Young homeowners often repair-challenged (Gen Y can't DIY)

MSBNC.com ^ | 8-3-06

[Hydroshock]

CHICAGO - The staff at his neighborhood hardware store can spot John Carter from a distance.

He's the slightly befuddled guy who often comes in declaring, "I have no idea what I'm doing. Can you at least get me through tonight?"

The 26-year-old Chicagoan, who's been slowly rehabbing the condo he bought last year, is part of a generation of young homeowners who admit they often have no clue how to handle home projects.

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For them, shop class was optional. It also was more common for their parents to hire contractors, leaving fewer opportunities for them to learn basic repair skills.

With low interest rates allowing more young adults to buy property in recent years, many inexperienced homeowners are desperate for advice when the furnace goes out, the roof leaks or when a home project that seemed like a no-brainer goes terribly wrong.

[Hydroshock]

Stuck on stupid.

[mrs. a]

Hey, you gotta know your limits!

My husband and I bought an older house back in '93. We stripped the wallpaper in the bathroom and hubby tried to re-plaster the walls. It cost an awful lot, when the plaster guy came, for him to take down hubby's stuff first.

However, when the hot water heater broke, hubby ran down to Home Depot and picked one up, and he and his brother installed the new one in a couple hours. That saved us plenty.

Follow your talents!

[Cecily]

You can take classes on all kinds of home projects at Home Depot and Lowe's too.

[blau993]

I laughed when I read your post. I am also a boomer, and my father, a WWII vet, was the most mechanically inept man I have ever encountered. The only thing I could ever figure out is that each of us is given a ration of mechanical skill, and he used up all of his flying his Curtis Helldiver on and off Admiral Halsey's carriers.

So, knowing that I was not going to learn any of this from Dad, I proceeded to the local library, where, lo and behold, they had scads of books dealing with home repair and renovation. I identified a few that appeared to be the most useful and up to date and bought them. These books, heavily thumbed, pencil annotations in the margins, with the occasional sweat stains and blood splatters, still sit on the shelf in my workshop 40 years later.

I am sure all of this stuff is on the internet, which is a good thing, since I get the impression that a lot of kids today wouldn't look at, much less own, a book. But it's good to know that they are trying.

[Hydroshock]

I to get a chuckle out of those.

[groanup]

My 16 year old son can paint a house and lay concrete. At least his education is progressing:

http://www.fredoneverything.net/Rednecks.shtml

[Hazcat]

My 12 year old can trim out a room a well as any carpenter. Just point him to the chop saw (compound miter saw) and stand back. Perfect fits. He has been working at my (and my fathers') side for years and isn't afraid to try anything. As you can tell I'm a proud papa!

[Emmett McCarthy]

I don't generally enjoy working with these younger homeowners. They generally seem to have an over-inflated view of their own worth based on their careers as computer specialists, lawyers or whatever and an under-valued assessment of the tradesman. They seem to "shop price" above everything else and don't consider the overall "value" of a conscientious, skilled person. Then, when the job's half-done in a half-assed manner by some bubba who gave them the great price, they don't understand why it's going to cost even more to fix it.

Or, they tell you how this other guy said he could do it for less, but he's too busy. Well, hell, when I'm too busy, I'll tell you I can do it for even less than that!

My all-time favorite was, "Well, my Dad could do that" to which I replied, "Yes, I'm sure he could" and then they said, "Well, he's passed on". At which point, I think, but don't say, "Then I guess that will slow him down some."

Nah, I prefer to deal with more seasoned homeowners who know the real deal.

[doc30]

Experience is the best teacher. When I bought my current house, my first home purchase, it was a fixer upper. Did most of the work myself and I learned the hard way how to fix, repair and install lots of things. Sure, I had to run to the hardware store in the middle of the project just to get some stupid little thing, or a different tool, but I learned from it. I made lots of mistakes, too, but I didn't sweat it. Just made sure it was done right the second time around. And I never grew up in a handy-man type of family. But the internet sure helps with Q&A tips. And it saved me $$$. Only for some of the more complicated projects did I hire someone to do it - mainly for time saving and for complicating factors I didn't want to get into. Switched from well water to reclaim for irrigation and saved $800 by doing it myself. I can' believe sprinkler system companies wanted $500 just to run a PVC line under my driveway to get to the hookup. Did it myself for $10 in parts (inluding 2 sodas to help with the hot FL sun!). The Gen-Xers will do fine and most will welcome the challenge of learning new skills. And it saves money and you get it done the way you want it look, too.

