Is DIY becoming a thing of the past?

[Harleyrider_50]

For me, it's becoming a thing of the past largely because I'm completely burnt out. Five years ago, we bought a repo, and it needed everything - complete gut, new plumbing, rewire - everything. I'm down to two solid weeks of work, and I really don't care to do any more. The problem is finding someone who is reasonable AND good. Those two are rarely mutually exclusive.

Always r'member, dude.....

Skill'd labor ain' cheap......an' cheap labor.....AIN't skill'd......

'bout the bes'way I can put it....

would'ja want sumbody crawl'n 'round in yer chest try'n ta install a heartvalve .....'at learn'd from watch'n a DIY show?......

 

[femurphy77]

I love having the ability to handle most anything around the house on my own. Hell as pathetic as some of the service company's are nowadays it's the only way to know it's done right. We want to do a 500 sq ft addition to the house and the only thing keeping us from doing it ourselves is time.

 

[actaeon277]

DIY.
People can't change their car tire. And some cars do not even have spare tires.

 

[Gluemanz28]

It's hard to get my son in law interested in helping so he can learn anything. He is 33 years old and still prefers to pay $800 a month for rent at an apartment so that he doesn't have to do any up keep.

 

[bocefus78]

^nailed it.
I'm 37. Most everyone my age barely owns a pink tool kit.
The tools to do the job now costs more than paying a contractor who charges a fair rate.
Anything more than hanging a picture, many younger folk hire out. Hell, I've been paid to hang pictures.

Please keep in mind, I'm suburban. I'm crossing my fingers things may still be different away from the "stupid money".

 

[hoosierdoc]

^nailed it.
I'm 37. Most everyone my age barely owns a pink tool kit.
The tools to do the job now costs more than paying a contractor who charges a fair rate.

You should go to harbor freight more. I bought a 10" table saw for $120 after 20% off coupon. Going back for a band saw later this week with another 20% off coupon.

 

[mbills2223]

YouTube is great for medical procedures too. Just have to follow the correct people to get the good stuff

It's funny cause its true. I took my own appendix out and now my belly is turning pretty colors

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

^nailed it.
I'm 37. Most everyone my age barely owns a pink tool kit.
The tools to do the job now costs more than paying a contractor who charges a fair rate.
Anything more than hanging a picture, many younger folk hire out. Hell, I've been paid to hang pictures.

Please keep in mind, I'm suburban. I'm crossing my fingers things may still be different away from the "stupid money".

You should go to harbor freight more. I bought a 10" table saw for $120 after 20% off coupon. Going back for a band saw later this week with another 20% off coupon.

I always used projects as [STRIKE]justifications[/STRIKE] excuses to buy cool tools.

 

[bocefus78]

If you want the tool to last more than 1 job, avoid harbor freight like high points.

 

[lovemachine]

I have remodeled every room in my house except the spare bedroom. Still waiting on that one. The kitchen and bathroom was not fun, but I was able to figure out how to do it all with YouTube. It's amazing what you can learn from watching those videos.
I even learned how to finish dry wall

As for tools, I only buy kobalt from Lowes now. They've been exceptionally good.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Yeah I go to Hazard Fraught for something I need now. If I can use it a second time, I consider myself fortunate. My Mustang caught fire and burned up on my way there; I think it was warning me.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

If you want the tool to last more than 1 job, avoid harbor freight like high points.

You definitely have to have reasonable to expectations of what you're buying. I generally buy the best tools I can afford. That's not necessarily top of the line stuff but good quality stuff. Sometimes I get suckered in by a bargain though. And once, the Homier tent was in town and I bought a 4" angle grinder for a little of nothing. That's been years ago now and it's still running strong. Of course, I don't run it as hard as a pro would but it's been worth the money.

 

[phylodog]

If you want the tool to last more than 1 job, avoid harbor freight like high points.

I feel guilty when I shop there but I try to stick with your advice. That said, I've bought quite a few items (wheel hub socket set, ball joint service kit) which have lasted through a couple of uses now and were significantly cheaper than buying known good quality tools and piles of money cheaper than paying a mechanic.

