Fixing Repairs on your Own

[#1hoosierfan]

Dh looks things up on YouTube to fix things. He has fixed simple things on the car, the stove, dishwasher, and washing machine.

Bigger plumbing jobs and electrical issues we call someone.

 

[RF536]

DH will do anything except gas lines and HVAC units. The first house we bought had no heat, or running water and needed all new plumbing. We had a new furnace installed and between DH and DFIL a new point for the well was dropped, and all plumbing was replaced. We also replaced all windows in the house, put on new siding and gutted and remodeled the kitchen and bathroom. DH also helped by parents remodel the house they owned when we were dating. They took the whole house, one area at a time, down to the studs and joists and started over.
He also does most of our automotive repair. The only repairs he can't to are those that require most of the engine be removed, because we just don't have the correct equipment.

 

[tommyprince]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys I have already started seeing a couple of videos of a youtuber called shannon, he is pretty good. I can slowly start doing the repairs on my own

 

[Pea-n-Me]

DH is able to do most of our repairs. He just has a head for that sort of thing. He hates plumbing, though. We still chuckle thinking about one Sunday when our son was two or three, DH painstakingly had the whole toilet taken apart all afternoon. He was lying on the floor with a mirror on a coat hanger down the pipe and everything (a tip from a plumber we knew) trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Finally he looked at our son, who'd been watching intently, and said, "Did you put something down the toilet?", and DS looks up and says, "Yeah, a boat!"

I will say that DH used to be more enthusiastic about repairs when he was younger. Lol.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Hey, guys, I was just wondering when it comes to doing repairs at home, do you repair it on your own or hire a professional to take care of it? My toilet clogged and I had to call the plumber again. This is the second time that I have called him this year and it's only the third month. The cash is running out of my purse like wildfire I would love to learn at least some basic DIY skills. While doing some research online I came across a blog ( http://www.advancedplumbing.ca/blog...ouble-shooter-fix-common-plumbing-issues-now/ ) that mentioned some tips on how to fix basic plumbing issues. I found it pretty useful but I would love to know more. Can you guys suggest any good tutorial sites or any DIY youtube channels.Any thoughts on this would be great.

GO ON YOU TUBE!!!! It is the Matrix of home and car repair. It can be so helpful. Esp for car repair.

Unclogging a toilet takes a plunger.

Also note that if the toilet clogs and starts to OVERFLOW, you can turn off the water with the metal knob below the toilet. Very important to note in case you did not know that. My dd learned that 2 weeks ago as she overflowed her toilet....let's just say ewww.

We clog a toilet a month. The low flow toilets coupled with thick toilet paper make toilets clog easy. I tell my dd FLUSH more than once if you have to.

 

[justussix]

GO ON YOU TUBE!!!! It is the Matrix of home and car repair. It can be so helpful. Esp for car repair.

Unclogging a toilet takes a plunger.

Also note that if the toilet clogs and starts to OVERFLOW, you can turn off the water with the metal knob below the toilet. Very important to note in case you did not know that. My dd learned that 2 weeks ago as she overflowed her toilet....let's just say ewww.

We clog a toilet a month. The low flow toilets coupled with thick toilet paper make toilets clog easy. I tell my dd FLUSH more than once if you have to.

Right. I remind my kids, "How about a courtesy flush?" Just to add to the above, you also don't need the water on to flush the toilet. You can keep an extra couple gallons of water around to prime it. Learned that when we moved into a house with well water and the power went out. The well pump doesn't work without power.

The "boat" mentioned earlier reminds me of the time I had to take apart a toilet due to an empty play-dough container stuck in the drain. Just big enough to wedge in at a turn. It became two trips to the hardware store for a new install kit, after having already purchased a rooter when the plunger didn't work. The kids had made sure it was nice and full too - so I had to manually empty the thing before removing. Not my proudest moment as a parent, going ballistic at what I thought should have been a simple plunge job. They still bust my chops about the time Daddy lost his mind. I'm glad they remember it that way.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

DH does everything from plumbing, electrical, tile, drywall, carpet installation, fixing appliances and the cars (whenever possible). We have sided our whole house, installed new windows, replaced bathtubs...the works. He will at least attempt to do it before calling someone in and he does a pretty good job!

Two stories -

1. My (seldom monitored by her parents) little 2 year old niece visited us and after she left our main floor bathroom toilet was clogged. We fished out a travel size shampoo bottle, a little toy shark, and a bouncy ball. It was still clogged. We tried and tried to plunge and dealt with the stupid thing for a while and decided it was time to call someone. DH and DS16 said they would make one last ditch effort, so they took the toilet apart and wouldn't you know it....she had also dumped several pieces of "bathroom" garbage down there as well. Sigh. It works perfectly now. Saved us a few hundred dollars.

2. Our dryer started shorting out - it is one of those new electrical ones with the push button start and is all digital with a motherboard, etc. DH did a little investigation, unplugged it, plugged it back into a different outlet, and it worked perfectly fine. Took off the wall outlet cover and we discovered a HUGE ant nest inside the outlet that was shorting out the electrical. Cleaned that all out and plugged the washer back in. Haven't had a problem since. Again, saved hundreds of dollars in service calls.

The funny thing is, although DH did learn some of this stuff from his dad and brothers, he doesn't do any of it for a living and never has. He is actually in Finance and pretty much sits at a desk all day unless they are having long lunches with bankers or department "meetings" out on his bosses fishing boat. He just is really good at figuring out the problem and taking care of it. I doubt I would ever be able to do the repairs he does. Sometimes it really is just "in" you to be good at that stuff!

