Who's the handy man in your family?

That would be me. I keep things assembled, working, swinging, closing, and locking.
My wife is mostly a crafter (mostly), but she has been known to grab a sledgehammer and bust up concrete to get a new porch area put in.

I dont have one…..My nephew is not confident at his handiwork.
Send help.

@filmfann She used a sledgehammer? Cool! You know in my day a woman wasn’t considered feminine if she did something like that. She could knit, crochet, etc., but it was the mans job to fix things. I wonder if women could’ve they would’ve?

Typically me. I can fix most things if they were ever working in the first place. And the task falls my way if it involves things like @filmfann‘s list of assembling, swinging, closing, installing…I can sew on a machine too. Plumbing and electric and high-tech gadgetry are my exclusive territory.

But my wife is pretty resourceful too and if I’m not around when something needs fixin’ she’ll give it a try. (To give you some idea, she came into our relationship with almost as many power tools as I have). She’s pretty strong and fit and she’d be happy to swing a sledgehammer if the situation called for it. She has a fine arts degree but will extend that to do all wall painting we’ve ever needed.

@comity Women on farms especially had to jump in side-by-side with the men at times. And it was pretty common for a widowed farm lady to run the place herself, which even if she had farm hands to do the heavy lifting meant she had to know how to get the job done.

No one. My husband has a home repair book, and he gets it out and does it when necessary, but neither of us are good at it.

My boyfriend

My husband can fix just about anything. It’s amazing. The furnace, the heating element in our stove..the clothes dryer, our cars. He’s a Mechanical Engineer by degree..but beyond that he grew up with a farming family that was big about “making do” and fixing rather than replacing things. This means he comes from a long line of “born fixers” as he puts it. But, he’s not really interested in making new things or taking on big remodeling projects around the house much.
We did once build a wall in our house (dry-wall, taping, the whole works—you’d never know it wasn’t a pro who did it) and is talking about laying new bamboo floor in our daughter’s bedroom…but I think that’s about the limit of what he’d tackle.

@geeky_mama Lucky you!!

My 18-year-old brother. He likes putting things together – bookshelves, game tables, you name it! He is also a splendid cook, but that’s not what you asked about. :)

My Dad. He can fix anything.

@AnonymousGirl Funny! My hubby is a good cook and likes to make bread. Years ago, was it considered masculine for a man to cook?

@comity Well, it is said that men are the better cooks. :)

I’ve repaired things my entire life. As a teen I would repair appliances such as dryers, washers, ranges, toys, etc so my philosophy was always to repair rather than replace when possible. I probably have an unfair advantage over most when it comes to electrical repairs since I’ve played with electricity my entire life, went to different schools for it and have been working as an industrial electrician for a while now. I’m pretty good at welding, machining and fabrication. I would say my sisters, brother and mother were always better at basic home repairs, landscaping and carpentry than myself (most of the time).

In our house it’s my husband. In my gauge terms house it’s her. When she was growing up she helped my husband build an airplane.

A task shared is a task halved…..or some other bullshit cliche like that.

Wow, now we have a list of consultants. :)

My partner.

I’m pretty handy building shit (I build my own dungeon furniture and my own leather gear, after all, and I’m the go-to guy when someone needs their computer or surround-sound system set up). But I realize I’m not a professional builder, so when I want a job done right, I call a real plumber or electrician.

I, perforce, am. MIlo snaps his fingers, and I am at the ready with my tool box.

Over the years, whenever I have had a handy person here, I have followed him around and watched. Now, I can do a lot and can also be sure when to call in the pros.

@AnonymousGirl That’s true! My present husband was a bachelor in his 40s and cooked for himself. When he told me he could cook, I didn’t care whether he was rich, poor, I said “I’ll take you” and he’s been cooking for us for 35 years. : ) Aaah!
I hated to cook and now my experience is limited so I have an excuse not to.

I have a gardener/handyman I pay for mowing, blowing, barn cleaning and various “honey do” tasks that I am either too busy or too lazy to do for myself.

My buddy Scott, and we have a great personal friendship as well, we can ramble on for hours talking. We also have a running joke…I call him up and say ” Scott, I need a blow job!” lol

He has been my right hand man for 5 years now and I’d be lost without him.
I did try out a new neighborhood kid last summer, ” Nathan.”
Nathan is 12 and the spitting image of one of Gary Larsens Farside kids..pudgy, goofy, freckle faced. haha

Nathan is a good worker, but, he’s a bit goofy, one of his Farside stunts was to shove my blower into the Kiva fireplace on my deck one afternoon and create a Hiroshima cloud of ashes that engulfed the entire house, patio and left my hot tub covered in ash.

Way to go Nathan! lol

I’ve done drywall, linoleum, carpets, wallpaper, painting, wood repair, staining, repairs around the house, and some small renovation jobs. Oh, I poured some concrete and did yardwork. No plumbing or electricity for me though. I also do my own mowing, snow removal and raking. Then when I’m done, I do artwork, sewing and crafts. Did all these even when married.

Rawwr!

