DawnM Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Dh's dad was an electrician and taught him how to be handy growing up. DH can fix almost anything and build almost anything in the house and with cars. My dad could fix nothing around the house or fix cars. He paid people. I don't blame him. He had very little time on his hands as he worked very long hours and was able to fix people rather than things. He was very good at what he did. Just curious about your dad. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Dh's dad was an electrician and taught him how to be handy growing up. DH can fix almost anything and build almost anything in the house and with cars. My dad could fix nothing around the house or fix cars. He paid people. I don't blame him. He had very little time on his hands as he worked very long hours and was able to fix people rather than things. He was very good at what he did. Just curious about your dad. Dawn I have the same situation as you. I love having a handy dh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) I hate things that talk about "...like Dad used to do" or "your mom's (phonograph or whatever)" that assume my parents were born in 1920 or before. These are references relevant to my mom's generation, not mine. (ETA: I wasn't talking about this thread! This was a general comment about things about dads that assume they were born in the 1910s.) Another non handy dad here. My maternal uncle is handy though. Wish he would have taught me. In my family, I assemble furniture and fix stuff but I'm not very good. Edited January 16, 2012 by stripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad and still is very handy. When he retired at 60, we offered him his first computer, in parts. He built it from scratch. And he's now, at 80, our family computer repair guy (please note that both DH and I are computer engineers!) Dad beats us all. But he did not pass it down to his own son, and I didn't marry a handyman . I don't know what we'll do once Dad passes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad and mom built their own house and pretty much did everything themselves. However, they didn't always do the best job and as money was tight when I was younger they often compromised quality(but we made do). Dh's dad was even more handy, he taught dh electrical, plumbing, mechanical, basic building, etc- most anything that needs to done he does. Dh has learned on his own his way around computers and programming as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My father was born in 1950 and he could build a car or a house from the ground up. My dh was born in 1968 and he can too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houseofkids&pets Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 :iagree: with CleoQC. If I can't figure out how to fix something, I call my Dad. My dh is not handy at all, which is odd since both of his brothers are great at building and/or repairing anything! He is just not interested. On the flip side, his mom is a great cook and me.....well, not so much. I figure then that we are even. I don't expect him to fix things and he doesn't complain about my cooking:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad is very handy. I voted "cars and houses" in the poll. He always fixed and maintained our cars, boats, and trailers, and he built the house I grew up in himself (with some help in the form of labor from some of his employees, but he hand in every part of the process--literally). I can't think of much dad can't do with his hands. I'm lucky that I married a pretty handy guy, too. He's better with car-related stuff, but if I need a chicken coop built or we need something minor fixed around the house, he can take care of it. Now when we go to replace the tile and countertops in my kitchen, I think I'm going to hire a professional. These are both things my husband has done in the past, but if I'm going to put out the $$ for the materials, I really want to make sure it's not obviously DIY, you know? And with the small amount of experience my husband has with this type of home improvement, that's a real possibility. I truly believe a lot of handy work--like carpentry and the like--is an art form! I'm not so great at building things, but I can fix fences and paint walls, stuff like that. I've never been interested in learning how to take care of the cars. I think it's laziness on my part because DH just takes care of it. If he wasn't good with cars, I'd probably have been more likely to learn how to change my oil & basic stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Good with house (he built it) and cars (he did more work on tractors). He could also do plumbing, electrical, and woodworking. He also worked with concrete, but he hated that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My Dad was handy. He could fix most anything--cars or house. Now that he's older, he hires more out than he did when I was growing up. When I was a teenager, he taught himself woodworking and built furniture for awhile. We used to watch The New Yankee Workshop together, and he'd say "I could do that if I had the tools."--turns out he was right. Then he began woodturning and is well known in the wood turning industry. Dh--his Dad wasn't very handy. But his Mom would attempt to fix/repair anything. So dh is very handy, though he does not enjoy it at all. I used to get so frustrated because we had a stinky vacuum cleaner, and every time I thought I finally broke it dh would fix it :lol:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad farmed. He could fix everything.... If he couldn't or didn't have time my mom fixed it within the household. I married a man who can figure out almost anything and I really admire that about him. My ds's set the bar pretty high. