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The Why Of DIY

November 3, 2019 by Mr. 1500 Days 27 Comments

We’re BIG do-it-yourselfers. I love to look at a dated home and imagine the possibilities.

Give me your teal toilets.

Show me your brown bathtubs.

Let me tear out your 1970s decor.

I shall make it beautiful.

The sense of accomplishment I get from doing the work is incredible.

The home we just completed in Colorado was our biggest effort. Here is the before pic:

And here is the after:

That was a LOT of work, most of which we did ourselves (We did not do some of the rough carpentry or drywall. Those tasks are cheap to hire out and not worth my time.).

Along the way, we:

  • plumbed the addition/replumbed the existing part of the home
  • wired the addition
  • built two new bathrooms and remodeled the existing one
  • gutted/rebuilt the kitchen
  • installed new flooring throughout
  • built decks in front and in back
  • built fancy posts for the front of the home
A fancy shower pan that I built
Custom bookcase
Fancy travertine tile in the kitchen

However, 20 years ago, I didn’t know how to do much of anything.

From Zero To DIY Crazy People

My journey as a DIYer started about 20 years ago. When a plumber that I had hired to fix a leaky fixture didn’t show up, I went to the library and checked out a book. (YouTube wasn’t around yet) I studied a bit, bought a kit from the store, and fixed the faucet myself. When the unreliable plumber finally called back, I had the pleasure of telling him that I no longer needed his services.

While intimidating, the job wasn’t that hard. Emboldened, I tried other jobs like setting tile, installing new electric fixtures, hanging cabinets, and carpentry. Before I knew it, Mindy and I were flipping homes for fun and profit.

The Why Of DIY

We just bought another home to remodel. We’ll be taking our time with this one, gradually completing projects over the next 2-4 years and documenting the whole project on our YouTube channel. We’re still in the planning stages, but we’ll be swinging hammers soon. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to encourage you to try your own DIY projects. We created a video in which we explain our Why Of DIY:

But wait, that’s not all!

In the video, we also show you some of the interesting artifacts that I found in the suspended ceiling. If you have a delicate constitution, please brace yourself! ๐Ÿ™‚

More Videos…

Also see our previous videos including our home tour:

And tips for your next flip:

Do you DIY? If so, tell us about your projects in the comments.

Does DIY terrify you? If so, tell us your fears and we’ll help you get over them.

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Filed Under: DIY, home flipping, YouTube Tagged With: DIY, home flipping, youtube

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Frugal Professor says

    November 4, 2019 at 8:44 am

    This was great.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      November 4, 2019 at 10:15 am

      Thanks Professor!

      Reply
  2. Michael says

    November 4, 2019 at 9:41 am

    I love this. I’m not current with tax law, but is one still able to live in a house for 2 years and all the profit is tax free for married couple to $500K?

    So not only do you learn valuable life skills, have a roof over your head, but all the money is earned is tax free.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      November 4, 2019 at 10:15 am

      Yes, that’s exactly it! We can profit $500,000 and pay no gains! For a single person, the profit ceiling is $250,000. Very generous numbers!

      Reply
      • Michael says

        November 4, 2019 at 10:47 am

        Thanks for the quick response. That’s one of the ways I made my money. When I sold my first property (which I lived in), my tax lady told me I’d owe a lot of capital gains because of the profit of selling my house. Can you believe she didn’t know about the 2 year exemption?

        I’m an AC/Elec contractor and my wife is an attorney, though both retired. I always thought it would have been a fun hobby to take up. She could buy and sell the property and I could do the fixing up.

        Reply
        • Mr. 1500 Days says

          November 4, 2019 at 11:40 am

          I’m always surprised at how much accountants don’t know! Most of the ones by me didn’t know that solo-401(k)s existed. One of them who did tried to talk me out of it. WTF?!??

          Oooh, HVAC work! Inspired by MMM (and your comment on the post!), I’m thinking about replacing a furnace myself. If you’re ever in Colorado or want an all-expenses-paid trip out here and lodging, I’d love a little bit of help. ๐Ÿ™‚

          And yeah, fixing up homes is such a great way to make some extra money if you enjoy the work.

          Reply
  3. Done by Forty says

    November 4, 2019 at 10:04 pm

    Your find in the ceiling is too funny, Carl. How much does that treasure change your tax basis in the property?

    We bought a flipped home so very little DIY is hopefully in our future. Though I do want to tear down the old shed in the back and turn it into an office, for when the second kid comes along and takes my current office. We’ll see how that goes. ๐Ÿ™‚
    Done by Forty recently posted…Our Half Baked Slow Travel PlansMy Profile

    Reply
  4. Mr. Tako says

    November 5, 2019 at 2:53 am

    The new video was lots of fun Carl! Like you, I enjoy working on my own house and it definitely saves A TON of money.

