I know how to change my car battery, the question is whether or not I’m physically strong enough to do it. Keep in mind I’m also a foot shorter than most car mechanics I’ve known so I have the lift the damn thing to shoulder height to get one in or out of my car. Last time I had to DIY that I asked a taller and stronger friend for help with it.
For my pickup? Forget it. Not going to happen. Physically impossible for me to do that. Battery too big and owner too short. I pay someone to do it for me and my unbroken toes thank me for it.
replace a water heater yourself or hire a pro? Me
How about replacing a sink? Me
What about re-sod your lawn? Pro
Sew a Halloween costume? Pro (although I’ve done it in the past)
Making a cake for a wedding? Pro
Patch broken drywall? Me
Paint a two-story house exterior? Pro
Replace a muffler? Me
Do your own taxes for home and business? Me
Construct a bookshelf? Me
Pour your own driveway? Pro
I actually find cars easier to work on now then in the past. In the 80’s, one could rebuild a carburetor - and it still wouldn’t work worth a damn. Now, you just pull the OBDII code and replace the part (Fuel injector, Ignition coil, fuel pump, etc.) that the error points to. Generally way easier.
I hear you! A few springs I’ve had to pull both batteries from my pontoon boat and carry them to my car. They are 60 pounds a piece, and a pain to carry. Plus, I always seem to get battery acid on my clothes and they “melt” a bit later. I always think about using a dolly after I’m done.
What about you, would you replace a water heater yourself or hire a pro? Pro, every time.
How about replacing a sink? I’ve helped someone do it, but would probably hire someone to do it for me.
What about re-sod your lawn? God no. I mean, I’m losing interest in grass lawns anyway (CA drought will do that to you). But regardless, I don’t enjoy heavy labor. Ever.
Sew a Halloween costume? Can’t sew worth a damn.
Making a cake for a wedding? Pros do a better job and quality counts in a wedding.
Patch broken drywall? Small patch only.
Paint a two-story house exterior? No, too much work
Replace a muffler? No. I have assisted in replacing a couple of clutches and the like, but similar to the OP I despise auto repair. I technically probably can (on an old car), but I won’t. Anything beyond replacing easily accessed modules/fuses is not worth my time and annoyed frustration.
Do your own taxes for home and business? Yes.
Construct a bookshelf? I have helped on those. I wouldn’t again.
Pour your own driveway? Fuck no.
I have replaced outlets and light switches, but I won’t rewire a shorted light fixture. I have replaced p-traps, flapper-valves, sink fixtures and snaked drains, but I will never again work on/with metal lines and although I have replaced a toilet, I knever will again. I don’t do carpentry. I will replace virtually any component in a PC except the motherboard, but I refuse to build my own. I no longer work on cars past a 15 minute job or even change oil (I do change my own flat tires).
Basically I get next to zero satisfaction from DIY and I am utterly indifferent to spending on money on stuff (unless I don’t have enough of course). When I do things for myself it’s usually a convenience issue. It’s a lot easier for me to swap out a power supply than trundle my PC to a shop. It’s a lot easier for me to change a light switch than try to schedule a scare home electrician for what they view as an uneconomic job.
But I won’t do complex or skilled work (never try to hang a door if you aren’t experienced at it ), I won’t do hard physical labor anymore and I won’t do things that have the potential to be seriously frustrating AT ALL.
Some cities require licensing to break gas pipe, so someone installing a gas appliance needs a gas fitter license. As far as how often they go boom, this recent event should be a cautionary tale:
I’ve seen several DIY gas appliance installations that were done incorrectly, with the wrong fittings or the correct fittings used incorrectly.
Replace a water heater yourself or hire a pro? Pro
How about replacing a sink? Me
What about re-sod your lawn? Pro
Sew a Halloween costume? Me
Making a cake for a wedding? Pro (my cake decorating skills are roughly equivalent to those of your average 1st grade kid)
Patch broken drywall? Me
Paint a two-story house exterior? Me
Replace a muffler? Me
Do your own taxes for home and business? I have done my own but now that I own rental properties I let a pro handle it.
Construct a bookshelf? Me. I’ve made quite a few (I’m a bit of a book hoarder).
