I have a gas lawn mower, electric drills, power washer, power trimmer, rotary saw, jig saw, just to name a few that I find indespensible in order to maintain my domicile.
Yet none of these things were widely available or in use during the early 50’s when I first became aware of my environment in southern Ontario.
It is my impression (could be erroneous) that the modern average foreign homeowner (outside North America) is far more reliant on trades people, and in general do not possess the same desire/satisfaction for/from completing home repairs.
So to all you foreigners and American/Canadian expatriots,
Does the average foreign homeowner possess power tools to effect repairs to his/her residence?
Two forums and this is all the response I get? I am truly disappointed. Thanks {b]WotNot**. I lived in your country in 75, but mostly met young people who weren’t home owners.
At a guess I’d say that from the items in your list, commonplace status in British households would run like this:
[ul][li]gas lawn mower – powered lawn mowers are very common indeed. Most people who have a garden will have a lawn and most people will have their own mower. Gardening is a very popular hobby in the UK.[/li][li]electric drills – very common[/li][li]power washer – much less common than either of the first two, but lots of people have them for washing the car etc.[/li][li]power trimmer – is that what we call a “strimmer”? Spins a short, tough, plastic wire to trim grass edges and stuff in the garden? If so, thery’re pretty common[/li][li]rotary saw – I’d say that’s hire equipment for most people, but sales are increasing according to my source*[/li][li]jig saw – not for every householder, but plenty of people would own one[/ul][/li]As WotNot says, home repairs and decorating are big business in the UK, but I suspect less so in continental Europe. Certain items of equipment, such as the larger ones or the ones you might only use a couple of times a year, would be hired rather than bought outright.