What are things to DIY in the US?

[credzba]

 

HI Joecy, glad to see you again! We are challenged not only with losing friends or being isolated. The big challenge is losing identity for us, the Chinese professional women who speak English. We are so much used working and interacting with people. You're also a people person by personality, I can see. I like your term of "transplanted" on the first issue of You May. We are really a growing tree being uprooted and transplanted into a new soil. So be patient. Allow yourself grow. We just need time to root ourselves again deeper into the American land.

 

In my school book, there is a sentence like this, "What is heaven? Heaven is American house, Chinese food, French art, German car". I see American houses are very large with different doors and many rooms.

Joecy, can you clean your American house the way you like in China?

 

Catherine

 

Catherine,

You are so cute!

 

No, I can't clean the American house the way I used to in China. The web mop won't work for carpeting. I still don't like vacuuming, the deadly heavy machine clunk my feet and it hurts every time! I'm not a good housewife, I do laundry once a week. Only clean the house if I can't stand it. And I'm pretty good at ignoring the dust, well, it's really not that dusty like in China.

 

 

Joecy you do know you can replace carpet with wood or laminate flooring.

 

In China, these things are all done by professional, but in America we do many of these things ourselves, and companies sell the flooring in such a way as to make it easy (easier anyway).

 

So, if your bored .. you COULD replace the floor

The true expert at this kind of thing is Tsap, as he has done tons of remodelling, but it is something you can do yourself, and then your house will be pretty, and easier to keep clean.

[Joecy]

 

 

 

 

 

Joecy you do know you can replace carpet with wood or laminate flooring.

 

In China, these things are all done by professional, but in America we do many of these things ourselves, and companies sell the flooring in such a way as to make it easy (easier anyway).

 

So, if your bored .. you COULD replace the floor

The true expert at this kind of thing is Tsap, as he has done tons of remodelling, but it is something you can do yourself, and then your house will be pretty, and easier to keep clean.

 

er.... this is where I think you American guys are CRAZY!!!

I would rather spend time to remodel my hair or nail

[amberjack1234]

Joecy, have you and your husband had any work done on your house or car that is out of warranty yet if it is? When you do you will know why we try to DIY as often as we can.

 

There are several television programs that teach you how to do repairs to your home in order to save money. Here in America labor is extremely expensive. I just had a piece of the floor replaced in my mothers bathroom where the flooring was getting soft. The repair consisted of ripping up the linoleum and replacing a 1 square foot of plywood which he brought a scrap piece with him not a whole sheet. He used two pieces of 2" X 6" x 4'. He did not replace the linoleum. I will have to do that. Bill $425 for two hours of work. That's making pretty good money at $212.50 per hour.

 

Larry

Edited September 4, 2014 by amberjack1234 (see edit history)

[Joecy]

Larry,

Thanks for explaining....I'm starting to understand the DYI culture a little better, now that seeing you, Tsap, the others and my husband working around the house.

 

Yes, my husband loves to work on house project. Every weekend, he find one or two. He just suggested to adjust one block of a pavement stone, said it was not leveled and people would tripped over. I looked at him, thinking this is completely crazy! And he asked me to help him?!!! In my whole life(in China), I only saw construction workers doing things like this, not my dad, not my friends, definitely no women...

 

I do like the DIY culture, those TV show to teach you how to do things, probably explains all kinds of HOW TO videos on You tube. I am also amazed at how Americans solve a problem: search for answer, looking through other ppl's experiences, before jumping into a solution. Where Chinese don't have the habit to ask questions, don't share their best practiced, they pay to get things done.... Maybe the best practices are kept by the professionals so they can get paid .

[Thomas Promise]

This video is for all the DIY guys out there.

 

Edited September 5, 2014 by Thomas Promise (see edit history)

[amberjack1234]

Larry,

Thanks for explaining....I'm starting to understand the DYI culture a little better, now that seeing you, Tsap, the others and my husband working around the house.

 

Yes, my husband loves to work on house project. Every weekend, he find one or two. He just suggested to adjust one block of a pavement stone, said it was not leveled and people would tripped over. I looked at him, thinking this is completely crazy! And he asked me to help him?!!! In my whole life(in China), I only saw construction workers doing things like this, not my dad, not my friends, definitely no women...