Pour your own driveway? Pro
As far as pouring a concrete driveway goes, I helped my neighbor do his many years ago and that’s a little too much physical labor to get the concrete mixed and into place quick enough. I’m not in anywhere near good enough physical shape to do something like this today. I also have no desire to do asphalt work (my current driveway is asphalt).
I have fixed drywall, hung drywall, finished off an unfinished basement into multiple rooms. I’m not good at mudding, so I end up having to sand and reapply the mud a couple of times to get it smooth, but I can get it there eventually.
I used to do all of my own car repair work. Sometimes it is an exercise in frustration, especially if you are dealing with very old and very rusty bolts.
These days I look at the annoyance factor a lot more than I used to. If it’s not a major pain I will usually do it myself. I’ve replaced plenty of batteries, brake pads, rotors, alternators, spark plugs/wires, distributers, carburetors, window mechanisms, etc. I’ve even done a couple of engine swaps. But I need to replace a power window mechanism on one of my cars and I’m probably going to take it to a shop just because door panels are a pain to remove (they are usually held on by cheap plastic clips that almost always break). I used to always change my own oil when I was younger but these days I almost always take it to a shop instead.
I have replaced many mufflers, exhaust pipes, and even a couple of catalytic converters, but I will admit that exhaust work is a royal pain due to everything being rusted. The last time I had to replace a muffler I told Mrs. Geek that I would be out in the driveway swearing for the next hour or two.
I tend to buy cheap cars.
There have been a few times when I have taken a car to a pro only to have them make a stupid mistake with it. I tend to think of myself as just an idiot back yard mechanic, but either my skills are better than I think they are or the mechanics around here are worse than I think they should be.
I’ve always done brakes. Brakes are easy. Mostly. Except old fashioned rear drum brakes. You touch one thing and all of the parts tend to go SPROING across the garage floor. Disk brakes though are no biggie.
I HATE tile work, but I always seem to end up doing it myself.
I’m with you on these. Those garage door springs store a ridiculous amount of energy.
Chainsaws and ladders are also two things that should not be used at the same time.
My criteria is simple: if screwing it up could kill me, injure me, or cost me a lot of money, it’s worth paying for a pro. Especially when using a big-box retailer like Home Depot gets me a warranty on the labor. So, doors, water heaters, septic, HVAC, electrical - get the pro.
Things like putting in hard surface flooring, painting one room, patching drywall, tiling a backsplash - those are more forgiving of screw-ups, so those I’m willing to tackle.
Then there are those projects that aren’t especially technical, but are a pain in the ass - changing a toilet, hanging a storm door, laying sod. Those fall into the category “It depends.”
What about you, would you replace a water heater yourself or hire a pro? Have done a few, the last one when our electric one went out, and I replaced it with an exterior on-demand propane water heater. Freed up enough room in the laundry room that I ripped out the old shower stall & installed a walk-in tub for my wife. That project also gave me the opportunity to finish replacing the supply water piping in the house over to Pex throughout.
How about replacing a sink? Have done many.
What about re-sod your lawn? Not doing anything I’m going to end up having to mow later. I get all the yardwork I need slaying blackberries, and prepping and tending our roughly 1/4 acre garden.
Sew a Halloween costume? Don’t have any need of that skill, not having kids/being antisocial obviates the need
Making a cake for a wedding? I like to bake, but am not an artisan by any stretch of the imagination.
Patch broken drywall? Have done plenty, prefer to do it myself.
Paint a two-story house exterior? Did that once, paid someone the last time.
Replace a muffler? I do as much of my own mechanic work as possible. Have to replace an idler pulley & serpentine belt on my truck this weekend. Don’t do transmissions any more, though, the pros own that equipment for a reason.
Do your own taxes for home and business? Since shutting down our home-run business, I’ve gotten away from the CPA and do them myself instead.
Construct a bookshelf? Have one still in process for my wife, a corner unit shaped similar to a Christmas tree. I’ll get it finished this year, I promise!
Pour your own driveway? Have done a few building slabs, complete with embeds for steel posts/beams, it’s not a bad job, with the proper equipment.
Have been in steel fabrication for 32 years, have been an engineer for a radio station, so am comfortable doing all my own fab & electrical work. However, for rewiring our transfer switch or the generator, I’ll hire it done, it will require pulling the meter, hence a permit.
