Our dishwasher started leaking last winter.  Since we were planning to remodel the kitchen, we decided to stop using the thing and wash the dishes by hand.  Things don’t happen that quickly around here, though, so after 9 months or so of hand washing the dishes and no concrete plans to remodel the kitchen, we went and bought a cheap dishwasher yesterday at Home Depot.  Okay, so I’m not a professional installer or anything, but I’ve done this before.  Couple hour job, right?

Doing your own home improvement is cost effective only if you don’t take your time into account.  This particular project took almost a full day, what with an electrical problem (bad circuit breaker) and several trips to Lowe’s and Home Depot to get parts.  Among other problems, the supply and drain lines on the new dishwasher didn’t match my plumbing fittings.  Yes, I should have checked that before I went the first time.  You’d think I’d have learned by now that new appliances and fixtures don’t “just work” in my 25-year-old house.  I always have to work around some problem or another.