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Comment by roflchoppa | Hacker News Reader

yeah my dad made me learn all that shit at my uncles old house. was worth it, if you have kids and are reading this right now, teach them to fix stuff, its a gift that keeps on giving.

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Agreed 100%. Growing up we didn't have money to hire people to do this stuff for us. I learned how to paint, how to hang drywall, how to do basic plumbing, how to lay flooring (tile, carpet, and wood), and odd jobs like replacing crown molding.

I'd add basic mechanics to this list -- things like changing my own oil and replacing my own battery have saved me a TON of money and there's a satisfaction that comes from being able to fix your own stuff.

I grew up in a similar situation and thus gained the same sort of skills. However the area I grew up in is pretty depressed (Cumberland, MD for thoses who care https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-14/in-trump-...). What I'm seeing is that now we are at a point where so many people do things themselves that the service industry is also struggling. Contractors are no longer doing good business in the area as there has been a race to the bottom. If people don't fix it themselves most turn to a low cost do-it-all 'handy man'. Because everyone is trying to save a buck money doesn't really move around much and we're in a downward spiral.

Yea, my parents taught me all that stuff, and I grew up believing it to be totally normal to fix your own car and maintain your own house. It was a shock to enter the real world and find there are people who pay others to do these simple things.

Same here. It baffles me when I hear friends talking about not knowing how to do simple fixes.

As an aside, my wife and I do home improvement projects 'for fun'. Our largest so far was updating a bathroom. Youtube is amazing for learning, and worst case you end up hiring someone to fix what you broke :)

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