I try to do things myself, when I can, but mechanical things are usually out of my realm of expertise. Nowadays, though, since money is tight, so I'll try to repair things I normally wouldn't, since I don't always have the money to replace them. My vacuum has been acting up for a while now, partly because the carpet in this house is very low quality, and the fibers keep twisting around the wheels and roller on my vacuum. Since I can't afford a new vacuum right now, I decided to try replacing the belt and roller, to see if it would help. I'm happy to say that it's working much better than it has in a long time, and hopefully this will help a lot with my allergy symptoms. Here's a video I used to help me, since, of course I lost the instruction booklet. Do you do DIYs? If so, post one or more here, to inspire others to give Diy a shot.
I love to DIY, always have. I usually am more happy with the results when I do something myself than when I hire someone to do the work. Last year, my husband and I built a new table for our dining room, and I also removed the carpet in the dining room and painted the concrete floor so it looks like it's tiled. Now that summer is here and I have some free time, I'm planning more DIY projects. My daughter wants me to refinish her bed, so I'm considering tackling that this summer.
I hate the carpet in this house. I really want to do something about the floors, eventually, if I stay here. Do you have pics of the floor? I recovered 2 cat scratching posts last year, one's still ok, and the other is going to need more sisal in the near future. Right now, the DIYs are outside, but I can't wait to tackle more in here. You like the big projects! I finished some of the furniture I have now with my Dad, and I'll never get rid of it, because those are great memories.
I am just now getting into doing it yourself projects since I have a toddler things are a little more difficult. Although I think I will be up to my neck in DIYs soon enough because my husband have been blessed with buying out first house and boy is it a "fixer upper"! I have been planning all my projects out since we signed on the house and I am so looking forward to getting started on my todo list. I might need some advice from some experts so I'm so glad I signed up to this site! I can't wait to see how everything turns out.
I do DIY as far as decorating goes, and I was really pleased with myself when I put up a curtain pole in the spare bedroom the other day, but that's about the extent of my knowledge when it comes to doing up my house. I've got a list of projects which I'd deem more crafty than DIY, such as fixing up old furniture, and making and hanging new curtains for the upstairs bedrooms, and I wouldn't hesitate to contact either my dad or my brother to help me if I needed something building or demolishing. That said, I'm pretty nifty with a flatpack kit, so perhaps I just need to make more frequent trips to IKEA from now on.
I am all about DIY! If something breaks in my household I will usually try to fix it if I can. Sadly, small appliances and vacuums are not my expertise. I have to call my husband when those sort of things break. We like to save money by doing things on our own in every area of our house. We just recently replaced all of the carpet in our house on our own and we saved so much money! Now if I could just get the carpet cleaner to work we will be set!
I can't remember the last time I hired someone to do something for me. If I have a plumbing problem, the tool box comes out. I'll head to the home improvement or hardware store to get parts if I need them and I will DIM (Do It Myself). The outside is no different. I have built a concrete walkway myself, tilled up my yard, taken soil samples and planted new seeds myself, painted the house and the garage is next. Most of this stuff is so easy, and if you don't know something you can always find information that can help you just about anywhere these days.
Have you checked Youtube for videos on troubleshooting the carpet cleaner, to see if you can figure out the problem and fix it? I could really use a carpet cleaner, but that's not in the budget right now, and I despise this carpet anyway . My parents always did DIYs while we were growing up, so that's what I default to, especially since professional repairs can be so expensive. @Natalie89 I struggle sometimes deciding whether to call something crafts or DIY. Usually if it involves tools, other than jewelry making tools, I will tend to call it DIY. I see the terms used interchangeably on Pinterest a lot, so when I search, I search on both, if the project is small and could fall into either.
I am terrible at DIY but luckily my fiancée is very good at it, she enjoys it too which is a bonus! She does the DIY which I stink at and I do the cooking which she stinks at, a good deal I think as I love cooking.
As a child I watched my dad all the time and used to help him pass a nail or a screwdriver, so I am quite good at doing my own DIY. I enjoy putting things together and fixing things, but I don't mind some help at times. I also know when to get a professional in and have learned never to try to do DIY when you are tired because you make mistakes and have to start again. It happened when I tried to put a bookcase together and a set of drawers and used the wrong screws! I had to undo it and start again.
That's a good point, @Theo, I definitely have learned my limits over the years. Sometimes people don't understand why I break activities up into small tasks, but it's because I know my body and my limits, and plan frequent breaks, so I can be as successful as possible. It's important to be well rested before undertaking such tasks, especially when tools and/or chemicals are involved, for safety's sake.
So far I have only tried repairing the flex of my phone, and it was a success, thanks to Youtube. I would certainly try to repair things on my own if the repair that needs to be done is beginner friendly.
Over the years I've learned a lot. When you live on a farm and can't call some "expert" in every time something needs to be repaired or built some things you have to learn yourself. I can do all most of any repairs myself but I'm yet to learn how to mess around with wiring. I intend to take some course and also learn some plumbing in the near future. Once that is done, I don't think I'll ever need to hire some handyman to do anything for me.
That's great, those are really good skills to have. When I moved in here, I actually replaced some of the wall switches (not just the plates, but those, too), and hung the chandelier. The chandelier was a major challenge, and I used a stool as a dead man support, since I was flying solo. I also hooked up my ice maker, and it's actually still working, which amazes me. The guys at the local hardware store were very helpful with information and advice, and if all else fails, there's always YouTube!
I think most people underestimate the usefulness of youtube. It's more than a place to watch videos of cats. There's much people can learn from the site if only they are willing to take a look around. I hardly ever remember that one can find some good DIY videos on the site. Thanks for the reminder. Any time I want to fix something and I've got no idea how it's done, I'll try finding the relevant videos on youtube first.
Yes! Congrats on getting it fixed! I always look on youtube for a video. I am currently doing a lot of renovations and youtube has saved me a lot of money. I do not need to hire a repair man!
Yes I do a lot of DIY especially those that involves sewing. I create my own bags, fix our sofa (simple re-upholstery work) and make something out of used jeans or other strong fabrics. What I love to do next is carpentry but the tools are so expensive.
I have done a few DIY projects over the years and I sew or repair my own clothes. I had a pair of jearns that were too large, and I don't have a belt. I put some elastic in the back to help the pants fit better and stay up. The pants fit better and look cute I also cut off the leggs to make them more of a crop pants.
