Not all home repairs are DIY

I’m using this week for DIY (Do It Yourself) repairs at the beach house. The usual stuff, a toilet leak, some burned out light bulbs, a little WD40 for the rusted hinges, a lightning strike. The lightning strike took out the entire home electronics system and all electronic equipment, plus a few wall sockets and two electrical breakers. This is considered an act of God and all warranties are void, the insurance is provided by my checkbook.

I contracted a professional, licensed electrician for the necessary wiring repairs, this guy took three hours to rework, repair and replace a considerable amount of high voltage damage. He was expensive and worth every penny, some home repair is not defined as DIY.

The DTV technician took about 2 hours to replace the dish, cabling, receivers and electronic accessories, another project that I would not consider DIY.

The front door and the two picture windows at each side of the door had to be replaced, interior sheet rock and exterior hardie board installed, this phase required 2 weeks, mostly because the house had to be raise back to the original pier and beam height. Jacking up a beach house is always tricky, another project not recommended for DIY, during the lift one more picture window was blown out, adding to the list of damage. Eventually all the heavy lifting was successfully completed and my checking account had become feather light. A flat, empty wallet places very little strain on the lower back.

Now I am completing the DIY projects, oiling squeaky hinges, replacing light bulbs, fixing the toilet and setting all the clocks.

The joy of home ownership is occasionally hard to see, that maybe due the cold I am suffering, my eyes are watery, my nose stuffed and my body aches. All in all it has been a great couple of weeks, a terrific start for 2013, I eagerly await the rest of the year.

I will return to my Conroe home this weekend and I plan to hide in the bedroom for several days.