See also

• gems@1169
• my blogpost on ERE author’s homesteading experience
• [17] DIY home improvement for strata-leasing]U.S.

Some things you can throw away and buy new. Some of the rich may do that, either by choice or by laziness. There are pros and cons:

^ investigate/research, then repair is a practical skill. If you are rich you are often perceived as unskilled at some of these things.
^ moving + installing the new piece can be expensive and time-consuming
^ fixing things can be enriching and a learning experience
^ some issues are really easy to fix. So perhaps do some basic research first. Careless disposal is unwise and wasteful.
▼ can take up too much time in many cases. For example, A broken window-grille — the repair tcost is inevitable , DIY is usually higher tcost.

— protection of livelihood: DIY experience can significantly reduce panic and the ensuing stress… cf nonswimmers on a /dugout canoe/

1. Some professional repairs are expensive
2. Some professional repairs do not strengthen the weak points as I could in DIY to push out the next failure
3. DIY repair can give you insight for the next purchase or installation

— home improvement achievements

1. vertical monitor no longer sliding down
2. stand`desk retractable handle fixes
3. good usage of black+whiteboard
4. —-
5. ForgotMyPhone! hook+charger @exit
6. #1169 Cockpit1 joining two tables at the same height, creating a virtualized large table for boy
7. [t]#1169 turned washing machine 90 degrees to make room in the tight cockpit4
8. [$t]#1169 Cockpit4 power sockets
9. [t] #1169 gate lower bolt lubricated and unstuck, after prev owner said it was forever stuck.
10. [$] #1169 bathroom ceiling LED too bright at night … costly to replace
11. [ist] power extension bar from China — The grip inside the socket was too loose … poor contact
12. [ist] secured the failing edges and corners of the lie-down shelf-cum-table from Ikea, to extend its lifetime.
13. [is] bolster .. too thin..
14. legacy padlock
15. [$] stand`desk retractable handle fixes
16. [st] boy’s bed .. strengthened backplane (wrong English) with additional wood planks
17. —— minor achievements beyond G10
18. [$] vivoY02 power button sensitivity improved with knife cuts
19. #1169 room 1 door peg was screwed on slanted. Reason? There had been a broken screw stuck-in so the previous handyman had to screw into lower spot. I took the initiative to screw right beside the stuck screw.
20. charging “station” for L399 .. boy’s suggestion
21. noise-reducing chair socks
22. [$s] glued the “D” key on Aspire without paying the shop
23. [is] meimei’s L-tabletop has a small drawer underneath. Its protruding corner often hit my back when I work under the table. I tried various corner cushions until I found the thick sealing tape.
24. [$] fridge big box
25. water gun at #1169… I didn’t spiral down into the “involution habit” [shopping for cheapest hose.. sealing both ends of the hose 100% water-tight… experimenting/fixing the unreliable lever-switch…] Instead, I used the (non-standard) existing hose, accepted the lever-switch + occasional leak. What’s the cut of Gordian Knot ? I hard-block the water most of the time and “unblock” only when needed, like once a month, so all the problems are “reduced” to trivial.
26. [is] kitchen sliding door. quick-n-dirty: Contractor used a screw to maintain positions of the two frames (wrong English?), but over the years the screw had dented the other frame on the edge, and therefore become less effective….
27. handphone finger hook secured
28. [is] the single glass shelf below bathroom mirror — left-shifted to make way for boy’s toothbrush
29. [hs] punchbag — I spent many hours locating and drilling 4 holes, without damaging the tile. The set-up is fairly durable so far. I also taped up the tears and the zipper.
30. [i] desk below the printer used to have a shelf that was in-the-way when I sit down with a laptop. Now I removed the shelf
31. [$is] bolt on main door is now usable after I shifted the “strike-plate” .. high value/effort ratio
32. [hs] ceiling fan remote: secured at low spot
33. [is] sliding windows .. need to fully close for aircon but there was always a gap on the each extreme end…
34. [$] wiring cabinet for optical modem, wifi router
35. [is] the single glass shelf below bathroom mirror — left-shifted to make way for boy’s toothbrush
36. meter rooms -> wall-mounted hooks to make use of vertical space
37. kitchen built-in cabinet -> drawer
38. [i]  Ikea long picture holder facing room2 was tilting down… managed to /wedge/ a screw to prop it up again.
39. [$i] sofa removable /upholstery/ .. kids tend to kick or push them, so the zipper were weakened and broken. I spent hours nailing them down, without leaving a nail head protruding.
40. [is] one big hook in storeroom to hold all my wires
41. [is] brown shoe cabinet shelf pieces warped under pressure, became too short and unstable. I added longer pegs to hold them in place.
42. laundry line outside .. strengthened with wire
43. [$] piano heater power plug .. broken by boy. Repaired
44. [i] shaft below water meter .. I got TownCouncil to replace it.
45. [is] suction lamp cable too short .. extended
46. [s] put on a thick black “condom” over brass door stopper of the flip-up type
47. [h] 3-piece picture — put up without drilling new holes. I did deepen some existing holes.
48. — unranked new items
49. —-
50. [h=one of the harder jobs]
51. [s=simplicity]
52. [i=scratching a big itch(such as an persistent annoyance), satisfying]
53. [t=time-honored]
54. [$=high monetary value]
55. [ = innovative ]