When do you know....?

for me when it isn't fun anymore, I plan to keep on doing until I can't. It may take a little longer but being retired I have plenty of time.

i'm 69
i don't do any Mechanical drive train, suspension, chassis work on this DP
except check the fluids

i still work on the house stuff, and all the electrical
and i repaired the entry door frame about a yr ago
And I installed the new toilet, house water pump (that was a real chore) hidden behind the water bay access plate

i do wrench on the Scoot, but that takes a lot less effort, and more familiar than diesel engines

For most of my life, I always fixed my home, cars, appliances, televisions, rv's, and assorted toys myself. Partially because it saved a couple coins, but mostly because I tended to get better quality that way. Now I'm more inclined to pay someone to put in a new fence, or work on the car. Most of the house interior related stuff I still prefer to do myself. I do all my RV work if it isn't warranty, mostly because you really need to upgrade and beef up everything which the shops don't tend to do. We roam all over very desolate parts of the country in our ATV, so I do all the maintenance and upgrades on it myself. I don't trust the shops to do a quality job and most importantly to really look over and fix anything that needs fixing or modifying.

The stuff that's important to me I'll probably keep doing myself until I'm no longer capable.

I am almost 61. I still have the will and enjoy doing my own maintenence. But my body is not cooperating on somethings. My hands ache from carpal tunnel syndrome and my back doesn't bend as well as it used to.

Despite these limitations I can still get the job done, just not as quickly. I don't see me hanging up my tools ever. They may not get used as much but they will be used.

I think it is a personal decision that each individual has to make at some point in their lives. Good luck, John

I am nearly 80 and I own 12 rentals and do nearly all the repair work to keep them in good shape. I change my own oil in my tractors, p ups, RVs. It is harder to do and takes me longer but I don't mind. I am seldom in a rocking chair. I ride my bike 6 to 8 miles a day. Life is good

Yeah, there are all kinds of different situations.
When I was employed with a wrench in my hand, my house and yard were beautiful. People actually stopped and asked, neighbors congratulated me.
When I was employed as a remodeler, my house, yard, and cars went downhill, I never wanted to hold a wrench or hammer again.

Fortunately, the glass is still better than half-full and I'm able to schedule and complete a small project with little suffering. Others aren't as fortunate.

For the true bragging rights: My Wife and I shoveled out more than half of our basement. I made a special concrete form that allowed me to excavate 4' under the existing poured foundation. That 6' folding form was hand filled with a Sears cement mixer twisting up 1/3 yd at a time. It marched along under the foundation until done. We also added a center block wall that bears the center weight of the house. Folks thought we were nuts.
Now, that is mostly finished space with a shelved store room, a bedroom, a laundry, and a small office space.

Keep the histories coming and keep the stop/caution light in mind. I'm especially interested in those guys that have ramped down in physical activity. How did you?

My thoughts are that when I'm unable to do the fairly simple repairs most of the problems require is the day I hang up the RV and go sit in my living and wait to die.

Growing up I've watched people wither away as they convinced themselves they can't do things anymore because they are 65, 75 or 85 whatever age.

I prefer to keep on doing even if it might take a little longer or might be a bit more challenging physically. Sure I might get a little more sore as I age, might take me a little while longer to fiddle and diddle with things but I'm active, it keeps my brain active and my body moving. That really is half the battle right there, just staying active and not withering away listening to my arteries harden as I sit inside watching the boob tube.

westend wrote:

I,M 70 and can handle a lot of repairs but theres times my brain says go for it, and my body says O no you don,t

Truer words were never said.

ROTFL!!!!

Well when I was young and not making much money I wrenched to save money.

Nowadays I do my own wrenching as therapy, I do ache a bit more when done, but it goes away quickly and I just like the feeling of a job well done.

When I was younger I used to have to work overtime to afford to pay a mechanic to fix the things I would have done myself if I wasn't working so much overtime.......

Now I don't work.......

I have always been (since I was 15 years old) a self-made carpenter. I've done so much house remodeling, rebuilding, fixing, repairing from foundation to the smoke coming out of the chimney it's awful. Never paid for my work, always volunteer or something for myself. I've always enjoyed being the wood-worker, hobbiest, helping other with remodeling projects, and I'm very good at it. I dreamed of having my own wood working shop where I could just tinker away with my hearts content doing all kinds of craft wood items, maybe as a great retirement hobby.

A few years ago the "love and joy" of the "hobby" turned completely sour and I burned out and have never recovered the joy. It was a decisive moment when it happened, and I'll never forget it.

We owned a house and tried to sell it when the city zoning board said we had to move the camper. We moved alright, into a house that needed some tender loving care, and the remodel started. It was great! I enjoyed it once again. Until ...the Land Contract on the other house went belly up! Legal ramification, and it's just not very easy getting someone out of your house. When they did finally get out (which took months, and exhausted our fiances), the house was 100% completely destroyed! Actually, it was beyond destroyed.

Somehow the money came in, little by little. We were insured for everything on that house except "renters vandelism". Which is exactly what happened when they were thrown out.

We'd been carrying two mortgages and now we had 2 houses. One was a wreck and the other was under a major remodel, and I worked full time, sometimes as much as 56 hours a week.

My wife and I did almost 100% of the re-work in the old house. I only had to hire a contractor and company for specific items I absolutely could not do myself (like remove and rebuild some of the outside), remove gigantic windows, and replace ... yea ... really ... doors that had been taken!

The rest we did our selves. 6 bedroom house, completely repainted, completely gutted 2 bathrooms, tossed out even the bath tubs, I mean everything in the house went. I had to patch holes in the wall big enough to drive a car through, an plumbing, toilets, flooring, I mean everything.

At the same time the house we were living in was being neglected and we were sleeping in nothing but saw dust at one house or the other.

With enough time, both houses got fixed. The old house was fabulous when finished! And I'm not just bragging, I'm BRAGGING! We got it on the market and it sold 3 days later! REALLY!

I was able to then get a handle on the new house, get it done and finally get everything under control. Exhausted and burned out, I didn't want to do any more remodeling every again. Then IT happened!

Water came in the house, which resulted in the big family room needing to be 100% gutted from floor to ceiling. Flood insurance paid a whopping amount! It truly was incredible and I did the work! End result was absolutely wonderful! I'm really not bragging again .. OH Heck! Yes I am!

But when the living room got done, and the curtains were finally hung, it hit me! I hated remodeling! It was no longer fun! I truly lost the joy of doing it!

So, when we had a small water problem with the sink (very simple fix), just a couple weeks ago ... yea! I called a plumber!