Author Topic: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?  (Read 6107 times)

frugalecon

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 730
Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« on: April 25, 2017, 04:47:21 PM »
So I repaired our front loading washer (needed a new flow meter), and it gave me great satisfaction to repair something using a part ordered on Amazon and information from a YouTube video. I figure I saved a couple of bills, plus the annoyance of waiting for the technician. Am I kind of freakish to have a big grin when I pull that off?

boarder42

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9332
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #1 on: April 25, 2017, 04:49:12 PM »
yep its super fun to DIY things.  when you fix it or install it ... man does it feel good.  also you know it was done right vs someone else doing it.  i have problems trusting people to do things the right way.  and i will stand over their shoulder and watch.  if i'm gonna do that anyways i may as well install it myself.

CNM

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 700
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2017, 05:07:04 PM »
Frankly, I am usually not that satisfied with my DIY projects.  Yes, sometimes there's an awesome quick fix that I do well and it feels awesome.

A lot of other DIY things- like home improvements- end up not that great.  It never really looks that good, particularly given the time to do it. 

frugalecon

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 730
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2017, 05:43:13 PM »
yep its super fun to DIY things.  when you fix it or install it ... man does it feel good.  also you know it was done right vs someone else doing it.  i have problems trusting people to do things the right way.  and i will stand over their shoulder and watch.  if i'm gonna do that anyways i may as well install it myself.

I have seen so much bad professional painting...I would always prefer to do it myself.

Well Respected Man

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 237
  • Location: About Town
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2017, 06:10:50 PM »
Frankly, I am usually not that satisfied with my DIY projects.  Yes, sometimes there's an awesome quick fix that I do well and it feels awesome.

A lot of other DIY things- like home improvements- end up not that great.  It never really looks that good, particularly given the time to do it.
+1

 I do think that part of it has to be accepting a slightly half-assed job sometimes. Another part is that the more you do it, the better you get at it. Accumulating the right tools is a big part of experience as well. One thing I'm going to do starting this week is help demo some windows on the current work on my house, and gain insight into the construction of the house. This may help down the road when I replace other windows, especially if I ask lots of "dumb" questions.

EnjoyIt

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1386
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2017, 07:03:01 PM »
Whenever I do a DIY job, especially a manly one, my penis grows by two inches for several days.

SpeedReader

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 192
  • Age: 58
  • Location: Vancouver, WA
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2017, 07:20:50 PM »
Totally!  I'm not handy at home repairs but I've been canning/growing/DIY'ing an increasing proportion of our food and household cleaners.  It feels great. 

intellectsucks

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 254
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2017, 07:35:48 PM »
When it goes well, it makes me feel incredible right away. When I fuck up (either regularly or royally), it takes some time to feel good about the experience I gained.

frugalecon

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 730
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2017, 07:38:43 PM »
Whenever I do a DIY job, especially a manly one, my penis grows by two inches for several days.

I didn't want to mention this, but I can't really dispute it.

ItalianGirl

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 17
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2017, 08:32:51 PM »
I was just thinking of posting something about this today. How do you determine whether a DIY is really worth doing it yourself or paying someone?

For example, it just took me nearly 3 days to groom my large shaggy dog. First, a few hours to bathe/dry and brush her; another 2 hours or so to rough cut her down with a #10 blade which looked horrible. Then, I decided to break down and buy the correct clipper blade ($25 bucks!) and today I spent another hour cleaning up the bad cut job with a #4. I already had the other supplies. In the end, I am feeling triumphant that I saved the family $50 but GEEZUS I certainly earned it.

The other thing I struggle with concerning "Chore" type DIY's is that I work really hard all week (Im the CEO of my own company) and I feel resentful sometimes when my entire weekend is filled with DIY chores in an effort to FIRE... (cleaning/ food prep to save on going out/ gardening to grow cheaper food/etc).  I'm doing a good job at being proud of not spending/ saving but I wonder how other people find the balance.

bogart

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1094
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2017, 08:41:16 PM »
Depends.  I have replaced enough faucets over the years that the thrill of lying under whatever sink and thinking, "OK, now I need to get the wrench around that nut over there so I can loosen that part" has largely faded.  But I'd way rather change my own oil than sit in Jiffy Lube (or wherever), so there's that.

h82goslw

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 182
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2017, 05:36:32 AM »
Whenever I do a DIY job, especially a manly one, my penis grows by two inches for several days.

