Is DIY becoming a thing of the past?

[Cameramonkey]

This has quickly degraded into a "kids these days!!! " thread.

GET OFF MY LAWN! I've got clouds to yell at!

 

[gunrunner0]

I think that DIY in the millennial generation is still prevalent, just look at the success of pinterest. In my case (I'm 25), I enjoy DIY projects, and while I like watching this old house and the like, I get frustrated watching these guys do everything with Festool, or other high-end tools, plus they tend to leave out steps necessary for the inexperienced DIYer, so i tend use youtube and the internet for most of this information. I understand the importance of quality tools, and I think that within reason, you can justify tool purchases with labor savings when you do for yourself. This is especially true when you buy smart, craigslist and estate sales are awesome sources for cheap, well made tools if you know what to look for and can put the time in. I've procured the makings of a decent wood/project shop over the past 6 months without spending a whole lot of money, by buying all the big stuff (and most of the small stuff, for that matter) used. Quality tools are an investment which will pay off over time, not only financially, but in plain convenience of being able to use a nice tool instead fighting a piece of junk when working on something.

 

[Ericpwp]

YouTube and Harbor Freight!

DIY lives!

 

[RobbyMaQ]

Quality tools and millenials...
No one here was born with a full garage full of tools... they happened over time.
I won't speak for everyone, but I buy middle of the road first time around with most power tools. After I realize I'm going to use it a lot more? I then know what I want in such a tool, and buy accordingly. My previous purchase then becomes a beater.

Still working on a milling machine though

 

[churchmouse]

I don't know how people restored cars before the internet.

Well....I grew up fixing everything myself. Everything.

I still do if I can manage it physically.
Main thing is having the tools. The right tools. That is a serious expense these days if you are not going to use them all the time.

 

[RustyHornet]

I do just about everything myself. I'll give it a go before I ask for help, unless it's something I have absolutely no idea about and there is danger or safety involved.... I fix stuff for a living and there really isn't a manual for what I do as every job is different. Most of my time is fixing previous "repairs", there are some things best just not attempted by some people...

 

[Bapak2ja]

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.

I never learned the DIY aspect of things from my father. I could not even pump the brakes right when he was bleeding the lines on his 1956 Chevy. I was only five years of age, but I learned enough never to be around when dad started fixing something. He could fix anything. Often I would try to do something, get stuck and walk away. A day later I would see that dad had finished it.

Many kids now do not know how to do things because dear old dad did not have the patience to teach their stupid son how to hold a hammer.

I learned to do basic stuff while living in the jungles of Borneo. There was no one around to ask for help so I did what I could until I could get into town and talk to someone who knew more than I did about it. Now, by the time I search the internet, search Lowes/Home Depot, buy the wrong thing three times and take it back, buy another one because the part broke, go back to Lowes for the essential tools that no one mentioned and I never heard of, I find that it is cheaper, faster, and simpler to hire it done. Makes the wife happier, too.

My uncle built his own house with his own hands, between court appearances to represent abused spouses, bankrupt businessmen, and settling estates. My wife, impressed that an attorney could swing a hammer, asked where he learned to do construction. He stated that back on the farm everyone knew how to do it because "it was just in the blood." My wife replied, "[Bapak2ja] did't get it." It was not in my blood because I did not grow up on the farm watching the men use their hands on a daily basis.

Dad couldn't teach me to DIY; but he taught me to work hard, be respectful, pay my bills, keep my word, stay sober, keep my marriage vows, and to teach my kids to live the same way. He modeled the core values that made this country a city on a hill that everyone in the Borneo jungles had heard about and wanted to emulate. There was no greater honor in those days than to be an American, and no greater guarantee than to be labeled "Made in the USA."

Do any of you DIYers teach your kids how to swing a hammer? Did you teach them the core values? A wise man once said the essence of life is "to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Dad didn't teach me much about DIY, but he did teach me a few things. I still miss him. Looking forward to seeing him again, too. Maybe he can teach how to work gold to repair the streets. That will be a great DIY lesson!

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Gunrunner and Ericpwp both make some valid points. I, too, use you tube as a diy reference. All the frigging time. Just saved myself the cost of a new water softener with a little diagnostic work. Unfortunately, I'd already purchased a base model water boss. Fortuitously, though, ol Pop needs a new softener. Funny how that works out, huh?

 

[Ericpwp]

Tanks! YouTube helped me get my furnace back up and running. Pulled the cover, read the diagnostic leds, googled what the heck they were talking about, fix the issue. Bought a charge master 1500 with the savings.

HF tools were key in out recent home renovation. They just require a lite touch.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Well....I grew up fixing everything myself. Everything.

I still do if I can manage it physically.
Main thing is having the tools. The right tools. That is a serious expense these days if you are not going to use them all the time.

I fixed things myself, mostly because I was too poor to either pay to have something fixed, or to buy a new thing. Then, even when I started making good money, I still couldn't bring myself to get rid of something that I might be able to fix. My son still kids me about my "Frankenstein Mower" that I built with parts from three different mowers.

Funny thing is, now he's the same way and he can't bring himself to have someone else to work on his house or his vehicles.

 

[CindyE]

Do any of you DIYers teach your kids how to swing a hammer? Did you teach them the core values? A wise man once said the essence of life is "to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Dad didn't teach me much about DIY, but he did teach me a few things. I still miss him. Looking forward to seeing him again, too. Maybe he can teach how to work gold to repair the streets. That will be a great DIY lesson!

We did/do. Helped daughter fix up her first house. Bought her some tools, etc. for house-warming and first Christmas in her own house, plus husband put together a little toolkit from extras that we had. When she was a teen, I showed her how to do her taxes, budget, etc. I think she manages money better than I do now!

 

[HoughMade]

I think it's probably because of the internet. I use YouTube all the time for diy projects.

