Home Maintenance and Aging - What happens when I can't be the Handyman?

[CindyBlue]

That is something I do worry about as I get older. I'm a big Do-It-Yourself'er. It saves money, is faster, and I really enjoy it. There are very few things I can't do myself. But even at 57 I can tell things are getting harder than they used to be. I'll keep doing what I can as long as I can, but at some point I imagine I will reach my limits. That will be a very sad day indeed. Not only will I have price sticker shock having to pay someone else, but I'll be giving up a big part of who I am. I'm sure I'll also be a perfectionist, frustrated with hired help that doesn't put as much time and effort into a project as I would. I'm very detail oriented, hired help tends to get in and out as quickly as possible.

Except that I'm 66, this is exactly how I feel about it! I draw the line at electrical - I won't touch anything electrical beyond rewiring a lamp, and also we hire out anything to do with the well and septic system except for "grunt work" such as digging out the dirt for the leach lines. But the time is coming...sigh...

 

[Music Lover]

I have 5 brothers and sisters and I am by far the most DIY type. Don't know where that came from but I enjoy solving problems and saving money
That is why I designed and built (80-90% of it) our house myself. I built the entire house (1947sq ft) for $100,000 (exclusive of the land and site work cost) and it is of a much higher grade than a standard builders spec house.
It also is a traditional Timberframe which tends to cost more to build as well.
I have always liked the aesthetic of timberframes and used to look at magazines like "Timber Homes Illustrated" with awe and envy. They gave me a lot of inspiration. They almost became "house porn" for me.
Look at this site for one of the most famous of the style. He literally wrote the book(or two) on timber framing.
Look at some of the "shacks" in this gallery.
Mine is nothing like these but you would have to add another zero to my cost and then some to get these.
https://bensonwood.com/portfolio/cove-house/
https://bensonwood.com/portfolio/

I bought land in 1995 and was going to build a house and had planned on doing 80% - 90% of the work myself. The lot was next door to my brother...in fact he was the one that told me the lot was available before it went on the market, knowing that if I bought it he didn't have to worry about an unknown wacky neighbor.

Then a couple months after I bought it he told me that their dream house they had always liked was up for sale and they were moving. So I bought his house instead of building. Since then I've extensively renovated it, basically down to the studs and rebuilt new.

 

[finnski1]

I bought land in 1995 and was going to build a house and had planned on doing 80% - 90% of the work myself. The lot was next door to my brother...in fact he was the one that told me the lot was available before it went on the market, knowing that if I bought it he didn't have to worry about an unknown neighbor.

Then a couple months after I bought it he told me that their dream house they had always liked was up for sale and they were moving. So I bought his house instead of building. Since then I've extensively renovated it, basically down to the studs and rebuilt new.

That makes sense. Sounds like you've pretty much rebuilt the entire thing anyway.

 

[JoeWras]

That is something I do worry about as I get older. I'm a big Do-It-Yourself'er. It saves money, is faster, and I really enjoy it. There are very few things I can't do myself. But even at 57 I can tell things are getting harder than they used to be. I'll keep doing what I can as long as I can, but at some point I imagine I will reach my limits. That will be a very sad day indeed. Not only will I have price sticker shock having to pay someone else, but I'll be giving up a big part of who I am. I'm sure I'll also be a perfectionist, frustrated with hired help that doesn't put as much time and effort into a project as I would. I'm very detail oriented, hired help tends to get in and out as quickly as possible.

I could have written this myself. I agree with everything, right down to the age.

I also do this kind of work on a volunteer basis. The current surge has put that on hold and it is killing me. My group and I just made a plan to go forward with a project in March, with the hope of the surge continuing to dwindle. I've also discussed doing this kind of work for pay, but decided against it due to liability risk.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

That is something I do worry about as I get older. I'm a big Do-It-Yourself'er. It saves money, is faster, and I really enjoy it. There are very few things I can't do myself. But even at 57 I can tell things are getting harder than they used to be. I'll keep doing what I can as long as I can, but at some point I imagine I will reach my limits. That will be a very sad day indeed. Not only will I have price sticker shock having to pay someone else, but I'll be giving up a big part of who I am. I'm sure I'll also be a perfectionist, frustrated with hired help that doesn't put as much time and effort into a project as I would. I'm very detail oriented, hired help tends to get in and out as quickly as possible.

