DIY guys... where do you draw the line?

[vash]

car stuff. i dont think i will do bodywork.

[VaSteve]

For me it's the cold. I hate working in the cold.

- My BMW is filthy (the wife drives it and likes to splash in the puddles). It's too cold to wash it myself. If I didn't spend all day sick on the couch yesterday, I would have been at the car wash as much as it pains me and they do such a lousy job.

- I'm still trying to get the 911 through emissions. I should have done this over the summer. It's too cold to run it out in the driveway and fool with that little 3mm allen wrench. Since I don't drive it often, I'm still debating taking it somewhere to balance it out and get it passed.

Other things I have paid for or will pay for...mostly due to time constraints.

- I need a path put in next to the house. I built a retaining wall by myself over the course of a 4 day weekend last year. I have never been more tired. I couldn't move. Someone else is doing the path because the digging will kill me.

- I paid for a fence, because we wanted the dog to run around in the yard and I just didn't have time with my schedule to build it. I paid $1700 for 2 sides and a couple gates. They got it done in 1 day and I know under my yard is solid rock.

- I paid for someone to paint a couple of rooms before we moved in. I'm a perfectionist and it's a brand new house. Fortunately this guy was a perfectionist too. Money well spent.

- I had a deck built. It required a hole dug as deep as the basement for any footers that were within 5' of the house. That required an 8 foot deep hole. Again, the yard is very rocky and 8' is deep when you dig it yourself.

- Targa roof. I knew that if I attempted this and it didn't come out looking right, I would be furious. Did I mention I'm a perfectionist. It didn't come out quite as I'd hoped, but probably better than I could have done.

- I am not supposed to do electrical work (says the wife). I want to build out a room in my basement. I will wire it up and pay an electrician an hours work to look it over.

Most other stuff I will do.

[Tim Hancock]

I am 39, have owned cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, street bikes, snowmobiles and airplanes (only one of which was purchased new).

I have paid for tires to be mounted and balanced (although I have been looking for a used tire mounter and electronic balancer).

I have paid for rotors to be turned.

I have paid to have heads and other engine parts to be machined.

I have paid to have avionics repaired.

Everything else including building two airplanes (I even built an oven to blow my own canopy/windshield), repainting/restoring multiple cars, rebuilding engines, building & restoring violins & guns, roofing, pouring concrete etc etc, I have done myself.

I am completely off the deep-end when it comes to DIY projects. I get immense satisfaction from learning/mastering new skills (tig welding, woodworking, bodywork, etc etc). I built my own engine yoke, CIS tester, cam nut tool.

I think I have a problem! (so does my wife!)

[JavaBrewer]

I'm very handy with home improvement stuff but absolutely suck when it comes to working on cars. After years of good intentions that ultimately end up in pain and additional expense DIY car stuff is a non-starter for me.

Others I will immediately hire out include:

Landscaping projects that involve digging or heavy materials
Heavy demolition (tile floors, counters, baths, etc...)
Moving

I'm seriously considering a 'once in a lifetime' project soon - buying a lot and building a custom home.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
Brake lines?!? I'm assuming you mean the flexible brake lines?

That's a relatively easy job. Screw 'em the old ones off, screw the new ones on, bleed the brakes and you're done.

Reading that I would go into the garage and proceed as follows:

Try to un screw existing line connections but find they are so corroded and frozen that I have to demolish stuff to get them off while suffering 2 major cuts that need stitches. Then trying to install the new lines realize that they are not EXACTLY the same and won't fit without the special tool and "a little" welding. Finally, exhausted and bloodied, I bleed the brake system and end up spraying brake fluid all over the wifes car and garage floor forcing another trip to the store for more brake fluid. On the way I stop by the local body shop and make an appointment to repaint the wifes car...

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
Brake lines?!? I'm assuming you mean the flexible brake lines?

That's a relatively easy job. Screw 'em the old ones off, screw the new ones on, bleed the brakes and you're done.

LOL! It must be great to work on socal cars!

It started out as such.. the flexible lines were a bit rotted. Most of them came out relatively easy using a combination of penetrating oil, heat and profanity. But a couple were rusted in and broke off at the fitting. Then I found that a couple of the steel lines were badly rusted, then I noticed that the proportioning valve was siezed. The proportioning valve is mounted using 6mm hex screws that are guaranteed to seize into the aluminum housing (STUPID), so it had to be drilled off.

[Drago]

I have John Walker for my car.
I do small stuff on the wife's kid hauler but mostly it goes to the shop.

Around the house my track record has been diminishing. Built a shed a couple of years ago but since then I've pretty much been hiring professionals because either the job is too big for one person (big ass deck w/ a couple of large arbors, complete landscape redesign) or I just had no clue where to start (front and rear lawn sprinkler system...easier to have the landscapers do it). In my younger (re: poorer) years I probably would have tacked all of those and screwed up half of them. House needs painting this spring/summer. I'll be paying a professional for that one.

[stevepaa]

Have done nearly everything and then when we decide that it is not feasible for me to do it again we hire it out.
I paid to have someone install our new front door. Beautiful thing in mahogany with glass inserts.
I paid to have someone replace my fences and retaining wall that I put in some 20 years ago.
Next time I need sheetrock put on a ceiling, I will hire that out. That was not fun.
I don't do transmission rebuilds.
I did one roof about 30 years ago. We just paid someone to do our current house.

I am planning to redo the kids bathroom and the laudry room during the winter. All new cabinets, fixtures, floors and applicances.

[Flatbutt1]

After practically building my own house and doing endless repairs on POS car, I am now in the position to reward tradesmen for their hardwork whilst I sit back, checkbook at the ready. I only work on my bikes.