    While haven’t found any “secret stashes” in my house while working on it, I recently did find a secret room while tearing out a wall. (it was empty)
    Mr. Tako recently posted…Trading Sardines And The Hubris Of Investing SuccessMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Financially Fit Mom says

    November 5, 2019 at 5:55 am

    Love this! And it’s a double win; since all your findings are related, when you and Mindy are done with them, you can arrange them nicely in a little basket and have a lovely Christmas gift!

    I’m a DIYer at heart. One of my not-so-tangible things on my 100 list is “Try it yourself first.” I haven’t done jobs quite as large as yours but my favorite solo job was changing the timing belt in my old car. May seem simple to some but it took me several hours and some pretty creative jacking to get enough leverage to get the new one on – but when I did, man I was excited!

    This summer, my good friend purchased a new location for her gym and I got to help with all kinds of fun stuff – 4 different kinds of flooring, fancy marketing window sticker thingers (you should check them out for the HQ – you can see out, but they can’t see in!), installing equipment, and normal painting and such. It’s a different level of excitement when you complete a terrifying job that could cost your friend thousands and not only do you not screw it up, but it turns out looking pretty good!
    Financially Fit Mom recently posted…Getting Better at MeMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Joe says

    November 5, 2019 at 9:40 am

    Our duplex needs a ton of work and I’m not looking forward to it. The whole place needs to be updated and I want to finish the basement. It’ll take forever to do this. My wife isn’t a big fan of DIY so I’ll have to do most of it myself. ๐Ÿ™
    We’ll probably hire more stuff out than you would. We’ll see…

    Reply
  7. Ryan Schlomer says

    November 6, 2019 at 4:40 am

    I am nervous with DIY when it comes to water or electricity. I cannot get myself over this. Any suggestions on this? Any tips?
    Ryan Schlomer recently posted…Being NormalMy Profile

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      November 6, 2019 at 8:52 am

      Ryan! First of all, accept that your fear is normal. After a couple decades of this kind of work, I still get a little nervous before every project.

      Water: This is pretty much all an all-or-nothing endeavor. When you turn your water supply on, it will leak or it won’t. If it leaks, try again. You’ll get it right eventually. No big deal.

      Electricity: Turn the breaker off so there is no chance of getting shocked. Double-check the wires you’ll be working on with a tester like this one.

      Finally, read up (or watch YouTube videos) on the job you’ll be working on. There is nothing like knowledge to build confidence.

      Reply
  8. Jim K. says

    November 6, 2019 at 1:28 pm

    What are you planning for the fireplace?

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      November 11, 2019 at 5:38 am

      Undecided! All ideas are welcome!

      Reply
      • Leif Kristjansen (of FiveYearFIREescape) says

        November 29, 2019 at 7:49 am

        Definitely an insert with a big window!
        -You can heat your home with wood,
        -installation is very simple (mostly just the steel tube down your chimney),
        -no smoke in the house
        -you get that nice snap crackle pop of Fire on winter mornings (although the noises are muted through the doors).

        Reply
        • Mr. 1500 Days says

          December 2, 2019 at 3:52 pm

          Yeah, an insert is a no-brainer!

          The issue with the fireplace is the ugly-ass rocks that surround it!
          Mr. 1500 Days recently posted…Joining The Multimillionaire Club (And What I’ve Learned About Money)My Profile

          Reply
  9. Cathleen Cooks Stuff says

    November 7, 2019 at 10:45 am

    We are pretty DIY here- cooking, making stuff, fixing a flooded bathroom floor. The house is old, and it’s our extremely long live-in-and-flip. We thought it was going to be our forever home. Until we determined that its proximity to the football field was not, in fact, a very desirable thing if you want peace and quiet on the weekends. The “hard” stuff is mostly my husband- gutted bathroom,, complete new shower instead of an old cast iron and super tiny tub. New ceiling to replace the old cainic ceiling- paint a completely bare wall (it’s wood. took like 6 coats of base paint to even start to cover it all), tore out an upper cabinet, re-finished an old wood floor with only a handheld circular sander WITH a 2 1/2 year old in the house.
    BTW: did you find that the mosaic tile was easier to level and shape for the shower pan? We used 3″ square tile, but even with a professional tiler laying down the custom cement shower pan below, somehow some of the tiles don’t lie just right.

