Callin’ On Collin

Are you the type of person who likes to tackle household tasks on your own? Do you cringe at the thought of having to hire paid help to change an air filter or unclog a pipe? My husband sure does. He will try to do just about any fix it job, whether he has experience in dealing with it, or not. Sometimes it ends up costing us more in the long run, after the cost of redoing the job several times, until it is just right (he’s a perfectionist.)  He has, however, done some amazing things around the house, all by his own sweat and blood (and yes, there has been blood.) When I showed my husband Collin De Ruyck’s “Tool Belt Tips” blog, he almost fell out of his chair. “There are blogs about do it yourself-ing?” He was amazed. I’ve caught him reading Collin’s blog on several occasions and muttering “Yup” and “Ohhhh,” under his breath. It is the first thing I’ve ever seen him regularly read online, besides the NBA stats. When I found out that Collin’s blog was only a few doors down from this one, I got excited because it meant that I would get to interview him for my Three Doors Down project. Here is the interview that I conducted on Collin and his “do it yourself-ing”:

 
1. Would you say that you’re more like Tim The Toolman Taylor, or Al
   Borlin from the old sitcom “Home Improvement,” and why?
   ~I am a perfect fit between the both of them. I have a sensitive side
   just like Al and love tools and get very excited to work with them and
   try new ones out, like Tim.




2. Do you ever wish that you could have an assistant like the ones on
   “Tool Time?”
   ~No, I am a strong believer that safety has to come first with everything
   we done at home and with tools, having a a hot babe around would only
   cause injuries from distractions.




3. What made you want to blog about fixing stuff?
   ~Well after 15 years of being in the trades I thought that it may be a
   good time for me to share what I know. There was an opportunity with in
   the b5media group that I read about on Pro Blogger Job Boards to start
   this blog so I figured I would try it out, and now I am loving it.




4. Wouldn’t you agree that there comes a point when you just need to
   admit failure and call a professional? My husband doesn’t think so.
   ~Yes, I will be covering this topic on site as well. There are certain
   projects that are just to big for the home owner to handle so knowing
   how to hire a contractor is very important. Example of this is my water
   service replacement I had to go through in the past months. There was no
   way I could do it, have your husband watch the video series and let me
   know if he could of done that!




5. Favorite tool?
   ~Milwaukee Hatchet Sawzall




6. What is one tool that you wish someone would invent to fix
   something in your life?
   ~Well I don’t have enough money so a money making machine would be a good
   tool I think to have, don’t you?




7. What is the biggest home renovation project you’ve tackled, so far?
   ~Removing a closet, pushing back a bathroom or basically making a whole
   new one and building a stair case in home home to open up an area and
   make the bathroom more practical.




8. What is some advice that you have for rookies?
   ~Get a good support system, one you can draw answers from when you run
   into problems and have that support group in place before you start a
   project.




9. How is being a parent similar to fixing a household object?
   ~Both cause high levels of stress so in short, both can give you Grey
   hairs at a fast pace.

So, if you’re anything like my husband, or know a man who is (possibly one that shares your bed,) send him over to Collin’s place. It is a great way to pick up some neat tips and get insider info on how to correctly execute home repairs (which may save you hundreds of dollars in the long run!) Now I’m off to pick up some static filters, as Collin suggested. I advise you to do the same, after you read about why they are so smart, over at “Tool Belt Tips.”