Sunday, August 11, 2013

Again, the Reluctant Handyman.

     Once again I've had one of those handyman jobs that I dislike. I've posted on this topic before.

      There are many little repair jobs that crop up around the average home. There are people who are in business and they fix the things that fall apart. They are usually good but when they're bad they really stink. When we first moved into this house we needed a repair to the oven. The reluctant repairman (me) was not practicing then. An appliance repair man came to the house to repair the oven. A bill was paid and when we checked the oven it still didn't work. The appliance repairman came back and said, "Oh your oven element has to be pushed in." A service call was charged. So the debate was should I pay for the first call and repairs that were not needed. After a vigorous argument we did not have to pay for the first call where nothing was actually repaired. Maybe this is why we became leery of appliance repairmen and I started to do repairs.

    Now I don't have a mechanical aptitude. I'm not good with my hands or tools. I don't like doing repairs.

    But there I was the other day with just a little job. The washers on the bathtub taps were leaking. So the parts were 98 cents(a dollar here  because we don't have pennies). So would you calla repair man for a $105.00 service fee? Of course not.



Some of the parts.

Now I think I should do something with that tile color.

    So here I am taking taps apart and replacing washers and voila no more leaks.

31 comments:

  1. Job well done! When ever there is a plumbing job, Cameron starts to have a panic attack! LOL! Plumbing is not in his jeans! HAHA! Just couldn't resist that one. But seriously, he HATES plumbing. Can do ANYTHING else but that.

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    1. Well, I guess a lot of other things are in his jeans so one missing isn't bad!

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  2. Some of these things are easy and many are just easier to replace the whole faucet.

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  3. That saved a big bill. I'm glad it worked out. Most jobs aren't hard. Tiling isn't but getting the old ones off is a real pain.

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    1. Most jobs we just have to put our mind to it. We have great advice here.

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  4. Hubby has no repair skills whatsover...unless it is gardening stuff. I have minimal and can replace a washer...but I have to rely on the honesty of the tradesman for most stuff.

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    1. Sometimes it's easier for folks to put up with the repair man than their own work. It's very frustrating if you can't figure out what tot do.

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  5. A job well done! ;-)

    Greetings from the Netherlands,
    Gert Jan

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  6. Way to go! It's good to know minor repairs. You certainly saved yourself a bit of money.

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    1. It's rather surprising what they charge these days.

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  7. Well, first I am going to say I like your taps and the colour of the white against the tiles. Nice!
    We have become handyman and handylady aboot the house as well. I can fix the things in the toilet - handyman has a name for it. We repaired the deck, but had an expert built the "stringers" for the stairs - new word to me. It can be quite mind blowing when one sees the bill from the repairman, so over the years, you learn to fix stuff, as we call it here. I don't do taps though. Have a great day Red.

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    1. Water can be a problem. If it starts running and can't be stopped your up the creek. I have shut offs on all my stuff.

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  8. Good for you, Red! You did just right. Can you please come over and fix MY leaky faucet? :-)

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    1. It's funny the number of leaky faucets you find when you visit people.

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  9. oh, i am not handy, either! neither is my husband. he changed out our shower head one year and ended up breaking the pipe to it - had to call a plumber who had to cut thru the bathroom wall to repair the split. *sigh*

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    1. Yes that's always a worry that you might do more harm than good.

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  10. Good for you doing it yourself. I am married to a maintenance man and I have trouble getting him to fix anything at home. :(

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    1. Now I know where the name tools comes from.

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  11. Like you I detest home repairs. Repair people charge around $80.00 here just to show up, whether or not they fix anything. Your guy seemed fair to not charge you for that first visit.

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    1. My guy was a long time ago. They may not be so easy to deal with now.

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  12. Ha ha Good for you Red ... but step away from the tile.

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    1. I have no intention of learning how to tile. I've never done it. I'm always amazed when women take up tiling.

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  13. Ha...My husband is pretty handy with most repairs around here.

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  14. The cost for labor is most often the major part of the bill.
    I'm lucky like Montanagirl. My husband is a do it yourselfer and I couldn't begin to know the amount of money he has saved us over the years both in the home and on our cars.
    You did well Red!

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  15. Nice work!! Gordon can do electrical, but not plumbing. I don't touch either!!!

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  16. Way to go you should go out for dinner with the service call you saved! :)

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