DIY Obsession....

I have a bad case of inherited DIy syndrome. My father is the king of build it yourself or rebuild a used one, and apparently I got every one of those genes from him.

I wanted teak registers for my install, but had settled with the fact that I could only afford the $8 special from Home Depot. So the other day I went to the resale shop and found this $10 vent. It was on clearance and was 70% off so it was a whole $3.25 with tax.

It had long been painted black and I thought about how to clean it up. I thought it was cheap 80’s plastic but turns out it’s teak, (or at least wood of some kind).

So this is my tinker time pass today. One of these days I hope I can just start buying new stuff without feeling bad about spending money.

Greetings,
Mr. too. Hahaha....Welcome to the club. I drive the Admiral bonkers with MY obsession to fix or repair rather than replace. That being said, I draw the line @ electronics or engine internals. I don't recall my own dad being that way but I suspect my career in a past life has taught me to do more with less. (worked for the federal government where we had to do more with nothing...). PLUS I suspect you get as much satisfaction from bringing something "back from the dead" as I do.


To those that might not understand, it's not about the $$, so much. It's about the process.


My grand kids enjoy going through my "parts" storage. "What's THIS Poppa?".....Well, young man, that's a hub cap from a 1928 Willys Overland Whippet and I found that...."

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. too. Hahaha....Welcome to the club. I drive the Admiral bonkers with MY obsession to fix or repair rather than replace. That being said, I draw the line @ electronics or engine internals. I don't recall my own dad being that way but I suspect my career in a past life has taught me to do more with less. (worked for the federal government where we had to do more with nothing...). PLUS I suspect you get as much satisfaction from bringing something "back from the dead" as I do.


To those that might not understand, it's not about the $$, so much. It's about the process.


My grand kids enjoy going through my "parts" storage. "What's THIS Poppa?".....Well, young man, that's a hub cap from a 1928 Willys Overland Whippet and I found that...."

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Oh crap - Me Too. Real problem here is my wife is similar! Tough pair to draw to for trying to keep the house and proximity buildings contents' in order as well as not spending too much time on old-stuff refurbishment! That said - We have saved many, many thousands over the long run by not purchasing new things. And, there is a good feeling of satisfaction by successfully refurbishing/repairing/rebuilding what we desire to put our efforts into.

Same here.

My mother used to get violently ill if money was spent on something new. The more money - the worse the illness. Just to stop the puking and moaning I would buy an old thing and fix it up. Sometimes it cost more, usually didn't work as well.


I married a women from a family that did not have the DIY syndrome. The exact opposite. Threw out things that could be easily fixed in a few moments.



There has to be a happy medium. I like to think I'm it. I can enjoy new things without stomach upset but I enjoy the process of fixing and restoring worthwhile items.



Oh - use chemical stripper on the teak vent. Be prepared for it to come apart at the glued seams.

RT Firefly said:

(worked for the federal government where we had to do more with nothing...).

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We were on the path toward doing everything with nothing.

Especially after the "requirements explosions" associated with the Soviet/Warsaw Pact breakup, subsequent desert wars, and terrorism response.

-Chris

My toilet flapper is currently working thanks to a paperclip and a zip tie...

Sounds like this thread is written by a crew of former sailors ��.

k9medic said:

My toilet flapper is currently working thanks to a paperclip and a zip tie...

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Ha - beat me to it!

We do the same thing , an old boat and 110 year old house. We've always been gluttons for punishment. The problem now is I'm so sloooooow.

We all have embedded triggers and influences. Mine is the opposite, not unexpectedly, but I've always been trained on the value of time. I can't bring myself to spend an hour of my time to save $5. Perhaps in thinking I value my time too highly but I still value based on what I have and could charge for it.

The other factor is how I like to be spending that time. DIY is not how. I'd rather be playing tennis or singing or most anything. I have zero desire to do anything mechanical, electrical, or similar.

I fall in the middle. My Dad grew up on a farm, raised by a farmer/rancher turned Optometrist. My Grandfather owned the farm primarily because he wanted his sons to grow up on a farm because he thought it would “improve their character”. My folks were also mostly broke most of my young life. That meant that my Dad had to buy used and fix anything that was broken. Fortunately, he became competent at it.

So I inherited that ethic. I am very uncomfortable throwing anything usable away or paying anyone to do what I could do myself. I usually try to fix things, and so I have a lot of broken things laying around waiting for me to figure out how to fix it or simply to get around to it.

OTOH, I understand BandB’s point. At this point in my life it makes no sense spending hours doing something I don’t like when I can afford to pay someone to do it for me.

So for some things, I do maintenance by checkbook. Other things, I will do myself. I won’t do polishing and waxing for example. I hate it and it trashes my back. Not that I will pay someone to do it very often either, I just live with a less-than-shiny boat. Routine engine maintenance I’m happy to do myself as well as most boat repairs.

Boat repairs are not counted against your life span. I should live forever.

I've got that same affliction. After I built a swing set for the kids, my wife was trying to be helpful and thew out all the leftover lumber, and couldn't understand why I was upset about it. The swingset is still intact. The marriage is not.

Didn't get it from anyone really just always liked to tinker.

I can fix anything poorly, some things okay, and a few good.

Still practicing.

Being a millwright, I've always done my own boat work. I have been retired now for 27 years, and working on my boat is enjoyable, cost saving, and therapeutic.

I love working on the boat as much as cruising in it. So far I've only hired one job out, as I was in a rush. Replacing the standing rigging.
I've managed to do everything else from engine re-powering to full rewire job.

The bonus is that you end up knowing every inch of your boat intimately. You know the path of every wire, and every hose; You know the condition of every component. You trust your old boat to bring you home completely.

