Just fired the contractor working on my daughter's house

[Johnny]

Originally Posted by MrKalashnikov

I used to do a lot of house improvement repairs myself. I've lived in two Victorian houses built in the 1890's now and I found as I'm creeping up on the big 7-0 I don't have the thrill of doing that stuff anymore. Let some talented young Americans take up the torch, I have the money.

I just turned 60 and still love rough carpentry and building stuff. I'm not good at it, but I enjoy it. At my age, I can still pretty much do everything that I did in my 20's albeit a little slower! i feel I'm in a race with time to do all the heavy projects now, so I don't have to worry about it when I'm too old to do the work.

Just yesterday I finished a big job: putting a wood ceiling in our off-grid cabin. To the untrained eye, the work looks flawless, but I know the truth. It's riddled with mistakes. I'm still happy with it. If I'd have hired it out, it would have cost me thousands in labor and the work might only be marginally better.

Around here, it's just difficult to find good contractors. When you do find them, there's a waiting list and you'll be paying top dollar. The bad ones far outnumber the good.

If a job is potentially dangerous or destructive, I hire it out. For example, I'm very good at felling trees. I can literally take down an 80' tall dead oak and have it fall within a few degrees of my target. That said; if I'm close to a structure or power line, I hire it out every time. I'm good, but I know me well enough not to trust me 100%!