On Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:49:26 -0400, Bill wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:

There's certainly a lot of satisfaction in doing it yourself, isn't there?


Yes there is (and it's difficult to put a price on it). I'll share a
related thought/problem. I feel that my neighbor, who is a journeyman
plumber (goodly employed), has been implicitly fighting me every step of
the way: That I should have a pro do this, that I should have a pro do
that... Below are some examples:

-"I think the trades, all of them, should be left to the pros"

Union mentality. I bet he doesn't think much of non-union tradesmen, either.

-"I don't touch electricity"

A lot of people are scared of electricity. If they're scared of electricity
they're better off hiring someone to do it.

-"It will be too hard (for you) to cut out the holes (in the drywall),
the pros know where they go and how big they should be"

Does he do woodworking? Any repairs (outside of plumbing) on his house?
Despite being a plumber, perhaps he's not very mechanically inclined.

...

When I mentioned that I thought I was getting pretty good with the
drywall saw, he mentioned that the pros use a router/rotozip tool. I
asked him if he had one and he said it was loaned out. And when I asked
him, he could not seem to make up his mind whether he knew how to do
drywall or not. He has an immaculately done kitchen area, so I think he
has lots of skills. I found it irritating that he couldn't make up his
mind whether he knew how to do drywall or not--never did get the answer
to that one. When I suggested I was probably making about $5/hour in
doing my own work, he said it was probably more like $1/hour. "A pro
could tape my garage in 2 hours." He did say that my drywall
installation looked "pretty good for a first time".

I've done a lot of things that I likely didn't "make" $1/hr, particularly of
screw-ups are deducted. ;-) I still work on my house. Other than major
structural work or roofs, I'll try about anything.

In the year that I've lived here, he's barely shared any tidbit of
knowledge at all. It feels like he's standing guard protecting any and
all secrets of those who work in the trades. He does contract work
himself, so I have wondered whether he was hoping for my business (I
know he did several plumbing/sewage-related projects for the previous
owners).

Typical union mentality. The secretly (or not) wish for the return of guilds.

My wife says because of the type of work he does, he doesn't want to
come home and think about it--it's too closely related. And maybe so,
because he never offered to lend a hand--or offered only after I was
finished.

I don't work on electronics at home, either. I do woodworking largely, I
think, because it uses some of the same thought processes but isn't work. I'd
help family or a neighbor, though.

Are there trade unions, or the like, that encourage the sort of attitude
I've described above?

Perhaps it's the reverse. People who think this way are attracted to unions.

I'm glad the attitude above is not present on the
Wreck. Suggestions accepted (too).

Try the HVAC group. yikes

BTW, he's a decent family person
and a good neighbor who doesn't play loud rock music late at night--no
offense to those here who like to play loud music late at night (myself
included).

No reason he can't be a friend. A man just has to know his (neighbor's)
limitations.