[HardDrive]

I draw the line under John Walkers name in the phone book.

I barely have time to eat, let alone work on my P-car.

Lets see, given how expensive parts are, I can waste days working on the car, only save the labor cost, and live in fear that its wrong. OR, I can pay John to fix it perfectly (a lot of times sorting out other minor things along the way).

[Oh Haha]

My wife and I have done just about everything on our house except for a new main header beam and the family room carpet. I put down the underlayment, replacing old repairs by the PO along the way.
I am NOT a carpenter, nor do Iclaim to be one. I have lots of neat, expensive tools but I still have a difficult time in finishing a project that I feel is professional looking. My wife is happy but I know where the mistakes are. I do all of the maintenance and upgrades to our cars/ lawnmowers, etc. The only things I do not do are tire mountings, body work, and alignments. I have peformed all upgrades to my 911 as I don't believe in paying somebody for something I can do myself on a Sunday afternoon. I don't exactly have a Porsche repair shop in the neighborhood, either. I like working on my cars as it is good therapy for me.

[yellowline]

My dad (not a carpenter by trade or even hobby) built our house, with the help of an architect/master carpenter in the family. And a lot of relatives to help with the work.

I can only hope that someday I'll be able to do something like that. It must save money, and if you can do the job right, it gets done.

Me, I'll handle yardwork, snow removal, paint, change oil, mount summer/snow tires on the family cars, etc. I don't go too far, not yet.

[Superman]

Originally posted by HardDrive
I draw the line under John Walkers name in the phone book.
I can pay John to fix it perfectly (a lot of times sorting out other minor things along the way).

That's one of the really cool things about John. He's more of a 911 doctor than he is a mechanic. According to my observations, it is rare for John to quietly collect a check for his services and parts. Instead, there is an entire conversation that usually begins "I noticed your _________ was loose so I tightened it and your _________ was out of adjustment so I adjusted it. The _______ was rusted shut and I had one lying around so I put it on. I centered the ______ as much as I could but eventually you're really going to need a new one, but you're good to go for now..........."

He doesn't do this in the same way and for the same reasons other shops do. In fact, he likes to just fix things he sees and just tell the customer it was no big deal, have a nice day.

Me? I am okay doing a few things on ordinary cars, but they're often frustrating. I'll do anything on a 911 and thoroughly enjoy it. these cars are quality, in case you're wondering what quality looks like. Materials AND design.

As far as homes go, I pretty much like it all, except for crawl spaces and attics that have insulation in them. Dirt crawl spaces are kinda fun. I'm a sick man.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

neurosurgery and self-tattooing (tried once, had it covered up)

[Dixie]

I figured I could do a rear bearing in 30 minutes or so...

I see your problem. It's not what you can or can not do, it's how much time you estimate for the task (Are you in software development by chance. )

Here is how you should have estimated the task...

• Base factor - Rear bearing: 30 minutes
• Multiply by the "Never done it before factor-of-three."
• Add the constant "two hours to go buy the special tool trip."
• Add the thirty minute "Beer fetchin' trip."
• Include the one-minute "Y'all watch this!" stunt.
• Add the thirty-minute "Does this need stitches?" discussion.
• Include the "Now I understand, let's do it the right way, effort"

Final estimate to change rear bearing....

Two days.

[Evans, Marv]

I'm trying to get away from feeling like I have to do everything. I want to have more time to do things like hike, kayak and bike. The problem is that everytime I have someone else do something, the next time I take it apart or look closely at it, I find out what a crappy job they did and feel I should have done it myself. That keeps me busy doing all this stuff myself.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally posted by Evans, Marv
I'm trying to get away from feeling like I have to do everything. I want to have more time to do things like hike, kayak and bike. The problem is that everytime I have someone else do something, the next time I take it apart or look closely at it, I find out what a crappy job they did and feel I should have done it myself. That keeps me busy doing all this stuff myself.

So true! It is becoming very difficult to find someone who can just change a tire without issue nowadays!

[oldE]

This is pretty much an individual thing, governed by several factors, such as: where you are with your comfort level with the job, the time available, (that can work both ways) and the degree of difficulty/availability or special tools factor.
I've built my house (except for the foundation, rough plumbing & wiring), barn and garage, and once took a two week vacation to re-do the entire basement after water damage.
I'll tear down a Briggs & Stratton motor, but not the Porsche's, yet. (Although I am getting the parts together to upgrade the tensioners)
I like Rob's "Never done that before" time multiplier factor. Don't forget the 'helpful friend add 50%' factor.
There are the jobs you just should not tackle without a clear picture of what is entailed. Then there are jobs you shouldn't have attempted, but got through anyway. Those are learning experiences. You learn something every time you do a job.. Sometimes, you learn you never want to do THAT again.
Les

[Par911]

Well, after you've DIY'ed body work, everything else is a walk in the park.
(speaking from experience)

That said, I only outsource alignment work on my p-car.

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by Capt. Carrera
I see your problem. It's not what you can or can not do, it's how much time you estimate for the task (Are you in software development by chance. )

Here is how you should have estimated the task...

• Base factor - Rear bearing: 30 minutes
• Multiply by the "Never done it before factor-of-three."
• Add the constant "two hours to go buy the special tool trip."
• Add the thirty minute "Beer fetchin' trip."
• Include the one-minute "Y'all watch this!" stunt.
• Add the thirty-minute "Does this need stitches?" discussion.
• Include the "Now I understand, let's do it the right way, effort"

Final estimate to change rear bearing....

Two days.

LOL... often true, but in this case I got the bearing done in under 30 minutes. It was the brake lines that I gave up on, and not because it was taking more time than I expected so much as I was just hating the process.