Am I the only one that does home improvements/maintenance?

[niccig]

Generally, I'm all for equality of the sexes, but sometimes I think that I did something wrong. I let DH know that I'm just as capable, if not more capable than he is at home maintenance.

I've just finished sealing the new driveway that we had installed. I've caulked the bathroom. I've fixed the rotting wood on the step. I've dug huge roots from the garden beds when we replanted a section. I've introduced my DH to tools like the mattock and the dremel and showed him how to lubricate screws with soap before screwing into wood. I am also the spider and dead rat in backyard remover. I'm about to put new mesh in all the window screens.

I think my father and mother, as my mother does all of the above, taught me too well, and now DH benefits from it. None of the other wives I know do any of this. And if I tell DH that I can't do something, he laughs and says "too late, I know you can."

Am I the only one?

I should add that DH does help, but I'm home more.

[elektra]

Wow! You are pretty skilled.
If I had a less handy DH or father I might have been more into DIY'ing it myself. But being that DH is SUPER handy and has every tool know to modern man, it just lends itself to me standing by and trying not to get in the way when it comes to that kind of stuff.
I do wish my dad would have taught me a few more handy things in childhood though.
My poor brother is even more clueless than I am though. He will need to find a wife like you, Nicci. :)

[s7714]

If I want things to actually get done, then yeah, I end up doing a lot of them. Like figure out what's wrong with the downstairs shower and how to fix it? That'd be me. Explain everything to DH and ask his opinion if we should order the parts and DIY or just hire a plumber...he says DIY...which means if I want it done anytime in the next year I'll be DIMyself. He is pretty good about helping and/or doing things if he's so motivated, but it's the waiting around for him to get motivated that's the problem.

Now if it involves fixing an electronic item, then DH will be on it like there's no tomorrow.

[niccig]

My poor brother is even more clueless than I am though. He will need to find a wife like you, Nicci. :)

That's what DH did. He has no clue as his Dad was always at work and his mother got a handyman in to do things.

We were visiting at Christmas and DH said MIL's bathtub needed new caulk and his Dad had done a botch job on the shower, so did I think we had enough time to do the tub and shower. By "we" he meant "me" and that he would keep DS occupied. MIL raved about what I did at a party - all the women looked at me like I had 2 heads and then the guys asked a few questions and one is a contractor, so he gave me some tips to refine my technique. My mother taught me how to caulk, so I probably can lay the blame at her feet. I don't have any brothers, so when Dad needed help doing something, my sisters and I helped out. He was very equal opportunity about work.

[niccig]

he says DIY...which means if I want it done anytime in the next year I'll be DIMyself. He is pretty good about helping and/or doing things if he's so motivated, but it's the waiting around for him to get motivated that's the problem.


Same here. Except for the garden, DH is motivated with that. Any house maintenance, ahhh NO.

[tylersmama]

Well, since DS isn't going to do it, it's me or spending WAY too much money on a repairman! :p

Seriously, though, since I've been on my own, I've taught myself to do a few things that I never in my wildest dreams would have considered before. I've fixed a leaky toilet, repaired cabinet molding in the kitchen, and my proudest moment...installed TWO ceiling fans, all by myself!

[TwinFoxes]

I don't do any home maintenance. I am completely unskilled. I don't even change lightbulbs. It's pathetic. My DH is very handy, and he likes doing home repair. We put alot of sweat equity in our old house. Basically I picked the colors/styles/shopped. He was the labor. It works for us because DH hates to shop. I pitch in if somethings a huge job and he can show me exactly what to do. But I'm just useless if I have to figure things out on my own. It's embarassing because most of my friends are super handy. One sister of a good friend built an entire addition by herself while pregnant! Then there's me.

As for dead rats, HA! Same with bugs.

[KrisM]

I don't do as much as I used to, but I have done:

-completely replaced old plumbing with new copper tubing
-tiled a bathroom floor
-installed toilets
-built a small deck
-hooked up the ice maker to the water line
-installed baseboard molding in 2 rooms

Most of this was when I owned my own house. DH is also handy, so we split a lot more and our current house needs a lot less. But, together, we have moved a doorway to a bathroom, tiled another bathroom, etc.

We just don't have the time we used to!

[KrisM]

I wanted to add that I always tried to figure out what the worse mistakes could be and let that determine whether I should learn to do something or not. For that reason, I paid someone to refinish the hardwood floors. I wasn't sure I was physically strong enough to keep the machine from putting waves or holes in the wood!

[JBaxter]

Im with you... Ive caulked the kitchen repaired the toilet , put a new vent tube on the dryer, unclogged a hair ball from the bathroom sink

my list of needs to be done
paint bathroom & bedroom
build some garden boxes ( need to borrow my moms circular saw for that)
saw a limb off the willow tree
paint shoe molding in kitchen
seal granite

[KBecks]

At least you know you are getting it done right. My DH hates when I ask questions about how he's going to do things. I admire your skills!