Bingo.

I think DIY is bigger than ever.

 

[churchmouse]

I never learned the DIY aspect of things from my father. I could not even pump the brakes right when he was bleeding the lines on his 1956 Chevy. I was only five years of age, but I learned enough never to be around when dad started fixing something. He could fix anything. Often I would try to do something, get stuck and walk away. A day later I would see that dad had finished it.

Many kids now do not know how to do things because dear old dad did not have the patience to teach their stupid son how to hold a hammer.

I learned to do basic stuff while living in the jungles of Borneo. There was no one around to ask for help so I did what I could until I could get into town and talk to someone who knew more than I did about it. Now, by the time I search the internet, search Lowes/Home Depot, buy the wrong thing three times and take it back, buy another one because the part broke, go back to Lowes for the essential tools that no one mentioned and I never heard of, I find that it is cheaper, faster, and simpler to hire it done. Makes the wife happier, too.

My uncle built his own house with his own hands, between court appearances to represent abused spouses, bankrupt businessmen, and settling estates. My wife, impressed that an attorney could swing a hammer, asked where he learned to do construction. He stated that back on the farm everyone knew how to do it because "it was just in the blood." My wife replied, "[Bapak2ja] did't get it." It was not in my blood because I did not grow up on the farm watching the men use their hands on a daily basis.

Dad couldn't teach me to DIY; but he taught me to work hard, be respectful, pay my bills, keep my word, stay sober, keep my marriage vows, and to teach my kids to live the same way. He modeled the core values that made this country a city on a hill that everyone in the Borneo jungles had heard about and wanted to emulate. There was no greater honor in those days than to be an American, and no greater guarantee than to be labeled "Made in the USA."

Do any of you DIYers teach your kids how to swing a hammer? Did you teach them the core values? A wise man once said the essence of life is "to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Dad didn't teach me much about DIY, but he did teach me a few things. I still miss him. Looking forward to seeing him again, too. Maybe he can teach how to work gold to repair the streets. That will be a great DIY lesson!

I learned zero from my dad when iot came to doing anything involving a tool as he was a superior tool himself.
I was regularly chastised and belittled for wasting so much time building/making/repairing things.
Later in life he found I was a great resource in this regard saving him mega bucks.
He was still a tool but I helped anyway.

 

[Bapak2ja]

We did/do. Helped daughter fix up her first house. Bought her some tools, etc. for house-warming and first Christmas in her own house, plus husband put together a little toolkit from extras that we had. When she was a teen, I showed her how to do her taxes, budget, etc. I think she manages money better than I do now!

I have to read it around before I can rep you again, but you deserve it. Nice job.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

My daughter had insisted on driving herself to her orientation at IU, about a two-hour drive from home. It was, I think, the first real trip she ever took in her little Saturn.

Right when she got to Bloomington, she got a flat tire. She pulled into a parking lot, got out the owner's manual, and proceeded to change the tire. She did call me on her cell phone to clarify where to put the jack, since the diagrams didn't match up with how I'd showed her before. Then she got it changed, went in to a McDonald's and washed her hands and went on her way. I told her I was proud of her, and she said "Well, I am your daughter".

 

[Bapak2ja]

I learned zero from my dad when iot came to doing anything involving a tool as he was a superior tool himself.
I was regularly chastised and belittled for wasting so much time building/making/repairing things.
Later in life he found I was a great resource in this regard saving him mega bucks.
He was still a tool but I helped anyway.

I often wonder if I did better with my kids than dad did with me.

 

[Bapak2ja]

My daughter had insisted on driving herself to her orientation at IU, about a two-hour drive from home. It was, I think, the first real trip she ever took in her little Saturn.

Right when she got to Bloomington, she got a flat tire. She pulled into a parking lot, got out the owner's manual, and proceeded to change the tire. She did call me on her cell phone to clarify where to put the jack, since the diagrams didn't match up with how I'd showed her before. Then she got it changed, went in to a McDonald's and washed her hands and went on her way. I told her I was proud of her, and she said "Well, I am your daughter".

Nice job, Mom.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Nice job, Mom.

Dad, but thanks.

 

[calum]

Two reasons DIY TV is dying:
1) Youtube. Makes DIY assistance easy and quick. It doesn't have to be produced or advertised... there's lots of helpful people out there who will record dirty jobs and explain them well (or some not so well) while they do it. You don't have to sort through an old VHS copy of This Old House you got from the library to find that one episode where they deal with that one thing you're trying to do.... you just type it into search bar now. It's tremendous.

2) disposable society. The mindset of preserving, repairing, prolonging and getting the most out of things is absolutely a thing of the past. Why on earth would you spend your time and sweat to fix something when it's just as cheap to get a new one at Walmart? And besides, there's a new episode of the Bachelor on tonight, and we're supposed to get online together at 10:00 to play Call of Duty VIII !!

So in short, DIY is NOT dead... the good people who do it just aren't getting their tips from Bob Vila and the like anymore. And yes, there are fewer DIYers out there now.... more's the pity. It's good for the soul to fix things in your own home.

 

[HoughMade]

My Dad is an engineer who grew up on a farm. If he didn't know how to do something, h figured out how to...but there didn't seem to be many things he didn't know how to do. I worked with him on many projects. He was and is better than me on electricity and far and away better with electronics. We are about equal with woodworking and construction. I am a bit better on mechanical things.

I have tried to pass these things on. My oldest son has been the Porter County 4-H Woodworking Grand Champion twice and has had projects sent to the State Fair 4 times. My sons and I built a stable for my daughter's mini horse last spring. It was a great job that involved many construction skills in a scaled-down size. My 10 year old is very proud that he know how to roof. Honestly, these are some of the best times I've had with my kids.

DIY lives for another generation.