Fixer-Upper

[Pike]

Today I noticed a hole in my pants, and because pants are expensive, I decided to sew the hole up myself. Yeah, that fix lasted all of fifteen minutes because I am terrible at sewing and have no idea what I'm doing. :(

Anyhow, are you good at fixing things up?

[edczxcvbnm]

I am decent. Being a fairly narrow individual and a bit of a pack rat, I have embarked on a quest to sew all of my shirt to size. The first few have been fairly good and have taught me what I need to do for the rest.

I also am unafraid to take the time to learn what needs to be done to fix things. I have dropped the engine on my car to fix something, removed toilets to route the pipes, reinstalled shingles on a roof and other various tasks. Obviously there is a bit of trial and error to some of this but it gets easier the second time around.

You shouldn't be afraid to try. Just be prepared, do some research and take your time.

[fire_of_avalon]

The secret to sewing is small even stitches and going slow. Hand sewing is for patient people though. And i am not one of those.

[Peegee]

Buddy i fixed my suit button on The wedding day.


My dad is the fixer upper though. When things break i ask him how to fix it

[Jinx]

I built all the furniture in my room by myself.

I've repaired my own clothes, and even sewed a few items myself.


I'm fuckin' awesome.

[Jiro]

Many moons ago, a fresh faced young hero with stars in his eyes was spending a summery afternoon with his two chums. Our dashing hero was celebrating the fact he had obtained his vehicular license, a task that had proven to be difficult on three previous occasions. While at the dwelling of one of his chums, (rachran (http://home.eyesonff.com/members/32619.html)) our hero was delighted to see a subwoofer constructed out of Lego, enhancing some kicking beats. After some time, our hero's other chum, a man dedicated to protecting time itself (Timekeeper (http://home.eyesonff.com/members/31145.html)), decided to take a little jaunt on a bicycle. The trio headed for a shed past the forest, wherein they would whittle away their day with relaxed discussion.

However, it was not to be so simple.

As our hero and his chum trailed the time enthusiast, they joked and laughed. Suddenly, the bicycle found a patch of sand and catapulted its rider into the air. Our hero panicked, but was fortunate to turn his vehicle away. There was a mighty crunch as the bicycle wedged itself under the vehicle. Our hero panicked once more, thinking to himself, "Oh no, I have crushed my bestest chum on this, the first day I have obtained my freedom!" Fortunately his chum was quite safe.

The bicycle was not.

"Oh no, my dear little sister's bicycle," the other chum cried. "It is ruined!" The trio decided that leaving the bicycle a wreck would not do. They were far from trained in this manner of work, and with the keeper of time suffering minor wounding, it would be a tough task. They knew they had to start at the beginning though. Tools had to be located!

The search was frivolous. There were tools to be had, certainly, but not of the nature they needed, and the bicycle was sitting in a pathetic, mangled heap in the centre of the paved area. The frame was twisted, the back wheel buckled. They set to work with the only tool they could find: a large, rusty woodcutter's axe. The bicycle was dismantled, separated into its component parts. The frame was propped against a large metal post, and beat back into place over many agonising minutes. It was not elegant, but it was functional - a great success! The wheel, however, was beyond repair, no matter how many different techniques the chums exercised. In the end, they simply removed a wheel from another discarded bicycle and affixed it as a replacement.

With their work completed, the chums admired their handiwork. It was a masterpiece. The little sister arrived and took her new bicycle for a test ride, and discovered it had actually been improved! The chums celebrated their success with many alcoholic beverages, but vowed not to run each other over ever again.

The End.

(true story, I even have pictures of the bicycle half fixed and then completed at home. It was magnificent, ain't gonna lie.)

[Sephex]

I am alright at it. I used to be totally incompetent at stuff like this, but working where I work and being a QA dude has made me better at figuring somethings out!

[Bubba]

A girl broke my heart once and unfortunately I'm not much of a fixer-upper...

It took all the strength I had not to fall apart. Although I'm not good at DIY, I kept trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart. I spent so many nights feeling sorry for myself... and I used to cry... but now I hold my head up high!

I mean seriously... did you think I'd Crumble? Did you think I'd lay down and die?

Well no, actually, not me... I will Survive... As long as I'm aware of the process of how to love, I'm pretty sure I'll stay alive. I've got all my life to live. I've got all my love to give.

Yeah... I'll survive.

EDIT: Seriously though, I'm pretty good at DIY but I can't sew to save my life.

[Shlup]

Yes, I am pretty good at fixing things.

You have to sew the fuck out of pants holes.

[GhandiOwnsYou]

It tends to depend on whether I'm trying to fix something permanently or temporarily. My temp fixes tend to be... very temporary. Very very temporary. Often only several second past their initiation. If I go to build or fix something to last though, that sucker is gonna be kicking for a minute.

[Laddy]

I pretty much cannot fix up anything in my life. I'm pretty worthless. :D

[Værn]

I can't MacGyver things back into working condition, though I'm confident in my ability to fix things so long as I have some sort of instructions or a reference to go by.

On a related note, I once attempted to fix a hole in the knee of a pair of jeans using these instructions (http://video.about.com/teenfashion/How-To-Patch-a-Hole-in-Jeans.htm). Not too long after that, though, another hole tore open about an inch and a half above the patch. I'd just like to say, though, that the second hole was in now way related to the patching, and the patch is still perfectly intact over the original hole.
(Cutting away the patch and applying a larger one to cover both holes has been on my to-do list for the longest time now. I should do that at some point.)

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I've noticed the biggest factor in repairing something is making sure you have the proper tools. Even if you haven't done it before, the right tools make it much more likely to be a good repair.

One repair I wasn't too familiar with, but located all the right tools for was for bathroom renovation.

I re-did two bathrooms over the course of a few weekends, including tearing out the sub-flooring all the way to the exposed crawl space below the house. Then I placed in new sub-floor, and tiled the floor. One bathroom had the plumbing rerouted to a slightly different spot so I could add a pedestal sink, and the other one received a new bathroom vanity with a real marble counter top/sink (purchased only for a penny from the Home Depot), and a medicine cabinet that I recessed into the wall.

Both bathrooms received new toilets, light fixtures, fixtures for the bathtub/showers and sinks, exhaust fans, paint, and molding/trim.

It actually turned out really well, and then shortly thereafter I moved. :roll2

[Peegee]

lol ain't that always the case.

I hope I can buy a house soon (i fear i might end up in a condo :( ), because then I can get my dad to help me renovate the hell out of it while we still can.