I am working on a project where I am looking to find the profile of people who enjoy DIY (Do It Yourself) installations, when it comes to technical solutions for the home. As in - they themselves want to assemble the products and/or the system.
Does someone reckognize themself in this?
or does anyone have suggestions on who these people are or where I could find them?
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The profile can be anything from “where they shop”, “what they do for a living”, “if they live in a house or apartment”, “what types of technology they like”, “how much they earn”, “whats their gender” to “if they have a pet” or “are retired”.
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I’m definitely one of those people. I suspect the way to find them is to do exactly what you have done (posting on the forum). Reddit is another potential place to find people.
My guesses for profile stuff: generally male (but definitely not always), probably employed in tech (I’m a web developer by day), middle class+ (tech is expensive), generally younger (again, not always)
Ha, yup, completely wrong
I’m right at the break point between BB’s and Gen X…
But then I’m one of those dudes that had popular science and popular electronics subscriptions at age 14…
I’m a self professed geek, run an art school and part-time stand up comedian. I hack in my free time. Hacking stuff together and apart started at 9 when my grandfather gave me an old clock to take apart. I had every piece out and disassembled… Then he told me to put it back together… I did, it worked and took all summer… Ironically, it was broken when I started, but when it was back together it worked, minus some extra screws… There are always extra screws. My first language was LOGO (the turtle) and then basic at age 10, been doing it ever since (just not basic or LOGO http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language) )
I prefer DIY because I can get it done the way I want to. I hired someone to install my Control4 system. Hated the work they did, so I gutted it and did it myself after that company went under (not Control4, the dealer) and will never go back to a dealer driven model with IoT or HA products ever again.
LOL! I’m a semi-DIY’er. I like to know how to fix things when they break, and I like to do things myself if I can – because that way I can get it exactly the way I would like it to be, and I really better understand things. During the day I’m essentially a strategic consultant. I started programming with FORTRAN and BASIC and remember learning to type on a keypunch machine and changing plug boards to program a computer. But, I also am very willing to trade $$ for time, and pay people to do things that they can do better than I can, or have specialized knowledge in. But that doesn’t mean I won’t tackle changing the oil on my car, just so I know how its done and doing basic “fix it” repair work since its faster and easier for me to do it. And I’ll tackle projects when I can’t easily find something I want, and need to build it myself – including building furniture/ basic construction, electrical/ electronic stuff, and home automation.
Well, I have always considered myself Gen X, but according to the stated years, I was born a bit before Gen X (SMILE). I have always been the technical one of my family, got into trouble building a launch platform with LOX and Gasoline. The rocket worked well, until it stalled due to the heat from the thrust nozzle distorting the engine, and well. The rest was a big bang. At least it worked, even if the school asked me not to do that again. (now, you get kicked out for a year for doing something like this).
I know exactly how it works, where things are, etc. If something breaks, I can probably fix it for a fraction of the price. At the same time, I’ve spent a whole lot of my own time that I could have used for something else. And if something breaks that I can’t fix it will likely be more expensive to have fixed.
Probably more compulsive. The DIFM requires a certain amount of effort to find and contact someone to do the actual work, while a DIYer can just … DIY.
I would definitely classify myself as a DIY Techie. People are constantly amazed while in my house with the level of automation and convenience.
Demographics on me - male, last of the Baby Boomers (just turned 50), degrees in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, middle class+ income level, work in the Automotive Industry as Tier Supplier Sales Account Manager. As a kid, I had a Commodore 64 computer, a Sinclair computer, a Colecovision game system, Atari 2600 & Atari 5200 game systems (you might have to go to the Smithsonian so see those now!) I have always loved Tech!!
Advantages of doing Tech DIY - I have the cutting edge technology. As I once told someone who was telling me about some gadget they’d picked up from a Target … “If it’s available at Target, I’ve already bought it, used it, sold it, and replaced it with something better.”
Disadvantages - when something goes wrong, I have to debug / fix it, there’s usually no one to call for help.
Here’s my take.
In any and all areas of my life where I have some knowledge/skill and am invested in the subject matter, I find that I’m almost always disappointed in output of those I’ve paid to do the work on my behest, and in the end wish that I’d done it myself.
DIY Advantages, I enjoy the satisfaction of doing it my self, & the knowledge/experience gained
Disadvantages, somethings don’t get finished to 100% (functional yes but maybe not aesthetic) or at least to my own standards of perfection.
I only DIFM if it is absolutely necessary for the WAF or where required by law.
I’m an Sr Draftsmen/GIS Programmer/Developer/Analyst, & Tinkerer.
I always have home projects of some sort in varying degrees of completion… I am as old as my house, so something always needs upgrading/fixing. I drive a 25 year old Toyota 4x4 I built out of a $50 derelict.
@theedpope your post reminds of when I stuck an “D” Estes rocket engine on my Tonka truck & launched it down the street…end over end over end over end
Looks like I am late to the party here, but basically I agree with all the DIY info provided. You have more flexibility, control over the financial side of things, and you know how it works. I do sometimes with big projects, like a geothermal unit, allow for the contractors to do the work (SMILE).
My next project will be Solar power for the home, for on-grid use. After that, I plan to re-do the driveway with a nice brick and build in Solar Heating solutions underneath to melt ice and snow as needed.
haha
