I have a bunch of fixes that need to be done around my small home. Some of them scare me (electric, plumbing) to try myself. I mean, is anyone really comfortable with dealing with problems you know should be left to people who actually know what they are doing? Imagine, for example, the situation where a pipe bursts and there’s water all over the place. How can one handle the situation without hiring Water Remediation Services or at least a local plumber? Of course, DIY is a viable one, but there’s only so much you can accomplish on your own. For some reason, the thought really scares me. If I’m honest, I think it’s to do with past experiences. I know so many people who have decided to take on DIY problems by themselves, and boy oh boy, they have come to regret it.
One friend had a leak in their home, and instead of contacting a company like Make It Drain Plumbing & Rooter who are known to have advanced experience in this area, he decided to do it alone. I bet you can guess what happened? Yes, it got worse. A whole lot worse. I mean, just imagine if someone does not know the basics of carrying out a plumbing project or does not possess the necessary knowledge about the equipment needed like a PEX cinch tool, how is he going to fix anything. He would likely end up messing up more. That is what happened in the case of my friend.
Anyway, since then, anything to do with the electrics or the plumbing has been left to the professionals. Moreover, I have become so mindful of tasks like plumbing that now I usually consider asking around for a good plumbing firm. For instance, when I asked for a suggestion from one of my relatives, he advised me to check out firms like I Need The Plumber & AC (ineedtheplumber.com/). Since they are known to provide satisfactory plumbing services, they happen to be quite popular with their customers. That said, I think I will hire someone like the one mentioned above for the future plumbing necessities in my house.
Anyway, when it comes to other jobs, I’m just clueless about where to start (cutting new screening for a window, replacing a bathroom cabinet.) I finally resorted to requesting handyman recommendations from friends on Twitter when Matty caught wind of my plans.
To say his ego was wounded was a bit of an understatement.
A HANDYMAN?! WHAT WAS HE?
Um, my friend? My roommate? Not someone I would expect to use power tools?
YOU ARE GOING TO PAY SOMEONE FOR THIS?
Once the all-CAPS screamy voice stopped, I asked if he’d consider building a new garden gate. The current gate is old and sagging. The wood is warped and it no longer opened entirely because the length had sagged lower than the height of the exterior walkway. In other words, it was real damn annoying to use and we’d been doing so for years.
Enter Matt, the African educated golfer who swooped into the hardware store and $30 and 2 hours later created an entirely new gate.
There was much personal satisfaction from this little project and much admiration and fawning on my part. I honestly would start this sort of project in a burst of enthusiasm and end up in the ER with 8 fingers. He made it look easy. And in all fairness, from what he says, African prep school is far more practical. They didn’t spend nearly as much time learning useless theorems when they could have been learning how to replace a farm’s water pump, a car engine and apparently — basic carpentry.
Makes my senior year of creative writing look pretty shabby by comparison. Or does it? I did creatively sweet talk him into building the gate with all too effective threat of hiring another man to get the work done.
I’d say I won this little round…
~K