[AmericaUnited]

And what's up with this? At least boomers know which end of the screwdriver to hold.

[Aquinasfan]

From basic lawncare and maintenance to replacing leaky faucets and hanging drywall, I learned it all on my own with a little help from DIY books and the internet. I honestly believe some people just don't want to get their hands dirty.

There are some people who are completely incapable of manual tasks, but they're very few. My sister considers it beneath her to do any household tasks. She's a single mom, and she is not at all embarrassed to call the older man next door to help her with the simplest tasks.

My wife offered to buy some sewing materials for her young teenage daughter one Christmas, and my sister said, "I don't want her to have to do that kind of thing." She did send her kids to sailing lessons this summer though.

I can't believe we came from the same family.

[leda]

when we see hints that this is the direction our kids are
headed in, we give our advice and guidance then we let
them sweat it out a bit. this little thing called experience
kicks in and they seem to learn from it.

i drove a '74 pinto (rear end me and we blow up together)
while i was in college. bought it for $500, did all the tune
ups, etc myself then turned around and sold it for $500
when i graduated.

pat, his brothers, dad and cousin are building a cabin on our

acreage up north...with out the convenience of utilities even!

it is our hope that our kids will learn to be equally resourceful
when they are grown and on their own. we won't be around to
take care of them forever so it's our job to help them learn to
be skilled and independent.

[fortunecookie]

This article proves, to me anyway, that the American family is incapable of passing on crucial components to a common sense life.

I was thinking something similar. For the Gen Y generation, a good bit of them, both parents or single parents really had to work outside the home. Kids learn so much through modeling. It's unlikely, between the video games and the time at day care or after school activities, that many Gen Y-ers had much opportunity to watch the plumber or construction men, etc, or even parents, perform repairs. My earliest memories include sitting on the curb with my little sister eating a box lunch (under the watchful eye of mom on the porch) watching repairs on our street.

Like your mom, I'm a single parent. I've done, and been assisted by my son, a number of simple repairs and construction of items like a bookshelf, a bike, for example. But I'm surprised by the number of my son's friends (and their parents) who can't or won't - and by those who can - do the simplest of things for themselves. I think the early exposure is helpful and crucial.

[Inyo-Mono]

Likewise I also worked with my father, a WWII vet who did teach me one of the most important home maintenance arts - how to swear like a sailor while you are banging your thumbs, strippping bolts and bending nails.

LOL! Sounds like my experience growing up!

[qam1]

Includes Gen-X in the article

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.

[Aquinasfan]

Last week, I bought some Home Depot stuff for my cousin's wedding gift. One item was a Purdy paint brush for $15.00. It took me years to learn the value of a proper brush.

LOL! Me too. Painters say, "don't skimp on the paint or your brush." I just painted our two-story house with two Purdy brushes. This time around I learned the value of a paint brush cleaning comb, a ladder stabilizer, and ladder equalizers.

I watch the pros and try to do what they do. They have a lot more experience than me.

[Aquinasfan]

I wonder why many high school graduates don't know how to do anything until they get out in the 'real world' for a few years?

95%?

[cyclotic]

I just used that brush last week. I've had it for five years and probably cleaned it (with a paint comb) 150 times. The bristles are nearly perfect.

[HungarianGypsy]

My husband is great at fixing things -- when he has the time. Considering he works 12-14 hours a day he doesn't have much time to do DIY projects (as much as he wants to).

[MD_Willington_1976]

lol...

I used to work as a sub under a general contractor... fun times...

A lot of people thinks trades jobs are for dumb people.. ha, I know plenty of tradesmen that retired by late 40's...

My uncle is a plumber and is semi-retired, he works when he's looking to make some money to restore muscle cars...

Here's one...Enjoy...
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v155/MDWillington1976/Cars/?action=view&slideshow=true