand nor realize: I have been 100% deaf since 1960 and my wife has been as deaf since 1955. And I have also had to deal with advanced narcolepsy since 1970 yet I worked full time and overtime since graduation. By working 55 to 60 hours a week for 35 years I got to retire. AND, you choose to belittle my post when you obviously have no idea what my life has dealt me? Guess what? I have always done 100% of the outdoor chores here following my marriage AS WELL AS 85% to 95% of the household chores here as my wife is too disabled to do many of those. So...are you happy being able to belittle me or make fun of my situation? Must be nice to be a moderator and be able to pick and choose who to belittle.

JDGREEN you always seem to step in it and get pissed off. Be happy you can do these things. I can build a motor but I can't write patents.

 

[teejk]

Last week I needed to repair a section of roofing... about a 1.5 story building and nothing I have not done many times in the past.

Taking the first roll of torch down up the ladder on my shoulder is when it hit me... why am I still doing this?

I'm around a lot of people that can't or won't do things... after awhile it does make you wonder who is smarter.

I grew up in a family grocery store...hauled sides of beef that weighed more than I did (I was a skinny kid...maybe 140lbs at the time)...we had a beer/liquor store too (a half-barrel of beer weighs about 150 lbs. and more than I did). That was back in the days of returnable soda bottles and for some strange reason I remember that a case of 16oz. Pepsi with the wooden crate weighed 53 lbs. A box of chickens with ice pack weighed 60 lbs. A bale of sugar weighed 60 lbs. My point is that I probably abused my body when I was younger and am paying for it in later life. I now look at several things and conclude that some things are meant for younger bodies (who now have the benefit of tools that make tasks easier).