Hi! How did I get into building/remodeling? My dad grew up on his uncle and aunt's poultry ranch. In his late teens, he left the ranch to explore a bit of the North-American map. He got into wholesale and retail sales positions, and built our family's life on that. He seemed to want to forget so much of the ranch life (which, overall, I think he hated) that he dropped nearly every handyman procedure except those involving just a crosscut hand saw, a hammer, a pair of pliers, or a tube of glue. I guess I rebelled! At age 13, a friend and I built a mini-motorscooter with a salvaged frame and small engine, and assorted purchased components: wheels, handle bars, clutch, etc. At 18, another friend and I rebuilt a shed on his folks' property and made a sort of "club house" out of it. Then, I was hooked! I lived in rental places in the countryside and acquired a few hand tools in order to make the whole idea practical. Although over time I did a variety of things for income. But my expanding carpenter's tool collection enabled me to have an ever-improving lifestyle that was financially affordable. When I got married, the same principle applied - have "more of a life" by saving labor costs, and 'do it ourselves'. What you need then are things like plumber's tools, electrician's tools, painter's equipment, mason's tools, etc. Working (on and off) in construction, I learned a lot from tradesmen. So here I am on this informative site!
Hey Joel, it's great to see you here! It looks like you have a really great and diverse background. I really enjoy some aspects of remodeling / tinkering, but my problem is that I get TERRIBLY impatient. It doesn't help that I also inherited my father's knack for being more focused on "function" than "form" (i.e., if it works, who cares what it looks like!?!?"
