Being willing and able to take on repairs in your own house is deeply satisfying and will save you a fortune. Take the challenge when you can and gain confidence through successful resolutions like this one.
“non-Newtonian fluids“….love that! I was a plumber in my youth for 3 years during high school and the summer after my freshman year in college (during which I met the funniest pizza boy in Milwaukee history). It was gross. Cleaned sewers, cleaned blood, brains and guts drains at a meatpacker, cleaned water pens at a feed lot which required hiking in rubber boots (which occasionally might get sucked off) for yards thru up to a foot of cow shit, cleaned the floor drains and sink drains at a Chinese Restaurant. And, ever since I got married 48 years ago, I have picked up the phone every single time I needed a plumber!!!! Good on you though and good luck with those job applications. Destined for happiness so hang in there!
I learned early on that the praise I received for successfully making a home repair pailed by comparison to the fallout for a failed effort. I've added, "If it looks daunting, call a pro", to, "Measure twice, cut once."
Congratulations! We had a rental house in FL and we had to fix the automatic washer and couldn’t get a repair person so I decided to fix it myself. Long story short, I checked with YouTube and found the solution! I got my city boy husband to help me, ordered the part I needed, removed the old part and installed the new part and fixed the washer myself and it worked!!! I am very proud of myself! It is amazing what you can do when you are determined to do it!!! Good for you to take the bull by the horns and solve your issue!!! I am now officially the handy man at our house!
One of the best things the internet ever gave us is random YouTube videos with under 100 views that show step by step instructions on how to fix the particular thing you’re working on
My mom and dad (both teachers, mind you) built their own house, the one I grew up in, the one they each took their last breath in. So my dad wasn't about to bring in repair people. Nature or nurture, I don't know, but I always loved watching, and when old enough, taking part in repairs. I carried that into my own houses as an adult....until I realized I wasn't as good at it as a professional and I had other things taking my time. I'm happy to write a check now, although I do some small stuff still. And I agree, it's a great sense of accomplishment when it works. (And plumbing is the worst, I prefer electrical.)
Will, this is one of my favorite articles you have written. Maybe because I grew up with a father who was so wonderful like yours, but couldn't fix anything. My Dad was great at packing the family car to go camping, or build a fence in our backyard since it was one of his first jobs out of college, but a handyman inside the home, forget it. To put myself through acting and stunt school in 1977, I was the maintenance man at a 110 unit apartment building in Hollywood. I got free rent fixing everything from a leaky faucet, to a running toilet, to a broken screen door. I became "Mr. Maintenance" to my friends who I would fix things at their home. Anyway, thank you for bringing back all those memories! BTW, My wife's father could fix anything! So, she was and still is impressed with her live-in handyman. 😎
Everyone in our family knows about the time my dad tried to change a light switch plate and we had to call the fire department. I'm convinced if he'd had YouTube he could have learned how to take out his own appendix. The joy I've experienced following the instructions and changing our outdoor lighting program every time daylight savings starts or ends, or fixing a stuck soap dispenser in the dishwasher, was what I imaged Dr. Christian Barnard felt when he completed the first successful heart transplant.
This is probably not the response you're looking for. I didn't know my family owned a hammer until I begged my Dad when I was about 9, 10 years old, to hammer 1X4 boards into a Jewish star that I could cover in aluminum foil and blue Christmas lights to hang in the front window. I thought something Jewish should be proudly displayed in all the beautiful Christmas decorations in my modest Milwaukee neighborhood. I have long since been a lapsed Jew, but I remember with pride - and surprise - my dad knew how to use a hammer.
I'm like your parents: call a pro. By the time you make a litany of expensive mistakes, it could have been fixed quickly by a professional. Handyman stuff is not in my DNA.
Enter my husband, 10 years my senior - who grew up really poor and it was all those Catholic kids who had to fix everything because their dad was absent. Even if it meant when my husband was 7 years old, crawling up on a roof, falling and breaking his arm, and his mother being pissed that there was a medical bill. A very different upbringing than the world your Dad and I grew up in.
