Important Rules for DIY

[notalwaysright]

And the "show me a yard" people? Several a day, every day! It's shocking how many people don't understand basic measurements. (NOTE: This does not include folks from countries that use the metric system trying to figure our our imperial measurement system. Those, I understand. Though if they didn't do any measurements at all, we're back to square one!)

XCashier, I know what you mean, however... I am waaaaay over confusion about yards vs meters. This is partly because on any particular day I'd say at least half the shoppers are from north of the border, which means I get this a LOT. A yard is approximately four inches smaller than a meter. 10 centimeters. Do you even want to guess how many times I've heard variations on "the US needs to get with the rest of the world and go metric!" "Metric is so much easier!" "I forgot, you guys still use yards" I'm just working at the flipping store, I have no control over what system we use. I'm not going to engage them in a debate over systems of measurement. Which is better is honestly not my concern in life right now, 'kay? I'm going to stare at them until they tell me HOW MANY YARDS.

I do completely agree that it's amazing how many people have no idea what any measurement is. I'm talking feet, meters, inches, just anything. And they come up and hold out the fabric like "I'll take about this much" as if I can just cut the dangling fabric with my mind. If I had that power I wouldn't be working, period.

[Ashaela]

I'll be honest: a lot of home DIY people who are good at what they do, don't do it to save money. They do it for the satisfaction they get making things themselves.

*Nodnodnod*

I'm not much of a handyman/DIYer, but it's the same with crafting - I'd rather make a necklace or blanket that's exactly how I envisioned it, and have the satisfaction of the accomplishment, than to buy the same thing (even if it might be cheaper than my material cost).

[Latekin]

We have some people come in doing jobs that would probably take a builder $2000 and a week or two to complete, but they're dropping twice as much money and months worth of time into a project because they want it done to their exact specifications. Or they just want to do it themselves. All well and good. I kinda like the fact they have that dedication.

I don't get the ones who think they're gonna have it fast, cheap, and exact. It's the old conundrum - you want fast, cheap or exact? Pick two. All three is running into miracle territory.

[raudf]

Also, if you do it yourself, and you know what you're doing, you can be sure of the quality of the work and it's materials. I know my dad and his brothers spent their youth helping grandpa replace decks that the owners thought had been built with pressure treated lumber. After, all, that's what they paid the contractors for!

This is why my Dad's current project is building his own wheelchair ready ramp and porch. Well, that and he's stubborn as hell as well as bored.

[protege]

I'm like some weird love child of MacGyver and Martha Stewart, lol.

You too?

Up until recently, my car's trunk latch was bolted to a section of bean can...which was bolted to the rear panel. Why? Some crackhead tried to force the trunk open, which damaged the panel. Dealership wanted a grand to fix it. Naturally, I said balls to that, and fixed it for $5. All I cared is that it kept the lid down long enough to get the car through inspection...and I eventually fixed it properly with a section of sheet metal, and hit the bare metal with some cheap purple spray paint. It looks crude, but it does the job, and most of the repairs are hidden by carpeting and plastic.

I'm by no means an expert, but I have done a fair amount of repairs around the house. Some of you know that my home was damaged during a massive snowstorm in 2010. Three feet of snow on the roof meant that my porch awning fell off, and one of my gutters came down. The gutter, which was held on by nails, pulled down the trim, and damaged part of the roof.

I filed a claim with the insurance company, got a $500 check for repairs...and got to work. Except for the roof damage (lifted shingles), I did everything myself. I bought new trim boards, painted them to match the rest of the trim, repaired the gutter, and put things back up for $100 plus the price of a new Ryobi cordless power drill. Why so cheap? The gutter wasn't damaged, and I was able to reuse all of the brackets. Nearly all of the money I spent went towards lumber and paint.

At most it took a day to get the damaged boards down, the gutter fixed, and everything back up (using deck screws this time) by myself. 5 years on, and the repair is still doing its job.

Similarly, I rebuilt my BBQ grill. Rust in its stand meant that I could no longer roll it around. Rather than buy a new one, I chose to modify things. I cut off the rusty parts off the stand, then built a little wooden cart for the grill to sit on. $80 for a 4x4 post, a pair of 2x4x8s, four Honda lawnmower wheels, some black spray paint, and a half-dozen brackets and bolts took care of it.

[dalesys]

... having the self-honesty to recognize whether you're a MacGyver or a McJiver ...