I admit. I am not a handyman around the house. I did not get the “repair gene” when I was born. That is not to say, however, that I will not try my hand at doing small projects around the house usually with a modicum of success.
However, there are two things that I will not tackle – electrical work and plumbing. I do not want to light up tilt so anything more than changing a light bulb is beyond me.
With plumbing I can see me flooding the basement or having a geyser shoot out of the kitchen sink because of something I did or didn’t do.
So last week when we were having toilet troubles I called a plumber. First of all, to flush I felt that I needed to go to the gym to develop muscles because the handle was so hard to push. Secondly, the thingy (I apologize for using such a technical term) inside the tank didn’t reseat itself so the water kept running and not filling the tank. Thirdly, the doohickey (another technical term) that directs the water into the tube to fill the tank snapped off so the water was hitting the lid and dripping onto the floor.
The plumber came and looked things over. He couldn’t understand why we had the ball and chain unit. Most companies use the Fluidmaster type. My answer, “I don’t know”.
Because he hadn’t been back to the shop before he came to our place he didn’t have the part he needed on his truck. Luckily there is a hardware store two miles from our house so he was able to go there and buy what he needed.
In no time at all he had new insides in place for us and I no longer had to exert 50 pounds of pressure to flush. Glad to say that things are flowing smoothly once again.
arjeha 
I love the language that you’ve used to craft this slice! A little humor goes a long way in life. “Just keep swimming…”
As long as I an keep my head above water I am fine.
Doohickeys and thingies stymie me at every turn. I did once attempt to replace a light fixture, but I was so nervous about being electrocuted I wore rubber soled shoes and rubber gloves. I was successful, but don’t think I will ever do it again. Too nerve-wracking and the sweat that accumulated in the gloves was unexpected.
I have also changed light fixtures. I spent more time reading and rereading instructions than it took to do the job.
I agree, plumbing and electrical work needs to be taken care of by an expert, and that’s not me or my husband. Now you have me wondering what we have inside our toilets. I didn’t know there was anything but a ball and chain. I would go look, but I don’t want to jinx something that is working by spying on it. So maybe that will be a slice in my future. 🙂 Glad your problem was solved.
Far be it from me to do a plumber’s job and deprive him of a living wage.
I am all for calling specialists. Glad your problem was solved easily.
That’s why we have specialists.
I love the “flowing smoothly”. I can fix quite a few plumbing things, and my husband taught my daughter (who was interested) how to do some electrical work. But the ‘big’ stuff needs a pro, not me or my daughter. Glad you seemed to have gotten everything repaired with a minimum of fuss.
My dad wasn’t a fixer around the house so making repairs is something I never learned.
My husband used to try to do his own plumbing repairs. That has cost us more money than he’d want me to admit to publicly. Therefore, we now have an on-call plumber!
I loved the simplicity of this slice. I also appreciated the humor, Bob. How would you feel about me using it as one of the “be inspired” pieces during the March SOLSC? If that’d be okay, please email me at stacey{at}staceyshubitz{dot}com to let me know by Fri., 2/3. Thanks!
It is hard to admit that there are things around the house we can’t do.
Married to a do-it-yourself guy, I have mixed feelings about home repairs. I would say that about 50% of his repairs work; not so the other 50%. Either he ends up redoing the job, and then calling in an expert or we end up calling in an expert. This can go on for days, or weeks, or months, or years until I finally get cranky. It’s important to know your limitations. Love the humor! We’ve all been there.
I know my limitations. This makes Kathy glad.
So happy to hear that all is flowing smoothly. Even thou my hubby is a Mr.FIX it GUY, it’s sometimes easier and better to call “the guy” who has the right tools and knowhow
Having the right tools sure does help.
Got a chuckle Bob – really enjoyed your post. My hubby can fix some things but it is usually his son who we count on for most repairs – when he can make the time.
I have learned that doing it yourself doesn’t always save money.
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