8 Bit WWBG
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Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Aug 21, 2015 12:15:56 GMT -5
I just changed some switches for the first time ever! You have no idea how excited I am. MAN FIX!
What are some simple achievements you never tackled, then did, and felt a major sense of accomplishment afterwards?
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Waffle
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Post by Waffle on Aug 21, 2015 12:21:36 GMT -5
I know (now) that it's ridiculously simple, but the first time I switched out old smoke alarms for new ones, I had that wonderful sense of accomplishment. Putting together kit furniture feels pretty good, too.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 21, 2015 12:30:41 GMT -5
I hung a new fan. Yes I cheated and looked at exactly what wires and all but I also remembered to turn off the power. Something the man of the house used to forget to do until I either hollered at him did he do it or the thing he was trying to do reminded him.
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Robert not Bobby
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Post by Robert not Bobby on Aug 21, 2015 12:32:06 GMT -5
I just changed some switches for the first time ever! You have no idea how excited I am. MAN FIX! What are some simple achievements you never tackled, then did, and felt a major sense of accomplishment afterwards? I have a fairly large property, so I mow the lawn, often, particularly in the Spring and early Summer. I have an old lawn mower...it died...so, I changed the spark plugs. It came back to life and saved me a couple hundred bucks...until it dies again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2015 12:33:37 GMT -5
I have a lot of those. The most recent is the new kitchen faucet I put in a couple months ago. I'd been complaining about the old one dripping for like a year but it wasn't miraculously fixing itself. The new one is SO NICE and doesn't drip.
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milee
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Post by milee on Aug 21, 2015 13:00:32 GMT -5
Repair work on my racing sail boat. Being able to diagnose, fix and tweak issues on the boat. Repairs on the trailer - and being able to back it up.
There are a lot of house things I do, too, but none of them have been as interesting or made me as proud as the boat stuff because it was all so foreign to me when I started and it's been tough to learn. When DH and the boys were visiting MIL for 10 days in July, I did a lot of stuff around the house that had been bugging me: scraped out the old grout in the boys/main shower, re-grouted the shower, sealed the new grout, ripped out the old sliding glass shower door, installed a new frameless glass sliding shower door, replaced the shower head, replaced the bathroom lighting with LED lights, installed new towel rack that I created from a premade shelving unit plus some towel bars I added, installed hooks for robes, repaired the leaking toilet by replacing the flapper and handle and replaced all the A/C registers throughout the house. That stuff is just hard grunt work, not very interesting stuff. But the work on the boat and trailer are interesting, complicated and make me proud when I can figure it out, because there's rarely any published help and there's a lot of trial and error and experimenting.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Aug 21, 2015 13:02:16 GMT -5
I replaced shower heads all by myself.
I also worked with DH (who totally lacks confidence in his ability to do any small household repair) to fix a leaking toilet, to build a bluestone path in the yard, and to do some other minor yardscaping. I also made him figure out how to install a window air-conditioner that would help keep the temp in the kitchen survivable. He's a work in progress, but every little task he completes gives him that little burst of self-confidence to tackle the next item on the list.
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Robert not Bobby
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Post by Robert not Bobby on Aug 21, 2015 13:09:50 GMT -5
Milee, you sound like a bit of a spoiled brat, and a hard working lady. It's all good.
I wish I had your problems. I'm land locked...but my parents are in Florida.
Is it still as flat as a pancake...and swampy? I say this with all due respect.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Aug 21, 2015 13:26:15 GMT -5
I had my brother changing the broken p-trap under my bathroom sink (I've done this kind of a thing on other sinks)... he was taking care of stuff on my "honey do list" in exchange for using my car for 8 days (while he was carless - I don't need my car to get to work).
Turns out the sink drain is hooked up to the main drain pipe with a 'kludge' because the end of the main pipe has deteriorated.... Don't ask, I can't describe it, it was scary. My brother isn't sure how he can 're-kludge' the new p-trap/pipes back to the 'broken' main drain.