I could have written this myself. I agree with everything, right down to the age.

Same same!

I have witnessed this first-hand, and have a deep concern. My father was a big DIY guy, could do just about anything (and so we did). He also took care of all the maintenance for the homes of my 3 sisters.

Well, the problem is that, as he aged, he still planned on doing the maintenance. But he slowed down to a crawl on actually doing it. So lots of things needed attention. (Living 900 miles away, I could not help regularly.) Moreover, his standard of work declined. But he was adamant about not hiring things out, to the point of arrogance sometimes.

After he passed, we had to pay a lot of pros to clean up the deferred maintenance and shoddy workmanship to be able to sell the house.

So I want to be clear-eyed about what I can and cannot do as the years pass. I am trying to "test-drive" hiring some things out. I decided this summer that I probably could not do as good a job with landscaping and hardscaping as a pro could, so I "blew that dough" to the tune of $12k. This was a really good move. Nonetheless, I have a list of house renovations/repairs that I am going to tackle this summer, after I retire!

 

[Leo1277]

Hiring out tree work. Not going up unsupported ladders with chain saw in hand -

I have hired out any tree work requiring to be off ground for a long time now. I had a good company with very professional equipment including bucket trucks and a lot of impressive looking safety features. Unfortunately the company shut down last year; the owner was killed on the job doing tree work.

 

[Marita40]

I've been a single female homeowner for many years, and have always done things I can and I enjoy doing. I have a lot of skills built up and enjoy the work of restoring and maintaining an old house. However, for the many things I can't or don't want to do, I've built up a little fleet of excellent professionals (plumber, handyman, electrician, yard work, etc) that I've employed over the years. It really helps to have established a network. I'd say if you are aging and want to stay in your home, start to build contacts. You especially want an all-around handyman because good ones are hard to find and to keep. Word of mouth is usually best.

 

[finnski1]

I've been a single female homeowner for many years, and have always done things I can and I enjoy doing. I have a lot of skills built up and enjoy the work of restoring and maintaining an old house. However, for the many things I can't or don't want to do, I've built up a little fleet of excellent professionals (plumber, handyman, electrician, yard work, etc) that I've employed over the years. It really helps to have established a network. I'd say if you are aging and want to stay in your home, start to build contacts. You especially want an all-around handyman because good ones are hard to find and to keep. Word of mouth is usually best.

And make sure he/she is much younger than you are. Don't want them retiring too early as well.

 

[Marita40]

And make sure he/she is much younger than you are. Don't want them retiring too early as well.

So true! Same with doctors, dentists, etc. etc. etc.

 

[finnski1]

So true! Same with doctors, dentists, etc. etc. etc.

Yes my long time dentist and doctor both retired. Have been pretty happy with my new doc and I think she is only around 40. Hopefully she is not a FIRE person. My new dentist is even younger!

 

[wyecrabber1]

Last year we retired to a single level 3bd/2bd home in St. Augustine. In the past, I did all the maintenance, painting, plumbing, electrical, yard work...and auto maintenance. Since moving to Florida -- I have decided some else can take care of the weeding of the gardens/mulching -- it's too hot and muggy in the summer, I don't mind doing the mowing as it's a small yard. It's a new home so hopefully, there will be no involved repairs.

The one rule I have created is; If I have to lay on the ground to repair the vehicles -- I'm finding someone else to do it.

I value my time more for fishing, golfing, going to the beach, doing things with DW... then writing someone a check.

 

[Bamaman]

I too have been bitten by the falling extension ladder while cleaning gutters, and I broke both legs 13 years ago. I've now been grounded from ladders higher than 8' tall by my family.

