I realized there are 3 wholly separate reasons I do my own repairs

I'm not sure who this post is for, and maybe everyone has already had these thoughts before. It seemed like a good thought to me but if others disagree then maybe we can just delete this and move on...



First, because it's cheaper. I live on fixed income that could disappear without warning in a given year, so I keep repair skills as a backstop for one day being unable to afford paying for repairs and replacements for some time.  If you can't do your own repairs you are forced to maintain a steady income to pay for maintenance. For a long time I thought this was the only reason for me to know how to repair things.

Second, I just want to. I think it's the right thing to do to keep stuff out of the trash that would be there for the next 1500 years, even if it's cheaper not to.

Third, and maybe most weirdly, I have this idea about "economic freedom."  If political freedom is your ability to support what ideas you want without coersion, then economic freedom is your ability to pay for things because you want to not because you have to.  If you have some part of your life that you depend on to live (it's part of supplying your food/shelter/income) and if you *cant repair it* then you are obligated to pay whatever it costs to whoever will repair it. So the last repair person in your local area can charge any price they want, and do any poor quality work they want, and you are forced to pay them. I want as many of my economic transactions as possible to be things I choose to pay for rather than things I am forced to pay for.  So being able to repair your own things gives economic freedom where otherwise you would be forced to spend any amount.

I think I would put your three reasons in a different order:

1) It's the right thing to do to use fewer resources overall if at all possible

2) It should be cheaper, in the first place to repair rather than replace, particularly for more complex items.

3) Mechanisms ought to be in place to facilitate #2 and that where the 'right to repair' comes in.

My husband spends a fair amount of time looking at repair videos, and it repairability is high on the list of criteria if and when we make a substantial purchase. So we have bookmared ebac for our next washing machine perhaps (discussed here) although hopefully our Bosche will do a good few years yet! When I buy clothes I am choosing natural materials, and woven ones that will be easier to adjust or patch. Usually I go for longevity over cheapness.

I have a fourth reason. I want to project an ethos of capability into the universe. Most directly, I have (grown) kids and it was always important for them to be involved in fixing the broken lamp and building the family's new PC and planting seeds and upcycling clothes from Goodwill. I felt responsible, not to teach them every single skill, but to teach them that in general, they're capable people who can learn whatever they need to. And more broadly, I want that notion to percolate out into the world. I intentionally patch my clothing in loud, obvious style as a performative act -- maybe it's "virtue signaling" but it's also virtue reminding.

But I'm also steeped in consumer culture. I have a long, heavy outdoor extension cable for tools that has a goofed up female end that's been giving me trouble for a couple years. My daughter complained about it and I hopped on Amazon and ordered a replacement. I live a lifestyle that allows that as long as it isn't every little thing. Only when the replacement cable arrived, did it occur to me that I could just replace the end for a lot less money. Duh! Luckily, you can never have too many extension cords!

I like the original three reasons. I have some more!

There's also the satisfaction of accomplishment, something I find highly addictive.

And, similar to Christopher Weeks' projecting an ethos of capability into the universe, especially so one's kids will see, I also want to project an ethos of capability inward to myself.

Another: there is a real connection between the healthy development of neural pathways and doing stuff with your hands. In other words, physical activity makes you smarter and will keep your mind sharp longer into old age. Problem-solving does too. Solving physical problems with your hands is another way to say "fixing stuff". It's good for you!

Like you/and others, we do our own repairs because it is cheaper.

We also want to make sure the repair is done right.

Our third reason is because we live in the boondocks no one will come out this far and there are no repair shops that I know of unless the repair is automotive.

With the advent of having youtube to show you how to do the repair,   I have found it faster than getting in my car going to the store and finding they don't have the part I am looking for....     Instead I leverage  youtube videos to see if:

1)   Where to get the part to do the repair.
2)   Ask myself the question,  is it worth repairing?     Some things are so poorly manufactured that it is better to buy a quality model and that may be talking to repair shops to find out what does not break...        Products today are engineered to break for the most part....