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 My Dh drools over The Yankee Workshop's outbuilding and tools! He loves woodworking! Dawn My Dad was handy. He could fix most anything--cars or house. Now that he's older, he hires more out than he did when I was growing up. When I was a teenager, he taught himself woodworking and built furniture for awhile. We used to watch The New Yankee Workshop together, and he'd say "I could do that if I had the tools."--turns out he was right. Then he began woodturning and is well known in the wood turning industry. Dh--his Dad wasn't very handy. But his Mom would attempt to fix/repair anything. So dh is very handy, though he does not enjoy it at all. I used to get so frustrated because we had a stinky vacuum cleaner, and every time I thought I finally broke it dh would fix it :lol:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I hate things that talk about "...like Dad used to do" or "your mom's (phonograph or whatever)" that assume my parents were born in 1920 or before. These are references relevant to my mom's generation, not mine. Another non handy dad here. My maternal uncle is handy though. Wish he would have taught me. In my family, I assemble furniture and fix stuff but I'm not very good. My father is just over 50. I always forget that he used to build houses before I was born, because now he does complicated computer work for a company with defense department contracts. He is able to do house repairs, and we are hoping he will be able to come with us to look at a few houses we are considering. I don't remember him doing much around our house, because he was busy getting his degree or working when I was younger. By the time his schedule was normal enough for him to have time for those things, he could afford to have someone else deal with it instead. My husband is able to do more and more, but he couldn't do much when we married. His father can work on cars, houses, electrical, plumbing, and more. Unfortunately he flat out refuses to show or tell me or my husband anything about it. It took a half playful/half serious confrontation for him to tell me how to take care of the lawnmower he just returned to us. I think he likes feeling needed, but I'd really like to know how to do more. I can figure out simple plumbing, electrical work, and home repairs. I just don't know if what I'm doing is convoluted and more difficult in the long run. Very timely thread for me right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad is the son of a carpenter. He was great at fixing things and DIY projects. He paid for electrical and major plumbing. Cars went to shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 No not handy, positively dangerous. My mum is the handy, fix everything, one. She taught me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasharowan Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My granddad was an auto mechanic by trade and my dad grew up taking apart engines and putting them back together. He can fix anything that doesn't involve computer chips. He also did most household repairs and it is only lately that he has started paying people to do stuff. He is in his 60s. DH can fix cars but doesn't like to. He does do most household repairs and likes working with wood and figuring out how to build something we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My Dad was handy with cars, but I can't remember if he was handy around the house. That's where my Mother shined. She was the daughter of an electrical contractor with many electrician brothers. We used to joke that she could take anything into the basement, and after 15 minutes, she'd return having turned it into a lamp. :) I'm fairly handy too, as is my dh. But, I have no problem calling in a professional to do a job with or for me. I am not as young as I used to be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad was handy around the house, but I did not know it because when he was married to my mom, he was too busy to do anything. My stepmother told me about it, and I was surprised. He did not work on cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Yes he was, mostly self taught too. He built rooms, decks, etc. He figured out how to wire them, fix plumbing issues etc. I have slowly been learning parts of it from him (though my mom still refuses to let him teach me the electrical stuff convinced I will electrocute myself). When I was in late elementary/junior high school he went to college for his millwright journeyman, after working forever in plastics. The ticket he got in that course taught him how to repair the machines in the factory. He is still in plastics but now he is VP of operations for both plastics and the woods divisions, and he still gets called on at least daily ro repair one of the plastics machines because someone has buggered it up. He was handy with cars too but to a lesser extent. He prefers to have his brother the mechanic do most of the car related stuff but he can take care of the basics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My Dad can't fix a thing and he is totally uninterested. My mother does all the maintenance to keep their small goat farm operating. Mows the lawn, fixes the riding mower, wrestles the goats and gives them shots, climbs trees, repairs fences, etc. My Dad will help if my mom really asks him for assistance, but it definitely isn't his thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad wasn't super-handy, but we were super broke, so he did all repairs on everything growing up. Didn't always work out well, but he tried. He's definately learned a lot through the years and now he's pretty good with his hands. DH tries. Gorilla glue is a staple in our home. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairyMom Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Nope, neither one of them. My dad and my husband are more cerebral. My stepdad is extremely handy, so we trade off services. