Being handy around the house

One thing they say about owning a house is that it is it's own perpetual project. And for me, I've generally found that a good thing. I mean sure no one really likes extra work, but being able to fix and repair things gives me quite a sense of accomplishment when I do get it done. Plus it's motivation in and of itself to do and learn things rather than sit on my butt all day long.

A list of accomplishments around the house in the past few months:

Fixed a leak in the washing machine: Disassembling it was the hard part (so... many... screws...), after that all it took was a quick path on a leaky line. Also I no longer think that the machine is some great vast unknowable thing, turns out it's pretty simple on the inside.

Redid the brick walkway: This was a big one, one side had been sinking for a few months, and finally I went and did something about it. Bought maybe $20 worth of sand and tools and got it re levelled. Had to pull up half the bricks and re-lay them, but no more than an afternoon's effort (with help from the fiancee of course). Plus got rid of the pesky weeds growing between the cracks. Now I'm looking forward to doing the same to the other half of the walkway to get rid of all the weeds growing there too. Although I admit this is partly a temporary solution since the original cause was dirt escaping from between the asphalt and wood logs acting as a retaining wall. I did mortar the crack shut, so it should hold for awhile. But eventually it should be removed entirely and redone with logs that are actually sunk into the ground, rather than just laying on top of it.

Fixed up some cabinets: One of the fake drawer covers was falling off, so a bit of work with some screws secured it back in place.

Pulled up various weeds: Turns out owning a home has changed my general disinterest in nature into an active war. (To be fair I enjoy things like hiking and such, but I don't want nature invading my home.) Gone so far as to put some salt into the areas I don't want things growing. Even mixed in some into the sand for the bricks I re-laid. Should help deter the spread of plants into places I don't want them, and keep it looking nicer for longer.

There are still some projects far bigger than what I'm willing to do as a DIY project, but doing the smaller things myself can free up funds for them. The next big thing we're looking at hiring contractors for is taking out a wall in the basement to open up the space as a big lounge/game room. That I'll want done professionally as the wall is under the main beam of the house, and it'll need to be replaced with a support beam. So that's some heavy duty work right there that'd I'd not want to learn as I go.