DIY

If you haven't figured it out already (at least for those of you who've actually visited The Balanced Guy more than once), I'm a DIY kind of guy. As he champions DIY in his article, blogger Mark Frauenfelder explains the nature of DIY is an inherent willingness to screw up and (most importantly) learn from the process. Lord only knows the number of times I've screwed something up while doing it myself, but none of it has been major...at least not yet. I've never burnt down the house, seized up my car engine, or cut off a finger (although I've hit my finger with a hammer so hard I was literally crying at 3 AM because it hurt so badly...this led to a visit to the ER where the Dr. drilled a hole in my nail to relieve the pressure caused by blood under it - instant pain relief).

 

It doesn't hurt that I come from a long line of DIY'ers and grew up helping my father with projects around the house just as he did with his father. However, I've expanded beyond what my father taught me simply by my willingness to try whatever and possibly screw up. No doubt I've done some stuff the hard way or the wrong way, not knowing the "tricks of the trade". A career spent in real estate development and construction has given me a healthy appreciation for carpenters, painters, electricians, plumbers and the like and I've always taken time to talk to them and ask questions as they go about their jobs, gleaning those tricks that make the job easier and provide better results. I can't emphasize how important it is to admit your ignorance and simply ask questions - a little honesty goes a long way as people usually enjoy talking about what they do (and these guys are going to know immediately if you are tying to BS them).

 

And I've learned not only the need for having the right tool for the job but just as important about the need for quality tools (if you're going to attempt anything more than tightening an occasional loose screw, those "handyman specials" with 35 tools in one kit are more often than not, going to get you into more trouble than they are worth). You don't need to go out and spend thousands to outfit yourself with every top-of-the-line tool, hoping to eventually use them. Buy what you need for the particular project in question. And NEVER, EVER get rid of tools - I guarantee you'll use them again. My tool collection has grown over the years and there are very few I've not used more than once. If it's a power tool that comes with directions, for crying out loud read them - you'll probably learn something about using it more effectively that is not readily apparent.

 

A skilled craftsman makes his job look easy (actually, anyone good at anything makes it look easy) and you'd be hard-pressed to match him at the most difficult tasks. However, more often than you think, a lot of what they do is fairly easy to accomplish and difficult to screw up...even if you claim to be "all thumbs". It simply takes (I sound like a broken record here) a willingness to screw up to get over the initial fears. I also highly recommend you buy a general "how-to" home repair book like Home Depot's Home Improvement 1-2-3 as a reference guide.

 

A classic example of an incredibly easy project that people often feel is beyond them is changing the color of their electrical outlets. For one reason or another they want to go from bone to white or black or brown. They hire an electrician and for a room with 8 outlets he charges them a couple hundred bucks. This is mind-blowing to me. The cheapest standard outlet and it's cover, together, cost less than one dollar...no joke. Once you flip the correct circuit breaker(s) on the panel in the basement or garage to kill the power, it takes about 5 minutes to replace each outlet and the only tools it takes are a regular and phillips screwdriver.

 

So buck up, find a project, buy some tools and DIY!