The Saving Advice Forums - A classic personal finance community.

Another DIY success story

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    Another DIY success story

    Monday night, DW went downstairs to get the clothes out of the washer. It had stopped with the tub still full of water. Uh oh. I did some quick Googling and determined the problem might be a failed drain pump. We were able to manually drain the tub and just left it at that as I had to work 12 hours yesterday.

    This morning, I did some more online troubleshooting and watched a few YouTube videos and realized it might actually be a faulty lid switch. I saw how to test it and sure enough that was the problem. I took the washer apart and removed the old switch, at which point I could clearly see it was broken. I called our local appliance part supply store and they had it in stock. I popped over there and got it. came home and installed it, and put the whole thing back together. It is working perfectly again.

    Total cost: $26.66. And actually it was only $26.41 because when I opened up the washer cabinet, I found a quarter!

    I could have gotten the part online for half the price but then I wouldn't have had it until at least Monday and couldn't have done the work until Tuesday afternoon. It was well worth $13 to us to have it up and running today.

    Thank goodness for YouTube. Greatest home repair resource ever created.
    Steve

    * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular.
    * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything?
    * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Compare that $26.66 to the $200 price tag of a technicians visit. Big win.
    james.c.hendrickson@gmail.com
    202.468.6043

    Comment

    • #3
      Nice work.
      I just fixed my GF's mom's washing machine last week.
      $12 part. Service tech wanted $100.

      Brian

      Comment

      • #4
        OMG you left the house!!!!

        Comment

        • #5
          Originally posted by Nutria View Post
          OMG you left the house!!!!

          I leave the house 4 days a week to go to work. I also do the grocery shopping for us and for my 89-year-old mother which I drop off to her at the curb of her building keeping our distance from one another in the process.
          Steve

          * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular.
          * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything?
          * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.

          Comment

          • #6
            Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

            I leave the house 4 days a week to go to work. I also do the grocery shopping for us and for my 89-year-old mother which I drop off to her at the curb of her building keeping our distance from one another in the process.
            The eyerolls were supposed to indicate sarcasm. Obviously I failed in that.

            Comment

            • #7
              Originally posted by Nutria View Post

              The eyerolls were supposed to indicate sarcasm. Obviously I failed in that.
              Nah. I figured you were being sarcastic. I'm clearly not on isolation being an essential worker. In some ways, though, I think being out and about is a different kind of weird that everyone stuck at home doesn't fully comprehend.

              My mom just can't seem to process why I can't get every item on her shopping list. Like ice cream. I've tried explaining that the entire aisle of ice cream at the store is completely empty. They weren't just out of the brand and flavor she wanted. They were out of ice cream - totally. You really need to walk around a store to fully appreciate what's happening.
              Steve

              * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular.
              * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything?
              * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.

              Comment

              • #8
                I wonder how much business has been taken from "experts" because of people more willing to diy? Instructional videos on youtube must have cost trades workers $10's of millions of the years.

                I cant tell you how much ive learned from youtube. From plumbing, electrical, drywall mudding techniques. You learn pretty quick that a lot of these tasks arent difficult. The only drawback, it'll take you 2-3x longer than an expert. So if time is a concern, sometimes it makes more sense to get a pro to do it.

                Comment

                • #9
                  It's probably just because I don't trust myself with much in the way of home/auto/etc. repairs... But I will almost always hire a pro to fix stuff for me... particularly anything with the potential to kill me or destroy my house (gas, plumbing, electrical). I'm not handy by any stretch of the imagination, I can afford the minor expenditure, and I'm happy to have a tradesman do it right the first time. If I call it my own version of buying local, do I get credit for stimulating the economy?

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

                    Nah. I figured you were being sarcastic. I'm clearly not on isolation being an essential worker. In some ways, though, I think being out and about is a different kind of weird that everyone stuck at home doesn't fully comprehend.

                    My mom just can't seem to process why I can't get every item on her shopping list. Like ice cream. I've tried explaining that the entire aisle of ice cream at the store is completely empty. They weren't just out of the brand and flavor she wanted. They were out of ice cream - totally. You really need to walk around a store to fully appreciate what's happening.
                    This....this is strange to see entire aisles of stuff gone. I finally snagged flour. I made a few also weird purchase decisions. I usually buy a 24 pack organic eggs from costco. Well since I"m not going out again for a month I decided okay I'm buying the 60 pack. I also decided to get a the limit 2 flour bags when I have a hard time going through one. I also bought pancake/waffle mix because I usually buy flour and make it, but flour is really hard to come by and I decided well I'll use what little flour I can get my hands on for bread and use pancake mix instead. Sounds ridiculous to be thinking about how to manage our supply so carefully.

                    That and I could only buy one milk so I bought it and rationed the kids and told them to eat the yogurt I bought in lieu of a second cup of milk.
                    LivingAlmostLarge Blog

                    Comment

                    Previous template Next
                    Working...
                    X