I Hate ________ The Most. Fill in the Blank.

[Rich Riddle]

As it relates to houses, painting. I actually preferred digging post holes by hand in 95 degree heat the other day to painting inside an air conditioned home. All the prep work and painting is a pain in the neck, literally.

[James Baker SD]

Working in the dusty (and I mean dusty), hot attic trying to get attic fans connected to AC power.

[Bill Neely]

There may be one off tasks I dislike more but mowing the lawn ranks right at the top, what a useless activity.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Plumbing - - hands down the worst....

[Jerry Bruette]

There may be one off tasks I dislike more but mowing the lawn ranks right at the top, what a useless activity.

Right there with you Bill, I'd rather blow 2 feet of snow off my driveway than cut the grass.

[Larry Frank]

I am sorry but I would rather mow the lawn than freeze shoveling snow. There is something about a green, good looking lawn that I love. It is much better looking than two feet of snow.

I do not like plumbing but I hate paying a couple hundred to a plumber. Money better spent on new tools. But of all the plumbing jobs I dislike, putting in a new faucet is the worst....confronting upside down with stuck parts underneath a sink just is awful.

[Jay Rasmussen]

Plumbing - - hands down the worst....

I'm with Rich. Especially when it involves #2

[John K Jordan]

I hate surveys. So there!

Actually, plumbing is near the top of the list. I like having plumbing. I just don't like doing plumbing. I don't much like anyone who likes doing plumbing. :-)


I am sorry but I would rather mow the lawn...

I think love or hate of mowing is a relative thing, depending on circumstances. I mow about 3 acres once or twice a week depending on the rain. Another 5-8 acres on occasion when I mow the horse pasture.

I enjoy it, kind of a zen thing, gives me time to relax and contemplate life. Of course, the mower helps - I use a 60" zero-turn Kubota with a 25hp diesel engine. The 5 acres takes maybe an hour. The 3 acres also takes a little longer but there is a lot of mowing around trees in the orchard, around the house, etc. Occasionally a friend will help with my smaller zero-turn and it goes even faster. I mow in the evening or morning when not so hot. When I mowed a much smaller area with a walk behind mower it was more of a chore.

JKJ

[Pat Barry]

Cleaning out clogged bathtub / sink / sewer drains and cleaning out clogged gutters

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Strange as it may sound, I love painting. I'm not very fond of any work on the west side of the house, which requires going up a 30' ladder that I have to put in the street around a blind corner. I have a huge warning sign to alert traffic that there is a man on a ladder ahead.

[Sam Murdoch]

Insulating anything with fiberglass batts! Yes - I hate it with big letters :mad:

[David Linnabary]

Roofing and concrete work come to my mind most quickly.

Both leave me hurting for a few days after and are hard on my hands.

David

[Robby Tacheny]

. . . painting is a pain in the neck, literally

I hate painting too. Second hate behind that is working with fluffy fiberglass insulation, especially when it is above my head raining little itchy particles down all over me.

Robby

[Prashun Patel]

I loved painting. One by one over the years my rooms started looking new! Until I got to the last room in my home and realized the first needed re-doing. Now I despise it.

I hate any job that makes me feel like Sisyphus. Laundry.

[Robert Engel]

Picking out lumber for a project.

[Stan Calow]

Drywall. Terrible at it. Then you have to paint it. I'm a one-man Three Stooges episode when doing it.

[Larry Frank]

I just had to pick out 2x4 and 2x6 to make a loft bed. I hated it.

BUT...I found one perfect 2x4 with no knots, straight grain, kiln dried and no staples or gouged.

[Mike Henderson]

I fall in the "hate painting" group, also. All the prep work, then I get paint all over me and my clothes - and the job doesn't come out looking very good. I'm not too bad with a spray gun, however.

I don't mind new plumbing but I really dislike plumbing repair. Also really dislike finishing drywall. I don't mind hanging it but the finishing is not something I enjoy. I don't mind concrete work except that I'm getting too old to do it any more. But I'll put forms in and let someone else pour and finish it.

Mike

[Jeff Monson]

"waiting in line"

[Wade Lippman]

I kinda like mowing the lawn. It is good exercise.

With my choice restricted to house chores, I guess I would have to go with drywalling. Put up 2 walls 4 years ago and i will never ever do it again.

But if allowed to widen the field, I would go with politicians.

[Tom Stenzel]

I HATE PLUMBING THE MOST OF ALL!

(Yes, I'm shouting ).

-Tom

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

I am in the "Love Painting" group. A new color and a few hours work, can make a room look new--we repaint frequently.

In the hate category, working on vehicles or anytime type of engine. I had fixing things that make you greasy. I will repair electronics, fix the plumbing, run electrical all day long. When it comes time to change the oil in the car, I have no problem paying someone to do that.

[Jay Nossen]

The correct answer is drywall (hanging, spackeling, and sanding).

At the opposite end (not including woodworking/trimwork) would be electrical work. I love running wires and installing boxes.

[Jay Nossen]

In the hate category, working on vehicles or anytime type of engine. I had fixing things that make you greasy.