 

I do like the DIY culture, those TV show to teach you how to do things, probably explains all kinds of HOW TO videos on You tube. I am also amazed at how Americans solve a problem: search for answer, looking through other ppl's experiences, before jumping into a solution. Where Chinese don't have the habit to ask questions, don't share their best practiced, they pay to get things done.... Maybe the best practices are kept by the professionals so they can get paid .

Joecy on our last trip to see Liren's parents her mother was complaining about all the things that didn't work around the house and her dad couldn't fix any thing. Liren told me about all the things that needed fixing and I started fix all of them. Her parents thought that I was an amazing man. Actually I am just the average American guy. Your husband was very smart to fix that stone because here in America if you BEST friend came to see you and tripped on it and fell down and got hurt they could sue you in court for thousands of dollars because they got hurt on your property due to your negligence.

 

Larry

[Joecy]

This video is for all the DIY guys out there.

 

 

 

Hi Thomas, this video is really cool!

 

Has anyone tried it yet? Or never get a chance to fold cloth cause the wife did it all?

[Joecy]

Joecy on our last trip to see Liren's parents her mother was complaining about all the things that didn't work around the house and her dad couldn't fix any thing. Liren told me about all the things that needed fixing and I started fix all of them. Her parents thought that I was an amazing man. Actually I am just the average American guy. Your husband was very smart to fix that stone because here in America if you BEST friend came to see you and tripped on it and fell down and got hurt they could sue you in court for thousands of dollars because they got hurt on your property due to your negligence.

 

Larry

 

Yes, Larry, you are amazing man! My dad saw a senior American painting his handrail , he signed and said, "Look at the Americans, how diligent they are! " The Chinese are proud ourselves to be the most hard work people, but we don't know to fix our house. ...

 

Your wife is very lucky to have you taken care of her parents' house.

 

And yes, I'm scare of law sue. I heard it could be really expensive....

[Allon]

If someone is injured on your property and is a paid licensed contractor, usually by state law he must be insured, not only for injury but for professional misconduct.

 

Where you end up in trouble is when you have a neighbor or non-professional licensed person do the work. They can sue but usually your home insurance will cover such an injury. They will even hire a lawyer if the guy exaggerates his claim.

 

When you hire a professional licensed contractor to do work for you, he usually will present an estimate which may contain a clause that releases you from any lawsuit -- but not always. Check the language of the estimate (fine print). Often a shady contractor will add a clause that makes you liable for any injuries.

 

Also, get a Release of Lien, or Lien Waiver from him, so he cannot put a lien on your property if you are not satisfied with his work and decide not to pay him. With such a release he must satisfy you that the work was done right if you withhold payment.

 

Usually differences such as these go to arbitration or mediation rather than general court. And many states have a Division of Corporations that often is as powerful as a court.

 

But to stay out of trouble, hire a licensed, bonded, insured contractor for your work and obtain a lien waiver before any work is done. That's why such work is generally more expensive. They have to pay those insurance fees.

[tsap seui]

Thanks for the words Credz. And, you are right, home remodeling has gotten much more easy, both in materials and with all of the DIY shows. Nowadays you have rock stars (Daryl Hall and Kid Rock, as well as former movie stars who remodel homes. As well, most of the current DIY shows feature women doing much of their their own work, and explaining how things are done. Every aspect under the sun done in construction literally has a YouTUbe video on how to do it. Plus, Home Depot and Lowes used to have classes on how to do different projects yourself.

 

In 2003 I sold my 3 truck carpet cleaning business and moved to Pennsyltucky to start a new business. I bought old run down houses for real cheap and in a four year period, fixed them up and flipped 13 houses. Plus, I built two additions and two complete houses in that same period...up until the housing debacle in the large cities killed everything off.

