DIY or get someone else to change a bulb?

Minstadave said:
It's worse in other countries, a lot of the Indian guys I work with think it's hilarious I am decorating my own house as back home labour is so cheap that they would always get people in to do basic things.
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you don't know anyone with teenage kids? throw them £20 they'll paint a few rooms.

I was talking to one of my friends about how I still need to last coat my bathroom

"XXXXXXX will do it for £10 and he won't rush it, he painted some rooms of mine"
 
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Its strange. My parents, whilst DIY capable themselves, never showed me anything...

Moving out with my GF and suddenly NEEDING my car was a big push to learning how to change the oil, spark plus, and other basicish things I felt comfortable doing. The internet is fantastic for that.

That gave me the confidence to do a few more things. Change a broken light switch, a tap washer, fit a washing machine instead of paying currys etc.

All in all, yeah, I'm kinda bummed my stepdad didnt show me the ropes a little. Then again, I was a lazy SOB, didnt do anything for them, so its a 2 way street I guess?
 
Kamerad said:
Changing a light bulb is barely DIY. You arent going to start stripping the wallpaper down or putting up a new shed in rented accomodation are you. I'm sure being able to wire a plug has come in real useful for you.
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I seem to have struck a nerve with my previous answer.

Things I did while living at home with parents and therefore didn't have my own house included decorating my room (stripping paper and painting), building flat pack furniture (wardrobes, bed etc), Serviced my car, Changed the brakes on my car and a whole lot more.

You say that "changing a light bulb is barely DIY". I agree, so why do so many people appear to not know how to do it or won't do it? (the basis of the topic of this thread).


And to answer the last part of your post - Yes, it did come in handy otherwise I would have been able to watch my TV or play on computer/consoles as I had to add plugs to them.
 
kinobestew123 said:
The Halfords We Fit service drives me mad and must be partly responsible. It brainwashes people into thinking they have to pay for simple services.

1 It's really expensive and I bet any proper garage would change the bulb/wipers/battery for less if really needed.

2 They claim to be experts. I'm not sure how they get away with this given it's usually the store staff with absolutely no knowledge of cars doing it and they regularly break something or cause other problems. They also refuse to do certain models of cars knowing they're too difficult.

3 The adverts make out that it is a really difficult task and things can go wrong/you can hurt yourself by using faked 'home tutorials'. They're not a fair representation of changing a bulb at all and make it seem much harder than it actually is.
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Ordinarily I would agree, but I knew how much of a ballache it was changing the headlight bulb on my rover 75 (even knowing how to do it, it's gonna take you a long time to get the bloody clip to stay in place unless you are a combination of an octopus and stretch armstrong), so I used to pay a fiver and sit back for half an hr while those poor buggers swore at the sodding clip instead of me.

My gf is 40, and she is like this though. She isn't curious about understanding a problem. If she doesn't already know how to do it, somebody else has to do it for her. I prefer to jump in with both feet and figure it out. Sometimes it's a bit hairy (oh my god, I'm not sure if I remember how to put this all back together!), most times it's fine and you feel good. Youtube teaches everything now anyway!
 
Painting or putting down a floor or plumbing and more advanced electrical work I would rather pay someone to do it. Its not that I couldn't do it, if i pay someone they will do it quicker and probably better than I would first time trying. It took me several hours to fit a new lock to an internal door that previously had no lock, for example. If I take those hours and my rate of pay it may work out cheaper to pay someone to do it and I don't have to do any work. I don't find painting enjoyble and if I can pay a company to come and paint and be done in few hours then much better than me doing it.
 
Some people are sodding useless, I seem to do everything for everyone some days.

Out of principal I won't let a friend pay someone to do a job it'll take me half hour to do, I'll do it and then expect beer, or coffee and biscuits at least.

I don't pay anyone except labourers to help me, done all my renovation works and property maintenance myself over the years. Learn by doing, bit of research, then you do it and you know it's done right and not bodged in.

When I lived at home I did loads of DIY for my parents in the summer holidays, baring in mind I moved out at 18 and haven't been back. Did cooking and cleaning too. I'm amazed at how crap the youth of today are at just about everything.
 
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There are loads of DIY things I don't know how to do, simply because it's never come up. If something comes up, I look up some tutorial videos about it on youtube, go out and buy all the right tools and materials, and have a crack at it. Then have a second crack at it because I'll have messed it up the first time. The second attempt usually produces an acceptable result. Big jobs, things that would take me ages to do alone, I'll pay someone to do those.

Changing lightbulbs though - that's the most basic of basics. Had no idea there were people who can't do that.
 
My 35yo sister lives alone and when I visited her for xmas I found 10 bulbs out around the house. She had no idea how to change a bulb and didn't ask any friends/family, look at youtube or even get an electrician, she was just happy to live in a dark house, you just can't help some people.
 
My blind spot is windscreen wipers.

I know how to change windscreen wipers, I have changed many windscreen wipers.

Problem is I immediately forget how to do it once they are out of the pack.

Such a simple thing as well, slide one way to get them off, slide the other way to put them on.
Doesn't stop me trying to put them in backwards at least 3 times when I put a new set on.
 
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