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clicky poll about homeownership
.ETA - I guess I don't mean everything, but things like installing new floors or carpets, repairing siding on the outside, or even more time-consuming jobs like painting all your exterior trim. Should that be 100% the responsibility of the homeowner, or does hiring someone sometimes make sense?
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Re: clicky poll about homeownership
I owned my own home for 7 years as a single woman... I'm no dummy and I did remodel my kitchen, but there were some things I couldn't do for myself and had to hire out, like plumbing. You have to educate yourself enough to know if your contractor is doing the right things/ charging a fair price.
Not sure why you are asking this though.
Ditto. My hubby is very handy, but there are somethings he can't or won't do. Like when it came time to put the wires in for our hot tub. He didn't want to go near the electrical stuff and risk getting shocked or screwing it up!
I excluded those types of things because, hello, most people can't do that.
Just like many other things in life, there are reasons that there are professionals and they are hired to do the things we cannot.
This is analogous to saying that if you're alive you need to know everything about your body and how to fix it if something goes wrong. Nope, that's why we all see doctors.
I ask because I work with someone who is a mom to three kids and still finds/makes the time to do everything around the house. She just put in a new ceramic tile floor in her kitchen, for example.
Anytime she does something like that, I'll say something to the effect of "wow, I don't know how you do it!", to which she'll say, "When you buy a home, that's what you sign up for."
Me, I'm ALL about hiring someone who is an expert. Yes, it's more expensive, but neither DH nor I have the time, energy, or even interest to learn those things and feel it's worth our investment to get someone to do it.
I just feel like she's judging me for buying a house for all the wrong reasons somehow...like, I'm just some immature kid who shouldn't be a homeowner if I don't want to learn to be a contractor.
Frick, I had a hard enough time hanging curtain rods! Doesn't mean I don't deserve to own my home!
Methinks there is a story behind this clicky poll.....:-)
ETA:: Aha! Don't you dare let crazy lady make you feel bad. She's nuts! She just wants to try to make herself feel better by tearing others down. "Ooh, look at me, I plumb my own toilets, I tile my own floors, etc." Sounds like she has some issues. Why can't she just be proud of her work without dragging other people's value into it? It's an old trick, and it doesn't really ever work, especially if the people you're trying to tear down are smart enough to not play the game.
That was kind of a silly thing for her to say. My husband and I like do it yourself projects because we enjoy them and we like to save the money. We know not everyone is like that though. It just depends on your preferences and budget. Just be smart on your contractor and project choices and don't worry about what she thinks.
I think it's great that she finds the time and energy to learn how and then do the work herself. To me, it all boils down to the importance I place on my personal time.
Do I want learn how to tile my bathroom? Sure, I'd love the satisfaction of being a DIYer, but I value my time and hire someone else to these types of things because 1) they are professionals and would do a much better job than I would learning from a book or a website and 2) I'd rather spend the free time with my family.
sorry. I misread.
this exactly
DH has learned how to everything since we purchased our house... he re-wired the whole house, has built countless things (shelves, counters, closets, a pantry), knocked an entire bathroom down to studs and rebuilt it from the studs up (more drywall than he ever cares to see again), insulated our attic, tiled an entryway, crown molding and trim, installed a new water heater, designed and installed a deck, designed and installed our irrigation system... Plus, he's worked for neighbors (doing an irrigation system, finishing a back room into liveable space).
When we remodeled our bathroom, he had to move a sink and toilet, so I guess he's done plumbing, too. And we moved our washer and dryer to a different location, so he had to move those water lines as well.
We've only ever hired one contractor, and it was to tile our bathroom. DH knows how to tile, he just didn't want to do it. He's a perfectionist and it took us sooooo long to tile our entryway that it was worth it to have someone do it while we were at work and be out within two days (and the price was extremely right).
I'm sure with something like a roof or windows, we'd hire someone else. And, when our finances are agreeable, we'd like to tear the carpet out and refinish the original floors... but we're told they're in bad shape, so we'll probably hire someone to do that and repair them (our neighbors have a great contractor hook-up on this one).
But anything else... DH will buy a drawing book from Menards for $2.99 and learn it (like he did with wiring!).
Sorry! I wasn't saying "hello, Kathy, duh!"...it was more a general comment! Oops!
I wish I didn't care what she thought. I just have a hard time with people who don't respect other people's values and priorities.
lol that's awesome!
(and I would be afraid to do it wrong! eek!) 
I don't know if it's hard or not...I just know absolutely nothing about it!
haha. Okay
DH is an electrician and worked for a company that did home renovations a few years ago, so he would probably do most things around here. Heating and cooling, windows, and major plumbing are the only things that come to mind that he wouldn't do.
I don't think roofing is necessarily hard as many people I know do it themselves, but it is a lot of work so I think it intimidats a lot of people.
Either way, I don't see why it matters if you hire someone else to do it as long as you can afford it no matter what you're reasoning. People have to make a living somehow, by hiring them you're essentially helping to put food on their tables. There are plenty of things I don't like doing that I would gladly pay someone else to do if I could afford it!
Kathy, your dad sounds like my in laws.
They really do EVERYTHING. And honestly, it's exhausting to watch them do everything, or b/c Jeff always felt obligated to help his dad, it was exhausting to try and work it out. Granted, they always helped us when necessary, but I always thought there was a fine line between enjoying DIY/saving money and being straight up INSANE.
For us, we do a lot to save money and because Jeff enjoys it (me - not so much). Also, it doesn't hurt that my dad owns a construction business - he's usually up for helping out too.
But really if I was uber-wealthy and didn't have to decide between designer jeans and Jeff doing the home improvement project, I'd probably choose to hire someone.