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/49NikeBCzWo

3)   Sometimes it is a calculated risk.       I was given a laptop with a bad power connector.      This connector was on the motherboard, so it is a tricky repair.       I risked my time, and about 30$ in part to see if I could repair this laptop,   I gambled, and I won using a heat gun ( not the right tool to do this operation )    So I gained a skill that I did not have before, so it is what I call an educational risk.        I have greatly failed at this in repairing the bearing in my car, but in replacing break pad I am way way ahead.         I do weight the risk of the repair and take risks if it makes sense to me.

I believe we do need to get off the subscription plan.....    Not only the contract subscriptions, but the replacing of poorly made items that we have to buy again and again and again.

https://youtu.be/UCSld7Lbpsc


Being able to repair is a great skill to have to barter, and trade, you can buy items that are broken, then fix and resale.

I prefer to do my own repairs because I do them right, AND I do what actually needs to be done for what I need. It depends on what results you are looking for. My desired results often don't align with other people's so their solutions are not what I need, and repair people tend to do what they always do, and get the same result they always get. But I often want a different result.

An example would be where the repair person always uses a chemical to do something, but I know that my health reacts badly to the odor/toxins from the chemical, often for months, and part of my need criteria for fixing the problem is "without toxic chemical use." When I do the repair, I choose exactly what I want to use.

Iv found that most professional repair folks are just about as good at doing it as I am. They have more experience and can do it better then me. But have no real stakes in getting the job done to the best of there ability as its the 10th plumbing repair they have done today alone.
In the mean time I have very little experience, But Id hate to go to all the work of getting it done just to have it fail because I skipped a few steps. It about evens out to we do the same quality job. My repair will take longer, but I get a education on how to do something new!

Christopher Weeks wrote:... Only when the replacement cable arrived, did it occur to me that I could just replace the end for a lot less money. Duh! Luckily, you can never have too many extension cords!

Alas, not all the extension cord end replacement parts are created equal.

The one on my kitchen kettle is wonderful for that use, as it's much easier on my slightly arthritic hand to plug it in and out than the original.

However, the ones Hubby now uses on our outside use extension cords is designed so it is much easier to keep water from infiltrating. Since we live where the dew can be significant when rain is nowhere in the forecast, water resistance is worth paying a little extra for.

So I'll add another reason to do your own repairs: often you can tweak the system to work better than the original for the people/ecosystem that actually needs to use it.
(OK, this is different words, but really the same thing that Pearl Sutton said.)

All of the above, plus the "i hate the hassle of dealimg with people" issue.

I am trying to hire someone to do a $2000+ job (for them), that would likely cost me ~$1000 to DIY including tool rentals, BUT is heavy work - installing posts and hanging a farm gate, and a passage gate. And i already have a lot of physical work i need to do before winter.

I called  3 companies -
1- this number is out of service
2- sure, i'll come out and give you a quote! (And... nothing)
3- came out and gave me a preliminary estimate, said they'd ask their supplier if they had the gate in stock. And now... silence.

I find this happens almost every time i want to hire someone to do something, especially a small job - most companies never get back to me. Following up,  and calling, and, then rescheduling because they can't actually make it, and then they're late, or early, or.... is often more hassle and stress than learning how to do the job myself.

I'm currently doing the vast majority of our on-site repairs. I can't do auto repairs anymore, because of the computers. But, I'm doing all our plumbing and construction repairs. Not because I want to, but out of necessity. I'm disabled. John is more disabled. My hands and the rest of my body hurt something fierce, and frankly,  I'm damn tired of it.

And, yet... even beyond saving the labor costs, there are distinct advantages to doing these repairs, myself. I get to choose and shop around for the best prices on my own parts, and no one is jacking up the price of them. I know exactly what was done, how, and why. I can do additional repairs without worry of invalidating a warranty. No strangers are entering my home, invading my privacy, or risking damage to themselves or their vehicles on my property, that could potentially jack up my home owners insurance rates. No one is potentially going to damage my property, and cost me yet more repairs. For better or worse, I have full ownership of the work done, and only myself to blame, if it isn't quite right, and conversely, I have bragging rights, if it is done well. I have the reassurance that if I'm ever again on my own (yup, John's health is *bad*), I'll have built even more skills, and have fair confidence that whether I'm doing the work myself or paying someone else to do it, I'm not clueless about what needs to be done, how to do it, and what a fair price is.

