The Fixit Yourselfers Thread

[GOTHBROOKS]

i enjoy repairing and embellishing my own clothes.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

I guess I will be the contrarian- my life is infinitely better since I started letting professionals and experts fix things I don’t know how to fix. Or even stuff I do know how to fix, but know that experts will do it 3 times as good in 1/4 of the time. This is the point of living in a society with specialization.

More time to dad, husband, ride, live.

Maybe I’m missing the point.

Not at all. There has to be a threshold for DIY where the time invested is not worth the time lost in other areas of your life. This threshold is certainly unique to everyone.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

Not at all. There has to be a threshold for DIY where the time invested in no way worth the time lost in other areas of your life. This threshold is certainly unique to everyone.

Agreed.

When we bought this place, the assumption was that I would hire pros to do a bunch of the serious work--then the recession hit. Long story short, working on this house has dominated my life to an unhealthy degree. Stubbornness has kept me going--the alternative around 2010 would have been to default and walk away.

Still though it really does feel like I've given away a decade on a house that is still not finished.

[weisan]

this is timely. just got a call from our tenant that the garage door is acting up and he sent me these pictures. there's a degree of risk involved in trying to fix this myself. still mulling over the approach I am going to take to fix it. I am still wondering how this could have happened. did the wood panel just come apart on its own or did something else causes it?

[Cicli]

I fix everything on my own. Everything.
I have spent 30 years in the service industry. I never say no to any repair.
As Wei Pal said, with the right attitude you can fix about anything.

This Branson quote is used in every staff meeting I hold.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by weisan

this is timely. just got a call from our tenant that the garage door is acting up and he sent me these pictures. there's a degree of risk involved in trying to fix this myself. still mulling over the approach I am going to take to fix it. I am still wondering how this could have happened. did the wood panel just come apart on its own or did something else causes it?

It looks as though it was well-nailed originally, so either the door was hitting the end of the track at the end of the up cycle repeatedly and loosened it, or something changed in the set up to cause it to pull away--door jamming on track at top maybe?

Be careful around those torsion springs!

If you put it back together, I would use deck screws into the blocking where it was nailed.

[peanutgallery]

Fixing a garage door ain't like zip tying a thumb shifter to a head tube. Be careful, they bite

Originally Posted by weisan

this is timely. just got a call from our tenant that the garage door is acting up and he sent me these pictures. there's a degree of risk involved in trying to fix this myself. still mulling over the approach I am going to take to fix it. I am still wondering how this could have happened. did the wood panel just come apart on its own or did something else causes it?

[Mikej]

Originally Posted by weisan

this is timely. just got a call from our tenant that the garage door is acting up and he sent me these pictures. there's a degree of risk involved in trying to fix this myself. still mulling over the approach I am going to take to fix it. I am still wondering how this could have happened. did the wood panel just come apart on its own or did something else causes it?

Looks like the spring tension overcame the nails ability. Probably try some carriage bolts and nuts with washers drilled through. Maybe a lag bolt. I have fixed and built everything from TOW missile units to armored vehicles to 65 CU. YARD surface mining shovels. I don't mess with those type of garage springs. Or refrigerants due to license requirement. Everything else is fair game -

[oldpotatoe]

[QUOTE=weisan;2441815]this is timely. just got a call from our tenant that the garage door is acting up and he sent me these pictures. there's a degree of risk involved in trying to fix this myself. still mulling over the approach I am going to take to fix it. I am still wondering how this could have happened. did the wood panel just come apart on its own or did something else causes it?

'Might' need something more than zip ties and electrical tape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SPB6zNDmWA

[alancw3]

[QUOTE=oldpotatoe;2441844]

Originally Posted by weisan

this is timely. just got a call from our tenant that the garage door is acting up and he sent me these pictures. there's a degree of risk involved in trying to fix this myself. still mulling over the approach I am going to take to fix it. I am still wondering how this could have happened. did the wood panel just come apart on its own or did something else causes it?

'Might' need something more than zip ties and electrical tape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SPB6zNDmWA

what the guy in the video says over and over. be careful working around those springs. there is a great deal of torsional pressure generated by those springs. might be worth a service call to a garage door mechanic so as not to get hurt. don't get me wrong i fix whatever i can within reason w/o putting myself in harms way.

[cmbicycles]

I have almost always fixed stuff myself because I can, learned by watching my dad... why pay someone else when you don't have to. I don't have to question how it was done or retrace anything later if something else goes. Recently fixed a bunch of stuff at my elementary school... dehumidifier for another teacher (thermal fuse), a dozen or so violins and stringed instruments (various issues, re-gluing/re-hairing/setup/etc), laminator ($5 part and they were going to throw the whole thing out...$2k machine). I should try to "barter" my labor for additional $ for programs at the school that I support but mostly I just enjoy the hands on nature of fixing stuff, and having accomplished something tangible, it helps balance my teaching life in some ways.

[Nooch]

Originally Posted by quickfeet

I only pay someone to change my oil when it’s cold (no garage here). I can’t stand paying someone to do something I think I can do better than.

My outback -- my wonderful outback -- has a top mounted oil filter and I just installed a fumoto valve at the plug. my next oil change should take 5 mins, if that long, assuming I can find a milk jug for direct drainage

But more to this, I'll do as much car work as I can myself. Brakes, hitch install, oil changes. When stuff starts getting technical I get a little scared.

My step dad, father-in-law, and I ripped all the drywall out of the top floor of my house (once we realized we couldn't get the surface paintable after years of wallpaper over wallpaper), re-studded it so it was measured right, ran new electrical, laid down laminate flooring. We gutted the bathroom (but I had a friend tile it). Replaced the cabinets in the kitchen and laid down floor in there... We did a pretty comprehensive renovation for less than $10k.

Sidenote: I'm more afraid to work on bikes than on cars. Something about protection offered by the car versus lack thereof on a bike in the event of a failure...

[Birddog]

Weisan, it appears as though that torsion spring (arm breaker) has over come the nails used to fasten the board. I think you would have to release the tension on the spring before trying to re fasten that board. As others have said if you repair it use bolts with large washers. If it were mine I'd replace the door and take the deduction on your income.

[weisan]

Appreciate all the fair warnings and good advice.

I got everything I need.

I am ready.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by weisan

Appreciate all the fair warnings and good advice.

I got everything I need.

I am ready.

and