DIY vs calling a professional

[AnalogRTO]

Sometimes we just like to get our hands dirty, to say we've done something ourselves. Other times, we don't want to pay what are rip-off rates for a professional. Other times, it's just worth it to let a pro take over.

Had a couple things come up. One is my car is throwing a "check engine" light and code. It reads underboost, part of the turbo. Research online, it's one of two things: either the diverter valve or the wastegate. If it's the wastegate, it'll be really noisy. It isn't. Diverter valves on this are notorious for getting sticky after time.

OK, order the new part, it's three allen bolts to take off the old and replace it with the new. First two are a pain, last one just isn't moving at all. Finally too frustrated, take it to the mechanic. Bolt is stripped, they're not sure how to get it out, suggest a guy who specializes in cars like mine down the street. He's booked for two weeks solid, but suggests putting the radiator in "service position". Never heard of that...

Come home, find it requires removing front bumper and removing a dozen bolts or so. The radiator and front end now shift forward four inches and I can get at this bolt that was impossible before, put an extractor in it, and get it out. What has been hours of trying to get this bolt that was stripped to move was out in less than half an hour! All because of helpful advice from a pro. The car is now fixed (bolt replaced w/ a new one), and runs great. That pro will get my business next time I need something done.

Different problem, this one on the heater for the pool and spa. Won't run, gives an error code. Dig a little online, one of three things: a fuse, a temperature switch, or the main controller (controller is unlikely). No time to deal with this one when it happens, tell the wife to call repairman. First one called: we'll give your name and number to owner and get back to you. A week later, try again. Oh, we'll get back to you. A week later, no call back. Call a second guy.

Second guy supposed to be out Wed, and no shows. Yesterday he shows up, saying they were too busy to get to us and tries to diagnose the heater. "Some sort of ignition issue," he says, "we'll e-mail you with a quote for parts and labor" (diagnosis call was free, thankfully). Doesn't mesh with what I've read in the manufacturer's troubleshooting guide.

So I go out today with a voltmeter and follow the troubleshooting guide. It's the temperature switch. Touch a bar in center of it, it resets, and the heater is working again. No parts needed, nothing strange, it works fine now I reset that switch (it's supposed to reset like that). Well, there's two professionals who won't get my business. One for not even returning our inquiry about service, the second for showing up a day late and mis-diagnosing the problem.

Who else has things they've done themselves or stories about people who have been professional or not?

 

[ade]

Who else has things they've done themselves or stories about people who have been professional or not?

well, i do pretty much everything for myself, with the effect that i also end up doing for others.
totally for myself, though:
View attachment 23794
aye, my coffee maker popped it's clogs! the end of the world! :SHOCKED:
well, it was first thing in the morning-ish. and i then had to set about it without a jug of coffee in my belly. anyways, a 99p fix.

been doing a bit of work on ATVs, lately, cash-in-hand (not surprising considering the dealer charges!!), but my head tends to be a fuggy from a lack of sleep and the number of variants of ATVs boggles the mind when trying to get specs and circuit diagrams for specific models.
got a nice sliced finger of one and it took ages to stop bleeding; i should've had stitches, really, but the day and the time of day, and the fact that hospital closures mean you don't know which hospital to go to, meant that i just taped it up (yeah, nobody had plasters big enough. bloody typical!). and it bled enough that i reckoned that all the shit would've been flushed out, but i think there's a bit of dirt working its way through the scar edge.

and i bought a new phone, recently, and the supplied charger came damaged,
View attachment 23795
misaligned circuit board during assembly caused an over-tightening of the casing's screw.
they sent me a new one, but i'm going to fix this [gluing, staple-stitching and DIY rubber].
i've been using my own stitching methods for years, not realizing until lately that the pros do it, too. in fact, the place from where i sourced our washing machine bearings is a specialist in it (i got the German bearings, btw, not the Chinese :yes; i'd wondered why they had that name.

aside from the ever-growing miniturization :biggrin:, i'm only usually restricted in what i can do by tooling and law, and both these come together in the case of our heating boiler. so, i had two weeks over xmas without heating and hot water. okay, i got by, as you do, and it prompted me to buy a couple of new heaters which is good as the old ones are really old, only work on the first heat setting and were scavenged from skips. and with the boiler having conked out several times within a year-ish, i opted for the maker's own servicemen rather than the local call-outers, for the repairs. mum has an insurance thing which includes servicing, but it turns out that the local idiots hadn't been servicing the boiler properly, resulting in the breakdowns.
and i'd fitted a new electric fire just before this (you'll see it when i blog), so that got a good workout, too. and in the first week of being without heating, we had gales and rain, making it too cold and noisy to sleep upstairs in bed, so i had a kip on the couch. i'm not sure if was a torn bit of rib-gristle or pneumonia, but i suffered for nearly three months after. i hate that couch.
i'm tempted to make my own.