[caleymama]

:bowdown: Impressive! For some LOLs, you should know that I always think of you when I think about how the caulk in our shower needs to be re-done. DH has re-done parts of it, but really the whole thing needs to be done. I have thought about how I should just read up on it on the 'net and do it myself!

I haven't done too many projects all by myself because my Dad, DH, and FIL are all handy and helpful, but I am proud of my most recent one. We had to get a new fridge this spring b/c our old one died. We decided to replace the dishwasher (on its last legs) too. I wanted to put in a new sink to freshen up the kitchen and b/c I hated how hard to keep clean the white one that was there was. DH wasn't keen on the idea so I said fine, I'll do it myself. :p We picked one out and I uninstalled the old one (DH helped lift it out b/c it's cast iron and heavy) and installed the new (stainless steel) sink & faucet/sprayer with just a little help from DH to tighten a few things and do the caulking at the end.

[AJP]

I'm with you girl!!! Although I am hardly as skilled as you, most of these jobs fall to me. In my DH's defense, when he had 2 days off a week, he always kept up with the landscaping (we hire someone now) and cleaned the basement & garage. I do everything else. We've been in this house for 4 years and DH asked for the first time last week if/when I had the septic pumped (like he was wondering if I had EVER had it done), and wondered HOW I replace the outdoor floodlight bulbs that are 20 & 30 feet above the ground! :6:
I know that if I do certain things they will be done right. I also have much more patience to do ALL the steps in certain projects/jobs and to make sure the end result looks as nice as it functions!!!
I recently told DH I was going to spend $300 bucks on just me...the $ I saved by doing something myself and not calling the plumber!!!!! :D
I am about to score a great deal on a new dining room light fixture and I'm convinced I can change out the old one. Wish me luck!

[sste]

Same boat as you . . . though less skilled. I do all the home repairs, shelf installing, door fixing, etc. Or I hire the handyman.

[gobadgers]

Neither DH or I are handy at all. Our lowest point was trying to install a ceiling fan together (granted, it was in a condo building that does not have wooden rafters... but still).

Since our marriage survived that episode, we haven't even tried to tackle any projects ourselves. :bowdown: to all you ladies who can hold your own!

[cono0507]

Generally, I'm all for equality of the sexes, but sometimes I think that I did something wrong. I let DH know that I'm just as capable, if not more capable than he is at home maintenance.

I've just finished sealing the new driveway that we had installed. I've caulked the bathroom. I've fixed the rotting wood on the step.

After reading the part about sealing the new driveway I had to comment. We had a new concrete driveway put in last summer. DH decided to seal it and really did a terrible job. There is sealant in some places and not others and there are areas I hope are just dirty and not stained. We are going to have to rent a strong power washer and some chemicals to get it all off and redo it now. In this case, I really should have done it myself. But I tend to unfortunately be of the "If you want it done right, do it yourself" type way of thinking. I've learned the hard way that jobs involving caulk or paint have to be mine too.

[TonFirst]

I am not handy, but I am definitely the maintenance person around here. I change the filters, I clear and clean the dryer and stove vents, I keep up with touch-up painting, and I call the professionals for anything I can't handle on my own. I know how to unclog the garbage disposal, too, which is handy indeed. My dad is an engineer and is VERY handy, so we never outsourced anything when I was growing up, so hiring people to do basic maintenance is anathema to me.

[larig]

DH and I are good at different things, it works well for us. I'm more of a finisher, and he's more of a builder. When we added a wall in the house, he demolished old stuff there, I figured what materials we needed, he did most of the framing (with me there to hold stuff once in a while), I did the drywalling (including mud) and painting. He builds a cabinet, I stain/paint. I do tiling. He does most of the dirty/sweaty/heavy/big work I do most of the finesse work.

[ThreeofUs]

If I want it done, I get it done. While DH is now learning that these things are not really hard, he was the type of guy who said, "take up a carpet?! we can't do that!" and then watched with dropped jaw as I ripped it up.

I think he doesn't have any experience with home maintenance, and so everything is new and possibly overwhelming to him.

[vejemom]

Yup, I do all home maintenance/improvement work around here. If it is something I don't know how to do or don't have the time to do it because of the girls, I hire someone.

And Nicci, I also do the dead mouse removal around here, much to my chagrin. If I know it's there, I can't rest easy until it has been disposed of. And DH always says he'll do it when he gets home, but never does.

[smiles33]

Me, too! To be fair, DH can do it, but since he does all the grocery shopping and cooking, I took over washing dishes (really, just loading/unloading the dishwasher except for handwashing his knives and pots/pans), mowing the lawn, taking the garbage out, and misc. household tasks like changing out the toilet plunger mechanism thing, changing all the faucets out when we first moved in, painting, assembling furniture/toys, wiring the new programmable thermostats, etc. Fortunately, most tasks aren't regular daily/weekly things so I still feel like I get the better end of the deal.

[trales]

I do 80% of it. DH just does not have as much time as I do, his commute is terrible. I like to do it. I want to re tile our bathroom soon.