An utter waste of time

[cashflyer]

I'll give you $50 for your grill, if you will offer free shipping to my door.

[VincentVega]

I struggle with this every day. Why pay the plumber/electrician/mechanic/contractor... when I can do that, learn something and get some satisfaction from completed a task. So instead of enjoying my time outside of work I'm on my back in the crawlspace, sucking down insulation in the attack, fixing the chainsaw or trying to find the new poison ivy remedy. Balance, I need to find it. Havent touched the duc, sailboat, kayak... yet this year.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by rwest

Hard to put a price on the satisfaction of a job well done and keeping more stuff out of a landfill.

Yup.... I understand opportunity cost and yadda yadda yadda... But sometimes you just feel damn good after you do it yourself.

And sometimes you hit a homerun.... I spent a few evenings off and on fiddling with a 50" tv I got for free. Have about $50 in parts in it and it works great!

Picked up a dyson by the curb one night, Thuy looked at me like I was crazy, but I cleaned it up, got it working again for FREE, and sold it for $100, she doesn't give me crazy looks about that stuff any more!

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

I struggle with this every day. Why pay the plumber/electrician/mechanic/contractor... when I can do that, learn something and get some satisfaction from completed a task. So instead of enjoying my time outside of work I'm on my back in the crawlspace, sucking down insulation in the attack, fixing the chainsaw or trying to find the new poison ivy remedy. Balance, I need to find it. Havent touched the duc, sailboat, kayak... yet this year.

I was doing the same battle with a roof leak off and on for the last week and a half. Finally called someone yesterday. I have other work to do, sometimes you've gotta know when to fold 'em.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

I struggle with this every day. Why pay the plumber/electrician/mechanic/contractor... when I can do that, learn something and get some satisfaction from completed a task. So instead of enjoying my time outside of work I'm on my back in the crawlspace, sucking down insulation in the attack, fixing the chainsaw or trying to find the new poison ivy remedy. Balance, I need to find it. Havent touched the duc, sailboat, kayak... yet this year.

I have started drawing the line on yardwork. We have a fairly small yard and landscapers are STUPID cheap out here. So I don't lift a finger, and we have the greenest lawn on the block! Last week he noticed the palm tree needed trimming, offered to do it for $50. Would I have put on a belt and spikes and climbed a nearly 40ft palm and trimmed it for that? HELL NO!

[Oh Haha]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

I struggle with this every day. Why pay the plumber/electrician/mechanic/contractor... when I can do that, learn something and get some satisfaction from completed a task. So instead of enjoying my time outside of work I'm on my back in the crawlspace, sucking down insulation in the attack, fixing the chainsaw or trying to find the new poison ivy remedy. Balance, I need to find it. Havent touched the duc, sailboat, kayak... yet this year.

Except for my drumkit, I don't have any toys.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by rwest

Hard to put a price on the satisfaction of a job well done and keeping more stuff out of a landfill.

This, I think, is my strongest motivation. I do get satisfaction from taking something that doesn't work and making it function.

Vash - a man after my own heart. I could have modified it to be multi-fuel capable - everything from wood chips to acetylene. Put some chrome here an there, pin striping, big rims, undercar neon lights under the frame. Flames? I dunno about painting flame on the outside of a BBQ grill. I might have to consult with Holloway's son for more hot rodding modifications.


This particular job went way over the estimated time to finish. I had to put a new sparker in it. Couldn't find a direct replacement and went for the universal, "doesn't fit anything right" unit. Had to take the whole dam grill apart to drill new holes to put the new sparker on. I had an hour in it and an hour to finish and had to decide do I abandon this turkey or keep working. It turned out OK. From the CL responses so far I'll get $40 for it before the weekend is out.

[tabs]

It is called being self reliant. This is the way it was in the old days. When money was tight you did it yourself. This is what America needs to do more of.

So this rebuild job is a good thing. It shows u aint too good to stoop down and pick up a penny.

[Oh Haha]

The hose reel broke again this morning so I fixed it up real good this time.

Spent the $25 I saved on getting the new one on drum parts.


Priorities man! Priorities.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I don't know why I do this stuff. My DIL was tossing a 2 year old BBQ grill in the dumpster because "It doesn't work." My worst instinct took over and I decided I could salvage it. So 2 hours and $18 worth of parts later it works like knew. I'm going to put it on craig's list for $50. I'll be happy if I get $30.
But you can buy an new one for $139.
My bookkeeper bills my time out at $155/hr, so practically I have $328 invested in a $139 dollar grill that I might sell for $30. I don't know why I do this stuff.

Heh heh... I love it, but only 'cause I'm right there with you. Only worse - I've never had the good sense to actually sell any of it. It all sits around my place, often unused, until I get tired of looking at it, at which point I just give it away. I've been operating at a net loss my entire life this way. Having fun, though, and I'm sure that's why you do it, too.

