Today I installed a grab bar in the shower. (Since my stroke I don’t have the balance I used to anymore) and I began wondering how much someone would charge for that. Took just over an hour. Had to drill thru the tiles, used a diamond hole saw and MOEN brand mounting brackets vs wingits. Made sure my 13yo was there to see how it’s done, and I explained each step to him.

Then I told Mrs. Mike I have probably saved thousands of dollars over the last 20 years with me doing all the free labor. I paint, keep up the house, fix drywall, appliance install, car stuff, last thing was a new coil in the weed whacker, the list goes on and on…hiring a handyman to fix a door that’s out of whack would cost a few hundred dollars, when I can diagnose it myself and fix it. I’m glad I know how to do things.

I have to thank my dad next time I talk with him. He was an engineman when he was in the CG, knew how to run a lathe, weld, build anything, understood how things worked. He built a well drilling rig in our backyard when I was a kid for his business. Without watching him I would never have gotten the curiosity bug I have for wanting to know things.

I thank my father as well, Mike. He almost *forced* me to help making and fixing things around the house with him while my neighbor friends were out playing. I'm so glad he did.

Right there with you. As long as it does not require special tools that cost more than paying someone or the job has a high risk of breaking myself, I do it and save the money.

My dad was handy with wood and electronics, me - neither.

Been in my house for 29 years. The only thing I have paid a pro
to do is HVAC, windows and roof. I've probably saved a few bucks.

Same here. Though I will say the proliferation of YT “how-to” videos has seen folks that normally wouldn’t take on such tasks try them out. Which to me is a good thing.

I keep trying to get through to my wife how much money we are saving when I do things around the house. The only thing I never mess with save changing out faucets is any sort of plumbing work.

I think her eyes have finally been opened after our kitchen gut renovation as it basically cost us double than what we had originally counted on when starting the project planning 15 months ago.

I'm the guy who hires the likes of you do to those things for me. (I have a very competent Handyman at the moment, and feel very blessed.)
He just installed a grab bar in my shower, redid all the plumbing in it, and will be installing my bidet when it arrives. (All things recommended for me, after having had a fall and broken arm at age 84.)

flashguy

My doctor at my last checkup sat me down and gave me some canned directive about being prepared for aging and diminishing capabilities, grab bars etc. I probably should take it more seriously, but was a bit amused that his treatise was only based on age and not my capability. I'm 68, but water skied at US National championships the last two years and competed for overall, which is combined slalom, trick skiing and jumping. I race sailboats in a fairly competitive local fleet, and do pretty well against skippers of varying ages. I continue to improve and did quite well this year with what should be handicapping boat and sails. I suppose my doctor gives this directive to anyone over 65. He also pushed hard for me getting the jab.

Me and my brothers are not your normal handymen. Our upbringing would have appeared we live a life of privilege, so our mega do it yourselfer skills seem incongruous. My wife has never taken a car for repair, and is unaware of the frustrations others suffer. I replumbed and wired my house, and installed the furnace, including building the distribution plenum. My brother lives on a forty some foot twin engine trawler in the winter, he installed new drives shafts himself, and recently redid the through hulls and rudders. Repairs from hurricane means he took his heavy duty sewing machine to his boat to redo canvas.

My handyman skills allow a station in life unattainable without them. Those skills also allow some freedom of fears of catastrophic repair expenses of house, autos, and boats.

I used to work for a doc who advised that most of this "aging and balance" problem is in reality, aging and lack of flexibility and range of motion. He was adamant to work on his own by stretching (yoga I guess) and mild strengthening.

He said your brain tells your muscles to move the body part, and the body part doesn't get there by the time the brain expected it to. Other body parts were told to be somewhere specific in expectation of the same. It makes pretty good sense. So the cool thing is, it doesn't have to be that way, if we take action. Although, a grab bar is NOT a bad idea as a backup.

I really enjoy taking on home projects, although I often find it a great excuse to spend money on cool tools! I won't attempt making the net calculation of savings, because I might be in the hole.