In an effort to figure out what we need - we've taken the disintgrated pieces of the p-trap and 'kludged' together bits and laid them out in order - they are in rough shape. After 30 minutes - we're considering calling a plumber and trying to estimate what it will cost. We take a break - and when we come back to the sink, I suddenly 'see' what the kludged together parts ORIGINALLY were... parts of two p traps cut up and fitted into place. OMG! My brother thinks I'm nuts. But after much going back and forth - he agrees maybe that's what they did. I run to the hardware store get another identical p-trap (and a couple of other bits to make my brother happy) and a couple of connector thingies.
As, we play around the parts talking thru what needs to be cut, how it will fit together... a blindingly bright light bulb goes off over my brother's head and we custom make a new "Kludge" to get the sink drain connected. And it works. Beautifully... no drips on the first put together.
Brother and I both had a Major Sense of Accomplishment.
We both agreed that whoever came up with the original Kludge was pretty clever... it worked great (the drain lasted more than 15 years) and hopefully our similar kludge will work as well.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Aug 21, 2015 13:34:27 GMT -5
Me?
Stripped and stained an old bookcase.
Replaced the flapper kit in a few toilets.
Changed a headlamp in my sonata (they're a b!tch to do).
DH is more handy than am I, but together we've:
Built two separate decks at two houses Stripped and stained all original woodwork in a century old Victoria Farmhouse Hung hundreds of feet of wallpaper.
I'm better at gardening than at handy stuff but I try. Meh - give me a spreadsheet any day.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Aug 21, 2015 13:36:18 GMT -5
Milee, you sound like a bit of a spoiled brat, and a hard working lady. It's all good. I wish I had your problems. I'm land locked...but my parents are in Florida. Is it still as flat as a pancake...and swampy? I say this with all due respect. Geez man - can't you say anything positive about someone without tacking on a negative?
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 21, 2015 13:36:36 GMT -5
Taking the upholstery off a sofa with poking springs, removing broken wires, hand tying the springs, and putting it back together. Recovering the dining room chair seats. Creating a hanging fixture for over the dining table. Rewiring several floor lamps with mogul fixtures. Taping and mudding drywall seams. Roofing the kitchen ell (DH and DS2 did the tear off and nailing, but I did the calculations for material purchase, and all the cutting, and lots of hauling things up the ladder and clean-up). Making things from scratch: pasta, cheese, pizza, ice cream. Sewing dresses, etc., that look and fit better than commercial ones. Creating jewelry to suit and fit me; love it when someone compliments me on it.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Aug 21, 2015 13:47:48 GMT -5
Ok, I feel inadequate...
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Aug 21, 2015 13:53:20 GMT -5
I have a lot of those. The most recent is the new kitchen faucet I put in a couple months ago. I'd been complaining about the old one dripping for like a year but it wasn't miraculously fixing itself. The new one is SO NICE and doesn't drip. You've given me hope. I need a new kitchen faucet. DH thinks I should call a plumber to do it. I think I should try it.
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Robert not Bobby
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Post by Robert not Bobby on Aug 21, 2015 13:58:47 GMT -5
Milee, you sound like a bit of a spoiled brat, and a hard working lady. It's all good. I wish I had your problems. I'm land locked...but my parents are in Florida. Is it still as flat as a pancake...and swampy? I say this with all due respect. Geez man - can't you say anything positive about someone without tacking on a negative? OK...it is a wonderful sunny day and I love Florida? Good enough?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2015 13:59:07 GMT -5
I have a lot of those. The most recent is the new kitchen faucet I put in a couple months ago. I'd been complaining about the old one dripping for like a year but it wasn't miraculously fixing itself. The new one is SO NICE and doesn't drip. You've given me hope. I need a new kitchen faucet. DH thinks I should call a plumber to do it. I think I should try it. It really wasn't that bad. The new one I put in had two handles, so it was pretty straightforward just bolting it down and hooking up the lines, the old one was a single handle one. I remember that one being more of a PIA when ex put it in because of the cartridge thing inside the handle that adjusts the flow.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Aug 21, 2015 14:03:37 GMT -5
You've given me hope. I need a new kitchen faucet. DH thinks I should call a plumber to do it. I think I should try it. It really wasn't that bad. The new one I put in had two handles, so it was pretty straightforward just bolting it down and hooking up the lines, the old one was a single handle one. I remember that one being more of a PIA when ex put it in because of the cartridge thing inside the handle that adjusts the flow. I have the single handle, with the hose sprayer. Because of the sink style, I plan to stick with this when I buy a new one.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Aug 21, 2015 16:44:38 GMT -5