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I voted "other" because he could fix cars, houses, and anything with wood. He was a carpenter. I wish I would have paid attention so I'd know how o fix things. I thought all men knew how to fix stuff! If it doesn't have a computer chip in it, my own husband would rather hire a professional. If he decides he's interested, he can figure out how to fix something with a book and some time, but the older he gets the less inclined he is to bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad was a research scientist and a musician. He could fix cars but had absolutely no interest in fixing household things. He wouldn't pay to have them fixed either. If the heater broke, he'd just do without. Dh is an engineer. He can and does fix everything. The farm truck broke down, last week, and he fixed it for just the price of a roll of electrical tape. I feel sorry for friends who have to pay a repairman for every little thing. We are making the kids learn these skills now, because it will be like money in the bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweiss Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad wasn't handy when I was a child. He was a workaholic and rarely at home to be able to fix anything anyway. It sounds like he is handier now that he is semi-retired. DH is fairly handy. I let him putz around on little projects, but I encourage him to hire people for bigger projects or anything that he doesn't enjoy doing. We are remodeling part of our basement right now and he is enjoying coordinating the projects, but not having to do the work. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad can fix everything. My dh pays people. I actually like it better this way because stuff gets done. My mom has been waiting ten years for dad to finish their master bath. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My father isn't handy with anything; mom is though. Fil was very handy, mostly with house stuff, and so is dh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad's method of fixing anything was to swear loudly, throw it, hit it with something hard, possibly jump on it and eventually stomp off in anger. My dh is extremely handy. And he hardly ever swears. Love that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My father was a mechanic, a gifted one who started extremely young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4everHis Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I needed to be able to choose two options. My dad could do cars, houses, woodworking, plumbing, electrical. We always called what he did jerry-rigging because he wasn't real particular about how it looked, but it always worked. His woodworking? He was a perfectionist. I married someone just like him (except he's a perfectionist in ALL things) and we always laugh because people like my dad and dh NEED people like your husband around. That's who makes our living possible =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinWa Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 my dad did both...but only simple car repairs. If it was something major, he went to his brother a mechanic. My dh does all car repairs & house repairs. He has the attitude of why pay for something you can do, or LEARN to do yourself. He's amazing with reading manuals & figuring it out. I LOVE that about him. It saves us sooo much money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvnlattes Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad could do both. His profession was as a general contractor which explains the house part. Not sure where he got the car abilities but he just always liked to tinker and do things with his hands. He was rarely in the house when he was home. He spent most of his time out in the shop that he built right next to the house. It's just "in him." My middle son has some similar traits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amydavis Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I voted cars and houses, but that is honestly under-selling my dad's handiness! He grew up watching his father, who was a plumber. I remember (sometime in my early elementary years) when my father had a welding business. Sometime after that, I recall him taking some kind of test (?) (maybe for certification?) in brick masonry. Anyway, by the time I was in junior high, he was a general contractor with his own business. I've honestly not encountered anything he couldn't do, from cars to wiring a house, plumbing, etc. Growing up in our home was exciting, to say the least. I remember coming home and discovering that he had moved our front door...He didn't like the way it opened straight onto the staircase, so, well...he closed it in, and made a new entrance to the home. (First, he had actually changed the staircase, creating a landing and having the stairs make a turn, can't really describe it. But he still wasn't happy, so...what should have probably been a dining room became a foyer, LOL. Oh, and he actually took off the roof, and made their master bedroom into a 2 story room...He put in a staircase, and built my mom a shoe closet underneath it. He ended up creating a loft, with a walk-around with windows, for their bed. He thought the original bedroom was too tight, so he wanted it to be only for the other bedroom furniture, not the bed. It's really a neat area, complete with built-in bookcases! Geez, the list goes on, widening rooms, raising and creating a second floor above the closed-in garage for a huge laundry room. Needless to say, my poor dh will never be quite that handy...but I love him nonetheless, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I chose 'other.' My dad *thought* he was handy around the house and with the car and refused to hire professionals. In his defense, he did usually eventually get the job done. It's just that what should have been twenty minute repairs usually ended up taking all day. We never could get him to see that spending 10 hours to do a job a professional could do in a half hour was not cost effective. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad and husband are both very handy. I've been pretty lucky. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyinND Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad is especially handy around the house, but he also knows how to work on cars, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hands down, mom was the handy one in our family. Dad paid people to do things. He couldn't wait to teach me how to change my oil the way his father taught him years before. It involved driving to a garage, giving them a $20 bill, and tipping. ;) He has painted their home several times, but I'm pretty sure that had more to do with meditation/ escaping loud kids and less to do with necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 All of the above. He's a farmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 All of the above. He's a farmer. My maternal grandpa was a farmer. There is NOTHING that man can't do! He's almost 80 and he is still learning new skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puma Mom Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My stepfather is very handy with houses and cars. He could build either from scratch and has done it in bits and pieces, I'm sure. My father is fairly handy with house stuff. He knows plumbing very well and can do anything minor. He's got a great mechanic for his vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I answered "good with his hands, but with something else," since he was a surgeon. :D But he could not do ANYTHING around the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) I voted other. Dad started out as a home-building contractor and is now the on-board mechanic for a train, so he can fix things, but he never really did. I don't know if that was because he can't or because in the hierarchy of fix-it abilities in our family, he was not high up on the pyramid. (We lived with two uncles and my grandfather). In his early thirties he began to specialize in custom, high end trim and cabinet making, then became obsessed with doing things without power tools. He's no good with cars, in part because he is afraid of the danger he'd put us in if he didn't do it correctly, but he is good with bicycles. Edited January 16, 2012 by dragons in the flower bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I voted houses because my dad could do home repairs fairly well. He didn't like to do them, and only did them at my mother's insistence. My mom liked to remodel things frequently and did most of the work herself, so some of the skills I acquired as a child were: hanging drywall, painting, pouring concrete, soldering pipes, installing electrical fixtures, framing walls for drywall, cutting wood in the mitre for trim, etc. I'm pretty handy. Dh cannot do anything. His dad couldn't do anything, either. When I say he can't do anything, I mean he can barely change a light bulb. When we first started dating, I hurt his feelings by laughing at him when he told me he had hired someone to re-caulk his bathroom. I thought he was kidding and I laughed. When he told me he was serious, I laughed even harder! :tongue_smilie: I just couldn't get over that. At 32 years of age, I did NOT know that people would pay someone to caulk! That seemed so ridiculous at the time to me. Since then, I have learned that not everyone has crazy parents who make them rebuild their houses as children! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Well, I actually meant with things. My dad was a surgeon as well but couldn't fix anything around the house. Dawn I answered "good with his hands, but with something else," since he was a surgeon. :D But he could not do ANYTHING around the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I think Dad could do some stuff if he'd wanted, but often chose not to. On the other hand, he LOVES landscaping. He'll do absolutely amazing stuff outdoors just for fun, turning his yard into a wonderland, growing their own vegetables, experimenting with hybridizing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My father could fix a house and do minor repairs on cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socalmom Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad is not handy with house or car repair. My mom is more likely to try and figure out how to fix something. My dad is amazing with plants. My parents have a beautiful yard with over 75 rose bushes. I'm fortunate to be married to a very handy guy. When he was growing up, he and his father did many projects together. Margie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad always fixed our cars no matter what was wrong with them. When I was 6 or 7, he completely overhauled the engine in our Gremlin (remember those?). I remember reseating the valves. He handed me the drill and compound and showed me what to do. It was from him that I learned that American made cars break down more often and are harder to fix than Japanese made cars. At least, that what his experience and opinion back then. It was difficult for me to buy American cars as an adult after watching my dad get frustrated and angry over constantly fixing my mom's car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My dad was not handy at all. My brother is and was exceptionally handy...even from a very young age. He always was the one to fix things when I was a kid. My dh is very handy. He and I built our house, ran our own electric (TO CODE!) ,plumbing, heating and A/C systems...We did everything except the block foundation and one chimney, which we hired a mason friend of ours to do. My kids are very handy...and not afraid of tools...or trying to fix things. My mom used to also fix the TV set or other gadgets because Dad didn't....but he did refinish furniture beautifully as a hobby later in life. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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