THAT'S WHY my wife keeps adding on to the list of projects that I need to do around the house!

Revelry

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 52
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #12 on: April 26, 2017, 06:34:00 AM »
Frankly, I am usually not that satisfied with my DIY projects.  Yes, sometimes there's an awesome quick fix that I do well and it feels awesome.

A lot of other DIY things- like home improvements- end up not that great.  It never really looks that good, particularly given the time to do it.
+1
+1+1
I swapped my broken iphone screen with a good one from a nonfunctioning phone.  $7 tools instead of $120 "Apple Genius" to do it.  I was very pleased.
But most of the time I'm dissatisfied.  I see the flaws, either from poor execution or lack of knowledge.

Laura33

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3479
  • Location: Mid-Atlantic
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #13 on: April 26, 2017, 06:36:30 AM »
Depends.  If it is routine chore-type stuff, I tend to resent it for the reasons ItalianGirl noted.  OTOH, if I actually tried something that I didn't really know how to do and figured it out by myself, I feel awesome.  Like the first time I made jam out of my berries and it actually set up and tasted good and OMG it *worked* and no one has died of botulism yet.  Every time I look at my little stockpile of jams, I feel awesome (it's not huge -- I only get maybe 12-14 half-pint jars a year -- but it's more than enough for us).

sith02

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 24
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #14 on: April 26, 2017, 06:51:49 AM »
I do feel great even when I accomplished a DIY with video tutorials.

MightyAl

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 132
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #15 on: April 26, 2017, 07:00:34 AM »
I have discovered more enjoyment in mundane tasks after reading about mindfulness from a buddhist monk.  If you are going to wash the dishes then wash the dishes.  Don't be concerned with other tasks or things you need to do because you are no longer present.  I find when I take this attitude to things I would rather not do they become much more enjoyable.  I focus on the task at hand and the minute details of doing the job well.  It gave me a whole new perspective on these things and I find I do even more things around the house because of this.

I screened in our porch last year and it looks fabulous.  I do notice some of the flaws and the improvement in finish as I went through the process.  My wife and others do not see what I see and it has prompted me to build more things with wood.  My wife wanted a "chicken" stool so she could sit with the chickens in the evening.  I took a bunch of scrap from the porch and other projects and threw together a stool.  It is really neat looking because I used rough hewn cedar and it has a primitive look to it.  It is not perfect and I have a few ideas for the construction of my next stool.

Sorry I got a little off subject but I thought the insight was prudent to the conversation and hearing about being afraid to try and tackle DIY tasks.

MMM98

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 113
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #16 on: April 26, 2017, 07:38:13 AM »
After thirty years of DIYing I can't fathom of any other way.  I am shocked what other people pay for simple tasks or how coworkers and friends give me 'the look' when I tell them I did it myself..

But satisfaction, no it is a duty.  Often a burden, it is assumed that I will do it that I will magically know whatever it is.  The dishwasher gurgles, the car hesitates, plug a tire,  the couch does not recline yep got it.  Save money check, scars from missteps taken - done,  thousands of dollars of  Tools galore, knowledge that no one and I mean no one wants - cross check. 

All in all I would not have it any other way but there are days that I ponder what it would be like to just play dumb and simply call someone.  I say this after I was burned face to waist fixing a piece of equipment in the backyard, it does change your perspective.

gardeningandgreen

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 326
  • Location: Minnesota
    • Gardening and Green
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #17 on: April 26, 2017, 08:16:38 AM »
I love to DIY things. My husband and I built a garage last summer and every time we go in it we are excited about the thing we did. It is awesome to know that you can be self sufficient if you want to be.

Chris22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3770
  • Location: Chicago NW Suburbs
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #18 on: April 26, 2017, 08:22:12 AM »
There's a range.  There are some projects which seem daunting, or I save a significant amount of money (DIY brake job on a car is huge bang for the buck) or otherwise make some creative repair and it's great. 

Then there are a lot of things which are just "that's what I should do."  Fix a leaking faucet?  Unclog a drain?  Change the oil?  Fix a dead outlet?  That's just homeowner stuff.  I don't mind doing it, but I don't get a particular thrill out of it either, any more than I get a thrill from doing the laundry or making lunch or mowing the lawn. 

