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Forced to DIY

Sometimes we don't want to DIY things, but we are forced to.

After living in this house for 2 years I was finally ready to get a plumber to deal with the leaky kitchen faucet.  Turns out all the plumbers in the area are backed up from January's cold snap which broke many pipes and put them behind.  I literally can't get a plumber.

I may not be rich enough to buy D'Agostino or Boulder but I sure as hell can hire a plumber.  If I could find one.  So instead of hiring a plumber, and swiping my credit card I have to do it all myself.  New strap wrench, 2 valve kits from Moen even if the faucet literally says Kohler on it, and an hour later I have a faucet that doesn't leak.

Right now my integrated is causing me some issues.  I am honestly tired and I'd rather pay to fix it, but the effort to find a qualified tech and package and ship the amp is so much more work than I would need to fix it myself that yet again, I'm DIYing it.

Mind you in a lot of ways I like doing DIY projects, but the plumbing and this particulare issue are not really that. 

How about you?  Have you found yourself driven to DIY at home or in your stereo because the alternative was just not feasible?

erik_squires
motown-l
199 posts
 

I used to do about half of our home repairs. Now I find that my 67 year old back and sciatica limit my home repairs, significantly. I'm no electronic tech, but I have done some modifications to old audio equipment. New switches, light bulbs, fuses, installation of RCA jacks on TT's with captive interconnects, installation of new cuing systems, new TT bases and plinths and other stuff that doesn't require a MEE. Now that I have retired, I am thinking of taking some classes in basic electronic repairs. I'm tired of not being able to do more involved electronic repairs.

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,939 posts
 

Until recently, I did almost everything DIY, but my body says there are things I can’t do anymore, like getting under the sink to do something as simple as replacing a faucet. I didn’t have a choice, but to pay the man $185 just to show up and another $150 to remove and replace the faucet ( about 15 minutes).  I can still do “ workbench “ things, but my neck says NO to almost everything else!☹️☹️

 

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,939 posts
 

@bigtwin 

😂😅🤣

terry9
2,354 posts
 

DIY since I retired. Can't afford a $250,000 table, but I can get the same or better performance with a little thought and lots of research. All it takes is time, that and willingness to compromise on non-essentials. So my table doesn't have a pretty chassis machined from one piece of stainless, but it does have air in three dimensions for contactless motion, which puts it in rarified company.

So buy off-the shelf when you can, make it when you can't, and contract out when you would need a 15" lathe. And search those surplus sites - you never know when you're going to need a 25,000 pF vacuum cap or two (works wonders, wonders in my RIAA).

musicfan2349's avatar
musicfan2349
242 posts
 

When I owned four motorcycles the two that gave me joy to work on were the '93 Ducati 900SS and the '75 Moto Guzzi 850-T. But aside from oil changes, the other two, '96 BMW K1100RS and '04 Kawasaki ZX11-R got the "Visa Wrench". They simply were not fun to work on. Especially the ZX11...

Same with most plumbing jobs. I couldn't sweat a joint to save my life. 🤣

Small electrical jobs around the house, I do. I'm not afraid of electricity, but I respect it for sure.

My seldom driven Toyota goes to the dealer. They always do a good job.

If something needs built from wood though, I love it. 

Audio? If it needs a soldering iron, I let a pro handle it. When my SP3a needed work on the power supply, I found a pro who worked on tube gear and he did a great job.

Happy listening...

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