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Right. I remind my kids, "How about a courtesy flush?" Just to add to the above, you also don't need the water on to flush the toilet. You can keep an extra couple gallons of water around to prime it. Learned that when we moved into a house with well water and the power went out. The well pump doesn't work without power.

The "boat" mentioned earlier reminds me of the time I had to take apart a toilet due to an empty play-dough container stuck in the drain. Just big enough to wedge in at a turn. It became two trips to the hardware store for a new install kit, after having already purchased a rooter when the plunger didn't work. The kids had made sure it was nice and full too - so I had to manually empty the thing before removing. Not my proudest moment as a parent, going ballistic at what I thought should have been a simple plunge job. They still bust my chops about the time Daddy lost his mind. I'm glad they remember it that way.

Haha, we say Courtesy Flush too!

 

[msjprincess]

My husband does almost everything himself. Plumbing, electrical work, siding, doors, windows, refrigerator repair, all car & truck repairs.....In the 13 years we've been in our house we only called in someone once. We had a bird's nest stick in the chimney and we didn't have a ladder long enough.

You can more or less find instructional videos of anything on Youtube.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I rent so I call maintenance. They also shovel the snow and cut the grass.

When I did own a home I wasn't into repairs. XH would call his dad over and learn from him. Most everything they did together.

 

[ImDMous]

We try to do everything ourselves although we have needed professionals a few times. We installed our dishwasher, fridge and stove when we moved in. We've put new electrical outlets in and added switches. We fixed our washing machine and cleaned out our dryer vent duct. We've replaced all the parts of our toilet and put new light fixtures in our bathroom.

The things we have called in the pros for is a new water heater because it required extending the gas line and needed a permit to install and work on the roof. You have to know your limits.

YouTube has been a great place to learn from. A few weekends ago our refrigerator coil drain froze over and filled the fridge with water. Looked up the model of our fridge and that it was full of water and low and behold had a video of someone taking it apart, getting to the drain and defrosting it, and replacing it so it won't happen again. Cost us $5.

Our car vent filters are another one. The dealer wants $100 to replace but the parts are $10 on Amazon and there's a video of where they go and how to get the old ones out and new in (they're not very straight forward, but easy once you know where to look). I'm no car expert and certainly am not going to replace my timing chain or brakes or anything, but if I can save $90 by popping a filter out and a new one in, that's a no-brainer. We did used to work on our cars when they were actually mechanical systems, now they they are all computer, it's much easier to screw them up.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The "boat" mentioned earlier reminds me of the time I had to take apart a toilet due to an empty play-dough container stuck in the drain. Just big enough to wedge in at a turn. It became two trips to the hardware store for a new install kit, after having already purchased a rooter when the plunger didn't work. The kids had made sure it was nice and full too - so I had to manually empty the thing before removing. Not my proudest moment as a parent, going ballistic at what I thought should have been a simple plunge job. They still bust my chops about the time Daddy lost his mind. I'm glad they remember it that way.

Ha! My DH can relate! As I'm sure can many Dads!

 

[justussix]

Haha, we say Courtesy Flush too!

I think I got it from Austin Powers when Tom Arnold was in the next stall over from, "WHO DOES NUMBER 2 WORK FOR!!!" "Yeah, you tell that turd who's boss!"

 

[ImDMous]

I think I got it from Austin Powers when Tom Arnold was in the next stall over from, "WHO DOES NUMBER 2 WORK FOR!!!" "Yeah, you tell that turd who's boss!"

Hahaha, we use that quote all the time around our house.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

I think I got it from Austin Powers when Tom Arnold was in the next stall over from, "WHO DOES NUMBER 2 WORK FOR!!!" "Yeah, you tell that turd who's boss!"

We use it more for telling the kids they don't need to sit there with the #2 in the toilet while they finish - they can drop the kids off at the pool, flush, then finish up whatever else they need to do lol So the smell isn't lingering. I swear my kids will bring their phones in the bathroom and sit there for an hour. They need to flush that stuff down right away! haha

I seriously need to put a sign up in public restrooms, too! lol "Do us all a favor and give us a Courtesy Flush!"

 

[daughtersrus]

My DH fixes just about everything. plumbing, electrical (code here requires conduit) water lines, cars, home improvement, appliances, landscaping, finished the basement, replace springs on the garage door.. The only thing that we've ever called a professional for was our air conditioning because he couldn't get the type of freon that we needed (although the repair man borrowed his gauges since they were better than his) and to have our fireplace chimney cleaned.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

We do most of our own stuff. Our limits are wiring that requires cutting into the walls and roofing. Pretty much everything else we've done. YouTube is a great resource if you already know what needs to be done to fix an issue.

If you don't have an idea of what the problem is or where to start, doityourself.com is a great website. They have message boards that you can ask questions and usually get quick responses. I kind of have a mental image of a bunch of retired plumbers/electricians/roofers etc sitting at the computer just waiting for a question to come in so they can argue with their buddies about the best way to fix it. At least that's what its seemed like the couple of times I've used it.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I'll give most things a try myself. There are a lot of YouTube videos that are good DIY guides.

I've learned over the years that I have my limitations, and one of them is plumbing. I usually either can't fix it, or make it worse so it costs more $ than if I'd just called a plumber from the beginning. But I'll give it a shot.