I come from a family of electricians, and my father ran apprenticeships at the power company. My mother worked at the IBEW. When my father retired, we hired 3 carpenters and we built a lake house on family land. That was 40 years ago, and the house has held up very well since it's trimmed in redwood and was built with fir instead of pine. The only outside help were plumbers and a landscaper.

My 25 year old heat pump just went out, and it must be replaced. I dislike paying a $3k-$5k profit to a HVAC contractor for just 6 hours of work.

The downstairs shower is 40 years old, and I'm tearing it out. I've already retiled the rest of the bath including floors. I'm going to install a tile floor in the upstairs bathroom and paint the room. We already had granite put in the baths and kitchen.

I've been retired 12 years, and much of my time's been spent moving--us 2x, my parents 3x and my aunt 2x. As relatives passed on, we inherited too much fine furniture. I've also got a cabinet shop and too many tools including compressors.

We last moved 16 months ago in to a too large home with 2 new HVAC units and the home's been 100% reconditioned to new condition. An all brick home with aluminum covered trim will require very little future maintenance. No trees means no more gutter cleaning. The 1 acre yard can be 100% cut on my zero turn--a fun 45 minute job. We did install a pool for the grandkids, and it's salt water and fiberglass with relatively little maintenance.

We are raising our 9 year old granddaughter, and our new to us home has plenty of room so we can provide a high quality of life for her. Her 13 year old brother is here every other weekend.

We can easily live on one floor of our home with 3 bedrooms and a den up stairs that can be closed off. So this house can suit our lifestyle for the long term.

My wife's in rehab for a couple of weeks, and she had a major foot reconstruction. This week, I'm building a wheelchair ramp in the end of our triple car garage. She'll be in a wheelchair for 2 months+ so we'll need the ramp to get her up 5 steps. She's not one to let a foot injury keep her from shopping and going to church.

And when it's time for us to make a lifestyle change, our home will sell quick and for top dollar in a medium size city that's economically on fire. This is the Rocket City.

 

[Out of Steam]

I've been thinking lately about getting gutter covers for both houses, which will help a lot, and the tree work is pretty much done, and we will hire out anything that involves a high ladder from here on out. All your ladder stories have scared me - into sanity (smile!)

Getting gutter covers (a big expense) depends on the decision we have to make as to whether or not will we stay here.

I recently saw an older neighbor proudly cleaning gutters similar to these from the ground.

The Flipclean Gutter System - The original tilt-down gutter

 

[Out of Steam]

This subject seems to have struck a chord here, and the age of concern of 75. I agree that I should hire out enough work to get familiar with tradespeople and working with others in advance.

 

[Music Lover]

I have noticed...at least among my group, a lack of interest in home maintenance and DIY from younger people. Almost all of my friends and family have various DIY skills and we're the ones that are now taking care of our parent's houses, as well as many people here. But the majority of the younger generation (including their kids) just aren't interested. Many of them just want to rent so I guess they that figure someone else will take care of it.

But that does mean that as some of my friends and family age they'll have no one to take care of their homes like they're now doing for their parents.

 

[Boho]

It's probably best to quit the basic step stool at some point. You need something to hold on to or lean your thighs against. After replacing my fluorescent kitchen bulbs they started to flicker after several hours for a couple of days in a row. Today I removed two knockouts in the fixture for ventilation while the fixture was still attached to the ceiling. I started on the stool with sandals but then I switched to sneakers and a 4 foot ladder.

 

[CindyBlue]

I recently saw an older neighbor proudly cleaning gutters similar to these from the ground.

The Flipclean Gutter System - The original tilt-down gutter

I think I am in love!!!!

 

[RetireeRobert]

I think I am in love!!!!

I KNOW I am in love!

But not with a gutter cleaning system.

I donate blood once every two months, and there is a certain youngish good looking lead phlebotomist at the local Red Cross donation site........