[edit] oh, i forgot to mention that my car's power-steering went on the blink toward the end of last year, with a planned biggish trip to the airport to come. sussing things out on the net wasn't very heartening with a recon unit being over two hundred quid. i found places that'd do a recon for £75, but when i tried to find recon kits to do it myself, there was no luck.
not really wanting to, because the pump is heavy and access limited, i bit the bullet to to set about removing and dismantling the unit (because i had to measure up for spares, anyway). luckily, jobs like this is where being childsized comes in handy, with my little hands :biggrin:
'tis often the cry, "ade's got little hands, he can do it", and evermore so with things becoming smaller and more compact.

anyways, the issue with the pump was simply that it's odd carbon-brush spring arrangement was clogged with dust; a clean with parafin, a rinse with brake-cleaner and all's well. although, the end-cap is now held on with zip-ties.

 

[BoundCoder]

I tend to prefer fixing things myself, not for cost, but because dealing with service guys tends to be a huge pain in the ass. Most things are less effort and more knowing what needs to be done, and with the internet, it's getting easier and easier to find that out.

There are a handful of things though where it's worth it to me to pay someone else to do it however. Roofing is a good example. One could probably replace their own roof, it's not a difficult concept, but it's hard, messy, back breaking work. And some stuff requires enough specialty tools or specific experience that it's worth it to hire someone unless you're really keen on doing it yourself for the sake of it.

 

[dogboy]

I used to do all my own work on my cars because I couldn't afford to have them repaired. My wife and I bought our first house and it was next door to her parents. Oddly enough, they had told us it was for sale and affordable for us. Anyway, I had the starter go in my 340 Duster, so I was trying to get it out, which seemed impossible. I got the two bolts out, but it wouldn't fit up through the tie rods and connecting rods. My father-in-law said, "Turn the steering wheel" which seemed idiotic, but I did it. When I did, I heard the started hit the driveway. Little did I know, turning the front wheels to the right moved the rods which opened up a space big enough to get the starter through.

It is amazing what the pros know, even my dad-in-law. Now, I take my cars in to get repaired because they're impossible to work on, and because I'm getting too old to lay on my back on my driveway. I also make more money than I did back then. I still do house repairs, etc.

 

[ZombifiedKitty]

I just rebuilt the front end on my well used car, few hundred bucks in parts would have been over a thousand to put on. All it really cost me was $80 to have it professionally aligned in a couple hours. Some ignition gremlins popped up and ended up being a bad section of wiring harness and coil last year, plus some PCV system tubing I bought was $300 in labor. That time wasn't the greatest deal but I had my car back in a day.

Generally speaking neither my family or I have the cash to spare for professional services unless it's things like a water heater, HVAC, cutting down trees, or things that need to be inspected. Time is also a deciding factor. I usually need time to remember/build the skill set to tackle something.

But I do my own rigging on things up to a couple thousand pounds, have a home machine shop, five different welders to choose from depending on my mood, framing and trim isn't a problem and neither is mounting the odd window or door. I've pulled and rebuilt an engine, laid tongue and groove and vinyl flooring, paint, even picked up a 24 foot sail boat to custom fit a trailer to it and acted as diesel mechanic for the same customer 100 miles from home. So at some point DIY doesn't apply to me depending on the job. Paint and plumbing I hate though, especially in kitchen cabinets or behind dishwashers.

 

[ade]

.... five different welders to choose from depending on my mood,

hmm :chin:
i've only got three , two MIG and a mini stick. one MIG was free and had a big reel of wire, but it needs degreasing, as i found out the other week when i used it for the first time.
i'd like a decent TIG, but i'm put off by the cost [versus amount of use].