I might have to change my answer. I HATE car repair even knowing that I save thousands of dollars doing it myself. Given a choice, I'd take drywall over car repair because I hate drywall, but I know there will be no unforeseen issues. I think this stems from owning Ford products from the 1980's in the early 2000's. 17 hour head gasket repair broke me for good.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I will do, but dislike, plumbing, drywall, and painting. My wife years ago was on a kick about wallpapering some of the rooms in the house. I made it clear that she had 3 choices, hire someone, do it herself, or do without. I was also adamant that it was not negotiable.

I enjoy masonry, brick, block, and laying slabs. And yes Mike Henderson, I'm a bit sore afterwards. My last masonry job was actually last week.

[James Baker SD]

I love running wires and installing boxes.

Need a trip to San Diego? You could finish my fan wiring in the dusty, dusty, attic. :D

[Roger Feeley]

Ha. Reminds me of my favorite suburbanite rant. I never understood the yuppie climbing into his Ford Excursion (the big one), driving two blocks to the gym, taking the escalator to the second floor and working out on the Stairmaster while he's paying someone to mow his lawn. Yes, I had a neighbor who did this. I used to go to a gym a couple of blocks away to do therapy on my knee replacment and I had a perfect vantage point to see the guy down the street (who drove an Excursion) drive up, take the escalator and use the StairMaster. Then I would go home and drive by his yard and see the lawn service mowing.


I kinda like mowing the lawn. It is good exercise.

With my choice restricted to house chores, I guess I would have to go with drywalling. Put up 2 walls 4 years ago and i will never ever do it again.

But if allowed to widen the field, I would go with politicians.

[Ole Anderson]

I know this is kind of weird, but I can't say I hate any of the activities any of you have noted. Looking forward to mowing this evening, having a JD zero turn helps as well as some really nice weather. I like snow and look forward to playing with my snow blower after a nice 6" snowfall. Enjoy electrical, plumbing, painting to some degree. People who make stupid choices that affect me might fall into that "hate" category, smokers for example, oh, and left laners. I really dislike some of the political stuff going around this election, of course I can't elaborate on that as no political discussion allowed. Ok, anything in a hot dusty attic would qualify.

[Brian Elfert]

I enjoy it, kind of a zen thing, gives me time to relax and contemplate life. Of course, the mower helps - I use a 60" zero-turn Kubota with a 25hp diesel engine. The 5 acres takes maybe an hour. The 3 acres also takes a little longer but there is a lot of mowing around trees in the orchard, around the house, etc. Occasionally a friend will help with my smaller zero-turn and it goes even faster. I mow in the evening or morning when not so hot. When I mowed a much smaller area with a walk behind mower it was more of a chore.


How fast does that mower go to be able to mow five acres in a hour? I have a Toro Groundsmaster mower with 62" deck and it takes me close to two hours for two acres even though the mower is pretty fast. I have a lot of trees close together so it takes a long time to mow around them. I occasionally mow at full speed, but most of the time I don't due to bumps. I couldn't imagine mowing even faster.

If I had to use a normal riding mower I would probably hire someone because they are so slow. It takes almost as long to mow my parent's 1/2 acre with their riding mower as it does for me to mow my two acres.

I absolutely hate painting inside a house with all the trim to cut around. I didn't mind painting my house with no doors and no trim because it went so fast.

[william watts]

Strange, but as I get older our house gets older to, and I find repairs on the house, and myself, are getting more bothersome. Approaching the level of hate are painting, and gardening including mowing. My wife loves gardening and sometimes needs a little help. I do that to a large extent, but a man needs to know his limitions.

Bill

[Erik Loza]

Fire Ants...

Erik

[John K Jordan]

How fast does that mower go to be able to mow five acres in a hour?...
If I had to use a normal riding mower I would probably hire someone because they are so slow.

When I first bought this place I used a riding mower on a section of field by the house. Then I bought a 52" gasoline zero-turn and could mow the same section in 1/4th of the time. Then I got the 60" Kubota and cut the time by 1/2 again. So the Kubota is about 8 times faster than the riding lawn mower PLUS it doesn't wear me out and beat me to death.

The field is wide open, gentle hill on one end but no trees or other obstructions. I go pretty fast and don't worry much about the quality of the cut. I like to cut the horse pasture to about 5-6" to keep the horses from getting fine grass seeds in their eyes.

JKJ

[Brian Elfert]

The field is wide open, gentle hill on one end but no trees or other obstructions. I go pretty fast and don't worry much about the quality of the cut. I like to cut the horse pasture to about 5-6" to keep the horses from getting fine grass seeds in their eyes.


I suppose if I just had 2 acres of wide open field I could cut pretty fast too, but probably not as fast as a zero turn. I like the steering wheel on my Groundsmaster and don't really like zero turns.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I loved painting. One by one over the years my rooms started looking new! Until I got to the last room in my home and realized the first needed re-doing. Now I despise it.

I hate any job that makes me feel like Sisyphus. Laundry.

