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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

Showing 1 response by panzrwagn

panzrwagn's avatar
panzrwagn
451 posts
 

I do almost all my own repair work around the house and in the yard, including stereo, guitars, and amps. In the process I've built up a pretty good collection of tools and the skills to use them. And in those cases where something is either above my skill set or beyond my physical ability, I have a pretty good idea of what's actually involved and what it should cost. Case in point, the 6-year old LG washer in our Hawaii vacation rental house recently packed in the drain pump.

Being an LG, it diagnosed itself, and parts were readily available from Sears or Amazon. But, it is a front loader in a stack, and my days of being able to deadlift large appliances are long gone. So we decided to replace the unit and sell the repaired old one. Replacement was no issue, just two strong guys with the right straps to lift and separate, swap in the new unit, and restack. About 45 minutes total. I called Sears Appliance repair to do the pump swap, just in case there were other problems, like a solenoid valve (possible) or controller board (unlikely). I figured about $20 for the labor and the part was on Sears website for $41.30. the price quote I got was over $300 in labor and almost $150 for the pump. Showing them the part on their own website for a fraction of their price didn't matter, they were going to charge what ever they wanted, couldn't guarantee they delivery time, wouldn't warranty parts they didn't sel. blah, blah, blah. So I got the part from Amazon Prime for $35, delivered to Hawaii in the usual 6 days, got the replacement instructions from the University of YouTube, and now a very happy woman has her first washing machine in Hawaii. 

I also have a Fishman Artist Acoustic Guitar amp with a noisy mic input. In this case finding a repair shop was near impossible, so I'm taking it upon myself to fix it. Sure enough, YouTube has a video for fixing that exact problem in the same channel. Soldering iron on standby, awaiting the part.

My APT Holman preamp upgrade? Nah, let a pro do that.

So, yeah, DIY if you can, outsource it if you can't.

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