 

[NappiedTruckDriver]

I do my own home electrical and plumbing (not gas) work , on my car i will do most things even computer work but i get garage to do wheel tracking and Headlight alignment ,gardening do my self with help of family
But i would get removals firm to move house as i can't hire large enough truck here in uk with out operators licence

 

[ade]

But i would get removals firm to move house as i can't hire large enough truck here in uk with out operators licence

don't you have 'grandad rights' on the 7.5 tonners?

just double-checked: you'd be exempt from tacho and that silly new thing they have [if you've got grandad rights on your licence]

 

[NappiedTruckDriver]

don't you have 'grandad rights' on the 7.5 tonners?

I have a cat C Class 2
But you can't hire them privately , and if you had to do multiple trips the fuel would out weigh the cost of removals firm

 

[ZombifiedKitty]

@ade So I started with a Lincoln SP175+ mig, got a Miller Syncrowave 250 stick/TIG, then a Miller Dialarc 250 AC/DC serial #2, a Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DC, and a Thermal Arc 161STL inverter stick/TIG. I mostly do stick and TIG welding after my stint for a major gas turbine maker. Used to recondition turbine blades with weld buildups, couple nice x-ray certifications from it on Inconel and Hastelloy.

*Gets ready to zoom off to a munch*

 

[ade]

@ade So I started with a Lincoln SP175+ mig, got a Miller Syncrowave 250 stick/TIG, then a Miller Dialarc 250 AC/DC serial #2, a Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DC, and a Thermal Arc 161STL inverter stick/TIG. I mostly do stick and TIG welding after my stint for a major gas turbine maker. Used to recondition turbine blades with weld buildups, couple nice x-ray certifications from it on Inconel and Hastelloy.

now i'm just horny :biggrin:

 

[ZombifiedKitty]

now i'm just horny :biggrin:

Muahaha! Both the Dialarc and Idealarc were each under $300 also.

 

[Ringer]

Growing up on a farm it was all winter in the shop making sure everything from tractors and combines to plows and bailers worked for the next year.
At a very young age Dad had me in the shop with him showing me how it was done.
Today no farm and I don't want to even thing about repairing my pick up. But I do most of the repairs around the house.

 

[GoldDragonAurkarm]

Yesterday I rewired a lamp. It's a very 1950s lamp that our construction crew was going to throw out because it was a very 1950s lamp with a very damaged cord. I picked it out of the pile, bought a cord, and rewired it in about 15 minutes.

I wired in the 220 line for the dryer when we moved into this house. That was particularly fun, adding a new circuit into the box by the light of a battery-powered camping lantern (box is in the basement, and the deck blocks any light from the windows). Apparently I did ok with it, since five years on the dryer still works and the house is still here.

I've repaired various things on the old cars (and for the record, anyone who says an old car is easier to work on than a new car is a liar! The bits are easier to get to in new cars, most repairs involve swapping a sensor and resetting the computer, the designs are generally streamlined, there isn't a rat's nest of vacuum shit under the hood, and the bits aren't as badly rusted into place.). I've repaired various things on the new cars. I rebuilt the entire brake system on a friend's 1999 Chevy Cavalier after he'd left it sit in the parking lot of his apartment for two years without even starting it.

If I think I can do it reasonably, I'll give it a try. If I'm worried about botching it (i.e. rebuilding a car engine) or think it'll take forever, I'll pay to have it done. Honestly, though, sometime's it's kinda fun to accomplish something like that on my own. The lamp, for instance-it was an easy job, and most people would have said the lamp should have gone to the dumpster anyways (Mr. Aurkarm included), but I like it and I fixed it.

- - - Updated - - -

Yesterday I rewired a lamp. It's a very 1950s lamp that our construction crew was going to throw out because it was a very 1950s lamp with a very damaged cord. I picked it out of the pile, bought a cord, and rewired it in about 15 minutes.

I wired in the 220 line for the dryer when we moved into this house. That was particularly fun, adding a new circuit into the box by the light of a battery-powered camping lantern (box is in the basement, and the deck blocks any light from the windows). Apparently I did ok with it, since five years on the dryer still works and the house is still here.

I've repaired various things on the old cars (and for the record, anyone who says an old car is easier to work on than a new car is a liar! The bits are easier to get to in new cars, most repairs involve swapping a sensor and resetting the computer, the designs are generally streamlined, there isn't a rat's nest of vacuum shit under the hood, and the bits aren't as badly rusted into place.). I've repaired various things on the new cars. I rebuilt the entire brake system on a friend's 1999 Chevy Cavalier after he'd left it sit in the parking lot of his apartment for two years without even starting it.

