Thanks,Dad, For Teaching Me to DIY Stuff

[Supervstech]

Same. That's why my water heater's up to about 1994 code though, lol. What's an expansion tank?

Yup, the expansion tank has several purposes, the biggie is of course, to keep the tank from flexing when it heats a cold tank up… but it also helps prevent that cold blast of water in the shower when someone flushes the toilet, it reduces hammering noises in the home when devices open and close. It really helps the plumbing system survive.

I also install a mixing valve when I replace a tank. Set temp high over 140F, and adjust the water temp at the mixer. Doubles effective tank capacity, and removes legionaries disease concerns.

 

[Supervstech]

My dad was a mechanic and my happiest childhood memories are of “helping” him. He was the king of make do with what you have, and paying someone else to fix something was unheard of. Anything broken can be fixed. I tried to pass it on to my son but he has no interest. The younger generation who I call “The help desk generation” seems unable to function without having someone else to tell them what to do.

I actually have passed on some skill to my oldest daughter. She understands tools, can change her own tire, understands what a car is supposed to do, what warning gauges define, and actually shuts off the car when something isn’t right, and calls me when she isn’t sure. She is 27 now, and lives across the state from me, but has a skill base I am proud of… now… my other kid… helpful, but zero interest in anything I am aware of… 21 no desire for a drivers license… no interest in leaving his room… just plays on the internet… ah well…

 

[Skypower]

I replaced my 23 year old water heater last year with another gas heater. The thing was $1000 with 12 year warranty and It was 200 dollars more than the same unit that was sold out of California. I was curious to see what the difference between the two units was some I looked up the parts list. The only difference I could find was the low NOx approval sticker I installed it myself and added an expansion tank. A few months ago a single gal across the way had her water heater leaking. She was quoted $4800 by a local well known company! I said that I think that they were trying to take advantage of her. She found a handyman for R&R for $1750 and didn’t have any problems. Everything in California is over priced.

 

[Brett V]

I actually have passed on some skill to my oldest daughter. She understands tools, can change her own tire, understands what a car is supposed to do, what warning gauges define, and actually shuts off the car when something isn’t right, and calls me when she isn’t sure. She is 27 now, and lives across the state from me, but has a skill base I am proud of… now… my other kid… helpful, but zero interest in anything I am aware of… 21 no desire for a drivers license… no interest in leaving his room… just plays on the internet… ah well…

Sounds a lot like my 2. The daughter has a general knowledge of how to do things and. Is usually the one calling for advice, not her husband. He grew up without a father and was never taught to be self sufficient. He’s a good man and has his own skill set but it’s certainly not as the home handyman. The son on the other hand is lacking in ambition or incentive to excel at anything. They’re both in their 30’s but completely different.

 

[Brett V]

I replaced my 23 year old water heater last year with another gas heater. The thing was $1000 with 12 year warranty and It was 200 dollars more than the same unit that was sold out of California. I was curious to see what the difference between the two units was some I looked up the parts list. The only difference I could find was the low NOx approval sticker I installed it myself and added an expansion tank. A few months ago a single gal across the way had her water heater leaking. She was quoted $4800 by a local well known company! I said that I think that they were trying to take advantage of her. She found a handyman for R&R for $1750 and didn’t have any problems. Everything in California is over priced.

I have a cousin who lives just outside of DC who paid over $2k for a new gas water heater a few years ago. I offered to come and do it for her but she couldn’t get a permit if the work wasn’t being performed by a licensed plumber. It will be a cold day in hell before I ever ask permission from the city government to replace a water heater, but she was afraid to do it so my offer was declined.

 

[Skypower]

Yeah, I’m not installing for others either. Family’s passed on and all my friends are self sufficient or just pay for it. Definitely not doing it for a neighbor even for cash. Too many new water heaters have issues and I don’t need to be in the middle of it. My advice is free.

 

[timselectric]

I have been trying to teach my granddaughter things, when we hang out.
But she doesn't seem to be very interested, right now.
Maybe when she gets older. Kids are so stubborn at 3 weeks.

 

[JoeHam]

All of us kids shared a black Plymouth 9 passenger wagon that Dad got surplus from NASA for $300. They used a rattle can to paint over the FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY decal letters on the front doors.

My five sisters had to be able to change a tire under his supervision before they were allowed to drive after dark, and that thing was a beast to jack up get the lugs loose. They weren’t gonna have to rely on some guy to get home.

I jokingly asked him if he didn’t love me since I didn’t need to do that.

I got the standard answer : shut up smart aleck.

