What Happens If I Mess Up?

“What happens if IMESS UP?”

By Dani Messick House and Home Feature Writer

Hendrick Construction says the first question you should ask when planning a DIY home repair or remodel.

“If there is a chance that you could be harmed in the process of completing a DIY repair, it’s best to call a professional,” Shawn Hendrick says in a company blog.

A wealth of tools online exist for educating DIYers on how to complete certain projects.

My DIY University is one of just many locations where homeowners can take free and paid online classes in a variety of topics ranging from smart home tech to bathroom remodeling to complete home building.

YouTube boasts channels including the DIY Network, Flannel Guy DIY and The DIY Mommy, among hundreds of those. They’ll tell you, too, that sometimes it’s best to call a pro.

In a YouTube video from Jan. 2015, MyFixitUpLife show’s DIY couple Mark and Theresa acknowledge there are just some projects they won’t take on alone. Despite framing basements, chopping down trees, and fixing garage doors, the couple admits HVAC is out of their scope of knowledge.

“Look, we’re all about DIY and taking on a challenge. But, we’re also all for not screwing up expensive, complicated equipment. Plus, it doesn’t matter how many tools you have. You don’t have the right ones.”

Then there’s cost. Can you afford to fix your mistakes?

“Often, a problem will seem simple but is actually the result of a larger underlying issue,” Hendrick says in his blog. “Attempting to solve the problem yourself can lead to unnecessary waste of time and money. Be honest with yourself about your knowledge and skill level.”

He sites roofing and electrical work as particular areas where an expert should be called,

“Simple mistakes can lead to an electrical fire,” Transworld, Inc. Electrical Contractor says in a blog. “Electrical fires are dangerous and unlike regular fires, it’s dangerous to use water to extinguish the flames. The water will conduct the electricity and electrocute anyone nearby who gets wet.”

Mistakes as simple as incorrect bulb wattage, or faulty installation of switches and outlets, seemingly basic projects, can lead to complicated fires- and then there’s municipal codes and permits.

“Remember that unlicensed electrical work is against the law so individuals guilty of this can face severe fines of up to $100,000, while companies can be penalized up to $500,000, depending on the state or territory. You can also serve a prison sentence of two years. If your violation causes deaths, you’ll have to deal with larger penalties and a lengthier prison term.”

Lifehack.org, known for being a DIY haven, agrees with Hendrick that DIY roofing can cause more problems than is worth the potentiwal savings. Blogger Cassie Costner explains, “Depending on what field you are specialized in, you might have absolutely no knowledge of how roofing works, and what the best techniques are.”

“You don’t want to make an experiment out of your home—get the roof replaced properly the first time to prevent further projects from being needed,” she said. “By doing a poor job yourself, you will only be spending more money hiring somebody else to come take care of the mess you created.”

Examples she includes are finding leaks, which licensed professionals are trained to investigate.

“When you are learning a new skill, most of your attention is dedicated to completing the task, not your surroundings,” she adds. “In some cases this is just fine, but when it comes to fixing the roof, this is downright dangerous.”

Still, handymen exist for just about anything and the truth of the matter is you can and should call a professional any time you feel you may not be able to do the project safely by yourself.

Blue Collar DIY says his most lucrative projects are things like drywall repair, and ceiling fan or wall mount installation.

“You should always ask, ‘What could happen if I mess up?’,” says Hendrick. “If the answer is death, serious injury, or substantial property damage, the best option is to call a professional.” n

Twychendale Uniques

offers novel vision of home

By BethAnne Brink-Cox House and Home Feature Writer

We all have our favorite ways of commemorating sentimental times and places. Pinterest shows some incredibly clever ideas for celebrating your home, whether it’s your first house, or one of many.

But you’ve never seen anything like Twychendale Uniques, the hand sculpted creations of Elaine Baell, who said, “I never studied art in school or anything like that, but I was always drawn to ceramic art. In 2005 I saw that classes were being offered at Century Center and I said to myself, you know what? I could do that, and I did. I made the house my daughter and son-in-law lived in, and it was pretty crude, but I’ve evolved. In the past year, I’ve done 7 or 8 plaques to hang or to place on an easel, and they’re the front of the house.”

And the more her work is seen by others, the more elaborate new orders will become! But Baell has a very clever way to get into the mindset she needs. “Before I start a new piece, I work a jigsaw puzzle. Because it didn’t dawn on me that’s what I was doing, but it sets the mind to creating the houses – to work a puzzle you have to figure out how they’ll go together, and so it is with sculpting,” said Baell.

Baell said she considers her work a craft, not a business, with most of her finished pieces being given as gifts. “A couple of local realtors have seen my houses and commissioned them as gifts to new homeowners, and one I especially liked doing last year was meant to go with a Christmas village,” explained Baell.

She went on to say that she’s partnered with someone who does 3-D printing, “And we get together and he creates pillars and everything right down to the inch in perfect proportions. Clay moves so much when it’s fired, and you have to account for 10% shrinkage. The pieces are fired twice and the first time is pretty dramatic, but they still shrink the second time, too.”