If I think I can do it reasonably, I'll give it a try. If I'm worried about botching it (i.e. rebuilding a car engine) or think it'll take forever, I'll pay to have it done. Honestly, though, sometime's it's kinda fun to accomplish something like that on my own. The lamp, for instance-it was an easy job, and most people would have said the lamp should have gone to the dumpster anyways (Mr. Aurkarm included), but I like it and I fixed it.

Fun stuff, doing it for yourself!

- - - Updated - - -

Yesterday I rewired a lamp. It's a very 1950s lamp that our construction crew was going to throw out because it was a very 1950s lamp with a very damaged cord. I picked it out of the pile, bought a cord, and rewired it in about 15 minutes.

I wired in the 220 line for the dryer when we moved into this house. That was particularly fun, adding a new circuit into the box by the light of a battery-powered camping lantern (box is in the basement, and the deck blocks any light from the windows). Apparently I did ok with it, since five years on the dryer still works and the house is still here.

I've repaired various things on the old cars (and for the record, anyone who says an old car is easier to work on than a new car is a liar! The bits are easier to get to in new cars, most repairs involve swapping a sensor and resetting the computer, the designs are generally streamlined, there isn't a rat's nest of vacuum shit under the hood, and the bits aren't as badly rusted into place.). I've repaired various things on the new cars. I rebuilt the entire brake system on a friend's 1999 Chevy Cavalier after he'd left it sit in the parking lot of his apartment for two years without even starting it.

If I think I can do it reasonably, I'll give it a try. If I'm worried about botching it (i.e. rebuilding a car engine) or think it'll take forever, I'll pay to have it done. Honestly, though, sometime's it's kinda fun to accomplish something like that on my own. The lamp, for instance-it was an easy job, and most people would have said the lamp should have gone to the dumpster anyways (Mr. Aurkarm included), but I like it and I fixed it.

Fun stuff, doing it for yourself!

 

[AnalogRTO]

I tend to do a lot of DIY stuff myself around the house and yard. I consider myself fortunate that I got my father's sensibilities on all of it. His attitude has always been that if you take your time and understand what is going on, you can do it right. He taught me to work on cars, houses, etc.

I've re-modeled bathrooms, added light fixtures, and done plenty of stuff. Any more, if I consider the time I would spend on something to be not worth what I could pay a professional to do it right (or I don't have the time), then I pay someone else to do it. A lot of the time, I do things myself. I have a car in my garage that is a project for me, a 1931 Chevrolet Five Passenger Coupe that is on its way to becoming a street rod. I've pulled the body off the frame, pulled apart the frame and started the build process. I've got a new Mustang II front end welded in place already, boxed the frame rails all the way from front to back, and added a new center X-section. I'm ready to put a Ford 9" rear in it, and I've already got the engine and transmission mounted. I'm starting work on replacing the wood in the body with steel, so it's a long process. Not one you can farm out easily.

Cool to hear others agree that it's worth doing a lot of this yourself!!!

 

[AnalogRTO]

The advantage to knowing and having experience of how to do it yourself even when finding it more convenient or necessary to hire it out... you have a much better chance of spotting would-be shoddy work, generally more respect from the contractors, and you're less likely to be rooked too... :2thumbsup:
-Marka

Oh yes, I get a hell of a lot more respect from mechanics when I show them the work I do on my own vehicle. I once replaced front wheel hubs, control arm bushings, and struts on the front end of a 2000 Chevy Impala and was too tired to do the rear struts, so I brought it to my mechanic. He checked over my work and was mightily impressed because most people wouldn't even begin to know how to do the work, let alone attempt it or get it right!

My pool heater had been one where I originally didn't have time to mess with it, but I took the time after the second company no-showed for the appointment time. When they did show up, if they had reset the internal switch and let us know what the problem was, I would have happily paid them the $95/hr labor they charged even though the diagnostic call was supposed to be free. It would have meant not having to mess with it myself. Instead, they tried to make up an expensive problem that didn't exist. Nope, won't let them near my equipment again.

 

[ade]

Yesterday I rewired a lamp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHN1JSRpeCE

this isn't the first time that we've seen the likeness between you and Earl, is it? :biggrin:
(btw, the 'widescreen' in the vid is fake: just two black bars placed over the action. i've got the Earl boxset )