I just changed some switches for the first time ever! You have no idea how excited I am. MAN FIX! What are some simple achievements you never tackled, then did, and felt a major sense of accomplishment afterwards? I like the car stuff. That's where you can save a bundle. Inner and outer tie rod ends Oil pan gaskets on two cars EGR valves on two cars radiator power sliding door wiring transmission fluid and filters on two cars brake pads and rotors multiple times replace coolant in two cars shocks/struts on two cars install trailer hitch and trailer wiring harness sway bar bushings But that didn't stop me from designing and building the fountain/water feature and the garden shed (with DW's help). DW has even forgiven me for dropping a hammer on her head. The fussy light switch is still on my honey do list. Guess it's time to get to it. The SIL who was really bugged by it three years ago will be here in three weeks.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 21, 2015 16:52:21 GMT -5
You are all making me feel very inadequate
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Aug 21, 2015 16:56:32 GMT -5
I have fixed the flapper on our toilet, I guess I'm kind of handy! We rent, but for something like that it's easier (and more importantly, quicker!) to do it ourselves. Hubs got really good at taking apart the door in his old Civic. The window would get stuck so he'd take apart the door to get to the window motor.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 21, 2015 16:58:47 GMT -5
You are all making me feel very inadequate You are not alone. I was going to say that I'm glad I have a super duper handy son or the money to call in expert. I'm dangerous around electricity, plumbing and such.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2015 17:10:01 GMT -5
I have dropped a new kit in some toilets (first time was my 40th BD when I wanted to tackle something really new - note to everyone-a flush handle is reverse threaded so it ain't righty-tighty, lefty-loosey)
Changed a lot of headlight bulbs on my old Nissan pickup
Patched big holes in sheetrock, tape, float and texture
Stripped, stained and varnished an old antique oak table & chair
My latest "accomplishment" was figuring out how to use my mandoline to slice veggies without amputations. Ditto the spiral veggie cutter that wanted to produce wide egg noodle size things when I wanted spaghetti shaped things.
On the brain cell side, I have learned two new software programs for civic association management and more ways to track deadbeat property owners online than you can imagine (hint, find the ex-wife b/c they share information generously especially if he's a deadbeat on child support too). And as many of you know, I just produced my first employee performance evaluation and the employee did not burst into tears and quit. In fact, she is blowing me away with positive improvement. Damn it, now I'll have to figure out a way to give her a raise in 6 months.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Aug 21, 2015 17:17:18 GMT -5
You are all making me feel very inadequate You are not alone. I was going to say that I'm glad I have a super duper handy son or the money to call in expert. I'm dangerous around electricity, plumbing and such. This - Other than putting together stuff from Ikea, I am bad about fixing things. Luckily for me I usually find a handy man or two every year that I pay by the hour to get things fixed. With so many handyman services available online, it's very easy to get things done around the house now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2015 18:18:53 GMT -5
I'm another inadequate one. I use to at least try to do some house related things. Nothing concerning electricity. Kitchen faucet replacement... fail. Simple shower head replacement.... fail. My house is old, so things can get kind of interesting when you start messing with stuff. I did "fix" my dryer once with a butterknife. My kids tease me about fixing things with butterknives, it's not like I don't have any screwdrivers. I think the thing I've been most proud of since I owned my house has been painting the ceilings and walls in a few rooms a couple years ago. I've painted walls before and I hated it, but the last guy I paid to paint and do some other work for me screwed everything up so bad, this time I decided I didn't have to pay somebody to screw up, I could do that myself for the cost of materials. I immediately had an obstacle because I wanted to use gray paint, not knowing how tricky it can be. I had to learn about undertones and lighting sources to figure out why my gray samples kept looking purple, blue and green on the walls. I'd already read up on how to prep the walls and paint correctly, I bought good materials to work with and took my time, painting while I was on vacation. I actually enjoyed it and did a great job. I got to the point that I could do straight lines without taping everything, I do still hate taping. I even got creative and figured out how to seperate the colors on a long wall that ran through 2 areas that I wanted to paint different shades of gray without it looking awkward. Actually, that one part is what I'm most proud of because I'm not really creative and have no artistic ability, I didn't have a template and stupid painters tape doesn't curve, but I'd gotten an idea and darnit I was gonna make it happen. And I did. It turned out perfect and I've gotten a lot of compliments on it. Mundane, but getting it all done and done well did feel like an accomplishment.
