Mr. Fix-it

Yesterday, I got to spend the day with [Andrea's] Uncle Mike as we began tackeling a home repair project that was so far over my head I didn't know which end was up. As you may know, our house and water don't mix well and we've now had our third water problem since moving in three years ago. Though I'm not supersticious, many have claimed that water problems come in groups of three so I'm actually very optimistic now that we've run this "hydro"-gauntlet and lived to tell about it!

This time it was the shower in the master bath that took a shot at our home repair fund. A couple weeks ago, I came downstairs to find a large puddle on our kitchen floor which, we later realized, had dripped from the ceiling above. Apparently, a key piece of our brass shower drain had broken and left a gap for water to pour through into the ceiling below. A quick call to Uncle Mike and my education was underway.

I won't bore you with the details of the project but instead document my observations and lessons learned as I hung out with Uncle Mike.

1. Begin with the end in mind. Stephen Covey said this first but I got to obverve it in Uncle Mike's approach to the project. When we got started on Saturday morning, I quickly realized that the project had already started in his head several days earlier when he first stopped by to diagnose the problem. Since that time, Mike had spoken with a dry wall expert and a retired plumber to talk through the game plan. He knew exactly what was going to happen before we ever started cutting out drywall.
2. No wasted steps. This is probably a result of combining years worth of experience with lesson number one but it was quite a sight to behold. I don't think I've ever seen a home repair project go so smoothly. There was not a single extra step taken during the day. It was as if he was following a written instructions manual in his head. I've heard that master chess players are constantly thinking several steps ahead. I wonder if Mike plays chess?
3. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. As we were making a run to the store for plumbing parts, Mike stopped on the side of the road to check out a lawn mower that had a "Free" sign on it. My spirit quickly connected with the poor homeowner whose mower quit working on him so he just put it out on the curb rather than put it in the trash. I'm one of those people with a "throw away" mentality: "If it doesn't work, pitch it and buy a new one." Mike, on the other hand, is the guy that cashes in on the ignorance of us, "throw away" people. After a quick inspection, he threw the mower into his truck to take it home and check it out. When we were back to a garage and had access to some gasoline, Mike quickly diagnosed the problem by taking apart the carburator where the gas just leaked out of the engine. His hunch was that the "float" in the carburator was not functioning and might need to be replaced. If this story turns out like the last lawn mower rescue he made, then he probably just got a nearly new lawn mower for the cost of a few dollars worth of parts and the puddle of gas that went right through the engine. So, my conclusion is: DIRTY HANDS + WORKING BRAIN = MONEY SAVED.
4. Everything has a place and a purpose. Early in the morning, I realized that I was beginning to have tool belt envy as I worked with Uncle Mike. He had his tool belt and other equipment so organized that he could send me after a specific screwdriver and could tell me which one it was in the pouch. Every task had a specific tool and every tool had a place. My own tool collection is rather dismal and terribly unorganized. I quickly remedied that problem by cleaning out my tool bag after Mike left. Now, every tool has a place! By the way, I am proud to say that the one tool I got to contribute to the cause was my hack saw. It had never been used before (at least not in the task it was designed for) so I feel that I have come through some sort of "right of passage" into the world of the handy man.

It will hopefully be a long time before I need to call upon Uncle Mike for help with a repair project but until that time, I'll be working on implementing these lessons into my life. So, if my hands are a little dirty next time I greet you, ignore the grease and think about how much money is still in my pocket!