What home repairs are you most Afraid of?

[Paintedcow]

What home repairs are you most Afraid of?

From reading this newsgroup and talking to people, it seems that electrical is the most feared. But there is good reason for that, since electricity can kill. I always tell people that if they are afraid of it, dont touch it, or get an education about it first.

Plumbing seems to come in second. Although plumbing is unlikely to kill anyone, it can do a lot of property damage if a pipe breaks and there is no way to shut off the flow. The bigger problem with plumbing is that the jobs regularly turn into "a can of worms". Old pipes tend to break or leak, and replacing one bad pipe often turns into replacing a lot more, ripping open walls and so on. Plumbing requires skills, proper tools, and a supply of parts on hand, or it can become a nightmare.

I'll include auto repair in this topic, and this is often a fear. Again, there are dangers involved, for example, when working under a car it must be jacked and supported properly or you can be killed. and then there is always the busted knuckles, cuts, bruises and other accidents, not to mention that one wrong move can do a lot of damage to the car. Other machines in the home, such as furnaces fall into this same category.

The other fear is anything involving heights, such as roofing. Some people are just not comfortable with ladders and heights in general. I have to admit that this is my own fear. I will work on anything electrical or do plumbing and auto repairs without fear, but I dont do well with heights.

What fears do you have regarding home repair and including auto and even small engine and other machines around the home, repairs? I think everyone has at least some fears regarding home repair....

[Tony Hwang]

I am lefty, always afraid of wood working. Any thing else is fine.

[Terry Coombs]

I don't do automatic trannies . Just finished changing the oil in the Harley , looks like I need to pull the jugs and replace the base gaskets . Not that it's losing a lot of oil , but that mist attracts dirt which rubs off onto the inside of the left leg of my jeans . Hasn't been too long ago I did a near-complete rebuild on the Kohler motor in my tractor - including welding a patch into the hole the connecting rod made in the crankcase when it grenaded .

[bob_villain]

H-O-M-E repair!

[bob_villain]

Not afraid, but the biggest PIA is plumbing!

[John G]

[e-mail] brought next idea :

I quite agree with your sentiments. But what annoys me more is the petty bickering and pedantic replies from people whos only knowledge of the subject is what they picked up in the street. Often the answer given by somone who likes too see his name in print is not even safe. The total lack of understanding of US electrical systems is frightening.

Another annoyance is Self Appointed Xsperts who offfer a couple of integrated cct numbers or similar to fix the problems of people who come to groups like this from a position of not knowing anything and expecting some basic answers to their problem. :-?

[Tony Hwang]

Knowledge gained without an actual field experience is useless. I met a guy who graduated with degree in aeronautical engineering who said he never set a foot in an airplane or worked on anything to do with an airplane. Another indication, big mouth usually is useless too. His head is usually near empty.(this is from real life working experience)

[flakey714]

Agreed! Fix one leak, but make two more and adding a few ounces of traveling rust to the system

[Bob(but not THAT Bob)]

Fear of a plumbing or electrical inspector showing up

[Paintedcow]

Yea, power tools can be a fear for many, especially power saws. I'm glad I took all the woodworking classes available when I was in high school. I learned both skills and safety. In 45+ years of doing construction since HS, I did manage to take the flesh off the tip of a thumb once, on a table saw. That was the first and last time, and was many years ago. I also ran a pole barn metal screw into my hand once, and that hurt like hell. Since then, if I'm driving screws into metal, I spend the time making a pilot hole first. (usually just hit the screw with a hammer, then power drive it in).

Probably my most accidents over the years were stepping on f##king nails. I learned to NEVER leave boards with nails laying around. I remove the nails or bend them over. But just a few years ago, I was helping someone demolish a shed, and he left a naily board on the ground with a piece of drywall on top. I stepped there and that damn spike came thru the drywall and right into my foot. I came close to punching that guy after ripping that nail out of my foot. I had clearly told him to remove nails, or stack boards with nails in a pile. (I did not punch him, but I did not help him finish the job either, since I spent the following week staying off my painful foot and watching tv).

[flakey714]

Agreed! Fix one leak, but make two more and adding a few ounces of traveling rust to the system

[Stormin Mormon]

I'll admit, I don't much enjoy roofing.

[Frank]

Getting older, with bifocals and osteoarthritis there are things like roofing and plumbing I like to leave to the professionals.

Starting to skip the car things too.

At an age, where I have most of the tools and knowledge but declining physical abilities.

[Paintedcow]

Just thinking about this is painful !!!!!!! *OUCH* *OUCH* *OUCH* *OUCH*

[Tony Hwang]

Learning process, LOL!

[clare]

No fear of it unless it is a steep pitch, but my knees don't let me on the roof any more. No fear of electrical, no fear of plumbing - but I'll do electrical over plumbing any day of the week. No fear of gas fitting either. What gives me the most trepidation is final finishing of woodworking. Getting the colour and finish I want is more of an art than a science.

[Terry Coombs]

The OP included cars and small motors . Suck it up .

[bob_villain]

Right...but you were bragging. It's trannies you're afraid of (I'm not talking about Mormon).

[Diesel]

An employer had a semi cure for my fear of heights. He forced me to go on high arse ladders and hang light fixtures, run wire, setup junctions, etc. [g] He expected us to be willing to do anything he'd do. He was willing to do anything he asked of us, so... we complied. we as in, those who worked on his crew. After a couple of months, I got used to the feeling of being up high. I still don't like the idea, but, my fear concerning it has been greatly reduced.

Electricity has never bothered me. I've messed with it since I was a kiddo. Strangely enough, when I was a kid, I used to climb jagged rock walls over cliffs and things with my brother. I don't know where my fear of heights later came from, I don't remember having any bad falls or having the sh*t scared out of me. Could be the fact that as you become an adult, you realize how dangerous some of the things you did as a kid were. :)

No fears (other than roofing; I don't want to fall off the damn thing) that I know of excluding major auto work -- I'm not knowledgeable enough on my own with those if it's a mechanical/body issue and not electrical. If it's an electrical problem, I can usually repair that fine on my own. I have to rely on my mechanic friends for everything else. except changing the oil or something. :)

[Diesel]

Doesn't that describe life in general? rofl