 

[doneat54]

Interesting thread, it resonates. 5 or so years ago, DW said "I want a house on a lake". I replied, "Sure. But good luck finding one that we can afford and ISN'T bound on both sides and across the street from weekly rental properties."

Well don't you know, in 2019, she DID find a house on the lake that I couldn't run from (there is a thread here on this whole adventure)... and we bought it.


It has been fun. A little anxiety sometimes, but I really do enjoy it, only an hour and 5 mins from our primary home. But, it's a 120 year old farm property. So far, I have molded a mantra of "live with the imperfections (for a retired engineer) and don't spend any real money on it". DW has big plans to "knock it down" and build something new, and sell the primary home, yada yada. I am not on board and she knows that. But haven't ruled it out yet either.

Anyway, to the point of this thread, I too, at 59, am much more amenable to paying someone to do something that I *could* do myself now, than I used to be. And the lake home is in a rural area where somewhat skilled people are work hungry for reasonable $$$. Have used some already. Paid an outfit to install new gutters on the 2 story home. Used to do it, but not any more. That ladders thing.

The bigger challenge for me going forward though, isn't so much about who does the home maintenance, but about what the longer term home is. I say today, and believe for today, that I will never live in a condo or an apartment. We have always had secluded, private, and quiet homes, and although it is rare for a lakefront property, even our lake house fits that description. DW and I place a high value on seclusion and privacy in our homestead when, in fact, we are pretty social people. So I wonder, going forward, how this will play out. I could live in a very small home, very minimal maintenance requirements, and happy to pay someone reasonable to take care of it, but it will be a "single family" home.

At least for now, that is my story and I'm sticking to it......

 

[Sunset]

I recently saw an older neighbor proudly cleaning gutters similar to these from the ground.

The Flipclean Gutter System - The original tilt-down gutter

That is clever.
Of course a person flipping them could be in for a surprise of dumped material on.

Site suggests doing it every 2 wks. Which wouldn't work at my rental. Good for a homeowner.

 

[Sunset]

I have noticed...at least among my group, a lack of interest in home maintenance and DIY from younger people. Almost all of my friends and family have various DIY skills and we're the ones that are now taking care of our parent's houses, as well as many people here. But the majority of the younger generation (including their kids) just aren't interested. Many of them just want to rent so I guess they that figure someone else will take care of it.

But that does mean that as some of my friends and family age they'll have no one to take care of their homes like they're now doing for their parents.

I've seen this with DD.
She became a homeowner, and has been surprised that some things don't automatically fix themselves.
It took her an entire Summer to rough sand the deck and apply a new stain to it.

Her husband is less capable.

 

[Music Lover]

I've seen this with DD.
She became a homeowner, and has been surprised that some things don't automatically fix themselves.
It took her an entire Summer to rough sand the deck and apply a new stain to it.

Her husband is less capable.

Unless you're very well off, I've always believed that if you want to own a house you should develop some basic DIY skills. No, you don't have to shingle your house...but you can patch a hole in the wall, paint, replace a toilet or faucet, fix a stuck door, etc.

 

[GravitySucks]

I now hire out anything that requires a ladder other than a 5 ft step ladder.
Luckily, I got a guy.
DF stayed up on the maintenance items to the end (87 and sickly as can be). I will be hiring out the things I don't enjoy then those I can't any longer do.
My home is not handycapped friendly. I will have to move if mobility issues rear their ugly head. Probably find a nice condo or assisted living apartment then.

 

[JoeWras]

I now hire out anything that requires a ladder other than a 5 ft step ladder.

My wheelchair bound friend (motorcycle accident) hates any ladders over 2 steps. He says there are plenty of people in rehab from 6 ft. ladder accidents. I can see that. People think that since it isn't an extension ladder, it can't be that bad, right? Then they go ahead and step on those top steps you are not supposed to use, fall, and get severely injured.

I stopped talking to him about ladders because I felt guilty using them, and it is an understandable hot button of his.

 

[Music Lover]

Ladders are safe when used properly. But too many people use them wrong or exceed their physical ability and/or experience level.