Baell said she makes a variety of things, “But I only work by hand, not the wheel. I’ve made so many things now that when I visit my daughters’ houses, I see things there I forgot I’d made!”

When asked what her favorite pieces were, she laughed and said, “Every one that turns out well! You have a vision when you start creating, but sometimes when it comes out of the kiln you no longer recognize it. So it’s a happy surprise when it does come out right. If it doesn’t, I incorporate it into my landscaping, because I love to garden, too.”

Baell works at home as well as in her studio; this is hardly a kitchen table craft, after all. “I do work at home and deliver my pieces when I have finished them, but you have to be very careful transporting them!”

She went on to say that she’s helped a lot of people with their craft, but wouldn’t want to teach, “Because, like I said, I only do hand built pieces, and not the wheel.” She’s 75 and said it has been interesting to look at some of her earliest pieces and compare them to recent works, seeing how far she’s come.

Baell said she doesn’t really make a profit on her houses, which sell for $200, because of the amount of time involved. “And I can kind of understand the thinking because I’m guilty of seeing things at craft shows and thinking hey, I could do that. It’s hard for some to factor in all the time that goes into creation.”

This is an issue a lot of handcrafters face when selling their wares for a decent price. She likes to photograph the house she’ll be recreating, but she’s also used photos customers have sent, even houses that are out of state, “But it’s best for me to see the actual house when I can.”

Talent is in your brain; your eyes and hands are the tools to implement, and Baell has passed her gift on down to her twin daughters. “They are both artistic, but not with clay. One paints pet portraits, both watercolor and acrylic. The other one taught herself to crochet, and has always liked to draw, as well.”

Baell keeps busy with far more than sculpting clay. She volunteers at Potawatomi Zoo and the

Pet Refuge Animal Rescue. She donates a house for the fundraisers each time they’re held.

She loves to travel, saying, “This is the seventh state I’ve lived in. The East Coast was fascinating. I’ve traveled all over Europe and Russia. That’s probably how these houses got started, because I’ve always been involved with architecture.”

Just as painters often study anatomy to really draw bodies well, Baell knows the bones of the houses make a difference between something ordinary and something that seems like a miniature world you could walk into, if you could only open the door. n

Photos courtesy of Elaine Baell

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Creating a WELCOMING GARDEN

By Loanne Harms, Guest Feature Writer

There is a major push in the United States right now to create habitats that invite pollinators into our gardens in an effort to reverse the decline of bees and monarch butterflies in particular.

Pollinator gardens feature native plants with a variety of bloom times. They add color and interest to the landscape while also helping to conserve and attract native pollinators. Pollinators such as hummingbirds, bumble bees, day moths, and flower beetles are important to a healthy and vibrant garden.

Yet, nature is complex. Tara Mitchell*, landscape architect, warns that “if we plant only for pollinators, we potentially reduce diversity, disrupt naturally existing plant communities, and don’t provide for the variety of other insects that have important, though less visible, roles.” She continues, “The plant-insect relationship is dependent on many insects besides pollinators. Non-pollinating insects tend to feed on other insects and on the saps and foliage of plants. Because many of them damage foliage and may contribute to plant decline, they are often considered pests and eradicated. However, in a balanced ecosystem, these species keep plant and insect populations in check. Like pollinators, they are also an important source of food for larger insects, birds, reptiles, and other creatures up the food chain. Although these insects have less marketing appeal than monarchs and bees, they are an essential part of the system.”

A welcoming garden means we remain mindful, curious, aware and non-judgmental of who is visiting. Looking for and watching the variety of creatures that visit can be exciting, educational, and relaxing.

Having a welcoming garden means being willing to have a few plants eaten, a few plants lost, and a lot less control over what grows where. It means watching plants spread, multiply or die on their own at times.

Creating a welcoming garden means one is willing to work with nature in partnership, not as a ruler, but as a co-creator. It may be a bit ‘messy’ but it doesn’t have to be. One will still remove invasive plants, prune back over-active varieties and fill in bare spots with transplants. In return, one is spared from mulching, fertilizing and watering.

*Tara Mitchell is a landscape architect with Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Her focus is on ecological restoration, naturalistic landscape design, native seeding, and vegetation management. Additional information about Welcoming Gardens can be found at https://www.pilotonline. com/life/home-garden/article_c78c2236-8619-11e9-b428-ffabc51446f6.html. n

So what does a welcoming garden need?

Audubon Society suggests the following: • Use native plants and provide a variety of heights, colors, and bloom times for nectar. • Minimize or eliminate pesticide/insecticide use, especially those containing neonicotinoids. • Create shelters: bee boxes and twig bundles, brush shelters, dense shrubs, standing dead trees, pocket meadows. patches of sandy ground. • Include water: shallow containers, wet sand or mud. • Provide larval food plants for caterpillars. • Allow a few wild patches and un-manicured natural areas. • Full sun should cover at least half of your pollinator garden site. Provide basking structures (rocks, fences, logs, etc.).

A welcoming space can be as small as a window box or as large as one’s entire lot. The important point is to create a space that puts out the welcome mat for creatures of all sorts, and then stand back to watch. All are part of the bigger picture, a part of the balance of nature.