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Fix It or Hire Out |Pad Patter 4.8

bestcee

bestcee

In love with places I've never been to
Joined
Dec 18, 2013
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19,337
When something breaks, do you fix it yourself? Or do you hire someone out to fix it?

Computer issues - Fix it myself (or with my brother's free help if I'm really stuck)
Car Issues - Hire It Out

Apartment Issues - I get joy in making the complex and maintenance fix it :agree
 
I always try it myself first, then ask help from family. If it's not gonna work like this then I'm gonna go to a professional. Totally depends on the problem and area and time and.. well you catch my drift.

Last week I had myself locked out of the house. I live in an apartment with just one outside door. I was rushing to get out of the door to get to work and it was raining so I grabbed an umbrella and then pulled the door shut. With my keys still in the inside of the door. Ugh.
So I called my parents to help me. They all have keys but since my keys were already in the door that was probably not gonna help. So they came during the morning, tried and failed to get inside. Then they called a professional and let him fix it.
All the while I was at work. I teach so no way to skip a day to fix it myself. I even had to teach evening classes that day and wouldn't get home after 9 pm. At which time all professionals wouldn't be helping me. So thank god for the help of my parents...
 
We also only bring in outside help only if it's warrantied. I am very lucky to have married into a genetically inclined family of can fix almost anything men. My youngest son has also inherited this trait so I'm covered for a long time.
 
Cars: let the pros do it. I'd mess it up more! ;) But DH does change our oil and rotate our tires. I won't let him do much more cuz cars nowadays are so high-tech. He doesn't know what to do with the computer-y stuff.
Stuff around the house: try it ourselves first, and that includes building it. DH and I built our fence, and we fixed our incorrect window flashing on our own. We saved thousands on each project, which is esp. great with the windows cuz we'd been told the previous owners took care of the problem (it's a known issue in our neighborhood). I can't tell you how angry I was when I saw water coming in from above the window. Choice words may have been said. Repeatedly.
Computers: uh, don't fix it, just buy a new one? ;) LOL j/k. I haven't had a huge issue that has needed a repair person, but I'd probably just buy a new laptop, depending on the problem. I loooove having a new computer. But if pics on my laptop hadn't been backed up yet, then I'd probably hire a pro so I could at least get those memories back.

DH and I are two very different people. He sees the big picture while I focus on the details. As long as we communicate with each other, we work well together and we've accomplished a lot. :)

And @bestcee the reason to live in an apartment is to let management take care of issues! :hammock
 
First, us, friends or family... then we hire. We are lucky though... DH is the phone/internet, Dad is an electrician, Uncle is an auto mechanic, etc... so we usually are covered a lot of the time. Computers - Apple, always.
 
My husband fixes what he can and we hire when we need to. I wish I were handier with tools but I'm not motivated enough to learn. Glad my husband likes to do some things himself. Our biggest project may be when he put down our new wood floor after we repainted all our walls in 2011. I'm proud of our work but I'd be happy to never paint walls again. :)
 
We hire it out only if it is absolutely necessary and we can't do it ourselves or have family/friends help out. I am the handy one in the house..I've fixed the washer, dryer, plumbing, walls, computers, you name it and I've probably tried it. I love knowing how things work and figuring out how to fix them. Only exception being the cars, but fortunately my classroom at work is in the Vocational School, right next to the Automotive class and they have done LOTS of work for me...tires, oil, bulbs, tune ups, brakes...and all I have to pay for is the parts (and I usually make them a batch of cookies :)).
 
It sometimes depends on what it is, but my husband and I, are pretty handy. We usually handle small things ourselves. If we can afford it, and it's a stupid small fix, we just do it. Like the kitchen faucet. I complained when we moved in that it leaked. They wouldn't do anything. Told us to just "tighten it." Eventually the cabinet underneath was constantly wet. So we went to Home Depot and bought a new faucet that was similar style, but it was also more updated than their old 90s one. If screens break or rip, we'll just do those too. Stuff like that.....

Sorry for babbling...lol
 
It totally depends on what it is! I consider us to be pretty handy since we can do/fix a lot of stuff ourselves. Sometimes it's just easier to have someone else do it though!

I handle the technology stuff (at home and at work) like the computers, internet, phones, cable/tv, etc. My husband can handle most plumbing fixes and general construction stuff. He does not like electricity though so my dad helps out with electrical fixes. However, we always hire someone if there's an issue with the furnace or the air conditioner. The cars go to a mechanic for repairs, but my husband is capable of changing the oil and filters (when he feels like it).

In our last house, we renovated the kitchen ourselves. It was gutted down to the studs. The only thing we hired out was the drywall and we had a friend of my dad's help with the cabinet installation. Our current house is in desperate need of an updated kitchen and we'll probably end up doing most of that work ourselves too. It might take twice as long but we'll save a lot of money!
 
depends, much like everyone here.... most things of the house we can do...I'm only not too good with electricity but most other things we are both handy.... but I have been so unwell not sure what would happen if something breaks down now.....
the microwave broke a couple of years ago....I had found it in the street in 2002, someone had thrown it away, it looked nice, I brought it home, changed the fuse...it worked perfectly until I think 2014...then we bought a new one.
Dishwasher broke last year.... I knew getting it fixed by pros would cost almost as much as a new one so we bought a bosch, I did a LOT of search (if you are on Facebook with me I may have pestered you for opinions LOL) but ended up buying quiet cheap and love it now :)
Computer I have a friend who always comes help me....
always depends on what it is...my car is a lease and thank God I never had trouble apart from kids breaking glass ...we dont pay for that, so I called the pros.
 
Pretty much everything hubby does himself. The only the he won't do is electrical cause he hasn't had any formal training at all and there was one time he actually blew the fuse in our apartment building when we were first married and shocked himself. Scared him pretty badly but he was fine. EVerything else, including plumbing and cars etc, he does himself.

Computer things I do on my own, though we really don't have computer issues and I haven't ever even had to fix anything really. :/
 
We fix everything ourselves. Ummm....well DH does haha. He's amazing, grew up in a tiny town in Northern Ontario where if something broke, you fixed it or it didn't get fixed. Only thing he didn't fix is our washer as it's like 12 years old so we bought a new washer / dryer (woop woop!). He's an equipment operator so works up in the oil fields and is only home 1 week a month but luckily our friends are the same kind of people so if something breaks I have people to call. DH just put a new fuel pump in my car and did the oil change and tires. He redid the plumbing in our bathroom reno and did all the hardwood upstairs on his own. I'm pretty lucky. BUT, if it's computer related, I fix it. I'm a whiz lol.

I can't remember ever hiring out a fixing job....I think DH would rather be dipped in a vat of boiling oil. Stubborn man.
 
jk703 said:
Computers - Apple, always
Click to expand...
That's hiring it out, right ;)

merank said:
Our current house is in desperate need of an updated kitchen and we'll probably end up doing most of that work ourselves too. It might take twice as long but we'll save a lot of money!
Click to expand...
My parents are in desperate need of a new kitchen. They now have the basic plans and are the next job up. I don't think it will be as fast as they are being quoted! You two are probably much faster!
 
Humm... We've got a gaping hole in the ceiling of our main floor powder room, a fallen rain gutter blocking our back deck from the wind storm the other week, 4 dripping/leaking faucets, a washer that's acting up, among other things. I usually fix everything, but with DD's skating competition schedule and all, well, I just don't have the time. But I won't do things like fix the gutter. DH wants to do it himself. But that hole's been in the bathroom for 3 years now... I'm ready to hire someone to do it all but we just don't have the money.
 
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