Either you have a very large house, our you are a very slow painter. :D

[Rod Sheridan]

Working for a living.


Fortunately only 22 months left...............Rod.

[Bruce Wrenn]

As it relates to houses, painting. All the prep work and painting is a pain in the neck, literally.You have a higher opinion than I do!

[John K Jordan]

I suppose if I just had 2 acres of wide open field I could cut pretty fast too, but probably not as fast as a zero turn. I like the steering wheel on my Groundsmaster and don't really like zero turns.

I didn't much like it at first but I saw the value after a while. It is far quicker and less effort to steer than I had imagined.

I don't know anything about your mower, but due to the geometry and 2-wheel drive, what makes it nimble also makes it tricky on even gentle hills. It is real easy for it to get away from you on a sloped hill. I have learned how to control it well but I will not let anyone else operate it. It would be an absolute dream on level ground. I suspect the stand-behind mowers would be far better for hills.

JKJ

[Pat Barry]

As of this morning, I just might hate the British the most if my 401K and retirement accounts take a signifnificant and long term hit!

[Art Mann]

As a high schooler, I worked a couple of summers with a house contractor. This was at a time when the contractors didn't have "subs", but had crews that did it all. I spent many days carrying shingles up onto roofs before there were such things as ladder lifts. I promised myself then that I would never do roofing again and I have been faithful to that promise. I built the house I live in in 1986 and I did most of the plumbing in the low crawl space. I swore that I would never do plumbing again. I haven't quite kept that rule because I do occasionally repair sinks and toilets but I hate crawling under the house and will never do rough-in plumbing again.

[Raymond Fries]

I hate fixing what I paid a contractor to do.

[John Blazy]

As it relates to houses, painting. I actually preferred digging post holes by hand . . .

I loathed the idea of replacing a post that rotted on or back deck, remembering how hard it was back in my early construction helper days with a spud bar and post hole diggers, and the resulting 20" DIA hole only for a 3.5 x 3.5 post, so I decided to make it fun. You need three things to make post hole digging fun, much less work, and straightwalled:

The mother of all drills - a 1/2" Millwaukee Magnum
4 foot length of 1/2" rebar
a decent shop vac


At the shop, I bent the end of the rebar into a flat topped question mark shape with my acetylene torch, then ground angles and a chisel tip into it creating an auger / drill tip.

Dug out the hole by hand til I hit hard pack clay/dirt (about a foot down), then went the rest of the way with the drill. It powered through the hardpack like a dream, and the shop vac sucked all the powdered dirt out in no time. The hole diameter was only about 9" DIA at 42" deep.

Now here is what I hate:


Forgetting to put on my boots when welding, and hot steel balls of hellfire going right through my cheap shop shoes.
Forgetting to tape my ankles and overlapping the tape over my shoe, then cutting pallets with my chainsaw and my ankles itch all the rest of the day no matter how well I blow out my ankles with the airhose
scraping off uncured silicone after you realize that it was out of date and it never cured - totally hate that.


But this tops the list:
Coming to the shop one morning only to discover that Bill Gates hijacked my computer that night and installed Windows 10 without my authorization!!! Then having to relearn EVERYTHING, losing all my favorites completely, etc etc. Google it - there articles about how they disguised the pop ups to appear like you can X out, but actually authorizes them to install it. I X'd out one afternoon really quickly like swatting a fly, didnt look hard enough, and actually ended up getting the upgrade.

[Mel Fulks]

In woodworking it's sanding something somebody else made. As an employee I suffered some of it early on. But once I was beyond helper stage absolutely refused to do it. The most wretchedly lousy cabinets I've ever seen were made by a blow-hard working for a gullible boss. "I can put 'em together FAST all I need is a helper to do the sanding"

[Brent Cutshall]

Poison ivy, yes yes.

[Brian Elfert]

In woodworking it's sanding something somebody else made. As an employee I suffered some of it early on. But once I was beyond helper stage absolutely refused to do it. The most wretchedly lousy cabinets I've ever seen were made by a blow-hard working for a gullible boss. "I can put 'em together FAST all I need is a helper to do the sanding"

I know a guy who has been the head maintenance man at several non-profit resident camps. They depend on volunteer help to do construction. He made a policy that if someone tapes drywall then they have to sand it themselves or not do it. He had volunteers put on drywall mud so thick he had to use a power sander to sand it.

He is now the ranger at a Boy Scout camp. The Boy Scout camp has tongue and groove wood in just about every building instead of drywall so no more worries about sanding drywall. (Boys in that age range could destroy drywall pretty easily and wood just looks nicer.)

[Julie Moriarty]

I don't know how many fluorescent fixtures I installed that were hanging from a concrete ceiling but many times I said, "If, after I die, I find myself hanging fluorescent fixtures from a concrete ceiling, I'll know I ended up in hell."

[Rich Engelhardt]

"If, after I die, I find myself hanging fluorescent fixtures from a concrete ceiling, I'll know I ended up in hell."
We took my grandson to Chucky Cheese for his birthday once when he was about 4....
I know the feeling well.

I thought I died and went to hell also...