There are a few things I won't tackle: Anything involving gas piping, cutting down really big trees, and working above step ladder height. I don't want to blow my house to toothpicks in the first case and gravity has too much advantage in the second and third.

My Dad was anything but handy but never discouraged my younger brother or me from tackling any project. We both became proficient and have saved thousands.

A few years ago my wife decided she no longer liked the steep, narrow stairs in our 200+ year old house. One floor living demanded a bathroom remodel. While looking for grab bars I stumbled across these Moen closeouts at HD and installed two in a walk in shower. 3 long screws through each mounting plate into solid blocking behind the tile. Much less institutional looking and they have a shelf for toiletries.

As others have said, I don't think she truly appreciates the savings.

Having grown up with a father (d. 1994) and brothers who were amateur (as in non-professional) mechanics, carpenters and occasional electricians and plumbers, I was practically born with a wrench in my hand. So I have saved thousands in car repairs over the past ~40 years.

I grew up helping my dad, who was a very patient. We didn’t have a lot of money. $500 was probably average price for buying a car. We always had a junker or two for parts. I was helping with brake jobs at 8 years old. Transmission, roll the junker on its side and pull the tranny out.
I think I took my experiences for granted, but I’m forever grateful for my dad!

I built a log home 31 years ago. I hired a buddy who wanted to get out of farming and become a carpenter. Needed help lifting the logs and such.
I built a wrap around deck, which I’m re decking as we speak. Built a story and half garage with the help of a few friends.
The only things I’ve hired out are plumbing and flooring. Both jobs I was disappointed with. It burns my ass when you feel you could do a better job than the person you hired.
I was planning on re shingling my roof next spring, but I have a numbness in my legs and feet that the doctors haven’t figured out. My knees occasionally buckle and my balance sucks. I figure at 62, it’s too early to swan dive off the roof!
I think my bride realizes the money we have saved, but we always seem to struggle with the cost of projects, and if I need a tool to do something, watch out!

I think about that all the time. Hell, I did just yesterday. My good quality floor jack was leaking and would no longer hold up my truck. Instead of buying a new one I got a $30 parts kit and fixed it myself. Now that it is fixed, I will pull the oil pan from my truck to replace the seal. I have done a lot of work on my 20 year old truck, built my own shed and deck in backyard, installed crown molding throughout the house, replaced the hot water heater, fixed our sprinkler system, painted house inside and out, and many other things. No way I would have the motivation and know how to do these things if it hadn’t been for my dad. I always shadowed him as he worked on things or built something. There is a picture of me at probably 3 years old on the ground under my dad’s truck watching him work. One valuable lesson I learned from him was to use the proper tool for the job as it will be much easier. I learned that because he refused to go buy a special tool and sometimes had the hardest time doing something and it would take him forever because he wouldn’t get the right tool. He was hard headed, but so am I. My wife is impressed I can do these things but I don’t think she appreciates the money saved as she is always saying to just hire someone.

In my previous homes, I did all of the interior/exterior painting, I have installed a shingle roof, built 100' fences, rebuilt a carport, remodeled a kitchen, bathrooms, family room. Re-sodded a lawn, mowed, edged my lawns, re-landscaped the yards, power washed my driveways. Cut down a dying oak tree. And countless smaller home repairs, including maintaining the cars.

But now at my age, I'm not that enthusiastic in taking on home projects anymore. My present house is the first that we hired professional painters to paint the interior, and I was happy to pay the bill. I have other people work on my cars. I maintain our swimming pool. I still mow/edge the lawn, but I will likely hire it out in a couple of years.

After decades of saving money, now is time to let some of it go.

I did everything but plumbing for all my life, including most car repairs.

Now that I've been retired for 18 years since the first retirement and around 4 years since the second retirement, I hire most things done. Still do a few smaller ones though.

I consider myself fortunate in that I am handy with tools and most of the time, not afraid of trying to do something new. My father was the same way. I know my limitations but am not afraid to try to fix something and now you can find just about any repair on Youtube if you are unsure.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
I was practically born with a wrench in my hand.

The only question I have is, has your mother forgiven you yet?

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
The only question I have is, has your mother forgiven you yet?

BaDumBum!