    Reply
  10. Revanche @ A Gai Shan Life says

    November 7, 2019 at 1:27 pm

    On principle, I’m a huge fan of DIY, but in practice, I can’t make time for learning enough to venture into doing the work myself yet. I can handle small things! I do love watching people work though, it’s like a small kind of magic. Also, we have a shower floor like your cool shower pan there and I regret all that grout I have to clean ๐Ÿ˜€

    I especially love your bookshelf! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  11. BC | FrugalWheels says

    November 8, 2019 at 8:20 am

    I’m pretty close to that “plumber didn’t show up” stage of building by DIY muscles, but am proud of what I have done so far. A friend (who owns rentals and has experience) helped me install a toilet late last summer, saving be hundreds in installation fees. I later did some minor plumbing related to the toilet on my own. I love the feeling of doing the work myself or with a handy friend. I knew about the cost savings but what I didn’t expect or at least downplayed was the satisfaction of having done the work without professional help. A good feeling indeed!
    BC | FrugalWheels recently posted…The housing hypocrisy: Should you buy a house?My Profile

    Reply
  12. JRobi says

    November 11, 2019 at 5:21 am

    Looking forward to the next video. These are awesome!
    JRobi recently posted…Weekly Retrospective…My Profile

    Reply
  13. Mrs Chaos says

    November 14, 2019 at 10:01 am

    Great video guys! Can you come and sort out my leaky toilet. Thanks. Particularly loved Mindy suppressing her giggles from get-go and glad you found some more props for your collection!
    (Not sure if I am being a tech dinosaur but is there a way to like your embedded videos without opening them in youtube?)

    Reply
  14. Arrgo says

    November 19, 2019 at 6:44 am

    I’ve definitely gotten big on the DIY the last few years. Many repairs arent that bad once you get focused and dive in. I get a lot of satisfaction fixing something myself that I previously didnt think I could do. Plus realizing how much they would have charged me to fix something that ended up being not that hard.

    Reply
  15. Bateaux says

    November 27, 2019 at 5:07 pm

    Just watched your videos. You guys are funny. I’m taking a short break from a hot water heater replacement. I’m mounting this one in the attic, hopefully the Louisiana summers, gives us a few free watts of heat. DIY definitely can be satisfying.

    Reply
  16. Leif Kristjansen (of FiveYearFIREescape) says

    November 29, 2019 at 7:42 am

    So I love the concept of DIY-ing my house and get excited about installing new subfloors or crown molding. Weirdly excited.
    Getting rid of knob and tube wiring oh yeah! Feels good!

    But when it comes down any morning we are supposed to get to work we just can’t do it.

    Every time, we are about to start a project my wife and I look at each other and say, ‘I’d rather just go for a walk/drink’ and our DIY tasks never get completed.

    Maybe I need to settle into having extra retirement time to really get into DIY mentality. Were you THIS into DIY before you exited work.

    Reply
  17. Jesse says

    October 16, 2020 at 12:53 pm

    Thanks for the tips. But, what if you LIKE a teal toilet? HAHA, keep up the good work.
    Jesse recently posted…Best Sewer CameraMy Profile

    Reply
  18. Florida Plumber says

    December 14, 2020 at 1:26 am

    While watching “The Why of DIY,” I was laughing so hard. I loved what you did with the house. It is amazing.

    Reply
    • Mr. 1500 Days says

      December 14, 2020 at 9:30 am

      Thanks!

      Reply

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Freedom!

My goal was to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 by February of 2017; 1500 days from the birth of this blog (January 1, 2013). And hey look, I’ve since retired!

Investments only (primary home excluded)
1/1/13 (The Start): $586,043
1/1/14 (1 Yr Later): $869,635
1/1/15 (2 Yrs Later): $987,351
1/1/16 (3 Yrs Later): $1,057,961
1/1/17 (4 Yrs Later): $1,257,128
1/1/18 (5 Yrs Later): $1,527,701
1/1/19 (6 Yrs Later): $1,549,440
1/1/20 (7 Yrs Later): $2,035,040*
1/1/21 (8 Yrs Later): $3,379,746**
1/1/22 (9 Yrs Later): $4,762,642
1/1/23 (10 Yrs Later): $3,112,821

2023: Investments only
1/1: $3,112,821

Overall
2023 investment gains: $0
Investment gains since 1/1/2013: $2,526,778
Net worth***: $3,342,821

* The big jump between 2019 and 2020 was partly because we bought another home, but kept the previous (much more expensive) one as a rental. We have since sold it.

** Tesla.

*** Includes our primary home equity in addition to our investment portfolio.

Finally, we still have about $290,000 in mortgage debt (which I love!). No regrets about the debts!

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