Are you proud to be a do-it-yourselfer?

[JDgreen227]

On Monday the local newpaper here had a story about a city homeowner who was upset with the DPW because they wouldn't remove the stump of a tree they had cut down. He had called them because the tree (on the right-of-way) had cracked and a large branch was hanging over his house. They responded to his request in a few hours, removing the tree, but told him because of budget cuts they would not remove the 36 inch stump. As the story went he got a $100 estimate to have the stump chipped up, and he felt the city should take care of it instead.

It made me laugh to read the story, because I recently dug out the sod, and then used a chain saw and an axe to remove three 30 inch diameter stumps here. Wasn't fun at my age (60) but hard work never hurt anybody. One of my neighbors was telling me recently he had to pay $600 to have his 7 year old well pressure tank replaced. I cannot imagine paying somebody $350 for labor to replace a $250 tank.

Last month I had to replace my step mom's twenty year old garbage disposal, she paid for the parts and afterwards she told me about someone who had to pay $450 for the same job I had done for a third of that much.

I do not begrudge paying a stump grinder, a plumber, etc. to do things I can't do but as long as I have the ability to do things myself, I am proud to be a do-it-yourselfer. And no doubt you are, too. :thumbsup:

 

[k0ua]

Until recently, we have never hired anything done. Now that we are older, I have hired a few things out. Like recently have trees trimmed and one cut down. They left the stump, which I took care of. I have a tractor after all. But I think the main reason I have always been a DIY'er is because I have never had much money, and if you want it done you have to do it yourself!

James K0UA

 

[2LaneCruzer]

On Monday the local newpaper here had a story about a city homeowner who was upset with the DPW because they wouldn't remove the stump of a tree they had cut down. He had called them because the tree (on the right-of-way) had cracked and a large branch was hanging over his house. They responded to his request in a few hours, removing the tree, but told him because of budget cuts they would not remove the 36 inch stump. As the story went he got a $100 estimate to have the stump chipped up, and he felt the city should take care of it instead.

It made me laugh to read the story, because I recently dug out the sod, and then used a chain saw and an axe to remove three 30 inch diameter stumps here. Wasn't fun at my age (60) but hard work never hurt anybody. One of my neighbors was telling me recently he had to pay $600 to have his 7 year old well pressure tank replaced. I cannot imagine paying somebody $350 for labor to replace a $250 tank.

Last month I had to replace my step mom's twenty year old garbage disposal, she paid for the parts and afterwards she told me about someone who had to pay $450 for the same job I had done for a third of that much.

I do not begrudge paying a stump grinder, a plumber, etc. to do things I can't do but as long as I have the ability to do things myself, I am proud to be a do-it-yourselfer. And no doubt you are, too. :thumbsup:

It's very satisfying to have the knowledge, skills and ability to do those sort of things, but at age 74 digging our a big stump is a lot of effort, not to mention the pain involved. $100 would probably be worth it to me. I took out about 12 or so trees last year, and was able to remove the stumps of the smaller ones by cutting them down with about 4 foot of stump remaining. I was then able to dig and chop them out with the use of my 4WD truck and a chain using the long stump as leverage.

If I had known as much about trees 30 years ago as I do today, I could have saved myself a bundle of money by not planting cottonwoods so close to the house. In fact, I would never have planted a cottonwood at all, let alone 20 foot from the house. It had to be taken down one limb at a time; took 3 days and $1400 (a bargain as it turns our; first estimate was $2500).

 

[JDgreen227]

I should have clarified I didn't actually remove the stumps the way a chipper would, just cut them off at ground level or slightly below with the saw, then hacked them down until sod could go over the top.

 

[radioman]

So you did finally get rid of that stump by the firepit. :thumbsup:
I always liked doing things myself as well. Its either a learning process or knowing that its getting done right. (well I am sure some of us like to say as cheap as possible even if it quick and dirty way. )

 

[hodge]

I have worked all of my life with my hands- I don't begrudge anyone who makes a living serving the needs of customers, or the customers who don't have the time or ability to do it themselves. Myself, though, I like to accomplish it myself. But, I also know my limits- I weigh my abilities, and my options, and then decide whether I can do it cheaper, or I can make more money working on something else while someone more qualified fixes something for me. For instance, I do most of my own mechanical work, but a few things, like body work or A/C work, goes to someone more qualified.
I would say that I do 95% of my own work.

 

[smstonypoint]

I weigh my abilities, and my options, and then decide whether I can do it cheaper, or I can make more money working on something else while someone more qualified fixes something for me.