 

I did all of my own plumbing and electrical and finish trim work, really, every aspect of construction like installing flooring, sanding and refinishing hardwood floors, and roofing, etc., other than finishing drywall and laying blocks.....I hired out helpers and one other guy who actually knew what he was doing to help me frame the new work, pour concrete and what not. With me running the backhoe and dozers I had a self contained company. It was a real passion and I loved it, except for dealing with employees...LOL

 

When I came home from Nam I worked as a laborer on a pipeline at first, made a bunch of money at that and bought our first home 7 months after getting home, then went to work for a plumber for a couple of years, joined a full time night club road band for about 4 years, then got back into construction. I learned plumbing and running heavy equipment on the job but never worked as a framer or finish guy, or ever worked for an electrician. All of that stuff was self taught...LOL...still have that first worn out electrical how to do book I bought to teach myself, back in 1987 when my daughter was one year old and they lost power in her mothers home in the bedroom she slept in....I didn't know a thing about electrical work but I saw nothing was going to get down, if I didn't do it, so I bought the book, fixed that problem, and saw....heck, electrical work is much easier than plumbing a house.

 

Building additions, new houses, and most of the remodeling required really strict inspections. I studied the codes like I studied the electrical and what not and passed all of the inspections....and those inspectors were really tough folks. It just took applying myself to study and asking questions of the "pros" but I never flunked any of the 5 point inspections. I would pay a licensed electrician to run the power from the pole and stick the service in the wall, then I would install the 200amp box and run all of the wires. Also had to trace down all of the mistakes from previous electricians and plumbers....jeez, I saved many homes from fire hazards we encountered in most of the older homes. I also bought a few house in that 4 year timeframe that had some acreage. I learned how to deal with the authorities to sub-divide the land, run the tests for septic tanks or sand mounds and put a home on ground that had been nothing but a field.

 

Joecy, many women can do remodeling projects. There is a wealth of DIY help and many of the materials and ways of doing things have gotten much easier these days. Materials aren't cheap anymore but you can save on the labor if you put your mind to it.

 

In 2012 I bought a 3 home 6 apartment complex for my wife (in case something ever happened to me for her to have as an income) and she worked with me on many projects. Never having ever held a painter brush or roller in her life she became a really good painter, much better than most of the male employees I had had earlier...more focused and skilled on cutting in ceilings, etc., etc. She enjoyed it and we had a great time remodeling those apartments together... she would be singing Chinese songs and working away. Actually, tired of employees, one of the apartments we stripped down to the bare studs and floor joists with just the two of us doing all of the work, then I rewired and replumbed everything, moved walls, put in the new kitchen and bathroom (we had already installed 5 other new kitchens and bathrooms), hung the drywall and finished the home completely to include flooring, trim, and painting...only paying a guy to finish the drywall. My wife only weighs a tad over 100 pounds but she worked right beside me...often on her own doing projects herself after a short time of me explaining things to her.

 

It all boils down to....any of us can do anything we want to. You just have to have the desire....sometimes that is the hardest part.

 

Good luck....you can do anything you want to

 

Rawknee

 

 

 

Opps, forgot to add. You can rent any tool under the sun to help you do your project, literally from backhoes, trucks, to hammers and everything in between. In my business I stopped buying a lot of speciality tools and just rented things like metal breaks (for outside aluminum trim pieces), hardwood floor nailers, hardwood floor sanders, electric drain snakes, etc., etc. Plus, in our local True Value store, they hire women and men who can answer questions for folks...for me, I learned many of the newer products just introduced on the market....cool gadgets to make the work easier. There is so much info out there for DIYs (do it yourselfers) . I see many women getting into remodeling their own homes. By the way, I don't even call myself a professional....just a self taught hillbilly with a desire learn, and to succeed. Doesn't ever red blooded man, and now many women want to be a carpenter? Even Jesus was a carpenter.

Edited September 12, 2014 by tsap seui (see edit history)

[Joecy]

Rawknee, that was a impressive story.

I have huge admire to "self taught hillbilly with a desire learn", turning old shabby house into good looking business!! I'm sure your passion also inspire your wife : )

[dnoblett]

Replacing a roof on a house, helped my brother do this a few years ago. There is a local roofing company that advertises they will show you how to install and provide tools.

http://www.themetalroofoutlet.com/

[Joecy]

He finally did this.... And,

I helped