So, what do you choose not to do around the house? Why?

[whirlykenmore78]

I try to distinguish what I can and can't do

I will do small engine repair and basic appliance repair. I also can do most electrical and plumbing jobs.
I will not work on refrigeration, cars, or HVAC equipment.
Nor will I do major remodel work on a house.
WK78

 

[wayupnorth]

After 2 broken ankles, 2 rotator cuff surgeries, 2 hernia operations and one knee surgery, I just want to sit in a chair and watch someone else do it and pay for it. I spent 2 hours mowing today and that was enough for me. When I was younger, I would tackle any job for hours on end, some not with the best results.

 

[tolivac]

NYCWriter-Oh boy we seem to be the broadcast guys here-In do the radio transmitter work-Short wave transmitters-at the last non military gov't SW broadcast site in the US.Staffing is down so we cover for each other-When one guy takes off-sort of "bumps" the rest of us.Don't mind the extra money-and working out here isn't so bad.Most nights things go quietly.Some nights hell breaks loose!Arcs and sparks everywhere!The "honey do" list is building hewre-one transmitter needs a new HV rect transformer.One of our sat dishes was "taco'ed" over during a bad rainstorm.One of our antennas needs of repair.so these go thru DC for funding.They do get done.Just takes a little time.We get by here despite the problems.And other things I HATE working on-COMPUTERS-don't mind using them-just hate having to try to fix them-esp programming issues-a real Pain in the---.To put it sort of bluntly-I AM AN ANALOG MAN!!!

 

[Ultramatic]

NOT to do around the house...hmmmm

 

 

I guess serious electrical work, like dealing with the circuit breaker box. Or electronics repair, like a TV.  Everything else, I've done or am willing to try.

 

[omono]

ironing , that's what the dryer is for

 

[firedome]

Will do most stuff...

but hate plumbing and painting and won't do HVAC, no knowledge base there. My Dad was super handy and built his first 2 houses himself. Most post WWII guys were big DIY'ers.

I built most of my VT house myself, including all of the electrical, but subbed out the metal roofing, plumbing and most of the painting. Restore antique cars and stereos, and particularly love auto body work, we have a pretty good set-up in our 3 car detached garage. Built a Heathkit tube amp in 1964 while in Jr. High and still restore old stereos, a main hobby. Also restore boats & outboard motors, working on a Starcraft 19' cutty cabin right now, replacing the wood transom.

 

[mattl]

The funny thing for me is that my dad was the opposite of me.  He was a guy who should have never owned a home.  I still have a piece of his plumbing I cut out -- it had a leak at a coupling so his fix was plastic lead!  I may not sweat a fitting with the best of them but my plumbing never leaks when I cut in a fitting.

 

I will say he did great yard work, something I hate but still make an attempt at.  He was a hard worker in the yard almost to the end.

 

[jerrod6]

I choose not to do almost everything

I keep the house clean, and I do gardening.  After that things get iffy.  

 

Inside I will paint some rooms with low ceilings, but many rooms are wall papered and I choose not to do that because exact measurements are required and I would be very upset if I ruined a strip of paper, plus I want it done exactly correct. If I hang it I would put up with mistakes, if someone else does it I will demand perfection.

 

I don't paint rooms with taller ceilings because I don't have a ladder tall enough to reach and even professionals use scaffolding which I am not going to buy just to paint.

 

I will change plates or sockets on electric outlets but I cannot run wire in the house.  All of my house wires run through conduits from the basement to the upper floors through the walls and fishing wires through that and then getting to the correct wire is more than I want to deal with.  So that's it for electrical.

 

I will install washers in faucets, replace a faucet, replace the insides of toilets, even replace a toilet, but do not do any other plumbing work in the house--after the pipes leave the basement I don't know exactly where they run through the walls and the pipes are old and stuck together...let a pro take care of that mess.

 

I will clean my HVAC air filters and wash the outdoor AC unit, I know how to select the speed ranges on my HVAC blower and I let the HVAC pro take care of the rest because I am not messing around with natural gas.

 

I clean the filter of my DW every 45 days, and I know how to change the cycle parameters in the technicians menu and other than that I let the repair person fix the DW.  Fortunately in the 8 years I've had it I had one repair under warranty.  I've seen the inside mechanicals.... I recognize nothing. Oh wait I know what the motor looks like.  It is so big and long I would never attempt to do anything with it...I just look.  It's a Miele so I couldn't get the parts even if I knew plus I would have to remove it from my cabinets and I want everything reinstalled perfectly - so not a job for me.