 

[Brandon]

I'd rather buy a big power tool used at a pawn shop provided they let me test it out as long as I want than buy from harbor freight.
So far I've done well.

As a kid, not sure why but I did, watched hometime, this old house, bob vila's home again. I also took building trades in high school where we built a house in a neighborhood.
Between the shows and the class at school we were able to buy a fixer upper cheap and make it something nice.

 

[actaeon277]

Tools cost a lot?
Maybe if you use the tool once and throw it away. A good tool, taken care of, will last a lifetime.
And, basic tools are not that expensive. When you spread the $ out over the life of the tool, it's pretty cheap.

 

[Jludo]

I think another big part of it is the time vs money issue with millennials. I have more than a few friends who make a lot of money but they work 60-80 hours a week so to them their time is far more valuable in that what little free time they have they'd rather pay to have their dishwasher fixed than take the thing apart and figure it out themselves.
That said I don't work near as much as them and I have no problem taking the dishwasher apart and replacing a circuit board. I do understand why they wouldn't DIY though.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I think another big part of it is the time vs money issue with millennials. I have more than a few friends who make a lot of money but they work 60-80 hours a week so to them their time is far more valuable in that what little free time they have they'd rather pay to have their dishwasher fixed than take the thing apart and figure it out themselves.
That said I don't work near as much as them and I have no problem taking the dishwasher apart and replacing a circuit board. I do understand why they wouldn't DIY though.

I know an electrical engineer who couldn't figure out why her string of Christmas lights kept blowing fuses and her husband (another electrical engineer) didn't know how to change the oil in his cars. When I was interviewing for engineering jobs coming out of college, one of the questions almost all the interviewers asked me if I owned a tool box and what sorts of tools I had in it.

Expectations certainly have changed.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I find it amusing that there are so many out there who don't know how to think through the simplest repairs.
People who have no idea how to change a spark plug on a push lawnmower??? I'm no expert, but it's comical at this point.

The fact that DiY shows have gone by the wayside isn't unusual to me... Not because I think so many choose not to DiY, but simply because so much is available via the internet and youtube. Who has time to watch a 30 min show on something that may or may not pertain to you? (not that watching and learning is a bad thing).

Anymore, if something is brokeded, you can just google it, and find how to repairs, parts diagrams, and warehouses with parts to order.
I sit in amazement at my father, who never had this info at his fingertips while we were growing up, and still had the capability to pull the repairs off.

The internet is one giant chilton's manual for everything. (Not to take away from those who understand HOW it all works).

 

[Jludo]

I know an electrical engineer who couldn't figure out why her string of Christmas lights kept blowing fuses and her husband (another electrical engineer) didn't know how to change the oil in his cars. When I was interviewing for engineering jobs coming out of college, one of the questions almost all the interviewers asked me if I owned a tool box and what sorts of tools I had in it.

Expectations certainly have changed.

I think the gap between doing something mechanical like changing your oil and the things like computer science is ever growing. Shoot when I troubleshoot my broken TV, I'll just replace a circuit board before I'd try to troubleshoot the board itself. (unless it's something obvious like a blown capacitor)

 

[actaeon277]

I find it amusing that there are so many out there who don't know how to think through the simplest repairs.
People who have no idea how to change a spark plug on a push lawnmower??? I'm no expert, but it's comical at this point.

The fact that DiY shows have gone by the wayside isn't unusual to me... Not because I think so many choose not to DiY, but simply because so much is available via the internet and youtube. Who has time to watch a 30 min show on something that may or may not pertain to you? (not that watching and learning is a bad thing).

Anymore, if something is brokeded, you can just google it, and find how to repairs, parts diagrams, and warehouses with parts to order.
I sit in amazement at my father, who never had this info at his fingertips while we were growing up, and still had the capability to pull the repairs off.

The internet is one giant chilton's manual for everything. (Not to take away from those who understand HOW it all works).

We have more information available, and more/better tools. Yet,....
It's like having to close the county down, because morons don't know how to act in the snow. Even though we have better clothes and snow gear than in the past. Even though knowledge is just a click away.
I think the availability is making everyone lazy though.