DIYbanter - View Single Post - What home repairs are you most Afraid of?

John G[_6_]

brought next idea :
What home repairs are you most Afraid of?

From reading this newsgroup and talking to people, it seems that
electrical is the most feared. But there is good reason for that, since
electricity can kill. I always tell people that if they are afraid of
it, dont touch it, or get an education about it first.

Plumbing seems to come in second. Although plumbing is unlikely to kill
anyone, it can do a lot of property damage if a pipe breaks and there is
no way to shut off the flow. The bigger problem with plumbing is that
the jobs regularly turn into "a can of worms". Old pipes tend to break
or leak, and replacing one bad pipe often turns into replacing a lot
more, ripping open walls and so on. Plumbing requires skills, proper
tools, and a supply of parts on hand, or it can become a nightmare.

I'll include auto repair in this topic, and this is often a fear. Again,
there are dangers involved, for example, when working under a car it
must be jacked and supported properly or you can be killed. and then
there is always the busted knuckles, cuts, bruises and other accidents,
not to mention that one wrong move can do a lot of damage to the car.
Other machines in the home, such as furnaces fall into this same
category.

The other fear is anything involving heights, such as roofing. Some
people are just not comfortable with ladders and heights in general. I
have to admit that this is my own fear. I will work on anything
electrical or do plumbing and auto repairs without fear, but I dont do
well with heights.

What fears do you have regarding home repair and including auto and even
small engine and other machines around the home, repairs?
I think everyone has at least some fears regarding home repair....

I quite agree with your sentiments.
But what annoys me more is the petty bickering and pedantic replies
from people whos only knowledge of the subject is what they picked up
in the street.
Often the answer given by somone who likes too see his name in print is
not even safe.
The total lack of understanding of US electrical systems is
frightening.

Another annoyance is Self Appointed Xsperts who offfer a couple of
integrated cct numbers or similar to fix the problems of people who
come to groups like this from a position of not knowing anything and
expecting some basic answers to their problem. :-?

--
John G Sydney.