Then there's stuff where I get it mostly right, or it ends up looking sloppy (my fault or just the imperfect nature of the project), or I'm convinced it's just going to fail again and I get annoyed.  Painting is like this for me; if I paint it the flaws will scream at me forever; if someone else paints it, I'll never notice the imperfections.  These are the things I usually farm out. 

PhilB

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5703
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #19 on: April 26, 2017, 08:58:52 AM »
I love it when I do a good job, it bugs me when I don't - but not as much as when I pay someone who then does a bad job.
I completely replumbed the house when we extended and was down at the DIY shop so often I got to be recognised by some of the staff.  One day the lady on the checkout asked if I was a professional plumber.  The look on her face was priceless when I said 'No,  I'm a Chartered Accountant.  The plumbing is just a hobby.'

MasterStache

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2912
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #20 on: April 26, 2017, 09:40:59 AM »
Absolutely. Everything form fixing my son's broken computer screen for $30 and 10 minutes of work (quotes of $200), to soldering a new $1 capacitor into an old TV to make it work again. Building a beautiful farmhouse table. Rehabbing 3 bathrooms and redoing an entire kitchen. Just to name some things off the top of my head. I love DIY and brings me great satisfaction constantly learning, creating, fixing and/or building.

Cpa Cat

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1692
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #21 on: April 26, 2017, 09:50:30 AM »
I enjoy learning new things. So initially, the first time I do a DIY project, I do feel satisfaction for having challenged myself and for having learned how something works.

But after the initial learning experience, it just becomes another chore to add to my list of chores.

On some harder projects, I've gotten about halfway through and said, "Well, I'll never be doing this again - because it sucks."

ItalianGirl

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 17
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #22 on: April 26, 2017, 11:45:16 AM »
Depends.  If it is routine chore-type stuff, I tend to resent it for the reasons ItalianGirl noted.  OTOH, if I actually tried something that I didn't really know how to do and figured it out by myself, I feel awesome.  Like the first time I made jam out of my berries and it actually set up and tasted good and OMG it *worked* and no one has died of botulism yet.  Every time I look at my little stockpile of jams, I feel awesome (it's not huge -- I only get maybe 12-14 half-pint jars a year -- but it's more than enough for us).

Yes, anything related to squirreling things away has much more satisfaction for me than grooming the dog for example! I've canned all sorts of stuff and it's remarkably satisfying. Pickles are the best!

Monocle Money Mouth

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 719
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #23 on: April 26, 2017, 05:08:39 PM »
I enjoy DIY projects. Except when I fuck them up. Take for instance when I was changing the oil on my wife's car a few weeks ago. Instead of driving up the ramps, I managed to fire the driver side ramp under the car and knock the wheels out of alignment :\ There was no other obvious damage to the car, but that was a bad morning.

WranglerBowman

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 214
  • Location: DMV
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #24 on: April 27, 2017, 09:55:19 AM »
Whenever I do a DIY job, especially a manly one, my penis grows by two inches for several days.

THAT'S WHY my wife keeps adding on to the list of projects that I need to do around the house!

I DIY everything all the time.  Every evening and a majority of my weekends I'm working on something, house maintenance, car, truck, camper, tractors, backhoe, saw mill, etc.  After so much consistent DIYing my wife just made me complete my 2nd penis reduction surgery...

On a side note to that there's really not much that I don't do myself, in fact the only things I can really think of that I haven't done myself in the last decade or so was dental work, a shoulder rebuild,...o yea and the 2nd penis reduction surgery...stuff like that I'll hire out. 

Chris22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3770
  • Location: Chicago NW Suburbs
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #25 on: April 27, 2017, 10:04:47 AM »
On a side note to that there's really not much that I don't do myself, in fact the only things I can really think of that I haven't done myself in the last decade or so was dental work, a shoulder rebuild,...o yea and the 2nd penis reduction surgery...stuff like that I'll hire out.

I'm very good at fixing things, but I'm less good at the craftsman-y things that have to end up looking good.  Frame a wall?  No problem at all.  Hang the drywall?  If it's simple.  Something complex and in a visible area?  I know I'm no match for a pro and that imperfections will annoy me so I'll hire out.  Also, what takes them 2 days might take me 2 weeks, there's that component as well. 