My mom is alone, and 9hrs away. She has no clue how to fix anything or what is required, and as a result, finds herself handing out money she can't spare, hand over fist. We were just talking about this, last week, as I was telling her of my latest repairs. She told me she wished she had paid more attention to what my step dad was doing, when he was alive, so that even if she couldn't do it herself, at least she wouldn't be so easy to scam. She knows that she doesn't know what she doesn't know, and that it's costing her, dearly. And, there's nothing I can do to help her, because she is so far away, and doesn't tell me what she's doing until after the fact.

I applaud the excellent comments above.

Personally, in no particular order, repairing gives me the satisfaction of:

Reducing our mountains of waste -- I think our society is walking down a profligate, wasteful, destructive path

Being ahead of the curve, a responsible citizen of the world

Beating Herblock's Law -- "if it's good, they will stop making it." The shiny new replacement item is almost always of lower quality than the original, and even less repairable.

Cheap entertainment -- why cruise Amazon when I can cruise the local recycling centre and see what interesting tidbits washed in on the tide?

Using something I have fixed to accomplish useful tasks (any idiot can whip out a credit card; it takes some chops to repair things)

Continuous learning and problem solving -- how things work, how they fail, and how they can be repaired

Having a degree of self-sufficiency in case the times get "interesting"

Saving a small fortune on small repairs (e.g. saving $250 on a furnace repair callout when all I needed was a screwdriver and a bit of steel wool to clean off the flame sensor)

Doubling my money by folding it in half and putting it back in my wallet

Passing along skills and experience

Regifting things I have salvaged and fixed

Setting a positive example for others (believing repair is possible is a new thing to many)

Edited to modify my grumpy comments

Carla Burke wrote:...so that even if she couldn't do it herself, at least she wouldn't be so easy to scam. She knows that she doesn't know what she doesn't know, and that it's costing her, dearly...

This! A friend got scammed over some simple clothing repairs. She didn't ask for estimate or price in advance and the seamstress took advantage of that fact. The repairs cost multiple times more than the clothing was worth.

Remembered yet one more reason this morning; now I see it is listed among those posted by Douglas Alpenstock above: learning. I can think of no better way to gain an understanding of how something works than to fix it when it breaks.

There is great satisfaction in fixing stuff myself. Even the few times my fix, didn't fix, I learned new stuff. Thanks to all the Permies people who have helped me successfully fix stuff.

I think, after yesterday, there also comes a point (at least for me) at which I have to cut my losses. After a few hours yesterday, working on a particular plumbing issue I've been battling with for months, I finally packed up my tools and supplies, and announced to hubby, "I'm done. I fail. It's time to call in a pro, because I can not do this one, anymore." It's a reality, for me, that there will occasionally be things I can't do. Maybe it's a matter of strength in my hands, or the painful position I have to be in for too long, to do it, or maybe I just can't figure it out, or it's taking an unreasonable amount of time away from too many other things that are equally important, or maybe I'm just way too fed up and stressed out over it - or a combination of these things - or more. All the above is the case for me, this time. It happens. I'm not going to beat myself up over it, because I *really* tried.

Catie George wrote:All of the above, plus the "i hate the hassle of dealimg with people" issue.

I am trying to hire someone to do a $2000+ job (for them), that would likely cost me ~$1000 to DIY including tool rentals, BUT is heavy work - installing posts and hanging a farm gate, and a passage gate. And i already have a lot of physical work i need to do before winter.

I called  3 companies -
1- this number is out of service
2- sure, i'll come out and give you a quote! (And... nothing)
3- came out and gave me a preliminary estimate, said they'd ask their supplier if they had the gate in stock. And now... silence.

I find this happens almost every time i want to hire someone to do something, especially a small job - most companies never get back to me. Following up,  and calling, and, then rescheduling because they can't actually make it, and then they're late, or early, or.... is often more hassle and stress than learning how to do the job myself.

There are 'handymen' and 'odd-jobbers' everywhere.
The trick is to find them. Once you hook up with that ecosystem, they recommend each other for jobs they don't want.

