A couple weeks ago I shared some of my DIY stories and asked about yours:
What have you done to save the family budget and keep stuff from the landfill? What's the one thing you're glad you fixed rather than throwing away? What fix it job are you most proud of?
Crucial Vacuum sponsored the contest for a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate.
Here are some of the great responses:
Jess:
"I'm not a mechanic or technician.....at all. And I'm uncomfortable with electricity so any fan or light fixture replacements are done by my dad or friends, so I can't take credit (except for skillfully selecting excellent amigos), but I have replaced my tub's faucet and I took off the drain to remove a hair-based clog in the tub. I figure I would have had a plumber come out for that, so probably saved me $100. And learning to do that was empowering enough that I put on some Spice Girls music to celebrate."
Eric:
"I bought my first Arizona tract home during the frenzy of 2005, so naturally I was broke the following year when the AC quit working. I spent some quality time in the attic replacing the fan motor and controller board and probably sweat off a few pounds in the process. The real feat in this whole experience was finding a place that would sell me the parts. Thankfully I found a small shop in Mesa that saved me from having to wait for parts to be shipped"
Margaret:
"I replaced the lid switch in the washer of our rental. It worked and the washer is still going strong several years later!"
John:
"I recently replaced the drain pump on our front loading washer. These things aren't really designed with ease of maintenance in mind. Got more scratches on my arms than if I got in a fight with a rabid bobcat." (Check out John's blog: Our Home from Scratch)
Brian:
"I am always trying to save a dime. One day my grinder stopped working and I thought it was the power switch. I never fix a grinder before, and I could have bought another for 10 bucks at Harbor Freight. However, I thought that I would open it up and see if I could fix it myself to save some money. Worse case scenario if it was thrashed I would at least know I tried before I junked it. I opened up the case and one of the brushes a brass plate was off one of the brushes.
I could have stopped and bought a new set of brushes but these had a lot of life left in them so I figured I would find a way to fix it. All I had to do is solder the brass plate to the wire that is embedded in the brush head. Now in order to do this, I had to find a way to hold everything and compress the spring that goes over the wire, in between the brass plate and the brush head. Enclosed is some pictures of my solution."
Check out Brian on his site too! Summers Woodworking He has an infectious joy for woodworking and tools.
Ben:
"I fixed a broken soap holder in our tiled bathtub wall. We realized there was a problem when there was a leaking ceiling in the utility room that the tub sits over. The previous owners were the type that knew just enough about everything to screw it all up. Turns out there wasn't enough of a stud to screw the soap holder into, so they shoved a few pounds of drywall mud and shoved it in. Well, needless to say it started sagging from my two year old doing chin-ups on it (I exaggerate). I had to rig a 2x4 extension to the stud that was half visible and add a few tiny sheets of plywood to fill the gap of missing drywall, then I lathered it with liquid nails and taped it up for a few days and voila! No need for a plumber and saved countless dollars."
Thank you everyone for the stories. It is an impossible thing to pick the best. My friends a Crucial Vacuum picked the top two. I was frozen with indecision, so I had to flip a coin to make the final call.
Congratulations to John V who wins the $100 Amazon.com gift certificate!
Thank you to Crucial Vacuum for being the prize sponsor for this fun contest. Please check them out when you need some parts, supplies, and information for your DIY vacuum repairs.
www.criticalvaccum.com. Back to regularly scheduled programming soon friends!