TravelJunkyQC

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 466
  • Age: 37
  • Location: Québec City, Canada
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #26 on: April 27, 2017, 11:07:42 AM »
I have rarely felt myself to be a real badass bitch* as much as after changing the oil in my car or replacing a toilet seal. I bought a condo as an investment with a friend, and she's not at all manually inclined (changing a lightbulb is difficult to her). Anything that needs repairing, I take care of it. It's annoying, but I also love that I don't depend on anyone else to do small DIY projects.

*I use this expression with affection for myself - not as an insult.

hoosier

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 118
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #27 on: April 27, 2017, 11:15:36 AM »
I grew up in a household that never hired anyone for anything.  DIY feels normal.  I feel lazy when I rarely pay somebody to do something.

HipGnosis

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1824
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #28 on: April 27, 2017, 12:35:52 PM »
I grew up in a household that never hired anyone for anything.  DIY feels normal.  I feel lazy when I rarely pay somebody to do something.
+1 
I feel old when I have to pay someone to do something unless the cost of the tools for one-time use is greater than the cost of the service.

Fish Sweet

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 532
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #29 on: April 27, 2017, 01:20:14 PM »
In contrast to some of the other posters, I love to DIY a lot of routine stuff-- cleaning, of course, cooking, hemming clothes, growing herbs.  I like that it's something I need to do fairly often, so every time I do it I'm getting the CHA-CHING feeling of saving money, and that repetition means I'll have an opportunity to get better over time.  These sorts of things tend to have immediate and fun payoffs too-- it took me years to learn to cook a steak well, but eating four years worth of overdone steak wasn't exactly a chore either. :3

For big projects that I'm doing for the first (and maybe only time), I get very anxious that I'll fuck it all up due to my lack of experience, fuck up whatever I'm working on big time, and need to pay more to get it fixed or redone in the end.  Also, big projects often require things that aren't available or financially or physically practical for my living situation (small apartment with limited space, no workshop area, few tools and no place to store them).  But seeing all of the DIY home stuff from MMM and a lot of the posters makes me a bit envious-- maybe one day I'll be able to join their ranks.

EnjoyIt

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1386
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #30 on: April 27, 2017, 01:42:01 PM »

On a side note to that there's really not much that I don't do myself, in fact the only things I can really think of that I haven't done myself in the last decade or so was dental work, a shoulder rebuild,...o yea and the 2nd penis reduction surgery...stuff like that I'll hire out.

That was hysterical.

runewell

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 416
  • Age: 52
  • actuary
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #31 on: April 28, 2017, 06:31:55 AM »
No I get much more satisfaction when the wife helps.

BudgetSlasher

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1212
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #32 on: April 28, 2017, 06:35:17 PM »
I've spent the last two evening after work breaking down 17 4'x8' sheets of 3/4 plywood into 63 pieces, not counting the off cuts. So what I feel is sore.

When the project is complete I am certain I will enjoy the fact that I did it for years to come, as I do with most of my projects that are visible.

The ones that I don't always feel satisfaction from are the ones you can't see. This includes the chore type ones that have already been mentioned and also things that are hidden; a couple examples would be the plumbing work that is hidden in behind drywall or the few thousand feet of electrical wire that has been run throughout the house.

Manguy888

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 256
  • Location: Rhode Island
    • EA Mann, Writer
Re: Do you feel great satisfaction when you DIY?
« Reply #33 on: May 03, 2017, 11:22:33 AM »
I get a huge amount of satisfaction from even small DIY jobs. I fixed my fridge this weekend and I floated on a cloud of self-satisfaction for about 12 hours afterwards.

I'll throw in a caveat, though. I tend to only enjoy DIY where I'm fixing a product using parts. Meaning I look up the model of car/washer/fridge, order the correct part, and use video/web resources to learn how to implement the fix. These always go really well for me, they finish cleanly, and I save a lot of money.

This isn't true of home projects or anything where I'm creating from scratch. I've done lots of home projects and I always leave them 90%: baseboards not painted, final trim not installed, garden not mulched. I hate the endless trips to the store, the problems I encounter. Every 2008 Scion is basically the same but every house is unique, so the web isn't as perfectly useful. I generally feel bad when I see my subpar work.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!