Give that girl a silver dollar ! ( that’s what we said in the old days) : ) @linquaphile

@comity I love silver dollars… they hold special memories for me. My grandpa used to give me silver dollars before he died when I was 9. Thanks for that moment!!

That would be my grandma and my mom. I’m innovative but with limited knowledge so I’m not allowed around much aside from a leveler and power screwdriver/drill.

When absolutely necessary, Hubby can fix things, but we usually hire somebody. The last time we needed help, both Hubby and Sonny tried to replace the ballast on the light fixtures in the family room and in the kitchen.

The bulbs went out one by one until it was nearly dark in both rooms, then they bought new ballasts and took out the old ones. After messing up both rooms, they came to the conclusion that it was beyond their capability, and I ended up using lamps in both rooms for several weeks until we got around to calling in an electrician

Before my grandfather got Alzheimer’s, it was him. He was a carpentry teacher for a long time and he built his house with his own hands after getting out of the Army engineers.
Now, it’s me. I feel like DIY stuff (and self reliance in general) is a dying art among my generation, so I have taught myself to fix many things. I’ve repaired toilets, faucets, sagging doors, air conditioning units, rotted wood… I’ve also installed drapes, fixed window frames, refinished wood floors and so on. I have a lot of tinkering skills too. I still have a hard time with vehicles, though, but I do know how to change oil and coolant, and a few other things.

My husband. He can do pretty much anything except electrical work. He can do minor electrical work but he doesn’t. He has pulled down walls, ceilings and rebuilt them. Pulled out windows and put in new windows in different spots. In the past, he owner-built a house so there isn’t much he can’t do. He tends to get tradies to do the plumbing and electrical work and he gets someone in to put up the cornice. He can do basic stuff on the car but mostly uses a mechanic.

I am not a handy woman. Women who can handle power tools are an inspiration.

I guess I’m it, but I’m not worth much. I can use a screwdriver, a wrench and a hammer, and I don’t mind climbing ladders, but I’m scared of anything electrical. (Stuck a hairpin in an electrical outlet as a kid and never got over it.) I love it when I actually fix something. I glow for at least a day.

@Sunny2

Yes! The after glow when you amaze yourself. haha

Mister daddy! He’s here visiting me and I came home from work to a whole new kitchen! He put up a pot rack, made me a shelf, cleaned my windows, reorganized so much stuff! Tomorrow, he’s going to work on my bedroom (I think) – it’s surprise though!

We take turns, my husband has his areas of expertise and so do I. As @Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard said, I think the ability to fix and repair is a dying art. I just loaned my lawn mower to some 20 couple year olds (1 male 1 female) and I had to show them how to start it. Then when they were finished, they put it on its side to hose off the blades, of couse the oil ran into the air filter and I had to replace the filter, luckily it went no further. I feel sorry for them, they are at the mercy of tradesmen and since they too are a dying breed, the cost of repairing anything is going higher and higher. This in turn leads to more stuff going into landfills and cluttering up the world. Sometimes I am glad I am old, hehehe.

@rooeytoo I agree about the dying arts. None of my students can sew a button on a shirt but one rebuilt his wallet with duct tape. It’s too bad they don’t have the basic cooking, sewing and repair skills because the people in their lives don’t teach it and the education system no longer feels handy classes are beneficial. Heck, that’s a rant for another thread :D

Don’t you have home economics in US schools? My son and his mates did that at school (So they could cook food to eat – teenage boys and food go together). They didn’t like the needlecraft component but he did make a little bag.

My daughter did carpentry and metalwork. I still have the tin box and the timber jewellery case she made me.

@Bellatrix – the 20 somethings who borrowed my mower, male is aussie, female another bloody yank, both with university degrees. I don’t know if they know how to cook, they seem to eat take away most of the time, but they sure don’t have any sense about mowers or engines or actually even mowing the lawn. Their unit is a disaster, she wants me to help her make book shelves and I know that means she wants me to make them for her because neither of them know how to use tools. So it ain’t working for everyone! Must be that old, you can lead a horse to water, etc. syndrome.

@Bellatrix Totally restraining myself from another education platform rant… In the US, home ec and other vocational classes, along with phys ed, art and music have been replaced, reduced and nearly annihilated. The focus seems to have shifted to academics, core standards, test prep and STEM fields.

As a teen-ager, I had several years of home-ec, where we learned how to cook (apple bread pudding was our first effort), darn a sock, sew buttons, make embroidery stitches and use a sewing machine. The boys had shop; each year we switched for two weeks.

It was fun; l loved learning that stuff as well as Latin, calculus and physics.

Well thankfully @rooeytoo you can’t judge all Australian youth by those two examples. My daughters know how to manage a lawn mower and my son can cook and clean (not that he chooses to often). I know men in their 50s who have no idea about how to use a screwdriver and truthfully, if you need someone to cut up wood with a saw, I am not the woman to ask. People learn what they need to learn. I am sure those young people will eventually learn how to look after a lawn mower OR they will pay someone to mow their lawns.