This spring/summer, we needed a major reconstruction of the enclosure over the back stairs of our 124 year old bungalow. My husband for many years, tacked and patched that crumbling, moldy roof. He's a big proponent of duct tape to fix everything. Understand, he is a master craftsman: he is one of only two people in the U.S. now that has the skill and historical knowledge to fix antique clocks that are hundreds of years old. A skill and a history that has shaped Industrial advancements since Medieval times. The study of this history became a passion for me as well. I worked for a museum for 12 years where I researched and wrote all the historical materials and wrote and gave tours. If they'd only had duct tape in the 1600's!
For decades, he "fixed" the kitchen sink - again, duct tape was the answer. Crawling on the floor with bad knees and now bad shoulders that he didn't tell me about until recently. He's 84 years old, and he still crawls out on snowy or rainy roofs to clear gutters. At least now he closes the door to his studio so our Maple doesn't crawl out the window after him. And in all fairness, he fixes a lot, properly. I wouldn't have a clue what he is able to do.
A professional knows and owns the right tools. When I finally insisted they fix our bathroom and kitchen sink hookup, they were done in a few hours. By the time my Jerry is done walking through Home Depot 20 or more times, further destroying his knees, to buy the wrong stuff, crawl on his searing knees under the sink - the plumber could have fixed it all. It's a challenge in the modern world to find a reputable, cost-effective professional. It's also a testament to you that you tackled such a job. Will, you should be damned proud of yourself. I'm proud of you. But sometimes, you need a plumber or an electrician. Use your judgment on how more rewarding and effective is the use of your time, knowledge, and commitment.
Thank you for sharing Faith! Your husband sounds like a real gem and you’re absolutely right: wisdom is knowing when you can figure it out yourself and when to throw up your hands and call a professional!
Being willing and able to take on repairs in your own house is deeply satisfying and will save you a fortune. Take the challenge when you can and gain confidence through successful resolutions like this one.
It’s true! I’m glad I did it!
I applaud you, you’re a brave man 😆
Thank you! It certainly tested my resolve
The most impressive household task I’ve accomplished was watching you take apart the sink and yelling you words of encouragement
Those words really got me through the last half of the cleaning and dry heaving!
Without you he probably couldn’t have gotten through it!
I definitely would have given up
“non-Newtonian fluids“….love that! I was a plumber in my youth for 3 years during high school and the summer after my freshman year in college (during which I met the funniest pizza boy in Milwaukee history). It was gross. Cleaned sewers, cleaned blood, brains and guts drains at a meatpacker, cleaned water pens at a feed lot which required hiking in rubber boots (which occasionally might get sucked off) for yards thru up to a foot of cow shit, cleaned the floor drains and sink drains at a Chinese Restaurant. And, ever since I got married 48 years ago, I have picked up the phone every single time I needed a plumber!!!! Good on you though and good luck with those job applications. Destined for happiness so hang in there!
Holy cow, I see why you were probably motivated through law school. Not many sewers in a courtroom…just some folks who belong in them!
I learned early on that the praise I received for successfully making a home repair pailed by comparison to the fallout for a failed effort. I've added, "If it looks daunting, call a pro", to, "Measure twice, cut once."
Wise words to live by!
Congratulations! We had a rental house in FL and we had to fix the automatic washer and couldn’t get a repair person so I decided to fix it myself. Long story short, I checked with YouTube and found the solution! I got my city boy husband to help me, ordered the part I needed, removed the old part and installed the new part and fixed the washer myself and it worked!!! I am very proud of myself! It is amazing what you can do when you are determined to do it!!! Good for you to take the bull by the horns and solve your issue!!! I am now officially the handy man at our house!
One of the best things the internet ever gave us is random YouTube videos with under 100 views that show step by step instructions on how to fix the particular thing you’re working on
My mom and dad (both teachers, mind you) built their own house, the one I grew up in, the one they each took their last breath in. So my dad wasn't about to bring in repair people. Nature or nurture, I don't know, but I always loved watching, and when old enough, taking part in repairs. I carried that into my own houses as an adult....until I realized I wasn't as good at it as a professional and I had other things taking my time. I'm happy to write a check now, although I do some small stuff still. And I agree, it's a great sense of accomplishment when it works. (And plumbing is the worst, I prefer electrical.)
