BetteTheRed
Resident Heretic
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Her
Same here. One special turning point was when I paid someone to replace a rad hose and found that not only hadn't he done that, he trimmed it back too short and clamped it back. Looked like it would pop off. Then he forgot to replace the coolant when he was done! Car needed a new rad anyway, so I dropped that in myself. I was never comfortable jacking up the and car doing anything under the chassis though. I had a car dealer actually get irate when I took a test drive and I listed what was wrong with it when I brought it back.
I also replaced a toilet and other various plumbing jobs. There isn't much I won't tackle if it's reasonable, although at my age, I'm usually happy to pay someone. I also worked as a CNC machine tool setter/operator a lifetime ago.
You sound a lot like my baby sister, who will tackle a lot of things, solo. I am a bit more restricted, because I'm not as mechanically inclined, and I have substandard upper body strength even for a woman. What I'm good at is identifying the problem, and too often, telling someone else what to do. And the hippie and I worked well together on projects like stripping hardwood down and sealing it. He did the muscle stuff, I provided energy, for sweeping, etc.
I think I've been pretty lucky with trades guys, but honestly, the plumbing mistake that the guy who put in my downstairs bathroom made cost me a lot of money down the road. He meant well enough, and he wasn't malicious, or trying to gouge me, just a bit not forward thinking.