I just like to feel competent.

Carla Burke wrote:I think, after yesterday, there also comes a point (at least for me) at which I have to cut my losses. After a few hours yesterday, working on a particular plumbing issue I've been battling with for months, I finally packed up my tools and supplies, and announced to hubby, "I'm done. I fail. It's time to call in a pro, because I can not do this one, anymore."  

Geez, Carla, that's not a failure. I don't mind calling in the pro's when the problem exceeds my capabilities. Bring in expertise when you need it!

Think of how much you learned in this process. Hands-on education is never a waste. If possible, let the pro's talk you through their repairs. More education.

Thanks, Douglas. Yeh, it *seemed* like it should be a simple fix, so it did feel like a fail. But, I can honestly say I gave it my best effort. Oddly, the well house plumbing was easy, by comparison.

I think it's actually a soul-level need:  to face a challenge, learn and fail and succeed, and gain confidence and a feeling of accomplishment.

I think a "virtual" world removes this completely, leaving shells of people who long for something real, tangible, challenging.  Because although the desire to give in and have an easy life of leisure is what many of us think we want, in fact, we thrive on challenge and the accomplishment from success, plus the learning that comes from failure and through the process itself.

Besides, if you're old or have old stuff or an old house, 1) they were built to be repaired, are of higher quality than the new stuff, are simpler and last longer, so you stand a good chance (if you can get or make the parts you need) of fixing something, and 2) sometimes you can't find anyone willing or knowledgeable to do the repair...or find the parts...so you have to make do and get creative.

I could either have a pro re-plumb my entire house when the pipe broke, costing a fortune and digging up the front yard, busting up the foundation, etc...or cap it myself, using what I had and the galvanized parts that I could get and "almost nobody buys anymore"--according to the 20-something-year-old cashier.  And set up a sink under the tree outside, where that branch of water still works (for now.)

The house is almost 70 years old, yes, it's overdo to be re-plumbed, but that responsibility will fall to the new owner, and no longer be my liability.

A virtual world creates virtual satisfaction.

All good reasons - and up until a few years ago - I was right there with you.

I started life as a mechanic back in the late 70’s and have been amassing tools and building/repair skills ever since. I was always a DIY kinda guy and back in the day, always drove POS cars. (That’s a technical term…) did everything from oil changes and tune-ups to clutches and timing belts, brake jobs, rack & pinion replacement’s, even ball joints a couple of times.

When I bought my first home in 2986 - a MUCH older home - I found that even “professionals” that charge high prices can do really terrible work. I had to tear out a floor a local (Chicago) “builder” did and re-do it properly. Did all my own wiring and completion of a shell firmer in that 150 year old house that didn’t have a level floor or a plumb wall. My Swiss Army knife became my constant companion.

When we bought the ranch - I did it all myself. Even rebuild a bridge twice. Cleaned my own septic tank, etc, etc. Had to maintain all my power equipment then as well.

As for appliances and the like - if it was at all fixable - I’d fix it. I’d even bought “broken” items on eBay and garage sales to fix and use.

At 67 (this week) I am slowing down a bit. These days - I drive a new, late model truck. Because it’s still under warranty - I have the dealer do everything. Even oil changes. By the time I buy the special oil (diesel) and filter - I’m not saving much $$$. I get to stay clean, not crawl under a truck, or find a place to recycle the oil.

I had a nail in a tire a few months back. Even though I always keep a full-size floor jack, my torque wrench, and enough tools in the truck to do just about anything - I’ve vowed that I’ll seldom if ever even rotate my own tires. Mounted wheel on that truck weighs in at 90 pounds - and hoisting that tire into the bed of the truck just about gave me a hernia.

I won’t part with my tools - and I’ll still fix everything I can - but time, practicality, and a desire to preserve what’s left of my body is making me a bit more selective in my repair choices.

Keep this post up. It’s a good thought, and people don’t say it often enough.

I’ve been fixing my own things for 28 years, and your third reason is the one I’d put first. If you can’t repair something you depend on, you take whatever price and whatever quality the last person in town decides to offer. Being able to say “I’ll do it myself” is leverage, and it’s also peace of mind.

