Are we less practical these days ? which of these would you do yourself ?

Danny1969

I grew up in an age where if something broke you generally had to fix it yourself as nobody had any spare money to pay for someone else to do it. Looking around these days, certainly among my own kids and their friends it seemed people are less practical these days and shy away from even pretty basic jobs. So here's a little test of 5 typical jobs that might crop up and need doing. Do you take on the task yourself or get a pro to do it ?

Front pads are down to the metal on the car, need a new set fitted ?

Wind has ripped the felt of the shed roof, needs re-felting before it rains again ?

Daughter has smashed the screen on her iPad, needs a new one fitted ?

Bathroom tap drips and needs a new washer ?

Living room double glazed window has fogged, needs a new unit fitted ?

holnrew

I could do the indoor jobs. I reckon I could learn to replace brake pads, but don't trust myself to do such life or death work

boogieman

I'd happily do all those, in fact I've felted a garden shed and fitted new tap washers in the last month or so. I'd have to youtube fixing the iPad first, but would have a go. I'm also of an age where you fixed things yourself though.

underdog

Have done all of the above in the past, but these days as I run a business it's often cheaper to pay someone to do it than missing work for that amount of time.

breakstuff

I'd do all except the brake pads and double glazing.Doing the others wouldn't be a problem.

The problem would be being arsed to do them in the first place.

VimFuego

wouldn't know where to start with the I pad thing, done all the rest

CabbageCat

New car. New house. New daughter.

Job done.

TTony

I did the shed (workshop) roof on Christmas Eve morning. It wasn't a pre-planned job.  

I've never trusted myself to do car brakes, even back in the days when I had no money, and nowadays I wouldn't believe that I could do the job without lots of specialist and expensive tools!

The rest are OK though, I reckon (presuming there's a YouTube "how to" for the iPad screen).

Fuzzdog

I'd do them all myself aside from the window, as I've never done those before.  I'd probably have a good crack at it though before calling in an expert to fix my disasters.

samzadgan

Probably just the bathroom tap only.

GIJoe

I could do all those apart from the car - it's something I could learn to do, just not really that interested in.

frankus

Danny1969 said:

I grew up in an age where if something broke you generally had to fix it yourself as nobody had any spare money to pay for someone else to do it. Looking around these days, certainly among my own kids and their friends it seemed people are less practical these days and shy away from even pretty basic jobs. So here's a little test of 5 typical jobs that might crop up and need doing. Do you take on the task yourself or get a pro to do it ?

Front pads are down to the metal on the car, need a new set fitted ?

no

Wind has ripped the felt of the shed roof, needs re-felting before it rains again ?

yes

Daughter has smashed the screen on her iPad, needs a new one fitted ?

yes

Bathroom tap drips and needs a new washer ?

yes

Living room double glazed window has fogged, needs a new unit fitted ?

no

how much of it is us being less practical and not the manufacturers or government putting the frighteners on people havign a go - after all wire a plug in your house and it might be reflected in the buyers survey.. you talk about the window pane unit - so it's not a case of replacing with a similar material it's replacing a module... which is going to cost marginally less than a new window or some such.

John_P

LIke others have said - some of those jobs - the car and windows especially, it's just more cost effective to get it done, years ago I did my own but now I stick to diy jobs that I enjoy and just pay someone to do a better job in half the time for a lot of things.   I'm about to fit a new kitchen this though - I'm hoping once everything gets delivered that will give me the motivation to crack on with it.

Misterg

I woul do all bar the window (BTDT).

I know I can get the glass man do make one, deliver it & fit it for not much more than he'd charge me for just the unit (and anyway, I think the fogging adds a certain rustic charm).

Danny1969

@frankus

To change a fogged unit you remove the beading take out the old sealed unit and replace it with a new one and put the beading back in. A typical price would be about £30 to £40 for the glass unit and they are made to measure 

frankus

is this something gained from the internet or a repair manual or professional experience?

I think if there was a problem I could fix I would but I get more reluctant the more stuff involves measurement and such

EricTheWeary

I don't know what a brake pad looks like. There could be one on my desk right now and I'll discover I've been using it to put pens in or clean the wipe board.

HAL9000

Not necessarily for the jobs mentioned by the OP, but in many instances the technology has made DIYing pretty much impossible
For instance the local blacksmith could probably fettle an original Land Rover, but look under the bonnet of a modern Merc and it pretty much needs a diagnostic tool and computing power.

Or a valve amp as opposed to a solid state example. The valve amp had discreet identifiable components whereas the SS amp just has PCBs which are maybe replacable, but not so easy to understand the why's and wherefores.

Also, when I try a spot of DIY I tend to find nuts and bolts have seized up, or the inside of my washing machine bears no resemblance to the one on YouTube. Easier to pay someone who knows what they're doing.

speshul91

Everything except the I pad screen but have a friend that will do it for free. Brakes wouldn't bother me I'm a semi qualified mechanic

stickyfiddle

Brake pads on something old, not a problem. My current car is under warranty and servicing so I'm covered there. 

I could do a tap washer but there are maintenance chaps in the building who would do it for £10 so I'd happily let them. 

Windows... I'm on the 42nd floor so a bit of a stretch I reckon. That said, even at home I'd get a man in. 

Shed roof no problem (if I had one)

iPad screen not a big deal in theory, but aren't the new ones bonded and way harder to replace?

Danny1969

frankus said:

is this something gained from the internet or a repair manual or professional experience?

I think if there was a problem I could fix I would but I get more reluctant the more stuff involves measurement and such

Experience, done loads, used to be in the building game. There's a fair bit of latitude with the measurement as they aren't supposed to fit snug to the sides and top but rather sit on packers with a fair gap all the way round. 

@HAL9000

The SS amp's components are just as easily identifiable and excluding any digital processing just as easy to understand as a valve and a transistor once biased act in a very similar way, effectively using a small signal source current to modulate a large load driving current