Do You Do It Yourself or Call a Professional at Home?

my motto is "if i can't fix it, its not really broke, its just resting"
or
"if it don't fit, you need a bigger hammer"

My husband is really handy around the house, especially on anything electrical. I am lucky.

However, we have learned one lesson the hard way: Never handle anything in semi-paste form. This rule covers joint compound ($150 repair after we botched it), brick mortar ($475), concrete work (don't even ask) and many other ill-fated projects. Moral of the story: If you're not confident about your skills, call a professional. It is often cheaper to call a pro to begin with than to pay one later to undo and redo your mistakes.

P.S. to Dys...you sound just like my husband. His motto is "If it breaks, you get to keep both halves."

Phoenix--

How old is the roof?


Once upon a time, I married the ultimate home handyman. He's aging and doesn't have the energy he once had--but his ambition is intact.

If any sees "Round Tu-its" for sale, let me know. I keep a list of chores. He promises eventually he will get around to it.

I was a do-it-yourselfer until last year when I fell from the ladder while pruning our apricot tree. I hit my head on the cement, and a MRI showed blood in my forehead, although I hit the back of my head. It was a close one for me. No more saving a few dollars for me. c.i.

Yikes, c.i. Sounds like you came pretty close.
My husband is quite handy around the house and he's usually pretty realistic about what he can and cannot do, but if he forgets himself and threatens to attempt a job and it looks like he could get hurt, like falling off of the roof, I pitch a royal boogie, start screaming and don't stop, until he backs down and agrees to call in a pro.

Hee hee! I think I need to take lessons from eoe.

I love to do things on my own, with mixed successes. I'm pretty handy, in terms of putting things together (Ikea furniture makes me very very happy). I'm NOT doing well with gardening, though, which makes me sad. I always thought I'd have a killer garden if given the opportunity. I do OK, but I'm not good with details. Like, I'll plant a passel o' petunias and they will be healthy and look great and the colors will coordinate well with the lavender I planted and the colors of my house, but WHAT is going on with the shrubs? They were there when we arrived, the landlord (we rent) doesn't know what they are, and they're getting scragglier and unhappier with each passing year and I just don't know what to do with them.

Soz, can you take a picture? We could prolly identify it here.

Hey, great idea! I'll take one and then post it. (I don't think I have any pictures that I could scan.)

maybe take one close-up of leaf and branch and one from a little farther out so we can see the shape. Perhaps we should do this on another thread?

Check out My Garden Photos in the Pets and Garden forum started by ossobuco.

Phoenix: Maximom is actually more handier than I on the small things and as for the big ones, I have always taken the Blanche DuBois approach, "I have always depended upon the kindness of others."



CI said:

Good thing it was your head, otherwise you could have been injured!!

Phoenix<

I am not a do-it-yourself type person, so about the only time I go to Lowe's or Home Depot is when I need furnace filters. I do my own filter
replacements, but a roof leak would have to be handled by a professional.

I have severe osteoarthritis which has overtaken just about every joint in my body. It would probably take me longer to climb atop the house on a ladder than it would to fix the leak itself.

Fortunately, I am blessed with relatives who have a construction business.
They are nice enough to help me out with household repairs.

Yardwork I leave strictly to the professionals. I used to love to garden, trim the shrubbery and mow the lawn. I am no longer able to do these things due to the arthritis.

max, You got that right! How did you know? c.i.

I have the same problem, except that my husband will attempt ANYTHING. Then he pisses and moans that he is exhausted. Some men are so into being independent, that they don't know when "enough is enough"!

Phoenix--

You rent--and the aging handyman is doing the Spanish fandango on the landlord's roof?

Men! I have one of those.

How old is the roof? Quite possibly the whole thing needs replacing and this is not a job for an aging factotum. Roof leaks are very tricky--the water comes in at Point A, trickles a bit and emerges as an ugly blotch at Point B--possibly a considerable distance away.

Can you manage a ladder? Get up there with ribbons and confetti and tell your Beloved that you are decorating the landlord's roof so he won't have to do it with his blood and bone fragments.

Good luck.

Noddy24- No, it's our house. But when he goes up on the roof I sit in a chair, cell phone at the ready, in case he make a wrong move!

Hee hee hee! I can see that VERY clearly.

Since I don't have a handy or not so handyman around the house, I'm a call a pro kind of gal for sure, except when it comes to the gardening and yard work. I sure would love having a live in carpentar around here though. Those big jobs get very costly.

I'm a fairly decent handyperson - but forget about the roof. That is truly for professionals.

I can do minor plumbing, heating etc. Painting, tiling - no problem.

I can't imagine letting anyone else really touch my yard. I cried for hours when a handyman once put sod in when hamburger, mrs. hamburger and I had spent hours clearing the area. Don't mess with my garden plan.