Do you fix things yourself?

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Do you fix things yourself?

Do you fix things yourself.jpg

 

Hello everyone,

 

I hope you are having a great week.

 

From time to time, in any normal accommodation, there are minor repairs or improvements. For these little things you do not necessarily have to be a trained craftsman, but a certain skill will certainly benefit. 🙂 For my part I like to take small repairs in my flat into my own hands and admittedly, there are times I have thought to myself this wasn't the best idea, but most of the time it works out well! 

 

Are you a person who fixes things yourself? A little craftsman/woman, so to speak (I have a sneaky feeling many of your are). It would be great to hear about your last project you worked on?

 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanks so much,

Lizzie


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82 Replies 82
Kimberly54
Level 10
San Diego, CA

@Lizzie,

 

No.

 

Best!

 

Kim
Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

hehe @Kimberly54! 🙂 

 

Do you have a handy go-to person instead, or are you just really lucky with everything not needing to be fixed?


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

@Lizzie, interesting question.  I always make sure that any kind of interaction makes someone's day better.  Every time.  So, I always have help if I need it. 

 

Goes both ways, and it almost always works perfectly.

 

The answer is either YES, or Of COURSE!

 

Best!

 

Kim
Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

@Lizzie

Nope, me neither...... I don’t do DIY.

 

I get tradesmen in to do it.

 

Cleaning etc I do myself as I don’t have a below living wage Morag, therefore I do this all myself.

 

Gardening etc I do myself as I don’t have a below living wage Hamish either, therefore I do this along with my husband.

 

 

Rebecca181
Level 10
Florence, OR

How timely! As of one hour ago, a neighbor friend and I just repaired my hot tub, which had a blown out impellar. Found a new pump with motor, had it shipped overnight (not cheap) and changed out the old pump and motor for the new. And it worked! Hot tub is happily heating up, jets are operable, and I can't wait to hop in it later tonight with a glass of champagne to celebrate. 

 

It is also nice to be able to get back to all the guests who were counting on the hot tub to tell them it is fixed after all (I was offering partial refunds for loss of this key amenity if we couldn't fix it - Living on the coast means there is only one reputable hot tub repair guy who will come out to my little town; he's so busy he has not been able to get back to me since I called several days ago). 

 

This was a most satisfying repair! Thank goodness it broke when we had friends here, versus paying guests; and thank goodness we have friends who can help us with this sort of thing. I learned alot by helping - could probably repair it all on my own if it were to happen again. 

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

That sounds like a job well done @Rebecca181. Congrats, it is fantastic when something like this works out.

 

I am also very glad to hear you rewarded yourself, as well. I think you should be our go to person know for questions about mending hot tubs, here in the CC. 🙂


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

Lawrene0
Level 10
Florence, Canada

Yes, @Lizzie. My husband is a master carpenter, but quick turnarounds between guests mean no time to wait for the professional to do the small repairs. I am a host-of-all-trades.

 

We work together on the big repairs. Next one up is cleaning and fixing the stovepipe. It's a glamorous life.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

Yes, I repair most things myself. It's not just the cost of hiring someone, it's waiting for them to have time, having them actually show up when they say they will (waiting around all day for someone who doesn't show is one of my least favorite activities). And then I've found that tradesmen often leave a mess behind them, or end up damaging something else in the process, like dropping their tools on a tile floor and chipping tiles, or smearing dirty greasy fingerprints or glue on something.

My dad was a mechanical engineer, so I luckily seem to have inherited that brain. And I remember my maternal grandma getting up on ladders fixing things all the time, so she must have been quite handy as well, although I never really thought about that when I was a kid.

I wouldn't attempt major wiring jobs, as I know nothing about electricity, and I hate anything to do with carpentry, but gluing plumbing pipes together is a no-brainer once you watch someone do it a time or two, as is painting, lamp repair, changing out capacitors in fans that start to spin slowly, and changing out door locks.

I can't say I enjoy having to add a fix-it job to my list of chores, but I don't mind the process of repair and at least I don't wreck other things by being careless. And it feels pretty good to be able to fix stuff yourself.

And I'll share a tip for those who have shiny tiles anywhere that may get a chip in them- nail polish works great. It comes in so many colors, you can usually find a close match.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Sarah977

 

That is so true. I can't begin to count the number of times I've waited for a tradesperson who simply does not show up. They usually don't bother to let you know. And yes, they almost always damage something else while they're here. 

 

The last time I had someone in to regrout a bathroom floor and I wish I'd just done it myself. The grouting is fine, but he chipped one of the very expensive tiles and then claimed it was already like that. He also made a chip in the shower tray which now looks like a dirty mark. He left silicone everywhere, all over the shower screen, which took ages to clean off, even a big lump of it down the toilet. I still haven't managed to completely get the silicone off the tiled floor, so if you have any tips, do let me know! Worst of all, he decided to change the seal at the bottom of the shower door, but mangled the spare piece I had (it's not at all a standard shape and very hard to find). Instead of replacing it with the same type, like he said he would, he just got a standard one and stuck it on with silicone, so of course it fell off a few days later!

@Huma0   OMG I hate silicone. I've basically never used silicone for any repair job and I cringe if I see a plumber start siliconing stuff. Like you say, it's impossible to remove, and no, I don't have a solution for that. If the surface is flat, I find that one of those razor knives that is used to remove paint from windows works well, but there always seems to be a thin layer left that just won't come off with anything. 

I once caught a glass installer wiping his fingers on the wall to get the silicone off his hands! 

If I need to caulk something, I always use acrylic caulking, which is much more easily scraped off and is paintable.

And now, if I have to have a repairman over for something, I lay down a thick old towel or blanket and tell him to put all his tools on that. And give him a rag to wipe his hands on.

The memory foam bath mats work really good for keeping tools off fine surfaces. The tools sink into them and don't roll off.  I too have a drop cloth handy, rags, and a roll of paper shop towels available for trades people to use. Shoe covers too. It's a shame so many service folks don't pay attention to the importance of this. However our HVAC repair person is super conscientious and so is the electrician.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Sarah977a lot of tradespeople seem a bit slap happy with that silicone. I think I mentioned on another thread or threads that I couldn't understand why the grout in one of my showers looked mouldy when it was fine in my other bathrooms. I had tried everything to clean it to no avail.

 

Then I realised the stupid builder had covered the grout in silicone and the mould had formed between the two. The other day I carefully scraped it off with a blade and I couldn't believe the difference. I still can't understand why he did it.

 

I like my bathrooms to be sparkling clean and that means not a single smear on the shower screens, so mouldy looking grout really upsets me!

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

This doesn't completely surprise me @Sarah977. I remember seeing your beautiful tilework, in your kitchen I think or living room and so you sounds like a very handy person. 

 

It is good to be able to get stuck in and mend things, rather than having to wait and also pay others to do it. 

 

Thanks for your tip with the shiny tiles, I may have to use that one day. 🙂


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

Yes, Thanks @Lizzie  I must get home and tighen a loose screw in my kitchen cupboard.

It's usually very easy to fix things if one has the right tools.

I grew up in  a family where we had major house renovations and tradespeople with old skill craftmanship so used to tinkering around