Do you do your own maintenance ?

[creekbend]

I do what I am able to. A friend of mine helps me do the major tasks that I am not capable of doing.

 

[Willl]

The difference is they all spray... I don't.

The guys I hired did mine by hand. Small house, just under 1000 sq, 3 guys did it in 2 days. First guy (kid) showed up first of the week and brush washed the house, other 2 showed up 2 days later and did the whole house in a day.

 

[kenmac]

most of my own & alot of others (customers of mine)

 

[JDgreen227]

What do I do here?

Lets see now, all needed repairs and maintenance for 3 cars, 1 SUV, 1 utility trailer, 1 travel trailer, 1 JD compact tractor, 1 34 foot motorhome, a huge collection of powered yard tools, mowers (4) trimmers, blowers, chain saws, 2 Honda ATV's, Coleman house and motorhome gensets...that pretty much covers motorized stuff.

And lets see now...all roofing, siding, doors, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, painting, decks, masonry work, windows, etc. for one 2450 square foot house, a detached 3 car garage, three other large outbuildings...

And now...maintain and care for a 5 acre lawn, a 28X60 foot garden in season, trim all the trees, clear up all storm damage, plow a 500 foot long driveway plus four of my neighbors when the snow is deep,

You name it, and I probably do it or CAN do it. And you know why? Only a rich man who is a complete MORON could possibly afford to hire anybody to do all the things I do myself. And it would usually be a p*** poor job if you hired it done.

 

[Tollster]

I learned a long time ago if you want it done right you do it yourself, and in this day and age with so much information available on the web, and various resources,such as TBN, its hard not to justify not doing it your self, particularly when you start to add money to the equation.
Some jobs are too big of an undertaking, but it helps to help your friend and neighbors when ya can as it surely may just come back to ya one day, and if it doesn't, you can rest much easier at night and prolly sleep much better.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I usually do what I can and when I run into trouble my brother is a diesel mechanic:thumbsup: As for wood and stuff im no Bob Villa,there again got my brother Rob Villa usually just trade work out I do his welding,fence building, take care of his pastures and do his hauling for him. Works out great!!!!!

 

[Triguy1]

I do as much as I possibly can. In fact, sometimes I tackle things I probably have no business doing, just to teach myself new things. Of course I will ask for help when it seems prudent...

 

[QRTRHRS]

While I have done as much as I could over the years, I do admit to have payed so called pros on occasion. Often as not, I realized that I could do better myself and sometimes that lesson has been rather painful.

And not so distant at that. When we moved to our current place four years ago, I was busy moving horses and house hold goods. A casual conversation led me to a highly recommended man to build out stalls in our barn and expand the overall size. All things I could do myself given the time.

Turned out while the man seemed honest and had good intentions, he did not know his backside from first base and I have been correctling ever since.

Anyway, I have amassed the tools and knowledge to do just about anything I need to. Welding, fencing, building (all phases), mechanical, electrical, plumbing, some hvac, you name it, I do it.

Admittedly, I did sell my scaffolding. While I do have a relatively new house, eventually there will be roofing but I am also realizing that I am not as young as I once was. That and shoulder surgery.

 

[JDgreen227]

While I have done as much as I could over the years, I do admit to have payed so called pros on occasion. Often as not, I realized that I could do better myself and sometimes that lesson has been rather painful.

And not so distant at that. When we moved to our current place four years ago, I was busy moving horses and house hold goods. A casual conversation led me to a highly recommended man to build out stalls in our barn and expand the overall size. All things I could do myself given the time.

Turned out while the man seemed honest and had good intentions, he did not know his backside from first base and I have been correctling ever since.

Anyway, I have amassed the tools and knowledge to do just about anything I need to. Welding, fencing, building (all phases), mechanical, electrical, plumbing, some hvac, you name it, I do it.

Admittedly, I did sell my scaffolding. While I do have a relatively new house, eventually there will be roofing but I am also realizing that I am not as young as I once was. That and shoulder surgery.

What you say about amassing tools, I have a huge, huge collection of hand and power tools for just about any task you can name. Sometimes I wonder how many of us guys justify buying tens of thousands of dollars of tools by telling ourselves "these are a good investment because I will save (fill in the blank) by doing these jobs myself. Hmm, that gives me an idea for a new thread.

