The joys of DIY

I seem to be having extremely bad luck with contractors. It can easily be that I'm in a severe violation of the "secret of life is: have low expectations" principle. Most probable explanation, though, is that they just want to get their work day over with and go home. I guess they hope nobody would notice.

So my car breaks down (they do that). I get it to the dealership, they fix it... and put a dent in the door. I politely point out that the door needs to be fixed, they politely agree, fix the dent... and break the center console. And blame it on the car wash guys (never mind that I have specifically asked not to wash the car - last time they did, it cost them (not me - it was still under warranty) $1572 and spare change to fix the headlights the "car wash guys" killed).

It is plausible to assume that whoever dented the door hoped nobody would notice. It is also plausible to assume that whoever broke the console hoped nobody would notice. They just didn't expect that to happen twice to the same person in a row.

Fine... When in two weeks my window regulator breaks down and the window gets stuck halfway down, I take my sweet time to fix it, and my sweet money to buy the tools necessary (never before in my life I had a need for a torx bit set and a torque wrench - have them now). Spent a week, but next time it'll be an hour - procedures learned, tools acquired.

Oh, and I've also fixed all the things that the guys at the dealership broke the first time the window regulator broke, a couple of years ago. Half of pistons holding the door panel were broken. The door was rattling all this time, I've never had time to address the problem in depth, told dealership, they said "they all do that with age". Right. Few pistons fifty cents each - I bet they have buckets of those at each corner of the shop in abundance. But no, they didn't care to replace the ones they broke. A guy I met today explained to me: auto mechanics get paid by the job, not by the hour. They'd rather get paid for two jobs - and then two again, next time when the complaint is handled.

So, I've eventually gotten myself to route the wires through the walls. So I cut the walls open, and what do I see? Correct, 120V NM cable bundled together with telephone cable and stapled to the studs with metal staples. Forget the building codes, who is going to rip the drywall open to check it? Next thing I see is a 120V NM cable suspended across 20ft gap... with plastic conduit tube simply hanging on it. Not connected to anything. Next thing I see is a web of telephone wires, just knotted together and suspended in the middle of the attic.

I'm not even talking about a 1 ft diameter flex tubing branch crammed in snaking between framing members so its length is almost twice the distance it has to cover, and eventually feeding a 6x6 inch register.

I guess they hoped nobody would notice.

So what recourse do I have? None, really. Except you do have to take your time and energy to study all the sources on the subject matter and know what you're talking about when you're talking to contractors (but then they get pissed at you and might eventually tell you "you're too #%So what recurse do I have? None, really. Except you do have to take your time and energy to study all the sources on the subject matter and know what you're talking about when you're talking to contractors (but then they get pissed at you and might eventually tell you "you're too #%$&ng smart, I'm not gonna do business with you"), or simply learn to do it yourself.
amp;ng smart, I'm not gonna do business with you"), or simply learn to do it yourself.

Yes, the price I've paid for the tools to fix that car window would've paid for the labor. ONCE. Yes, I've already invested over three hundred dollars in tools necessary to do wiring (quality fish tape, drill bits, drill with enough torque to handle inch and a quarter holes, cables, connectors, wall plates, and so on and so forth), but I'm perfectly sure that at the end of the day, I'll be proud of the work I've done, and will have learned something to top it up.

Not all DIY is about saving a buck. Sometimes, it's about the long standing quality and the satisfaction of a job well done.