Pardon my language (economics), but you understand "opportunity cost," a concept that managed to elude some of my former students.

Steve

 

[chucko]

" Are you proud to be a do-it-yourselfer?" I will go a step over that and say I somehow feel I have failed if I have to get someone to do something I can't

Well other than see what is wrong with these newer cars where you need a 20k cpu to tell you the gas cap is not tight and causing your check engine light to come on

 

[JDgreen227]

Pardon my language (economics), but you understand "opportunity cost," a concept that managed to elude some of my former students.

Steve

When I was working for a living I made less than $20 an hour, so paying somebody $80 to $100 an hour to do things for me wasn't very practical. Maybe if I had been earning $100 an hour I could have afforded it.

"Opportunity cost...." I like that term. Sounds more impressive than saying I'm just a cheap SOB.

 

[Carl_NH]

Agree with hodge and Steve, I know my abilities better now and what not to do. In earlier years I would not consider cost/risk appropriately and looking back did some risky things.

That said, I do everything from fixing the dishwasher tub with JB Weld, plumbing, wiring, digging stumps, but for instance when I had 10 40" stumps to grind, a fellow with a grinder came and did all 10 in a day for $350. I have rented a stump grinder for a day for half that, so figured $175 for 8 hrs a relative bargain.

Keeping the neighbors box store ridng mowers in tune and adjusted or sharpened and using what I have on hand to fix things without buying new is my preferred route.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have been doing everything by myself for so many years, i hardly think about it.

Then again, it does get old. I just recently got done putting up a T&G ceiling on my rear patio deck and was grumbling all the time ..... "Why am i too cheap to just hire someone else to do this crap".

My van had the water pump go out 2 days ago..... i just didnt have it in me. i sent it to our local shop to repair. i just got done replacing the wiper delay control and i just couldnt look at that rig again. Well at least my hands wont be greasy when i write out that check. I gave up changing oil in trucks about 5 years ago. cant beat sitting and reading the paper while 3 people change all the fluids, grease the rig and check everything else for $34.00.

 

[chucko]

"I gave up changing oil in trucks about 5 years ago"

I will have to say I have gave that up too as most places now do it for only a very few dollars more than I can buy the oil and filter... There are a few thing I know I know nothing about like the fridge and don't even try but if I know about it or think I can figure it out them I am all over it

 

[IndyIan]

I have been doing everything by myself for so many years, i hardly think about it.

Then again, it does get old. I just recently got done putting up a T&G ceiling on my rear patio deck and was grumbling all the time ..... "Why am i too cheap to just hire someone else to do this crap".

Little jobs like that are a problem, IF you can find someone that will do quality work that will take jobs like that, he probably will quote for a days work. So the $200 for materials job is now $600-700 with good labour...
Worth a bit of grumbling to me!

I do all the simple maintenance on the cars and tractor, sleds, atv, and other stuff. I like doing it right now atleast, maybe in the future I won't but its a hobby that pays you which is always nice. Kind of like doing firewood, I don't have to, but I get to run a nice saw and drag stuff around with the tractor or atv.

 

[rgs03833]

Hi JD,

Always be Proud to be a DIY reguardless of the outcome I guess. But there are some Folks who can't and lucky for some of us, we can make Money$ out of them, LMAO.

As for everything else in this Lifetime, the only thing I can't do is the ROOF, LOL. I'm scared of Height... The only thing in this Lifetime that someone else can make Money$ out of me, LOL.

For some People, everything is hard, even picking up a simple Needle and Sew a Button... Then some of those People who takes advantage of People and tell us that they can't do it, so you can do it for them. We have a lot of those People on this Planet.

It seems sometimes I don't know what Planet are we living on, because there are so many things that I can do and other People can't... Things are soooo Easy for me, why can't they do it? Yah, I should be Proud of who I am and what I can do. But so far, I'm NOT somehow... It's like why things are so Easy for me? But then I have to fight with myself, that's because I guess I'm NOT like everyone else.

Anyway, recently I took a Big task which I have NEVER done it before. Redoing my downstairs' Bathroom. I called around and got a few Quote$$$ and for an 8'X8'.6" with Tiles almost everywhere, see Pix below. The lowest Quote$ were $7000.00 the Highest was 9G. I said to myself, H3ll with that money, I can take a Month off and sip my Coffee and play around and then just spend 4 Hours a day and do my Bathroom. Also, I wanted 16"X16" Tiles on the Walls... No One wanted to do it... Well Guess what? It's Holding... I took a risk... It's on a Wall, not somewhere that will fall. I took extra care too applying the Adhesive just incase.

