Most Economical DIY things.

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>>1206893
>household repairs
this, absolutely this.

It's outrageous what electricians and plumbers charge for basic shit.

Neighbor had his hot water heater replaced. Cost him $1200. For a $300 water heater.

Electrical's even easier than plumbing (imo, I say that as an electrical engineer), and basic shit like replacing a worn-out outlet costs well over $200. For a fucking $2 part.

2nd is probably small engine repair. Cars (pickups especially) usually need a lift, and more serious tools to work on. Small engines like generators, mowers, dirt bikes, etc .... shop rates for that shit are retardedly expensive, for what you can do with a basic set of hand tools and some bench space.

Small engines, stereo/av/network wiring, drifting into /ck/ territory here but butchering, breadbaking, and homebrew and liqueur-making if that's your jam

sparkies and poopsmiths have an extremely high labor rate and learning either to a journeyman level is quite valuable, and knowing your ass from a hole in the ground enough to replace a fuse or snake a drain will also save you tons, but the hobbyist midrange isn't as useful because for both you're basically buying a sign-off your homeowner's insurance (or your renter's insurance and your landlord) trusts.
i've run into this myself: replaced a toilet valve flapper, paid $50 to have some fat fuck watch me put in the $10 part, slow leak did $20k damage to the floor below that night and it came out of his bond rather than my bank account.

>>1206905
How did you get a leak from a toilet valve flapper?

Mixing your own mouth fedora juice is very cost effective. A 30ml bottle of the stuff from any online outlet runs maybe $15 on average. Mix your own, cost comes out to about 25-50 cents for the same amount.

>>1206893
>household repairs
>not falling for "survival" stuff
>knowing how to use ropes and a couple usefull knots

>>1206893
Almost (not quite) everything you can do yourself is cheaper then the alternative. Often it depends on how much the tools you need are.

Good:
-Toilet clogs
-Sink clogs
-Painting your own shit
-Car brakes/shocks/batteries/filters/lights
-Appliance installs (sit it here, plug goes into other end, wtf 500 bucks?!?!)
-Simple electrical

Bad:
-Oil changes (coupons = price of materials or less, why waste your own time at that price?)
-Major engine work ($$$ tools)
-Furniture ($ tools)
-Anything sewer related (oh, you installed it at a 5 degree angle the wrong way? haha)
-Exterior house painting (many hours to do not-shit... what's your time worth?)
-Complex electrical (burn baby burn)
-Tile (you will never get it straight and level and your property value will suffer)

>>1206893
basic auto repairs and maintenance. things like changing oil, brakes, filters, wheel bearings, suspension ect. most years it'll save you at least a couple hundred but could easily save thousands. also going to actual auto part stores rather then the big box stores will save you a ton just on parts. fuck my OBDII reader paid for itself 6x over on the first use

shit around the house could possibly save the most. basic electrical, and plumbing skills can save a ton and don't require a big investment in tools.

a welder can also save you a lot depending on what uses you come up with. can be used to fix a lot of shit or even make new shit. problem is the cost can be fairly high and it takes a long time to become a decent welder

>>1206895
installed a water heater for my aunt. took maybe 2 hours and required re routing most of the lines. plumber would have charged at least $1000. soldering cooper pipes together is pretty easy for even the biggest moron.

>>1206905
>snake a drain
This, a hand snake is dirt cheap and can prevent many, many plumber visits. They should be standard in everyone's bathroom like plungers are and it's ridiculous that most people weren't taught to use them while growing up.

>>1206942
>a welder can also save you a lot depending on what uses you come up with. can be used to fix a lot of shit or even make new shit. problem is the cost can be fairly high and it takes a long time to become a decent welder

This is the worst suggestion in this thread; at least you admitted that at the end of it.

>>1206937
>not knowing how to tile a floor
Wtf?

>>1206942
>my OBDII reader paid for itself 6x over on the first use

This is a good one. I have saved so much with my $30 reader over the years. Mechanics will often want to charge 50+ buck just to hook the thing up to their reader and look at the codes. I have also caught thieving mechanics trying to tell me it had error codes i know for a fact it did not as i checked before bringing the car in.

>>1207130
On a semi-unrelated note, what problems do you need a reader to diagnose? I've got 90k miles on my first car and I've never needed a reader to diagnose a problem with it. The only problem I ever needed help diagnosing was a fucked fuel injector but I figured it out via google.

>>1206937
You're an idiot. Other than complex electrical and major engine work (and those are debatable), you are dead wrong. Not gonna throw up a wall of text to say why either, you wouldn't get it anyway.

>>1207139
The obd reader will tell you what reason any of the warning lights on your console have activated (check engine etc.). If you've had no lights popping up, you're fine as far as obd system diagnostics are concerned.

>>1206918
Undiagnosed slow leak in the fill valve no longer being compensated for by slow leak in the flapper, combined with an old construction separate overflow pipe that once drained outside but now drained to someone's living room.

>>1206937

>-Oil changes (coupons = price of materials or less, why waste your own time at that price?)

I do mine rapidly and never have lube monkeys fuck up my shit. It takes less time to change oil than drive to a shop.

>-Major engine work ($$$ tools)
Once you have the tools they pay for themselves quickly and profit you over time. I've done many engines over the decades, never cared to buy a new vehicle or needed to, and the gobs of cash saved paid for my shop. About 90-percent of tools used for engine removal, install and internal work are generic and used on many other jobs.

>-Furniture ($ tools)
Woodworking shit is cheap but I'd rather buy good used furniture and refinish it as needed than make the stuff. Totally worth getting tools for renovating your home though.

>-Anything sewer related (oh, you installed it at a 5 degree angle the wrong way? haha)
That's a stupidity problem. There's a wonderfully efficient way to set sewer line pitch for best flow. Pour water from a pail at high side then observe flow through your cleanouts. Cleanouts are love.