 

Same for the washer one repair in 11 years It looks nice inside--- full of 240V stuff - not touching it.

 

Outside there is not much I can do.  I keep the area clean. I spray down the outside shutters.  I cannot wash a window because the bottom of the windows on the first floor are about 7 feet above ground and that requires a taller ladder. The upper floors require an even taller ladder and I am not getting up that far to do anything..besides I can have the outside windows washed and the gutters cleaned for $120 and that is better than me on a ladder about to fall off while doing a crappy job. 

 

There is not much to paint outside except for around the windows and I can paint, but again that requires a tall ladder.  I am dizzy enough sitting down so no point getting on a ladder outside. Heck the pros won't even get on a ladder, they paint using a cherry picker(?)  I think that what it's called. They drive down the street, get in the basket raise it and then paint...no sense me on a ladder to fall to the ground.

 

So compared to what many on the site install and maintain -  I know I am  limited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dustin92]

What don't I do? (And why!)

1. Ladders- Anything over 6 feet, I can't do anything but cling to the ladder for dear life!

2. Cars- I can tell if something is wrong, but I don't attempt any repairs. I can do minor maintenance (wipers, check fluids, add freon to the a/c)

3. Gas. Gasoline or Natural gas, I can use equipment that runs off of either, but one wrong move and you could get blasted skyward!

4. 220 volt electrical- not a clue on how it works and won't risk taking the chance.

I can pretty much sum it up by *I do inside repairs, my Dad does outside repairs* I do mow the lawn, but that's about it for outside.

 

[whirlcool]

I also hate painting. When I paint the result looks good, but I am very slow at doing it. Before we moved into this house we painted every room. It took about two weeks. I am sure a team of painters could have done it in one week, but they wanted $2,000! So we did it ourselves. And now we have been in here 13 years so guess what needs to be done again?

The rooms where we used Pratt & Lambert Accolade still look fine. The rooms that we used Behr Premium in are chipping and flaking. And we used Valspar in another room and it's doing great.

 

[davetranter]

House/yard work

I do all my own maintenance work, but as little as possible. I have arranged my home (and that of my 'Good Lady') to be as 'low maintenance' as possible. The fact that I now work as a Gardener/Handyman means that (like others) I don't want to start doing the same stuff when I get home from work ;-)
I do any electrical, plumbing, woodworking, decorating, etc. work which needs to be done. The Good Lady handles most of the laundry, apart from pegging out on the lines, which falls to me.
I do all my own automotive and machinery repairs, apart from car body welding, which is a PITA because the metal is so thin nowadays :-(
I was encouraged to 'experiment' when I was a boy, and I now have the confidence to tackle pretty much anything. My late father would be proud that I can and will tackle jobs which he would never have dreamed of attempting.

As mentioned in earlier posts, I also despair of the 'younger generation' who seem either too afraid or too lazy to tackle even the simplest of jobs. As I said in a thread elsewhere, its a situation which will keep me in a 'job for life'....

All best

Dave T

 

[danemodsandy]

I Will Tackle Most Anything, But....

....There are a few jobs I loathe.

Chief among them is yard work. I grew up in a house with a very large yard; the front yard alone was more than a third of an acre. My parents considered children to be free slave labor. I spent every Saturday of my high-school years raking, mowing, edging and otherwise grooming the yard to my dad's standards. Once we all left home and Dad had to do the work himself, those standards relaxed very dramatically.

In my present house, the lawn area is about thirty feet by thirty, which is about as much as I want to take care of.

I'm not keen on plumbing and electrical, though I've done some of both and had success with my efforts.

And when it comes to anything that refrigerates - whether a fridge or an A/C unit - I don't even try.

 

[mattywashboy]

I am not very technically minded at all. I'm great at keeping house, cooking, cleaning, basic yard work and automotive cleaning and that's about me. I enjoy painting houses and will assist anyone who needs help with that.

I've got no clue about fixing things, electrics, mechanics, none of that. I could learn if I wanted to but I've never been inclined to do so. I'm numerically dyslexic too which doesn't help me with jobs that involve a lot of numbers/measurements etc...

My dad can turn his hand to almost any task and is currently renovating his and my mums home inside and out, single handed at 65 years if age. Sometimes I wish I had adopted his abilities but I'm quite ok as I am.

I r work as a live in support worker for people with Autism and that's my passion in life, helping and supporting people with disabilities to reach their goals and live life to the full. When I'm not there I'm cleaning my house, cooking meals and visiting and socialising with friends and spending time at home with my partner.

I'm about to dip my toe into community theatre too which will be interesting for sure

I love it!

Matt