 

[D7E]

Absoluteley all maintenance on vehicles and machinery from service to engine rebuilds welding etc but never attempt anything around the house DIY is just annoying work ! If i leave it long enough wife will do it or pay someone

 

[Pete Judd]

All that I am able, then will hire a 10 buck an hour guy to be my muscle, and supervise and let him lift and haul.

 

[BigBoyinMS]

Very little that I don't do myself. Just about my only limit is my size but as big as I am I'm still all over or under a vehicle I'm working on.
Number of cylinders? At least 33 right now but sold 4 not long ago (tour bike) and looking for 8 more right now (everyday truck).

 

[JDgreen227]

Very little that I don't do myself. Just about my only limit is my size but as big as I am I'm still all over or under a vehicle I'm working on.
Number of cylinders? At least 33 right now but sold 4 not long ago (tour bike) and looking for 8 more right now (everyday truck).

What you say about the number of cylinders reminds me of a thread someone started on TBN back about 2006, supposedly the ideal ratio was one cylinder per year of your age. I am a bit hazy of how much powered yard equipment I have that has one cylinder (non-running) but the ratio is 60 years old/over 80 cylinders

 

[deerefan]

Not necessarily on tractors, but on anything from your car to your house!

I like to do things myself, if I can.

I service the car myself, maintain the house myself, and maintain the garden myself.

Only do I call in a professional if absolutely necessary.

I'm just interested to see what you guys do.

As for cylinders, I have 73. I do minor repairs on all my equipment plus my house. The only 2 vehicles I do not touch are my wifes '11 Traverse and my '11 Silverado. They are serviced by the dealer as they are under warranty. All other equipment is maintained by me.

 

[deere755]

I do as much as I can. It saves money and I enjoy doing it most of the time. I just got done installing new flooring and oak trim around the doors and baseboards. I can find a few flaws but for the most part it looks great. It looks a lot better then the deck I paid good money to have built that is now needing the floor replaced and is less then 10 years old. I will probably be doing more of my own work in the future. I don't do much work on my cars and trucks but have a best friend who is very good at it and is in business to do it.

 

[om21braz]

With an auto mechanic for a father, he wanted me to be able to do all things to automobiles - but he didn't want me to have do it for a living. So here I am now - a half of a mechanic.

 

[JDgreen227]

I do as much as I can. It saves money and I enjoy doing it most of the time. I just got done installing new flooring and oak trim around the doors and baseboards. I can find a few flaws but for the most part it looks great. It looks a lot better then the deck I paid good money to have built that is now needing the floor replaced and is less then 10 years old. I will probably be doing more of my own work in the future. I don't do much work on my cars and trucks but have a best friend who is very good at it and is in business to do it.

What you said there about your deck...my brother in law moved to a $170,000 condo a few years back, and as I was helping him move, I was looking at his new deck which had just been finished and the morons who had built used an air nailer and REGULAR STEEL FRAMING NAILS to fasten the treated wood together. This on a walk out deck that was 8 feet off the ground. He had no idea that steel nails would rust in no time and because I advised him of that he made the builder come back and add more galvanized nails and they had to replace some of the lumber in the process.

This example is why I hate hiring anybody to do anything. Slap it together fast, cheap....

 

[jmurray01]

What you said there about your deck...my brother in law moved to a $170,000 condo a few years back, and as I was helping him move, I was looking at his new deck which had just been finished and the morons who had built used an air nailer and REGULAR STEEL FRAMING NAILS to fasten the treated wood together. This on a walk out deck that was 8 feet off the ground. He had no idea that steel nails would rust in no time and because I advised him of that he made the builder come back and add more galvanized nails and they had to replace some of the lumber in the process.

This example is why I hate hiring anybody to do anything. Slap it together fast, cheap....

Very true! We got somebody to fix the fence yesterday as it needed re-fitting and now one of the planks is squint

 

[Soundguy]

Not necessarily on tractors, but on anything from your car to your house!

I like to do things myself, if I can.

I service the car myself, maintain the house myself, and maintain the garden myself.

Only do I call in a professional if absolutely necessary.

I'm just interested to see what you guys do.

i do everything I can do.. and try for some of the stuff that I'm not sure i can't do..

 

[JDgreen227]

i do everything I can do.. and try for some of the stuff that I'm not sure i can't do..

Quoted by Henry Ford: "Whether you think you can or that you cant, you're right".