Bathroom Failures

[slowtraveler]

Since my time in Thailand, I have on 2 occasions gone diy when it hasn't helped. Both times, related to bathrooms.

Once, I was cooked food and she poured rice down her bathroom sink. It clogged. I tried a plunger (190 baht), baking soda (25 baht), and vinegar (25 baht). Uber drive both ways(60 baht). Now, nothing would drain. A team came to replace the piece for 250 baht. I wasted the same money trying to diy when paying a technician would've been the same and better.

Now, I tried adding a shower piece to a bathroom (139 baht). It shoots water out of every single connection. I can't say how much plumbing tape I've consumed even getting here. Maybe it was a cheap piece but it's all the store had.

I think of diy as efficient but in practice, cooking/growing food and basic vehicle/clothing maintenance are the only places it has had a positive impact financially without even accounting for the time cost. When the cost of labor is so cheap and the people have economy of scale to access better parts for less, maybe O should give up on bathroom diy. Let the professionals do a good job for 250 baht and save myself the same money on a cheap diy hack that doesn't actually help.

For reference 32.5 baht~1 usd

[daylen]

Compost bucket (dry toilet) if you have some land.

[jacob]

It's ultimately a business calculation.

If you knew how to fix these things, you could have had it done correctly and quickly without running all over town or trying various magic tricks. The alternative is to try it out the hard way or pay a professional and see how they do it and then try better the next time. Consider it tuition costs.

Then there's capital investment. For example, I use a $20 handcranked drain auger for pulling hairballs (thanks DW) out of the tub drain. It takes 30-45 mins and works 4/5 of the time. Our plumber uses one of these $400 wonders. It takes him 5 minutes, works every time, and costs me $80, but I usually have to wait 1-2 days for a non-emergency like that. Now, I've been thinking, really thinking, whether I should blow $400 on the latter, but the depreciation calculation suggests that it's not worth it relative to how often I need it. It would take 5+ years to make the money back(*) and by that time we might not live here anymore.

(*) The plumber tells me he makes a lot of money on these kind of jobs. I was thinking I could buy one and be the hero fixing drains for friends and neighbors, but I also don't want to take away from his business.

[Riggerjack]

I agree with Jacob. Paying those rates, DIY is a hard sell financially. But there is also the benefit of learning to factor in. And how much you value that learning is up to you. I find that having the skills to handle a problem myself is a big boost to my self esteem, but the lack of those skills in my youth was something I felt was "wrong" with me. For me, the DIY skills were worth everything I paid to aquire them. However, knowing how to do something doesn't mean that I can't hire it out. I hired a crew to paint one of my houses last summer. I could do it, I had the skills, and the tools, and still it was worth paying someone else.

But having the experience of painting means I can judge both the guys doing the work, and the quality of their work, more accurately. It would be nice to think you can hire a professional, and get the best resolution to your problems. I have known too many professionals to believe this. Whatever you do, you have coworkers who are more skilled and less skilled, specialists in some minor niche, more diligent or less so. These same variances apply to every profession. Having the skills to do the job helps you eliminate the bottom of the spectrum before they tear into your house. It's only after you pay a professional for a job you find unsatisfactory, that you know the value of DIY.

[enigmaT120]

Jacob, my version of that hand-powered auger has a rod poking out of the middle that is for attaching a cordless drill, and it works way better when spun fast. My cordless drill wasn't cheap either, but is useful for many other jobs.

[Sclass]

Jacob, my version of that hand-powered auger has a rod poking out of the middle that is for attaching a cordless drill, and it works way better when spun fast. My cordless drill wasn't cheap either, but is useful for many other jobs.

Hey! That’s what that little middle rod is for? Thanks! I had no idea.