Home improvement

[nvbirdman]

First I have to say that I'm 78 years old and I get tired quicker than I did when I was 25.
I have been working on a project at home for about four hours and I suddenly realized that I was getting tired. Measure twice, cut once. Well I measured twice and I still wasn't sure it was right. Time to quit, I will pick it up again tomorrow.

[Ithaca Gunner]

That's my world! Thursday I replaced the coupler in our washing machine, simple operation, but laying on the floor to do. I still felt that yesterday.

[tankgunner59]

I'm 62, and have been a DIYer for most of those years. I try to treat my home projects like I do reloading, I have learned not to get in a hurry. Mostly because the house we own was built originally in 1821 approximately according to our original appraisal. So when I look a job over and estimate the time to finish, my estimate is often short by about 20% to 35%. So I now add at least a day to my estimates from then on.

[country gent]

I no longer worry about the time to do something, I work at my own pace and enjoy the process. I still do what I did before but not always in the same way. I need help to change heavy vises chucks (need to build a jib crane for the shop). Being in a wheel chair I had switches and outlets in the new building installed lower for me. The 3 garage doors have chain fall style openers on them,try to open a manual door from seated it pulls you out of the chair.

Ive learned this Take your time think things thru before starting work at your own pace. There is nothing wrong with sketching up a project before starting.

I will also add that since Ive been tinkering in the shop this past summer I feel much better, Im starting to move easier, and it just was a big boost to my outlook putting the old skills to work again.

Also Im no longer worried about Jamie on Days Of Our Lives LOL

[Scrounge]

First I have to say that I'm 78 years old and I get tired quicker than I did when I was 25.
I have been working on a project at home for about four hours and I suddenly realized that I was getting tired. Measure twice, cut once. Well I measured twice and I still wasn't sure it was right. Time to quit, I will pick it up again tomorrow.

Get in a hurry, and mess it up. Try to get it done faster, and mess it up. Lose focus just for a second, and mess it up. That is my life. And I'm only 66.

Bill

[Wayne Smith]

I'm 68 and just had back surgery - my neuro surgeon looked at me in the hospital and stated "Dr. Smith, if you don't follow my instructions you can literally bend the metal I put in your back". That caused me to sit up and pay attention. No bending, no twisting, and lift no more than 10 lbs. for the next three months. It takes six months for bones to heal, and the bone is growing into the metal he put in my back. Six weeks since the operation he said I am doing very well, but the bones grow very slowly - and I already knew that.
So I don't bend over, I don't twist, and had to learn literally how to dress myself with out bending, how to take a shower without dropping the soap - no bending means I need to crouch down and pick up what I dropped, without bending my back - and that is hard to get back up from! My wife is able to pick up what I dropped most of the time but I try to be as independent as I can be without relying on her being there. Yes, it takes patience to learn this, and perverence, and it takes humility to rely on my wife. This is what I am learning right now.

[MrWolf]

61 here and begged them about a year and a half ago to at least fix one lumber disc. I have cervical, thoracic, and lumbar herniations; more bad disc's than good. I am still trying to learn after all these years that when I am able to work more than a few hours at a time DON'T. It will take me out for several days and I have to sleep on the floor for most of the week. For you younger guys. News flash. Kyrptonite sucks. Be smart.

[Scrounge]

So far, I'm lucky & blessed. I have damage at L5-S1, & C6-C7, but it's not as bad as it could be. C6-C7 is just a bit crunchy. I can hear it, but it doesn't hurt much most of the time. L5-S1, so far, has responded well to steroid injections & ablation of the nerves. Last time, they also worked up to the thoracic vertibrae. It worked for most of a year, but it's back at L5-S1 again. Got the shots again Friday, have an appointment mid-month to see how things are going, and figure out what next. I also got a monsterous back brace. Now all I need is a '55 Buick... And to remember to wear it when I'm going to be lifting anything, or bending over. I have damaged discs, and the bones from the bottom of the ribcage down to the pelvic girdle look like someone poured acid on them. That said, I'm using NSAIDs for pain relief. SWMBO had fusions at both those locations decades ago, and the vertibrae have collapsed so she's 2 or 3 inches of height shorter, and 90mg of morphine a day wasn't helping a bit. She's supposed to get a pain pump implant but the surgery has been postponed twice since the long delay for the COVID-19 lockdown.

Bill

[Battis]

I was supposed to have back surgery #5 in September. In June, I started rebuilding/repairing/painting my front porch (the house was built in 1892): stairs and stringers, railing, ceiling, replacing floor boards, repairing/resetting 85 wooden balusters - fun stuff. I've been working at it every day that it didn't rain. And one day I realized that all the moving around, bending, etc, was making my back better. Much better. I lost fifteen or so pounds. I cancelled the back surgery - for now, anyways.

[Winger Ed.]

Well I measured twice and I still wasn't sure it was right. Time to quit, I will pick it up again tomorrow.

Get a good night's sleep too.

I did a carpentry project once when I was tired.
I measured a board, cut it, and it was wrong.
So I measured again, and cut it again,,,,,,,,,, the darn thing was still too short.

[GregLaROCHE]

I measure twice, but sometimes the problem is I can’t remember what The measurement was. Got to start writing everything down now.

[Froogal]

I measured it twice, cut it off twice, and it was STILL too short.

[lightman]

I get tired pretty quick too. It took me 4 hours to re-install the 3 fluorescent fixtures that were taken down when we remodeled the kitchen. I replaced a couple of ballast and went back with LED bulbs. A few years ago I would have done this job in an hour or less. But nowadays I work for a few minutes and sit for a few minutes.

[Scrounge]

I measured it twice, cut it off twice, and it was STILL too short.

That's why I gave up on wood, and started working metal. Now it's "Measure twice, cut once, weld, repeat!"

Bill

[Duckiller]

For those that can't or shouldn't bend Home Depot sells a 30"+/- grabber. Wife used it from her wheel chair, I use it to avoid getting down on my hands and knees. Really works great to pick up moderate heavy stuff.

[Scrounge]

For those that can't or shouldn't bend Home Depot sells a 30"+/- grabber. Wife used it from her wheel chair, I use it to avoid getting down on my hands and knees. Really works great to pick up moderate heavy stuff.

We have several grabbers, but have yet to find one as tough as we need. THIS is what we want: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPMk-EEyOpE Yes, I know. Want in one hand, and spit in the other...