Who fixes their own stuff?

[tom mac]

Same thing with replacing a toilet. Have lived in the house for over 40 years. Knew that the bolts were broken. Unsure about the flanges. Hired a neighbor who was a plumber - off the books. I bought the toilet and hauled it home. The professional had a real challenge.

Just did one for my daughter.... ( SIL not well tooled ).
All rusty bolts. so out came the hammer...SIL wondered what I was going to do with that.
One good wack per bolt ( water prev drained ) and all good, had him take it out so he'd get messy.

Took about 2 hr and the new one was in place and working... only got a 6 pack and a peck on cheek.

[David]

Not exactly fixing, but I've been putting up ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, fixing some plumbing (at the old house) a bit here and there as I'm able. It's good to know some basic stuff. Trying to teach my son when he's available.

[tom mac]

Just did a bit on daughters home.... ran into the alum wire with copper.

BE CAREFUL !

Some idiot prev used just plain wire nuts to join lighting with copper to alum wire. Found the wire nuts loose ( due to diff expansion rates ) and some signs of arcing.
Old method here ( yr state may have diff codes ) with special paste/wire nuts with a pigtail of copper.
New method which is easy is AlumiConn connector.... pricey but not as much as a fire.
see pic; they have anti corrosion paste inside and get torqued down

[bdcochran]

I would starve if I were a handyman.

In the scheme of things, your survival is a function of tools, skills and physical/mental health. While I continue to downsize in my tools, I try to keep up the skills. To the extent I work on skills, I save some money and can apply it elsewhere.

This week, I fixed the dishwasher again. 5 year old dishwasher and if I had to call for service for every problem with it, I would have spent the original purchase again.

The gardener broke a faucet. Didn't tell me of course. I will fix it today.

I use youtube to learn how to fix things.

[David]

Not exactly fixing, but I've been putting up ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, fixing some plumbing (at the old house) a bit here and there as I'm able. It's good to know some basic stuff. Trying to teach my son when he's available.

Good example was last night. My son's fiance had a headlamp go out on her car. I had previously taught him how to replace a lamp and it paid off. He bought the new lamp and replaced it himself. Not an easy task on these never vehicles but he got it done.

[bdcochran]

Today, a cabinet drawer runner in the bathroom is broken. Will start to look for parts tomorrow. I joke that the customers in the big box and small hardware stores mid morning during the week are old men trying to repair 70 year broken home parts.