I decided many years ago that the two common household devices I would not own are chainsaws and deep fryers. The accident scenarios for both those things are too much to make using them worthwhile.
I’ve only changed the oil in my lawn mower, not my car. But all the service stations near me will accept used oil. They say they charge a disposal fee for larger quantities, but for the amount from my lawn mower, they just tell me to dump it in that bin of used oil over there.
My city has a “household hazardous waste” collection service that you can schedule, so that takes care of disposing of the used oil. I stopped changing my oil myself when I got my Miata. It’s got a protective cover under the engine that you have to remove before you can access the oil pan, which isn’t difficult, but is annoying. And it’s so low to the ground that it’s tricky to get it up on ramps; the bottom of the bumper ends up hitting them before the wheels do. After attempting to do it myself once I started taking it to a pro for maintenance.
My main issue with oil disposal nowadays is not so much finding a place to accept it. As folks have said, that’s a solved problem unlike WAG 20 years ago.
For me now it’s how do I get it out of the crankcase and into a completely clean container with exactly zero spillage and how can I keep the container clean so I can happily handle it & put in my trunk while transferring exactly zero oil onto the trunk carpeting.
By the time I buy disposable containers, double bag everything for transport, etc. I’ll just have the shop do it. Back when I could drain the oil into a large flat galvanized bucket/pan, carry that into the back yard & dump it, then swirl a cup or two of gasoline in the pan to dilute the residual oil, dump that mixture in the backyard too, then put the pan back on the garage shelf until next time this was easy. Not any more.
Note I’m NOT bitching about environmental regulation. What we used to do was stupid and reckless and irresponsible and I’m very glad it’s now both legally verboten and socially outre to do such a thing today. But it was easy and it effortlessly kept the inside of your car oil-free. Which are my two big measures of merit for oil change side effects.
Back when I was changing my own oil I was also drinking a lot of milk, so I’d just save a plastic 1-gallon milk bottle and pour the old oil into that, trying not to spill too much. Wipe the outside with a rag, screw on the top, take it to the gas station, and toss the empty into their trash can. Easy peasy.
I pour the oil over a pan that i save to do oil changes. Then i pour it into one of those containers motor oil comes in (using a funnel, that i only use for oil changes.) I spill a little on the driveway, but not much.
I guess that would be harder with the larger quantities from a car. Would all the oil fit in a plastic milk jug?
I don’t do that much stuff myself anymore but I’m lucky enough to have two adult sons who are occasionally available and occasionally useful. So a new stacked washer/dryer arrived today, the boys showed up and we have half the job done already. Both of them jumped right into things. It’s going in our old kitchen which will become a bathroom. They removed the old stove, microwave, and wall cabinet where the new unit is going, and ran PEX hose and spigots up to connect the new washer and holes through the floor for a drain and exhaust hose. I’m hoping we can finish up tomorrow after picking up a few parts for the drain pipe and window outlet for the exhaust. I guess they learned something all those times they begrudgingly helped me while they were growing up.
Do I know how to do it (or can I follow instructions) and do I have required licenses (e.g. gas pipe fitting license)? If yes, go to
Am I physically able to do it (do I have strength, stamina, balance etc.)? If yes, go to
Do I have the time to do it? If yes, go to
Will doing it myself give me more (save me more money, give me more satisfaction, give me more exactly what I want, etc.) than paying to have it done? If yes, go to
Do it myself (with all that entails: buying tools and materials, etc.). For all points, if No go to
Depends on your car. A gallon milk jug holds 4 quarts. Most cars will take less than that, but some take more.
For example, a 2020 Honda Civic holds 3.4 quarts of oil, but a 2020 Toyota Camry with a 3.5L V6 engine takes 5.7 quarts. You’ll need two milk jugs to hold all of the oil from the Camry.
I have an oil container that is sorta like this one (except the end of mine is shaped to be a little easier to pour without spilling).
Just open the big lid on the top, drain the oil from the car into the container, and close it up. Then take the entire container to the oil recycler, open the small lid on the side, dump the oil into their barrel or whatever they have, and take the container back home. No transferring things to milk jugs, no messing with funnels, easy-peasy. The top lid is pretty wide, so you can dump oil from your mower in there pretty easily without spilling any on your driveway.
), I won’t do hard physical labor anymore and I won’t do things that have the potential to be seriously 
