Are post-ER tasks basically a new job?

[Senator]

I will probably always be a DIYer. In my rentals, there is very little I hire out. I hired out a furnace replacement recently, due to my time limitations. I have replaced several of them in the past myself too.

It doesn't take that much to save a lot. Plus I get some great tools, and can write them off.

In my recent remodel, I saved quite a bit.

Replace 500' of laminate and trim, savings $1000+
Replace kitchen faucet, savings $75
Replace 4 screens, savings $100+
Paint, (ceilings, walls, trim), savings $1200+
Replace outside deck side walls, savings $400
Cleaning, savings $500+
Patch holes in walls, Savings $100
Install washer and dryer, savings $1000

Plus lots of other items.

 

[FUEGO]

I guess it depends on what you like to do.

Electrical work is okay. Appliance and computer repair is okay and sometimes fun (too much fun!!!). Plumbing - not that fun unless it's simple 5-10 minute jobs. Yardwork - not much fun but great exercise and rewarding when the job is done and everything is pretty.

None of those tasks would be missed if I were a billionaire. In the meantime, I'd rather be playing or relaxing than crawling through our crawlspace but I'll do it if it means saving many hundreds of dollars (= sump pump replacement 2 years ago).

 

[HFWR]

Yardwork - not much fun but great exercise and rewarding when the job is done and everything is pretty.

My gym is air conditioned; the yard, not so much. Plus, my yard just looks short ugly after mowing.

 

[FUEGO]

My gym is air conditioned; the yard, not so much. Plus, my yard just looks short ugly after mowing.

Around July and August, my yard is like a sauna. Got those at your fancy gym?

 

[Hermit]

... In the meantime, I'd rather be playing or relaxing than crawling through our crawlspace but I'll do it if it means saving many hundreds of dollars (= sump pump replacement 2 years ago).

The funny thing is in our last home, I put a home theater in the family room. All the wires were behind the walls with the speakers mounted in the ceiling. The amount of time I spent running cables and wires through the crawl space, behind walls, and under floors/over ceilings was amazing!

 

[HFWR]

Around July and August, my yard is like a sauna. Got those at your fancy gym?

One word: Texas...

 

[Sarah in SC]

My dad wasn't a DIYer either. He always call a plumber. I rarely called a plumber until building this house. Some things I don't want to screw up. Putting plumbing lines under the concrete in the basement is one of them. That would be real damage!

Funny you mention plumbing under concrete. I got cold feet on that for the little efficiency apartment we want to build on a slab under our (elevated) house and so I called our trustworthy handyman friend, who said he'd do it for me. But would charge extra if I "helped".

 

[HFWR]

Funny you mention plumbing under concrete. I got cold feet on that for the little efficiency apartment we want to build on a slab under our (elevated) house and so I called our trustworthy handyman friend, who said he'd do it for me. But would charge extra if I "helped".

Labor charge: $50/hr
If you watch: $75/hr
If you help: $100/hr

 

[FIREmenow]

Labor charge: $50/hr
If you watch: $75/hr
If you help: $100/hr

Our electronics shop that I worked at had one of these signs. There was one more at the bottom:

$200/hr if you fixed it first.

 

[FUEGO]

Labor charge: $50/hr
If you watch: $75/hr
If you help: $100/hr

Ugg, I think I paid the highest rate. $89 for a service call and the plumber invited me to watch. I should have stayed downstairs and it might have been only $50 or $60.

He did negotiate himself down from $115 to $89 when he saw all my kids running around the house screaming and yelling (and some suckers think kids COST money??!!).

Our electronics shop that I worked at had one of these signs. There was one more at the bottom:

$200/hr if you fixed it first.

This explains it more fully. I tried to fix it first and sheared a pipe in half (with my bare hands!). The plumber said I stopped working on it just in time before it got really expensive. (no joke)