Anyway, it's been 18 Days and I got FAR, almost done... I should have taken some Pix of Before and After. But it's a Bathroom, who the H3ll cares.... Right? But since I saw your Thread and you are speaking of a DIY and should be Proud of it. I just wanted to put Action where my Mouth is... Well in this case where my Fingers are typing, LOL

Well, yah I should be Proud of myself, but I'm NOT. But it seems that it's just Easy, Plain and Simple to do things... But I guess some People are NOT me.

I did all the Plumbing and Everything in it. The only thing I had helped on was from a Friend helping me ripping old stuff apart. So far, noone had called the City on me, LMAO...

The last Pix is my Grout Weapon... Yah it's like making Icing on a Cake, LOL. Tips for you guys just incase you guys wanted to do Grout... Easy and Less Cleaning up and also it Fills the Grout Line Easier.

Total Project Costs = $1200.00 including Eating out a FEW times, LOL

 

[creekbend]

Knowledge and self reliance are very good attributes to possess. I always walk away with a good feeling when I accomplish a task. There are some things that I can't do or finish because of my prosthesis, but many times I can complete the job. It only takes longer and utilizing a different method. Doing it yourself, is most certainly cheaper.

 

[JDgreen227]

rgs03833..I have done a LOT of roofing, but tiling...my entire experence is about six square feet. Your tiling job looks REALLY good. I would never try something that extensive.

 

[grsthegreat]

I hear you. I built my entire house except for the insulation, drywall and cabinetry. I did everything else.

I left the basement for last. had lost the incentive. Until my wife told me i could have a home theater down there. I was in there later that week wiring it and doing the plumbing for the bar. I contacted a cabinet shop that i wired and had them design some cabinets, then i hired a drywaller to hang and finish rock. I did the rest, all the tile, paneling, etc. heres the before and the after. The wife told me that if she only knew all she had to do was say home theater, she would have done it 10 years earlier.

Just prior to this, she purchased a new front load washer and dryer. It didnt fit in the laundry room. so i had to redo the entire room. what started out as a simple moving of a few pipes ended up as :
1. Move water heater out into the garage.
2. Re plumb entire room to fit new units
3. All new cabinets
4. New floor
5. Replace steps into house
6. move furnace out to garage
7. Since furnace was moved, reduct basement for central heat system and add 2nd water heater and hot water recirc system

you see, its not always a good thing to be handy...actually sometimes it SUCKS

 

[R_Walter]

It's very satisfying to have the knowledge, skills and ability to do those sort of things, but at age 74 digging our a big stump is a lot of effort, not to mention the pain involved. $100 would probably be worth it to me. I took out about 12 or so trees last year, and was able to remove the stumps of the smaller ones by cutting them down with about 4 foot of stump remaining. I was then able to dig and chop them out with the use of my 4WD truck and a chain using the long stump as leverage.

If I had known as much about trees 30 years ago as I do today, I could have saved myself a bundle of money by not planting cottonwoods so close to the house. In fact, I would never have planted a cottonwood at all, let alone 20 foot from the house. It had to be taken down one limb at a time; took 3 days and $1400 (a bargain as it turns our; first estimate was $2500).

Cottonwoods also have incredible root systems able to work their way into almost microscopic openings to obtain a water source. Which means, they end up plugginf up water and sewer or septic systems over time. A real pain-in-the-*****, they are! The closer to your dwelling, the more they infiltrate!

 

[ccride]

I've always been proud (and even enjoyed) doing things for myself, and in my younger days would tackle just about anything. But now I'm getting to the age (coming up on 68) that I just can't do some of the things I used to be able to.

One of my biggest problems with hiring anything done has always been getting a shoddy job, and I wind up having to re-do it myself anyway. I've often wondered how people who absolutely can't do anything themselves and have to hire everything done ever manage. And I have known a lot of people like that.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've always been a do it yourselfer, and take a lot of pride in what I'm able to accomplish. I like to learn new things and ways to do things as well. That's a big part of what I like about TBN. You guys do things that I have never done, and it's fun to see how you do it.

But I honestly hope that the day will come when I can afford to hire it out and not have to do everything myself. More time to play or work on fun stuff instead of the things that I would rather not do. Some of my clients are very wealthy, and the say that they would much rather go play golf then fix their house. I can totally undersand this!!!!!


Eddie