Why I'm not DIM.
Seeing the amazing progress made by others at the Houseblogs Webring makes me a bit embarrassed that the only hand I'm lifting at TOH is to write a check. Well, we'll paint once the drywall is up, but that's about it.
My excuses are thus:
1) We have a baby. A special needs baby at that, so one of us needs to be playing/feeding/otherwise paying attention to her pretty much all the time. I can't very well put her in a playpen and bust out a wall with a sledgehammer.
2) We're doing major construction that we just don't have the time, skills, or tools to do. Shoring, foundations, bumping out an exterior wall and extending the roof - these are not lightweight jobs. Like the lawyer who represents himself having a fool for a client, we'd be fools to try this stuff ourselves.
3) We're not good at it. Back in the days we rented, Mr. Nola and I used to watch HGTV - "the construction channel" as we called it (in a Russian accent for some reason) - and we really thought we could buy one of these neat old New Orleans places and be just like Bob Vila. Sadly, we discovered actually doing construction projects on Saturday morning was a whole lot harder than watching them on TV. And I'm kind of afraid of power tools. So the work on our first house, which was admittedly WAY more than we should have taken on, stretched on for an eternity. Actually, we're still finishing some of the stuff we started, um, eight years ago.
Now that we have a child, we can't mess around with having gaping holes in the walls for months at a time. And I don't want it. I want to move into an intact structure. Plus, it's fun to go over and see what's happening without having to get all dirty myself. Maybe I lack the Puritan work ethic that made this nation great. But then, I'm giving work to lots of guys - so I'm contributing to economic growth, right?
posted by Nola @ 7:46 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
No need to apologize, indeed! If I weren't quite so picky and had fewer bills, I'd be outsourcing more. DIY is just a means to bridge that gap between what I want and what I can afford. I'd much rather be out in the garden than running electrical or refinishing floors.
here's me...just writing checks. I will be painting...but all that other stuff is best left to anyone else. Just consider us "managers". A DIY category all in itself!
I agree with everyone who commented. When we have our 2nd floor rental unit done, we will pay others to do most of it. We simply couldn't afford to keep it vacant as long as it would take for us (with full-time jobs and amateur status) to get it done.
Some people go from house to house restoring, but I don't have it in me- it's just too much physical work if you are doing it yourself.
We pay electricians and plumbers for the big jobs too.
I myself am really glad you have a blog and will show your lovely house being fixed up. I have never been to New orleans and I love seeing the different types of features in homes all over.
Also, it's so great to hear you are enjoying the process. So many times people get really stressed out and don't enjoy it. That is not what life is about. I believe that whatever one decides to do, try and be happy.
I take pride in what we do ourselves, but I know I could never have a child and do it. I would just be too pooped to give that child the right attention! Sorry for the long-winded post!
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