I’m ADHD and tinkering with things occupies my mind for periods of time that I normally couldn’t keep still. Additionally I’m a very kinesthetic learner so working with my hands is always very gratifying.

It also helps that I work for the city government and make peanuts so it kind of forces me to do things myself, I can’t afford to pay people to fix 51 year old problems on a 51 year old boat.

AusCan said:

The bonus is that you end up knowing every inch of your boat intimately. You know the path of every wire, and every hose; You know the condition of every component. You trust your old boat to bring you home completely.

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And this! I know where every wire is, where every plumbing line is, and where every drain goes.

I work on our boats when I want and/or have time to... pay others when I don't.

I enjoy doing my own maintenance.
But that said I replace, not repair parts that are worn. For example, brake pads get to 30% on my vehicles and into the trash they go.

toocoys said:

I have a bad case of inherited DIy syndrome. My father is the king of build it yourself or rebuild a used one, and apparently I got every one of those genes from him.

So this is my tinker time pass today. One of these days I hope I can just start buying new stuff without feeling bad about spending money.

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Very interesting thread... makes one consider their own motivators.
We must be related... I had 2 generations of instructors on how to DIY and $ave.

Keep the faith I am sure that if you keep it up you will save enough to finally be able to pick and choose where to DIY and where to just LODI... let others do it.
I'm retired and have plenty of time but learning to evaluate how motivated I am vs have other things I'd rather be doing before jumping to DIY ALL the time.

My DW has helped prioritize boat projects... projects OK in May... maybe June but come July 1 it's time to cruise.

CanadianBoater said:

I enjoy doing my own maintenance.
But that said I replace, not repair parts that are worn. For example, brake pads get to 30% on my vehicles and into the trash they go.

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Brakes, Tires, Steering - Three with equally top importance! All new high quality parts for those babies

Bingo, me too. As RTF said it's the process. Can appreciate B&B's value of time but to me working on old stuff is time well spent. Helps my mental health and I have much more self satisfaction and pride on even the smallest of fixed/rebuilt/refinished items.

For last few years I've been planning [looking for time out of life's schedule - LOL] to haul our boat and with a couple of fellows from my construction associate workers do a full-on exterior shine-down, paint up and pin stripe where necessary, repairs on exterior and interior where needed, complete bottom job, all new through hulls, reupholster as required and interior paint/varnish/ general spruce-up as desired. Our old baby Tollycraft boat has been used well for many years and is still doing quite OK... but, for several reasons is beginning to notably plead for my direct attention!


You can call the above anything you may like... I call it a DIY total refurbishment procedure with assistance as required. Time span would probably be three 40 hr. weeks. Outcome would be stellar under my consistent management and self-efforts. Out of pocket $$$ cost to me would likely amount in the $15K range. My own hours afforded in this procedure would be what I call "boat-love". Resulting personal feelings about and for the currently 41 yr. old boat's new and greatly improved condition, that will last from a decade to several decades, would be priceless! Big smile on Linda's face would be beyond priceless and gives me payment in duplicate.


If I simply listed what I want done and hired a yard to accomplish it all then $$$ cost to me could easily run into the mid to high 5 digit range. And, chances are slim of everything being accomplished to near perfection, such as it will with me constantly on site overseeing it all.


When it's called for... I like to get really DIY up-close and personal with items in our life!

Greetings,
Mr. fb touched on an aspect of DIY that I hadn't considered BUT is important, to me, as well. Mental health (or lack thereof). Sometimes a situation is self evident and pretty straight forward, like changing impellers or oil changes. Other times a solution is NOT so obvious and takes a little or a lot of thought and or research. A great time to do some "out of the box" cogitating or deciding that the task is beyond my abilities and time to call in a professional.



Mr. BB mentions playing tennis in post #10 and I know a lot of TF members are big sports fans. Myself, I have negative interest in either playing or even watching sports. I'd almost rather have a root canal than sit through a football or basketball game and don't even mention golf BUT if that sort of thing entertains you, not a problem. Fill your boots.

I really, really enjoy working with my hands. Actually making or repairing something I can actually touch. "Buy a new one or hire somebody" is a common comment from my dear Admiral although I'm hearing that a bit less these days. She's either come around to MY way of thinking or she's given up trying. I'd like to think it's the former...


All that being said, the DOWNSIDE of DIY is failure or lack of complete satisfaction with the finished product. Unfortunately I'm just a touch anal and a bit of a perfectionist so on occasion I am disappointed in my own performance. But, like eating a turkey dinner (not fussy on turkey), this too shall pass.

RT Firefly said:

All that being said, the DOWNSIDE of DIY is failure or lack of complete satisfaction with the finished product. Unfortunately I'm just a touch anal and a bit of a perfectionist so on occasion I am disappointed in my own performance. But, like eating a turkey dinner (not fussy on turkey), this too shall pass.

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I totally understand this, I try to do my best when doing something but I am rarely satisfied with the end result and most often think about what I should have done differently to make it better.
My wife is always kidding me about it.

L

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,

Unfortunately I'm just a touch anal...

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"... just a touch..."???

Greetings,
Mr. L_t. Exactly. It's all part of the learning process IMO. Unlike you, young man, I am most often satisfied with the results. The question arises as to whether I am lowering my standards or simply becoming more skilled. I would like to think the latter...

Every minute spent crawling around in the innards of your boat improves the likelihood of finding problems before they bite you at an inopportune time.

Greetings,
Mr. A. "... just a touch..."??? Is that sarcasm I detect? Surely, after our 7 year internet "relationship" you, being the astute observer of the human condition, should have realized that I am the personification of decorum and humility.