>-Exterior house painting (many hours to do not-shit... what's your time worth?)
I use quality paint which cost my labor offsets, and I already have ladders and air compressor(s) so I run a hose from my shop and commence to spraying.

>-Complex electrical (burn baby burn)
If you don't know how, leave it alone. Many of us do know how. I had my shop inspected by an electrician and didn't have to correct anything.

>-Tile (you will never get it straight and level and your property value will suffer)
Maybe you won't. My wife tiled our home and did a fine job. Tile is perfect if you have pets.

>>1206942
>a welder can also save you a lot depending on what uses you come up with. can be used to fix a lot of shit or even make new shit. problem is the cost can be fairly high and it takes a long time to become a decent welder

If you go to welding forums instead of this place you can learn proper practice quickly because you'll be exposed to a serious knowledge base. I took formal training later but my first stick machine paid for itself in a year and that was more than 20 years ago. Welding vs. paying a fabricator has great returns if you take it seriously. You get freedom to use metal in ways you could not otherwise, and the convenience fucking rocks.

OA/OP torches are great to have as are industrial gas cylinders (Craigslist is my friend). Learn CGA fittings and what gases are good for, such are pressure testing (vacuum is not nearly as effective) auto AC systems.

>>1207179
Oil changes are fine either way, the main reason to DIY is because you can see the oil after (helps to diagnose other problems early), and use whatever oil you want. Ultimately you don't save a lot though, so it's not on the list of "most economical".

Big engine replacements and whatnot can pay for themselves if you get the machinery and tools required, but only if you need to do those repairs annually or more. if you treat your car right you can go 120k+ never needing to do those kinds of repairs (source: no car I've ever had has needed any sort of large-scale repair like that before I sold it). Not to mention that if you have an autohead friend they probably do have the tools required since those kinds of people abuse their cars, and you can just ask them.

I wouldn't fuck with sewer stuff just because if you do happen to screw up it could be a nightmare and there may be permanent damage as a result. It really depends on exactly what needs fixing.

>>1207183
>Big engine replacements and whatnot can pay for themselves if you get the machinery and tools required, but only if you need to do those repairs annually or more.

Tool costs are so low they pay for themselves in one job, especially with mechanic flat rates today. A single thousand dollar job more than buys enough tools. I keep vehicles to the ~300K mile range and enjoy the considerable savings. If you buy new cars and only run them to 120K then you have no need for any vehicle DIY at all. That's fine and good but don't pretend you are a mechanic or serious DIYer. There is no "machinery" required. You outed yourself with that comment. Just a cheap engine hoist is sufficient along with a basic floor jack. Both last many years for a wide variety of jobs. Engine hoists for example lift riding mowers for service, and motorcycles or ATVs if you have those. The larger Harbor Freight or equivalents get the job done (and most engine hoists are made offshore anyway).

Just doing ball joints, tie rods, bushings and shocks pays for the ball joint press, pickle fork etc in one job. The tools last a lifetime. Of course if you trade at 120K you don't need to do those.

If you refuse to learn how to do sewer then don't do sewer. In fact, pay everyone for everything and GTFO /diy/. It's remarkably easy to research and do it right. You should avoid DIY where you are intimidated but don't even pretend everyone else should fear what you do. I've been doing it properly with very few fuckups for about forty years. Your knowledge and skill build as you go.

Research, research, then research again. Or don't. To each his own.

>>1206947
Fuck a snake. Liwuid fire anon

>>1206893
Sucking your own dick.

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>>1206937
>oil changes
Are you a woman?
>Major engine work
I bet you drop off your shitbox to the local mechanic for a coolant top off too
>Furniture
Literally what the fuck are you talking about
>Tile
How old are you?

Who the fuck wrote this? A suburban mother?

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>>1209484
I hear that! I'm paying like $30 a BJ these days and I buy 2 per day - if I could learn to blow myself that would equate to $21,900 per year! That's over a million in a lifetime not even considering inflation and the interest I could get by investing that money in the market

>>1206942
>>1207130
You guys know that most auto parts stores will let you use their code reader for free, right? I bought one for myself since I did a lot of tuning and whatnot on my car, but for someone who doesn't regularly mess with that type of stuff, you can just swing by O'Reilly's or AutoZone and ask them to use theirs.

>>1206893
>What DIY projects save the average American the most amount of money when you factor in required skill/labor.
Gardening is a big one for sure.

We eat a metric shitload of salad greens at our house between the two of us and our three kids. And growing them has only lead to more.

We would be spending an easy $6-8 a day on greens alone. And you can't really 'stock up' on it at all so that meant multiple trips to the store every week. Plus, homegrown is so much better.

>My opinion so far is household repairs.
not if you rent

>>1207139
Just about everything that the car can sense. Mine told me why the cruise control stopped working (broken brake pedal sensor), that the speaker wire was broken, side mirror heating not working, etc. Some of these fault codes won't show anything on the dash.

Home brewing and distilling isn't great for money savings in America, but in New Zealand and Aussie the alch taxes drive the price up so high, that you can buy shitloads of ingredients, and a still will pay for itself in a year. I bought my first still for $700, and it paid for itself in savings in under a year, especially with people paying me a bit under the table as "a donation". I was making drinkable shit for half the price, saving $20-30 a bottle. Shit pays itself off quick. Now I do I as a hobby because I love it, and I'm still making shit that's better than what's in the shop, and custom for what I like drinking than the costs of getting it from the shop.

Also simple electrical, plumbing and computer work saves shitloads, because the people who do that job are rip off artists. Especially computer work. Technician who come to your house around here charge $90 before they even look at the thing, and $150 for cloning a HDD from a dying laptop as "data recovery". Fucking thieves.