• smeg@feddit.uk
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    ·
    5 days ago

    Fixing something minor and annoying in your house by yourself is actually incredibly satisfying though

    • dx1@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      5 days ago

      Try fixing something major, with dramatic improvements to your quality of life.

        • dx1@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          4 days ago

          It’s all doable with some basic tools and a little bit of willingness to endure suffering, that’s my point. And for the more specialized ones, wading through documentation and codes enough to do a job correctly (can’t emphasize that enough). Framing, roofing, plumbing, electric, siding, insulation. Can save a fortune and know exactly how well the job was done.

          • smeg@feddit.uk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            4 days ago

            When it comes to the serious stuff like plumbing/electrics/gas where I could destroy my house and myself if I fuck up then I’m more inclined to pay for a professional, but I’m always up for trying simple fixes myself.

            Speaking to tradies I think they both love and hate people trying it themselves; they loathe trying to pick apart someone’s half-arsed bodge-job but are very happy to be paid to fix someone’s cock up!

            • dx1@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              edit-2
              4 days ago

              That’s the part where it gets really interesting. The right mindset when approaching those tasks means doing the research to do the job professionally, yourself. You meet that threshold, and actually start going through and reworking what was already done - you start to notice all the little shortcuts and weird decisions and bodge jobs that the professionals in the past did. And now, armed with the knowledge and basic tools to do the job - you’re not talking about $200 to pay a plumber to come out and fix one leaky elbow on your pipes - you know how to isolate it, drain it, cut it, deburr it, flux it, solder it, and clean it up, for like $3.00 in parts (and for what I said specifically, a minimum of maybe $50 in tools - cutter, blowtorch/propane, deburring tool, flux brush, emery cloth). For example. And for what could be a $5000 job, you can do it yourself for maybe $1000 in materials.

              There are actual methods that the professionals have developed to be certain they did the job correctly - you just have to learn them.

              • smeg@feddit.uk
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                3 days ago

                At that point you’re just training in a new profession! More power to you if you can do it, but in the time it would take to learn the skills to an acceptable standard I could just work my actual job and use the money I earned to pay a professional!

                • dx1@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  2 days ago

                  Had that same conversation with a coworker many years back. He pitched the “time is money” theory. Really, I’m salaried, this is off-hours work, I actually find it interesting and enjoyable, and save a fortune doing it, so that theory doesn’t apply very well.