 

[Zwy]

I have been trying to teach my granddaughter things, when we hang out.
But she doesn't seem to be very interested, right now.
Maybe when she gets older. Kids are so stubborn at 3 weeks.

Mine will 1 year in July.

My son needs to get to work on 9 more grandchildren.

 

[hpeyerl]

Drives me bonkers when you're in some forum or local subreddit and someone asks about the 'best plumber to replace a gas hot water heater'. Inevitably, someone will say "not hard to replace yourself. Save a bunch of money" and then some asshat comes in and says "There's a gas line so you need to hire a professional because if you do it wrong and your house blows up, you'll have no insurance." People who don't know how things work shouldn't give advice.

 

[Supervstech]

Drives me bonkers when you're in some forum or local subreddit and someone asks about the 'best plumber to replace a gas hot water heater'. Inevitably, someone will say "not hard to replace yourself. Save a bunch of money" and then some asshat comes in and says "There's a gas line so you need to hire a professional because if you do it wrong and your house blows up, you'll have no insurance." People who don't know how things work shouldn't give advice.

The funny thing is I don’t have a plumbing license… I have H1,2,&3 heating, gas, ac and refrigeration, unlimited electrician and full steam, and hot water boiler licenses… but I have to call a plumber to permit the cold water connection… because my liscense doesn’t cover it.

Apparently it is fine for me to connect to the 3,000,000BTUH boiler water line… but potable water requires a different liscense…

 

[Danke]

The funny thing is I don’t have a plumbing license… I have H1,2,&3 heating, gas, ac and refrigeration, unlimited electrician and full steam, and hot water boiler licenses… but I have to call a plumber to permit the cold water connection… because my liscense doesn’t cover it.

Apparently it is fine for me to connect to the 3,000,000BTUH boiler water line… but potable water requires a different liscense…

In other words, you don’t know shit.

 

[Supervstech]

In other words, you don’t know shit.

And have zero interest in it.

 

[Quattrohead]

My son didn't seem too keen as a nipper but he now runs more and bigger equipment than I ever did and he's 18.
Both of my kids know how to solder, I bought cheap electronic projects from Ali whatever to teach them how to solder and make a fun project.
Me, I always wanted to work for the BBC but we just weren't in a position to do that type of education as poor farmers in the UK. I'm good now though, Jack of all trades, master of none.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Are people really becoming that fragile and dependent??

Yes. It’s astounding how incapable people have become.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

He said, "DONT EVER CUT WIRE SO CLOSE! I WANT 3' MINIMUM EXCESS ON BOTH ENDS!"

Service loops..

 

[Supervstech]

Service loops..

Nahh, he was worried i cut runs so close to the needed length.

If i had been short, it would have wasted 10K worth of wire

 

[pvdude]

I like DIY projects!
Dad passed when I was 2, mom never re-married, so I grew up alone.
(mom was always working)
She had kept his tools from WW2 Navy work.
No way to pay anyone, so I learned how to fix things around the house at a young age.

Carpentry, plumbing, painting, electrical, masonry, auto repairs & maintenance, etc.
Made $$$ as a kid, working on the neighbor's cars & lawnmowers & boats, etc.

Gave me confidence in my ability to learn and do, and I have added more skills over the years.

Taught the son how to solder @ 8 years old, gave him electronics kits to build.
Later on, in college electrical engineering classes, he said no one else in the lab knew what the "funny looking hot pencil" was for.

Daughter does her own auto repairs and maintenance, (OK, sometimes I help).
She recently did some plumbing and drywall work in her house - think I'm a proud Dad?

DIY is a rare attitude now.

 

[hpeyerl]

DIY is a rare attitude now.

If my father-in-law decided he was going to hang a picture, my mother-in-law would call the ambulance before he started just to save time.

I've been married to their daughter for almost 30 years and since my dad was the polar opposite of her dad, I'm pretty good at fixing almost anything (there are few things I'm afraid of but one of them is the garage door springs). My currency is extremely high with her and because she's an Archaeologist, I just keep getting more interesting to her the older I get.

 

[markpj23]

I went to Trade High School for a year in my hometown of Springfield MA. The school was setup so that you had one week of 'book study' classes then one week of your shop trade class. I was in the heating & air conditioning group. I loved the shop week but usually skipped the other.... Later joined the Navy and got tons of electronics training plus the GI Bill got me through grad school.
Now community colleges scramble to offer similar courses for various trades in order to fill the huge need for skilled labor. Seems to me the smarter investment would have been to keep those trade - oriented public schools.