First Person : Learning Through Do-It-Yourself Projects
Do-It-Yourself projects are sometimes done to make home improvements, just for fun, or born out of necessity. Unfortunately the vast majority of my DIY projects through the years have been due to necessity. I hope to share some things I have learned through doing DIY projects.
One DIY project I tackled due to necessity was to replace the floor in our bathroom after the water damage from a busted hot water heater. I went to Lowe’s and one of the employees even demonstrated how to cut peel and stick floor tiles and answered a few other questions regarding the repairs. Armed with the information I had learned there and a little more reading online, then I went on to replace the bathroom flooring and it turned out looking great. There were some tiles left and the project was so simple, I even decided to replace the floor in the smaller bathroom.
Another project I did on my own, but with my husband’s supervision, was replace the water pump on our washing machine. This was another necessity project. I found step-by-step instructions with photos at www.repairave.com on how to remove the old water pump and how to put the new one on the machine. It was simple and the only cost involved was for the replacement part.
My most recent DIY project was an automotive repair after the car brake lights were staying on. I talked with a friend, who works on cars, he said it may be the brake light switch. I did a little digging around online and found instructions on repairing it. After a quick visit to the local auto parts store and about five minutes on my knees in the parking lot, I had managed to replace the switch and the brake lights were off.
These are just a few of the projects I have done through the years. Things I have learned are never be afraid to ask questions, talk to the experts, and a little willingness to do work can save money. I also try to keep good resource books in our home library such as automotive guides to vehicles owned and a basic home repair manual. The DIY bug has even rubbed off on my teenage daughter, who has been to an auto salvage yard to get parts for her used care and installed the parts herself. Best wishes on your future DIY projects.
Resources :
Repairave.com – http://www.repairave.com/
Lowe’s Home Improvement – http://www.lowes.com/
