Spinoff from plumber post - What do you 'hire out'?

[stinkerbelle]

My husband is extremely handy, we RARELY hire anything out. He finished the basement in our old house, re-felted a pool table (he's working on a poker table now), we've painted many rooms ourselves, changed faucets, he built a shed (from scratch - not a kit), installed our DirecTV dish, landscaped our yard, built retaining walls, etc... He's probably saved us thousands of dollars...

In our old house, there was a problem with 2 lightswitches, one just wasn't working...I found DH IN THE WALL (about 8 inches across) re-wiring the switch (he cut a hole in the back of a closet and climbed through it..heheh)

I think the ONLY thing we would hire out is the painting of our foyer...it's 2 stories high, vaulted...we'd need scafolding and it would just be a PITA to do it ourselves! heheh

So...when do you throw your hands up and call someone for professional help?

(oh - and just as an FYI - the orange "bible" at home depot (I think it's called "home Depot 1-2-3 or do it yourself 1-2-3...about $20-25 is a great investment...can help anyone do basic home repairs and the like...)

 

[meandtheguys2]

We have a "slate guy" we call for roof stuff, and I sneak the van into the car shop every once in a while. DH can fix everything, so it seems, but sometimes I want something done in a more timely manner.

When we "did" the farm house, we both were working on electricity, windows, drywall etc. I learned tons. I am glad it is finished, though, and we live in town now. It is nice not to have to work on "stuff" all the time!

Michelle

 

[HollyJoy]

We will be getting a new roof put on, and well, DH is afraid of heights, so that one will be hired... along with our new siding! My brother is an electrician, so we call him (or DH's father, who knows a lot about it) for that, and we have a good friend who is a plumber. Got that covered!

 

[browneyes]

My SO loves to fix stuff (which is good because I like to tear stuff up). But he can't fix a fridge to save his life.

 

[onecoolmama]

Ok, we hire out everything, except computers. DH grew up with cooks, servents, and house boys. I think I taught him how to change a tire

 

[meandtheguys2]

We don't do the fridge either! My ice maker has been on the blink for ages now!

OCM...that' is what AAA is for!

 

[Hillbeans]

Well, we like doing home repairs, but we did hire out to install drop down stairs from our attic and anything electrical or something plumming related that's advanced.

We're just about to start building a deck as soon as all of our permits come through. We enjoy doing home repairs.

 

[mickeyboat]

DH does everything around the house. But he leaves vehicle repair to the experts. It helps that he is a carpenter - but it stinks having to take his work home with him.

Denae

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by mickeyboat
But he leaves vehicle repair to the experts.

Yeah - my DH changes my oil and will rotate my tires for me...but if it's anything more advanced, I'd bring my car in.

He, however, does his own brakes on his truck. He's in the process of restoring a '73 cuda...so he's pretty good in the garage.

 

[CEDmom]

Anything that has to do with electricity and/or gas. I've read/heard too many stories of do-it-yourself jobs gone bad. Also, DH takes forever to finish something so I don't think I could stand waiting even if he knew how to do it. I'm actually much more handy around the house than he is but too chicken to tackle anything that could get me killed.

 

[snoopy]

DH would like to never hire out, but I insist he does when electricity is involved. We've also hired roofers and plumbers/heating a/c guys for major jobs that are beyond DH's understanding or lack of tools. We do all of the aestetics ourselves -- painting, laying flooring, carpentry. And DH maintains the cars, but again, there are some things that only a mechanic can fix.

 

[my3kids]

Car stuff, for sure. My DH mentioned to his secretary once he was taking it to have new brakes put on and she asked why he wasn't doing it himself. He said he kind of wanted the brakes to work when he pushed the pedal, so he'd better pay for this one.

Other than that, we typically do everything ourself. We lay ceramic tile and other flooring. I do all the painting, including scafolding type. My DH runs electrical wiring and replaces toliets. I unclog drains and change bad outlets. He builds islands and custom cabinetry. We share in yard and landscaping stuff.

We did hire a contractor for a major renovation, and am going to hire someone to pave our driveway,

 

[Christine]

My DH is an electrician and is pretty handy so he does mostly everything. We did have our A/C go out a few weeks ago. We called the HVAC guys and they said they'd be out "in a few days". In the meantime, DH fixed it. Now that he has gotten older and does his own sidework for people, he just doesn't want to do stuff around the house. He can, but wants to hire everyone now.

We did hire a painter to paint our 2 story living room/foyer because it requires scaffolding.

 

[coliebird]

We're very, very fortunate that my husband can do almost everything himself and he enjoys doing things. We are also fortunate that the things he cannot do, we have friends that can so we have never had to hire out for anything.

 

[mickeyfan1]

Geez, I must be in the minority. My husband can install flooring. After a couple of handyman disasters, we now leave most everything to the pros. Plumbing and electrical expecially. We are moving into a brand new town house next week. We will hire out to get a garage door opener and we will hire out to have the kitchen sink and faucet replaced. I am going to Home Depot Monday night to a "Learn how to tile a back splash" class. While I think I could do it with out the class, I will feel more confident in myself, but if it is over my abilities during the class, then I will hire out to get that done too.

I figure that the people that do it for a living are the pros, not me.

 

[monkeyboy]

nobody
I do it all myself

 

[onecoolmama]

Originally posted by meandtheguys2
OCM...that' is what AAA is for!

LOL! Well, we learned in gym class. But, I can never get the bolts off. So AAA is called when I cant charm a guy into helping me

 

[pkasbohm]

Originally posted by onecoolmama
LOL! Well, we learned in gym class. But, I can never get the bolts off. So AAA is called when I cant charm a guy into helping me

You could probably charm anything into helping you!!!!





We don't hire very much out. My dh could do almost anything, but if it is electrical (other than wiring some ceiling fans) we hire out!

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

DH is extremely handy and fixes things on his own . . .he just remodeled our kitchen with new electrics, tile countertops, tile floor, paint, etc . . .he does everything, basically. I'm very fortunate. The problem is though, that since he is extremely motivated and handy, he's always looking for another project to do. Right now he is in the process of cleaning out the basement and garage by way of dumpster. His next project is building a basketball court for DS. All the materials were dropped off on Monday.

I'm really gonna have to take away his home depot card!

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Originally posted by stinkerbelle
. He's in the process of restoring a '73 cuda...so he's pretty good in the garage.

Awesome car!!! Does it have a Hemi?

Dh is very handy and can do just about anything in the house. It just takes forever and a day for him to get around to it