I'm not suggesting that I'm good for nothing, but the last three words I want to see written on anything is: "Some Assembly Required". I fall in the category of KIS (Keep It Simple).
Don't mistake what I'm saying. I am not the kind of guy who chooses to disregard the directions, but they, too, need to be clearly written and leave nothing to chance.
You throw chance into the equation, and the outcome could go either way. It might work or it might not. Maybe I've reached the place where I benefit from my experience. I learned from experience that tightening a leaking water connection of a reverse osmosis system doesn't always solve the problem. That is where dial-a-prayer or calling a plumber comes in.
I won't bore you with the details, but it was freezing outside and after making three trips to Home Depot to get what I needed to repair a busted water pipe for an outdoor faucet, I was less than pleased when drip-drip-drip appeared. It was the only time in my history, where dial-a-prayer worked. Every other time, I needed something other than a plumber's friend, I needed a plumber.
Recently, I needed to replace a faucet in the laundry room sink. Seriously, how difficult could that be? I replaced a kitchen faucet once and promised myself that I'd never do that again. The General was so impressed that she thought I should tackle replacing the hot water heater next. It didn't happen!
Did I mention that the sink in the laundry room is deep and the space between the wall and sink was only a matter of inches?
I got as far as opening the box, reading the directions, and saying "calf rope". There was no way in the foreseeable future (aka - my lifetime) that I would ever be able to get a wrench where it needed to be to complete the steps.
I made a responsible choice and called a plumber. His technique was dramatically different from the process I envisioned. He disconnected the two water lines and lifted the sink out of the cabinet to replace the connections. Never in a thousand years would I have thought of that as a possibility.
This past February after Texas was like a deep freezer for nine consecutive days, my youngest grandson accompanied his dad and a few other men from their church to help families resolve busted pipe issues. It took Jake no time to figure out how to replace busted pipes. He will tell you he had a good teacher. In addition, he had the good or misfortune of being the only person small enough to crawl under some of the houses.
When it comes to putting stuff together, Jake has a natural gift. He can look at a set of directions and have an aha moment. He makes it seem easy. He also doesn't gloat over his ability. He just considers it simple and fun.
When we were last in Cat Spring, Jake showed me the Ford Mustang he had put together from a Lego set. I was beyond amazed. Not only do the doors open and shut, but the interior front seats can also be raised to permit access to the back seat, the gear shift in the floor moves, the sunroof comes off. The hood raises and the motor can be overhauled.
When I was about Jake's age, I loved putting plastic model cars together. All it took was airplane glue and an hour or so. Trust me, there is no conceivable way I'd ever be able to put a Lego vehicle together.
Jake said it took him two days. The kit for the car contained 1,471 pieces and the instruction book is 123 pages long. Unbelievable! Even more incredible is Jake's knowledge of what everything was and why it was important.
Okay, so if you need a DIY, I'm not your guy. Perhaps Jake is the one to call.
All My Best!
Don