I’d add two more. First, repair skills compound. Every fix teaches you something about how things fail, so the next one goes faster and you start catching problems before they cost you. Second, a fixer is useful to other people. Neighbors trade, barter, and help each other far more readily with someone who can do things, and that kind of community holds up better than any bank account.

It also fits reduce, repurpose, reuse. The best tools I own came from flea markets and yard sales, and most just needed a little attention to work like new.

Thanks for putting it into words.

I got offered a job immediately after college.

I asked for two weeks to unwind so I showed up for work
in the middle of the month 16May1983.

It was my first job . . . and only job until I early-retired
exactly 30 years later. It was for three reasons:
01 I was the first person in the company to have a heart attack.
02 The job and stress and the environment was getting toxic
    and I reckon I would have died on the job within a year.
03 The country just increased the retirement age to 60
    so the trap was closing. Get out now before the company
    followed suit.

What was my job?

I repaired computer equipment - a wide range so I got
to see what worked and what lasted and the various
troubleshooting techniques.

I invented a method for adjusting a duty cycle that used
a multimeter instead of an oscilloscope. The takeaway from
this is I dared to implement this despite only majoring
in physics and mathematics while my colleagues held
electrical or electronic engineering degrees.  Basically I
applied what I knew from Class D amplifiers. I guess they
did too but why did nobody try it before I came along?
This was for those tape drives you see in the movies
with the two spinning spools.

I also invented a tool that could power on a string of
mainframe disk drives and UN-INVENTED
that when in a stroke of genius, I cupped that connector
and poured a handful
of coins to short out all the contacts in that 24V circuit.

DON'T breath  a word of this to my employer.

Getting back on topic, I had the skills to do a diverse
amount of repairs. Our mainframes were water cooled
and the electricity cable took 150 Amperes which we wired
into the junction box. Inside, the DC travelled through
metal bars instead of cables. It was like the wild west and
nobody called in a qualified electrician. We did everything.

Let me recount two stories:

A  We needed more electrical outlets for the house so we hired
   an electrician.
   Two showed up and completed the job. Guess what? I plugged
     in my OKI tester and discovered that live and neutral were
    reversed. They didn't  check their work. I got them to correct
   that before paying them.
B I was supposed to install a server and rack. The customer hired
  their own electrician. Claims he had a Masters in Electrical
  Engineering. I checked and told the customer no way I was going
  to power on the server. It turns out he followed the colour code
  and also didn't check his work - did live go to live, ground to ground
  and neutral to neutral? While he might not know the exact wiring
  inside the power distribution unit, both ends should match.

Both were too confident and too lazy to check their work.
NO due diligence. Sad but true. It also happened within my
company but that is another story.

When I buy a trailing socket or other electrical plug or adapter,
I always open them up to check how they did things. Some
brands I would trust, some never despite the sticker from our own
standards body. Bad crimps, bad joins. I recently saw a YouTube video
on how to check the electrical flex. Strip some insulation and fan
out the wires.  Apply a lighter flame to the ends. copper will glow.
Copper covered aluminum will shrivel. Good to know.

Plumbing beats me. We got a plumber to change out the water tank.
The smaller stuff like faucets I can handle although the washers are
now superseded by ceramic cartridges.

I fixed one obstinate blockage.

The tap at the rear of the house reduced to a trickle. I couldn't
figure it out. it was attached to the rear toilet which was fed from
the front  bathroom which then went to the tank under the roof.

I had a hunch. The house is 53 years old.

I connected the tap to the kitchen sink tap which
was fed from the mains. then I opened the faucet in
the front  bathroom.

What I ended up doing  was reverse flush the pipes in between.
It worked. Now I get a decent flow at the rear tap. Not great.
Not good enough to shower with but enough to do the dishes.

Air conditioner, washing machine, table fan, dripping faucets,
roof tiles, gutters, refrigerator, computer equipment,
fluorescent lights, sewage pipes.

I've had a go at all of them. Unlike the professionals who
do not have to live with the consequences, I have to answer
to my customer which is me.

