Skandi
> tools... money
At least in the U.S., it's not directly the money, I don't think. Buying a garage full of tools, pretty much everything (well, reasonable, sorta) you little heart desires, might run $3000. $5000 if you're a greedy idiot. But those tools _should_ and can last 50+ years - at least - so $100/year for the gold plate version, but
should be considerably less. Very likely to be less, since most people, sensibly, don't spend what they don't need to at the moment. So say, a "starter kit" for $1000. And I'm not talking Harbor Freight (U.S. based cheap shit retailer that, in many ways, provides good value). The U.S. is the
Land of the Tool. I think Europe is, say, twice as expensive in that market, but that _still_ isn't that much when only buying what you need as you need it. Good used tools here go for much less than that. Really old GOOD tools (40+ years old) like certain floor tools, table saws, drill presses, etc, go for a song. I can get a solid old Craftsman
cast iron 10" table saw for $50; two hours tuning and maybe another $50 for something broken (but usually not) and I have a tool that functions as well and usually (after a year of work) better than anything new anybody can buy for $500. Don't know if there is that kind of market in Europe.
Anyway. What I started out on was this: The actual cost of tools, in the U.S. anyway, is the SPACE they take up. And I capitalized that because it needs to be understood that tools take _real_ space. If you avoid floor tools, that can be cut way back, BUT... Part of the space thing is the area to _use_ the tools well. That means a work table you don't have to clear for din din. It also means a place to dump, and store, material because that is the other hidden cost of DIY. Not so much the $cost of the materials, but the time spent finding and going and getting them. When I need some
wood, 95% chance I can grab it from my pile in 2 minutes; when I need a screw, 80% chance I have some cataloged on the shelf; when I need glue, I've got five kinds ready on the shelf. Etc etc. That takes space. That space is what makes DIY actually work in terms of time and money.
Tools don't help you if you have to spend half you time finding them, digging them out, clearing space to work in and then cleaning up that space again and wiggling the tools back into their cranny - every day. There is more than one way do things, but I want to take care of two 100 yr houses quickly and w/out drama. I would have trouble if I had less than the 15'x30' work space I've had for 50 years. It's not as heavily used as it once was and on pure hour/day occupancy, it could easily be considered "wasted space". But it lets me take care of two old wood frame houses -
concrete, tile, plumbing, electrical, framing, trim, paint, landscape; oh, and vehicles. I draw the line at roofing. My basic shop is a 12x12 basement area w/7-1/2' ceiling. However. I absolutely must have, in addition, 15' x 5' x 1-1/2' deep shelving to hold those tools I use at least a couple times a year. Being able to just walk up and grab the tool box off the shelf directly, knowing it works, it's sharp and has most of the consumables (blades, sanding belts, whatever) already in that box... _That_ is what makes it possible for me to actually get stuff done timely. The 12x12 space has a table saw at one end, chop saw on one wall and a drill press at the end of that wall. Cluttered work benches stand against the other two walls. A large "assembly table" (hollow core door on saw horses) takes up the center of the room. This room, messy as it becomes sometimes, provides what it takes to run 2,3,4, 5 projects at once and still grab tools to fix what comes up elsewhere.
The rest of "my" space (all told 15'x30' as above) is fully taken by materials which I draw on at least weekly. Again, there are different and more efficient ways to do things, so I or anybody could certainly get by with less materials space. But it really helps to have stuff at hand when it's needed.
Space, I should say interior or at least protected space, with good light and power, is the _real_ show stopper for DIY, at least for D-all-of it-Y. That's the equivalent of feeding yourself fully off your garden. But it's not necessary to do the whole enchilada. I do because I inherited the space and many of my father's tools and it's worth it to me. Others can do perfectly fine plumbing and electrical, keeping all their tools in a big closet; their work is almost all "on site" and so they don't need the assembly space, but material space would still help. Glazing is a craft that can live in one tool box; but it benefits hugely from a big table to lay windows down flat when rebuilding them. Tile work is "on site" but needs several SF of space if you want mechanical tile cutters. Carpentry can live in half a room; 100 years ago it could live in a small closet but today we pretty depend on jobsite table saws, chop saws and they work _much_ better on tables rather than the floor. It adds up, but most people don't do everything and nobody does everything at once. But still. 12'x12' is a plausible size area and will give a person mostly what they need. From there, smaller will make life noticeably harder - and slower. Lots of great work done in smaller space, but it takes longer and requires greater skill to do the same quality.
So. In my
experience, from where I stand, good protected space is more critical to DIY than $$$. It creates/provides the convenience needed to allow getting straight onto a job w/out logistics eating up too much of your time,
energy and commitment.
FWIW.
Rufus
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