The problem is, to be brutally honest, that I don't have *room* for the tools I need to do the DIY work. I live in an appartment with me and my wife, and
all I've got available for tool room is the bottom of a small closet.
AFter having the guy here, a lot of the work I don't think I could have done anyway - apparently there was some fitting ring on one of the valves he
couldn't get off, and that meant pulling out some powered saw to get it off. Also, he ended up fixing a problem with my toilet (while replacing the feeder
line when he replaced the valve) that I'd been screwing with for months. The one thing I could have done (fixing a screwey faucet) I had him do because it
was only a extra smidge on the total.
The dishwasher's problems are many and myriad - it was more than 20 years old and needed replacing. The seals were bad, some of the internal plastic
gaskets were fatigued and couldn't be replaced (and believe me, I tried), and there were various leaks (one was the solenoid, by the way, it would leak
when going from open to closed). It also would vibrate so bad when running plates would shake in the cupboards because the motor was failing. I tried various
DIY fixes, but nothing helped.
I'm most offended by the refusal to do the installation. Seriously - they'll hook up and install every other appliance I have, but not the dishwasher?
Boo.
Also, I'm very wary to perform DIY work - I'm honestly a klutz when it comes to doing that stuff. Quite often I end up having to pay to have someone
fix my screwups anyway.
Edit: I understand what you're saying about parts, but I've run into this problem before. The appliances in my place are the originals that were put in
when the complex was built, and the company that made them was a joint called that doesn't exist anymore after being bought and subsumed by another
company. When my Fridge, Dryer, and AC all failed, I spent a chunck of time and effort trying to find parts to fix them, and it was impossible - GE didn't
even admit they were their appliances, a lot of the parts were non-standard, and it was in general a pain. After more than 50 people have gone through similar
pains, the wisdom within the complex is to just replace the pieces of crap.
Heck, I was lucky - I'm the only one in the complex who managed to find a replacement for the AC units we had. Ours were 8000 BTU, but were at least one
inch smaller than standard models that are around today.
all I've got available for tool room is the bottom of a small closet.
AFter having the guy here, a lot of the work I don't think I could have done anyway - apparently there was some fitting ring on one of the valves he
couldn't get off, and that meant pulling out some powered saw to get it off. Also, he ended up fixing a problem with my toilet (while replacing the feeder
line when he replaced the valve) that I'd been screwing with for months. The one thing I could have done (fixing a screwey faucet) I had him do because it
was only a extra smidge on the total.
The dishwasher's problems are many and myriad - it was more than 20 years old and needed replacing. The seals were bad, some of the internal plastic
gaskets were fatigued and couldn't be replaced (and believe me, I tried), and there were various leaks (one was the solenoid, by the way, it would leak
when going from open to closed). It also would vibrate so bad when running plates would shake in the cupboards because the motor was failing. I tried various
DIY fixes, but nothing helped.
I'm most offended by the refusal to do the installation. Seriously - they'll hook up and install every other appliance I have, but not the dishwasher?
Boo.
Also, I'm very wary to perform DIY work - I'm honestly a klutz when it comes to doing that stuff. Quite often I end up having to pay to have someone
fix my screwups anyway.
Edit: I understand what you're saying about parts, but I've run into this problem before. The appliances in my place are the originals that were put in
when the complex was built, and the company that made them was a joint called that doesn't exist anymore after being bought and subsumed by another
company. When my Fridge, Dryer, and AC all failed, I spent a chunck of time and effort trying to find parts to fix them, and it was impossible - GE didn't
even admit they were their appliances, a lot of the parts were non-standard, and it was in general a pain. After more than 50 people have gone through similar
pains, the wisdom within the complex is to just replace the pieces of crap.
Heck, I was lucky - I'm the only one in the complex who managed to find a replacement for the AC units we had. Ours were 8000 BTU, but were at least one
inch smaller than standard models that are around today.