Electrical is scary though! No one ever got electrocuted to death unclogging a toilet!
That is true.
Will, this is one of my favorite articles you have written. Maybe because I grew up with a father who was so wonderful like yours, but couldn't fix anything. My Dad was great at packing the family car to go camping, or build a fence in our backyard since it was one of his first jobs out of college, but a handyman inside the home, forget it. To put myself through acting and stunt school in 1977, I was the maintenance man at a 110 unit apartment building in Hollywood. I got free rent fixing everything from a leaky faucet, to a running toilet, to a broken screen door. I became "Mr. Maintenance" to my friends who I would fix things at their home. Anyway, thank you for bringing back all those memories! BTW, My wife's father could fix anything! So, she was and still is impressed with her live-in handyman. 😎
Thanks Derek! I bet that experience has been worth its weight in gold
Everyone in our family knows about the time my dad tried to change a light switch plate and we had to call the fire department. I'm convinced if he'd had YouTube he could have learned how to take out his own appendix. The joy I've experienced following the instructions and changing our outdoor lighting program every time daylight savings starts or ends, or fixing a stuck soap dispenser in the dishwasher, was what I imaged Dr. Christian Barnard felt when he completed the first successful heart transplant.
That’s why we have that photo of you, exhausted on the floor after spending 12 straight hours trying to fix the internet
I have absolutely no memory of this photograph, and if it does exist, it is undoubtedly an AI engineered deep fake
This is probably not the response you're looking for. I didn't know my family owned a hammer until I begged my Dad when I was about 9, 10 years old, to hammer 1X4 boards into a Jewish star that I could cover in aluminum foil and blue Christmas lights to hang in the front window. I thought something Jewish should be proudly displayed in all the beautiful Christmas decorations in my modest Milwaukee neighborhood. I have long since been a lapsed Jew, but I remember with pride - and surprise - my dad knew how to use a hammer.
I'm like your parents: call a pro. By the time you make a litany of expensive mistakes, it could have been fixed quickly by a professional. Handyman stuff is not in my DNA.
Enter my husband, 10 years my senior - who grew up really poor and it was all those Catholic kids who had to fix everything because their dad was absent. Even if it meant when my husband was 7 years old, crawling up on a roof, falling and breaking his arm, and his mother being pissed that there was a medical bill. A very different upbringing than the world your Dad and I grew up in.
This spring/summer, we needed a major reconstruction of the enclosure over the back stairs of our 124 year old bungalow. My husband for many years, tacked and patched that crumbling, moldy roof. He's a big proponent of duct tape to fix everything. Understand, he is a master craftsman: he is one of only two people in the U.S. now that has the skill and historical knowledge to fix antique clocks that are hundreds of years old. A skill and a history that has shaped Industrial advancements since Medieval times. The study of this history became a passion for me as well. I worked for a museum for 12 years where I researched and wrote all the historical materials and wrote and gave tours. If they'd only had duct tape in the 1600's!
For decades, he "fixed" the kitchen sink - again, duct tape was the answer. Crawling on the floor with bad knees and now bad shoulders that he didn't tell me about until recently. He's 84 years old, and he still crawls out on snowy or rainy roofs to clear gutters. At least now he closes the door to his studio so our Maple doesn't crawl out the window after him. And in all fairness, he fixes a lot, properly. I wouldn't have a clue what he is able to do.
A professional knows and owns the right tools. When I finally insisted they fix our bathroom and kitchen sink hookup, they were done in a few hours. By the time my Jerry is done walking through Home Depot 20 or more times, further destroying his knees, to buy the wrong stuff, crawl on his searing knees under the sink - the plumber could have fixed it all. It's a challenge in the modern world to find a reputable, cost-effective professional. It's also a testament to you that you tackled such a job. Will, you should be damned proud of yourself. I'm proud of you. But sometimes, you need a plumber or an electrician. Use your judgment on how more rewarding and effective is the use of your time, knowledge, and commitment.
Thank you for sharing Faith! Your husband sounds like a real gem and you’re absolutely right: wisdom is knowing when you can figure it out yourself and when to throw up your hands and call a professional!