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msventoux
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Post by msventoux on Aug 21, 2015 19:28:53 GMT -5
I'm pretty proud of all of the household stuff I've done. I know where all of my mistakes are and they drive me crazy, but I doubt most people would know. I won't play with electricity or the natural gas lines though.
I'm not terribly handy, but I was thrilled when I installed beadboard wainscoting all around the living area since it was my first "big" solo house project. I replaced the dryer ducting, bathroom fixtures, did some trim work, painting, flooring replacement, etc. I'd love to put beadboard on the ceiling to cover up the ugly popcorn ceiling...too lazy to scrape it off and the contractor did a lousy job on the ceiling seams anyways. The ceilings are vaulted, and I'm really lazy and it seems like a lot of work so it will probably never get done.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Aug 21, 2015 20:53:47 GMT -5
Putting furniture together is about as far as it goes for me. The rest is what I have friends/family/repair services for. Although I've gotten to use power tools when I volunteered at Habitat for Humanity and it kicked ass!
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8 Bit WWBG
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Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Aug 22, 2015 6:20:40 GMT -5
...:::"...but I also remembered to turn off the power...":::... I was obsessive about this one -- not just for the obvious reasons of avoiding death, but even turning off other breakers for stuff around the thing I was working on. You don't know what you don't know. I also bought a little stick voltage tester to tell me whether the wires were hot or not. I tested things over. I'm told that replacing brake pads is simple (I'll say simple, not easy) because it is very straightforward on most cars. Pop off the tire, pop off the disk, open the caliper, replace. Not sure I'm going to attempt that for a while just because of how important the brakes are. Still these little things can save a good amount of money. $100 here and there can add up to that Roth being maxed in the course of a year. Toilets can go either way for me. I've replaced handles and the cap thingie, and I even once replaced the flowmaster with friend's help, but that still hasn't solved the problem The water isn't leaking into the bowl, I know that. I tried the food coloring trick. I know it isn't leaking onto the floor because that would be easy to tell. I have no idea where it is going!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2015 11:18:29 GMT -5
Me? Stripped and stained an old bookcase. Replaced the flapper kit in a few toilets. Changed a headlamp in my sonata (they're a b!tch to do). DH is more handy than am I, but together we've: Built two separate decks at two houses Stripped and stained all original woodwork in a century old Victoria Farmhouse Hung hundreds of feet of wallpaper. I'm better at gardening than at handy stuff but I try. Meh - give me a spreadsheet any day. You are better off wearing old clothes.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Aug 22, 2015 11:34:18 GMT -5
Me? Stripped and stained an old bookcase. Replaced the flapper kit in a few toilets. Changed a headlamp in my sonata (they're a b!tch to do). DH is more handy than am I, but together we've: Built two separate decks at two houses Stripped and stained all original woodwork in a century old Victoria Farmhouse Hung hundreds of feet of wallpaper. I'm better at gardening than at handy stuff but I try. Meh - give me a spreadsheet any day. You are better off wearing old clothes. Why is she better off wearing old clothes. I can do some of those things wearing a cocktail dress, fishnet stockings and hooker boots and I'll bet The Captain can too
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 22, 2015 20:25:56 GMT -5
Figured out how to do something new at work today, something we didn't know was possible in our system. The director is on vacation, so I've been holding down the fort by myself for a few days, so I decided to tackle some system record housekeeping sent over from Central. Poking around, I found a function in a section we'd never used (or even accessed before). It was a PITA figuring out how it was supposed to work and making it work, but it let me transfer items w/o losing all the history.
I wonder what other stuff is buried in the system that we never knew about? Need to poke around some more...
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