So the NY Times has posted an article about people that tried to "do-it-yourself" and ended up costing themselves more money. It lists several examples:
- Carol tried to replace a toilet by herself. It fell through the floor into the room below. Rushing to the store, she clipped her own garage, tearing off the bumber and a shelf of potted plants. Eventually, she ended up paying $3,000 to a contracting firm to fix everything.
- Ramon Estrada accepted 2 dozen uncooked steak and fish leftovers from a friend for free. They cooked it up, ate it, and 4 hours later there was cramping. Mr. Estrada became so dehydrated that he also had to see a doctor a few days later, at the cost of at least $400 for drugs and treatment and four days of missed work.
- One person put bleach on her scalp and pulled it through to the ends and left it on for an hour. She had hair down past the middle of her back and now she’s sporting a chin-length bob because her hair broke off. “We had to go in and do corrective color,” Ms. Brewer continued. “I charge by the hour, and I worked on her for four hours. So by the time it was over, she ended up spending close to $1,000 to have her hair corrected when it could have been $175.”
- Ms. Bernstein, 26, decided she would save $60 a month by buying an at-home kit and waxing her own bikini line. All she can say is that it seemed like a good idea at the time.
- The Shermans were hanging molding when they punctured a water pipe. Ms. Sherman plugged the hole with her finger until the plumber arrive. The cost to fix the pipe was $250. Ms. Sherman: "Now I have to say, we don’t do things ourselves anymore.”
I had to read this article several times to really absorb everything. I still can't believe half of what I'm reading. Ms. Brewer makes $250/hour doing hair? Someone would normally pay $175 for highlights (so a 30-45 minute job)? I can certainly applaud the anonymous client for deciding not to pay Ms. Brewer $250/hour on her hair, but she obviously didn't take the time to think through how to get highlights (and for a cash strapped person, how necessary are highlights?). I'm not a hair person, but I have three sisters, a string of girlfriends during my life, and I am currently engaged. I'm fairly certain you pick up hair-safe highlights at a price considerably less than $50. It may not be as great as your $250/hour professional does it, but for a first-timer, it's a better bet than using bleach.
Everyone should be wary of seafood, especially leftover seafood. If there's a food in the world that spoils easily, it's seafood. The steaks were probably not the cause of their bellyache. Mr. Estrada should have known better, being a culinary student.
Carol -- according to the article, you had the toilet hooked up before it fell through. That means it must have been occupying the same space as the previous one, so my guess is that whoever installed your toilet before did a bad job of framing the original in place. Unless you replaced a small toilet with something much larger (perhaps fashioned out of lead) and heavier, it shouldn't have fallen through the floor. However, I don't think it would really have been cheaper to replace the toilet than to replace the toilet's insides unless the ceramic was falling apart, which would be the floor shifting. In your case, I would have found a handyman forum on the Internet, or at least talk with some friends that have done this kind of work before. It sounds like the real problem was the toilet shifting around on a weak framework. If you had let it sit, your old toilet may have done the same. Talking to an experienced person might have caught the problem, and you probably would have needed a professional to handle redoing your floor. The article makes it should like you rushed to the store with water leaking out. Your first priority should have been to turn off the water using the house's shut-off valves and drains. I don't know you personally, but the article really makes you sound like a ninny. What were you rushing to get -- towels?
The Shermans -- you have run afoul of a common issue. Unless you built the house and have a good memory, puncturing a pipe is something that even a professional can do (for a much higher price). Hanging molding is definitely in the realm of stuff you can do yourself, and I would let a badly-placed pipe prevent you from doing home repairs in the future.
Anyways, the article seems to be targeted towards scaring people away from doing anything themselves. From home repair to cosmetics, horror stories abound. They quote a mechanic about people replacing car batteries. The way most car batteries are setup, it would be hard to even put a battery in backwards -- the wires don't reach! National chain stores like Advanced and Auto Zone will put the battery in for free if you ask. How is the battery the most common issue?
I am solidly an amateur in a lot of things home repair centered, and I am completely incompetent when it comes to car repair. However, if I don't know how to do something, I keep asking more knowledgeable people until I know what needs done. I also search for guides/videos about it. Google/Youtube/howcast are very useful in this. There is also the library with entire sections devoted to DIY projects. With this, I can either figure out how to do something, or I take it to someone else that can. With vehicles, I usually end up taking it to someone else. With the exception of Carol, everyone in this article was dealing with a project that could have been done by themselves with just a bit more forethought. Carol was almost certainly dealing with a structural issue and the leaky toilet was the sympton. A bit of research could have revealed that. "After making sure the bolts are tight, can you move the toilet? If so, you may not want to sit on it".
Above and beyond saving money, people should at least attempt to be familiar with the things they use, especially those without moving parts (which are easier to understand). If a contractor is going to work on your house, you should know what they are going to do (even if you can't do it yourself). People shouldn't be scared to hang molding in their house.
One quote in particular stood out to me:
“We’ve been seeing a lot of musculoskeletal problems from people lifting heavy things, maybe moving or doing things they’re not accustomed to,” Dr. Lamelas said. “A lot of back injuries, shoulder injuries. Lacerations all the time.”
Well to me, the bigger issue isn't the the musculoskelatal problems so much as the "things they're not accustomed to".
We are becoming a helpless society.
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, cone a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly." - Heinlein, Robert
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Floor Fan update #1