[sugarwood]

Consider it a hobby, not a business

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Strap it to the roof of your porsche, drive it to Virginia to deliver it to me and I will pay you $75. Cash.

-or-

For $70 upon successful delivery I will cook you a steak on it.

(I'm not kidding, our grill just broke and my wife is pissed)

[wdfifteen]

Yayyy! I finally sold the grill for $25.

Now another waste of time - what do I do with these? Every fall Mrs WD buys a few harlequin gourds to decorate the house. This spring I saw a package of seeds and - well, I bought them and planted them. I don't know what I was thinking. Now I've got a whole wheelbarrow full of the damn things and I don't know what to do with them. You can't eat them. At least I'll save the $10 she spends on buying gourds this year.

[Baz]

The moral to the story is not everything boils down to dollars and sense.

There is value in creating things and bringing things back to life.

I look at is as a personality trait.

You're either a redeemer or you are a disposer.

Good job, Patrick!

[Baz]

The gourds would make great gifts for employees. Unique!

[cashflyer]

Some of those look like squash, not gourds.
The squash are likely to be edible.
Decorative Squashes: Are They Edible? - Mom Prepares

IF you only had a grill.....

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

I hate throwing things out that work. My daughter (7) asked me if I was goimg to throw out my wheelborrow... rusty, flat tire, came with the house. This weekend I'm making a project out of that wheelbarrow with my kids... I want them to think twice before they throw things out. We didn't have money when I was a kid, we fixed things as best we could.

My accountant was giving me a hard time about working on old beaters and boats when I have a 140/hr billable rate. Now I wear a headset and make client calls while I work on my projects.

I have a wheelbarrow that must be 30 years old. The wooden handles are dry and starting to splinter. The last time I used it I got a sliver of wood embedded in my hand. Now I will be sure to wear gloves. I can spend a hour or so and clean it up some and sand and finish the handles. It will be a project I will do on a pretty weather weekend when I think about it.

I actually much prefer an old well used tool or piece of equipment over some new and poorly made tool. It is real hard to find new good lawn and garden equipment. Most is Chinese made junk.

My gas can is one I remember using as a kid back in when I was at grandma & grandpa's place to fill up the mower or the rototiller. About every time I go to the gas station someone wants to buy it.

The grandfathers tool chest my dad used to dig in when he was a little boy back in the 1930s is in my garage. It is made with hand made nails. I suspect it belonged to my great grandfather.

[wdfifteen]

One of our road crews tried to set a brand new 10'x10' canopy up on a windy day. A gust of wind caught it and mangled the frame. Three struts were broken in the center where there is a hole for a pivot. They brought it back and tossed it in the dumpster, so I dragged it out and threw it on my pile of stuff to get around to fixing "someday". Yesterday I got around to it.




Mangled frame.




Broken strut




I took some scrap copper tubing and squashed it down to fit in the oval tubing. It was a bit too big, so I had to slit it and sand it down some.




After sliding the pivot bearing thingy on it I pop riveted the copper and aluminum together and drilled it for the pivot bolt.




Works like new.

[petrolhead611]

My wheelbarrow celebrated its 40th birthday this year, bought when I acquired my first house.
The wheel runs a bit stiff on the axle, so what. The steel handle failed through rust about 20 years ago so I practiced welding on tube with my new MIG welder back then, and put some diagonal braces on whilst I was at it, still serviceable today.
My garden bench, bought with my second house in 1986 , wood slats with cast iron end pieces and a threaded rod bracing bar suffered from a few slats rotting through.Could have bought a new one for $40 but then I would have had to saw up the old one to take it to the dumpster site. For $6 I obtained new slats and bolts, drilled 6 holes, did a bit of sawing with a power saw,, bolted it together and painted the whole thing with some paint I had left over from painting my shed.
My fridge door was 30 years old when some surface rust appeared, Treated it, sprayed it, and it still works fine as it also celebrates its 40th birthday.

[fastfredracing]

I do it also. I have grown to accept it because I enjoy it . We needed a new door from our kitchen into our living room. Sure I could buy a nice door for a few hundred bucks, but out bike riding one day, I see a really cool antique wooden door with a large glass panel in it . I am a sucker for the words FREE. Off to the races we go. I probably have 30 hours in stripping , sanding, refinishing , flip the hinges , and cutting it down to fit our doorway.
You know what? Way nicer than any old door I could buy from Home Despot , and my kid helped a little , and most likely learned something .
I do this with vehicles also . I have put so much time into a rusted out dodge 2500 plow truck this summer, I could have just bought a brand new plow for one of my other trucks, and been ahead of the game.
I completely understand .