Forced to DIY
Sometimes we don't want to DIY things, but we are forced to.
After living in this house for 2 years I was finally ready to get a plumber to deal with the leaky kitchen faucet. Turns out all the plumbers in the area are backed up from January's cold snap which broke many pipes and put them behind. I literally can't get a plumber.
I may not be rich enough to buy D'Agostino or Boulder but I sure as hell can hire a plumber. If I could find one. So instead of hiring a plumber, and swiping my credit card I have to do it all myself. New strap wrench, 2 valve kits from Moen even if the faucet literally says Kohler on it, and an hour later I have a faucet that doesn't leak.
Right now my integrated is causing me some issues. I am honestly tired and I'd rather pay to fix it, but the effort to find a qualified tech and package and ship the amp is so much more work than I would need to fix it myself that yet again, I'm DIYing it.
Mind you in a lot of ways I like doing DIY projects, but the plumbing and this particulare issue are not really that.
How about you? Have you found yourself driven to DIY at home or in your stereo because the alternative was just not feasible?
Can't imagine wasting money on a plumber when so many fixes are very basic things and quite easy. Most of my Audio DIY are cable related as I like neat custom length installs on my systems. But I have opened up electronics and done multiple repairs or occasional mods as well. I would not trust most repair places these days and I would never ship my gear-would end up with more problems than I started with I fear. So what is your concern with replacing that IEC? |
This is also an issue. I redid almost all of the breakers, most of the outlets and switches in this house, and installed new fixtures, etc. and in that case money was definitely an issue. DIYing it let me do it a a small part at a time. |
In my long life I have tried to escape DIY many times, almost always with disappointment. I did find a good tile guy. the flooring company was extremely disappointing. I've never found anyone to do work on my cars that was satisfactory. Many times I paid to have work done, brought it home, and then fixed the problems they left myself. I decided to skip the part where I paid them to "fix it". I may be one of the few around that does their own maintenance on a new Audi. I did take care of an electrical problem a couple of weeks ago with a bathroom light that took me an hour and a half to fix a thermal overload in a can light. Afterwards I figured I'd saved $300 to $500 vs calling an electrician. I can repair a flat tire and reinstall it much quicker than it takes to drive to the tire shop and wait for them to fix it. they will fix it for free but time isn't free. As for working on audio components, saving the round trip shipping or long driving trip with the post 2020 $7 gas makes it useful to just do it myself. So I guess I'm not trying to escape DIY. I'm just very happy to be as self sufficient as possible. Jerry |
@erik_squires I start to get fidgety when I don't have a DIY project on the go. Not able to fix my own amps but I love working with my hands on building projects. With my stereo I've built isolation stands for a number of speakers and equipment. Built some speaker cables. Build a cabinet to house all my vinyl and right now I'm planning a new 3 shelf equipment rack. I've considered building one last house so I can have some really big jobs to keep me busy. A new dedicated entertainment room is high on the list. It's a sickness. 🤣
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