I agree @gailcalled and @linguaphile. My children all did those sorts of courses at school and loved them. Plus, as soon as they hit their teens they had to cook a meal one night of each week. Nothing fancy, but it couldn’t come out of tin and it had to be balanced and nutritious. They can all now cook. Not sure that they love it yet. My daughter is very creative though and makes many things for her home. The other was super proud of herself for putting together her new barbecue.

@Bellatrix – you missed that the female is American. And yep you are right can’t judge all by those 2 but neither can you judge all by yours! A granddaughter in NSW just graduated from year 12. She is headed towards university, I don’t think she had any home ec classes I will check with her. However another who does not want to go on after year 12 is taking hospitality courses and he is learning some cooking skills, no sewing though.

Do you really believe that as many young people today have the handy “person” skills that our grand parents did? I certainly don’t see it here or USA. Part of it is due to the ever increasing sophistication of what we use in our day to day lives. But a lot of it is due to the skills simply dying out from lack of use. As you said today people pay someone to do it for them. Works great until they run out of money!

I think they will develop the skills they need. I know plenty of older people who aren’t handy. They couldn’t fix something if their lives depended upon it. I equally know many young people who are quite handy and capable, not just my children. I don’t think we can generalise about a whole generation and their capabilities or lack of them. Even if they don’t take home economics or woodworking at school, it doesn’t mean they won’t ever develop those skills.

Yep @Bellatrix – I am sure you are correct and that is probably why there are so few disadvantaged people in the world today. Everyone is so wonderfully self sufficient and competent in all aspects of life???

I am not sure why you are arguing, I think people today are less handy than in days gone by. I couldn’t do what the original squatters, drovers, etc. did here or the pioneers who crossed the USA in a wagon train.

But if you think everyone could, so be it. I have no desire to change your perception.

@Bellatrix How are they going to “develop the skills they need”? On YouTube? If there is no one in your environment who even thinks being handy is possible, one will need to develop a constructive attitude first, also, and without any help.

Necessity is the mother of invention. We live in a world where obsolescence is built into the manufacturing process. The broken kettle or even television is largely a throwaway item. As to repairing a lawn mower, lawn mowers are not produced to the same standard/quality as they were 50 years ago. Plastic carburettors are not designed for the home handyman to fix by whacking it with a hammer. If it comes down to changing oil/blades etc., there are mechanisms through which people can still learn. The methods have changed though. Some may be lucky and their dad/mum will teach them such skills. Others, because their dad doesn’t know how to do it either or isn’t interested in teaching them, may attend a class in person or they can go on YouTube and find videos to teach them. Some may decide they would rather go down to the mower shop and get someone else to do it. If the need is there, people can and will learn required skills.

Some skills have become redundant. We don’t need to learn how to build, repair or attach wagon wheels (although there is a YouTube video if you want to find out how to build one). Younger generations may not have or need these skills, but that doesn’t mean they can’t learn them if the need/desire arises or that they don’t have the aptitude or will to learn. There has been a resurgence in people wanting to learn how to knit, crochet, sew, cook and various wood and metal craft skills. Where skills and techniques are still important (even from an emotional perspective), people will learn to perform those skills. Others will choose to get someone else to carry out those tasks. I don’t think that has changed regardless of what generation you belong to. Some do, and some get others to do.

As long as the ability to seek out information and find ways to learn skills and techniques exist, people will learn what they need to know. Fathers/mothers may not pass handyman skills down to their children, but that doesn’t mean people can’t or will have no interest in learning. I don’t think there is really any difference across the generations in terms of the willingness to learn what people need to learn. Those from different generations may just have different needs and different interests.

So yes @Dabbler. Some old skills are being preserved through mechanisms such as YouTube. Anyone want to make cheese? Or build a table? Mig welding? Need to fix your shingle roof? I don’t know about where you are but here there are also hundreds of face-to-face TAFE courses you can do. You can learn to hang wallpaper, about permaculture, how to remove a dent from your car, plumbing skills, you name it, there seems to be pretty much a course you can do.

I guess maybe there is another interesting point, there must be very little necessity.

All I can say is be careful about loaning out your lawn mower! Make sure the borrower knows how to use it, otherwise your much prized honda mower will be trashed by those who only learn what they need to know!

We just walked the dogs and passed a woman (30ish) struggling, moaning, sweating trying to push a mower through high dense grass. In the time it took us to pass by, it stalled 4 times. I hope the mother of invention soon kicks in and she gets the notion to raise the mower deck and make a couple of passes! Maybe her partner is the handy person in her family. I hope so!!!

Whoo-hoo-hoo! I just prepped, primed and painted two entire rooms, including the ceilings, all in 2 evenings. I got rid of a horrible calico wallpaper in one room and a very dark green paint in another room.

Looks wonderful!!

@linquaphile I love you will you marry me? The bedroom needs painting, and the faucet leaks, and….........wait! I’m married. Aaaw shucks!

@comity I needed that laugh this afternoon! Thank you :) I’d be happy to paint your bedroom if I was in the area.