Oh I almost forgot my car. I do all the belt, hose filter and oil
changes. I can strip the distributor down to the individual
ball bearing ball. I even patched a leaking vacuum advance
diaphragm. I doubt you can find a mechanic who is willing
to go this far especially when parts are no longer available.

There are exceptions like this guy but even he depends on
available parts.



I am not as thorough as this guy.

Here are the reasons I choose myself to do the repair.

I don't lie or fake it.

I guarantee the repair. No extra charge to fix it again if I botched the repair.

I use the best quality parts available.  

I go above and beyond. My wife's car had corrosion on the gearshift
shaft at the seal and gear oil was leaking. The mechanic handed me the shaft.
I cleaned that out, filled in with steel laden epoxy and sanded the blob until
that was level. It never leaked again until the day the car was scrapped.

There is a great deal of satisfaction in completing a project or a repair without having to call a professional.  I'm slow, so I don't think I'm saving any time.  But, every time I use one of the doors I custom built for our house I know I did that.  
I don't always save money.  Between buying specialty tools and having to replace "Learning Experiences", it sometimes costs just as much to do it myself.  But, now I have those tools to pass down to my son or grand kids.  
For the past 4 or 5 years I've been getting my grand kids involved in builds and repairs.  They seem to enjoy the process and they really like taking home things they have built.  They are learning to think their way through problems and to not give up when they hit a snag.

I was just raised that way.  Money was tight and you fixed things until they eventually fell apart.  

I remember my grandma asking my dad to put a door in between her house and newly-built attached garage for over a year.  Eventually she got tired of asking and she and my mom took a window out of one wall and installed it in another, and put a door where the window previously was.  Not a small feat for a woman in her early thirties and one near retirement age.

When we moved back into our house in 2014 after a stay to care for relatives, the washing machine quit working and I just couldn't figure it out.  Replaced it with one someone had given my hubby for junk and it worked for five years with minimal repairs until it finally bit the dust.  Did the washing outside for a few months and got a call from a neighbor asking if we'd like their old washing machine as they had upgraded to a front loader.  Have had to fix a few things over the years but it's still working.  The dryer was a hand-me-down from MIL as she's one of those people who has to buy a matching set when one or the other breaks.  Have replaced the start button and timer over the years but a few weeks ago it just quit.  No breakers tripped, cord in good shape, but no power.  Went outside and replaced two of the aging clotheslines and haven't looked back.  I may eventually tear into it and see if there's an internal fuse, but honestly I feel the end of its life has arrived.  The $2 I invested in additional clothespins and the salvaged wire used to replace all of the clotheslines beats buying a new washer.  Plus there's the sense of accomplishment knowing that our laundry is drying naturally and I can fold it all at once and bring it inside at my convenience instead of when a timer tells me to do so.  

And while we're on the subject of laundry, I had to ditch laundry baskets due to knee and ankle issues and a step down to get to my utility room.  The basket was just too bulky and affected my balance.  Someone gave hubby a large Ikea bag full of something or the other and I grabbed it.  It is the most perfect laundry bag ever!  I can sling it over my shoulder and navigate down steps and it holds two loads of folded laundry easily.  I love the design so much I'm in the process of making two more our of salvaged denim.  

Our neighbor is slowly downsizing her chicken flock and we gained five hens this week.  Our small house isn't large enough for all of them and the build of a bigger house has been thwarted by health issues for both my husband and I.  Looked at some bright, shiny and small coops and almost took the plunge.  Then I decided it would be easier and cheaper to add onto the smaller house as we have enough scrap 2x4s and plywood to make it work.  Bigger house will eventually happen, but this will give the girls safe and roomy housing for the winter without a $400 price tag.

There is another reason for making/repairing things that runs even deeper:
The pervasive ugliness of so much new stuff that is sold to us nowadays. For hard money, I may add.
_Nothing_ beats the satisfaction of installing a new door, handmade out of fine wood with the
knowledge that it will outlast anything else in that plywood and cardboard box that people still
call home. In fact, it will become even more beautiful as time passes, given proper care.

I think being surrounded by ugliness is a major reason for that ongoing sense of simmering,
low-grade depression that so many of us experience nowadays.