The Real Handyman's Secret Weapon; Ingenuity

 On the old Red Green show, the title character,  Red Green, had a part of the show called, "Handyman Corner".  During every installment,  he would say at some point that duct tape was the handyman's secret weapon.

While funny, it actually is an illustration and excellent representation of what actually is the handyman's secret weapon, ingenuity.

Because,  there are so many creative and useful ways that one can implement duct tape.  At least in temporary situations certainly.   Most the ways Red used it, well... they were funny, but not recommended. 

But the handyman that's out there in the field every day.  The person who is encountering unique situations and problems and needs to find unique solutions.  That person has to be able to see new and alternate ways to use existing tools, hardware and products in new and useful ways. 

We run into situations with old houses and buildings,  old machines, things that have been worn and damaged in ways that sometimes the manufacturers never saw coming.  And... we have to figure out how to fix it.  Or remove it so that we can replace it.  That can sometimes be very challenging. 

We need to tap into our ingenuity.   To use the tools we have in ways we might not have considered or seldom have before.  When it works, why, that was ... ingenious!  And when it doesn't work, well... there's a range of unfortunate levels of screw-up that might fit. 

There's a meme of the holy duo of handyman "fixers" that includes both duct tape and WD-40.  If it needs to move, use WD-40.  If it's not supposed to move, use the duct tape.  It's one of those jokes that has just a bit more of a wink and a nod than we'd like to be true.

There's whole workflow charts out there that show some folks have given WAAAYY too much time and thought to the topic.  And perhaps too much practical experience. 

But because we're so often called upon to come up with impractical solutions,  we get used to thinking in non-conventional ways.  If we're good at what we do.  

Can we be honest and say that far too many of the unconventional solutions that we run into really should have not been done.  They were less about being ingenious and more about being cheap and lazy.  That's where we often draw the line between the professional and not professional handyman.   The professional handyman will be more that ready to find ingenious solutions as long as they are not just excuses to be cheap or lazy.

That's because as a professional,  we have to keep the fact that we have liability insurance to keep.  Building codes to abide by.  Customer expectations to meet or exceed.  Implementing cheap or lazy solutions is not being professional.   Using creativity and ingenuity to come up with solutions that do meet those requirements is professional. 

Going forward, I'll drop some posts about some handyman secret weapons that actually are ingenious.   Maybe a few to show you the ones to avoid also.