RESPECT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL

Reality TV makes the most challenging projects look easy, but not everyone can become a skilled do-it-yourselfer.

I know. My past is full of botched projects: unfinished tree houses, badly hung doors, unrestored cars, wobbly ceiling fans, door knobs that don’t turn, unplanted gardens …

That guy on TV may be faster than a squirt of WD40, stronger than a vise grip and able to leap tall compost heaps in a single bound, but some of us have no business being around power tools.

We just don’t have the Bob Villa chromosome. So we hire professionals to perform jobs we know we can’t handle.

I wasn’t always so smart.

I shudder when I think of the times the jack slipped while I was working on a clunker.

I curse myself when I think of times I touched wires while changing a light fixture, replacing an electrical outlet or hanging a ceiling fan.

I instinctively rub my knee when I remember the glass pane that broke and jabbed my knee when I was removing an old window. No more. I won’t even think about taking on a project if there’s even a hint of danger. My life is finally worth more than a few bucks I might save.

I stopped trying to be Mr. Fix-It after Terry’s accident.

Terry and I both tackled projects we would have paid someone else to do if we had been swimming in money. Unfortunately, we weren’t even in a wading pool when it came to our incomes.

But he was a better tackler than I was. Terry actually completed jobs. And they were done right. Of course, he had an advantage l lacked. Terry had muscles on top of muscles. He bench pressed massive amounts of weight each night.

While mere mortals needed heat and pry bars to bend metal, Terry used his hands. While we used dollies to move refrigerators and stoves, Terry just bent his knees, hugged the appliance and carried it off.

Terry was a good do-ityourselfer. He was smart, patient and strong. And he was mechanically inclined.

I don’t think he ever paid anyone to work on his vehicles, so I didn’t think twice when Terry mentioned he was going to change brakes on his car. And no, he didn’t need my help.

Terry was under the front end of his car when it slipped off the scissor jack and pinned him. His wife found him. Terry was pronounced dead in his backyard. He was 37. He left a wife and two small children.

I don’t know why Terry didn’t use a heavy jack and blocks to hold up his car. He usually did.

Terry’s death taught me you have to respect the project, the tools you use and the laws of nature. It doesn’t matter how smart, skilled or strong you are. One shortcut can maim or kill you.

Please take a moment to read our interview with Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini. It will open your eyes to the reality of being a do-it-yourselfer.

By all means, learn to do things yourself. But start with projects you can handle. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

And wear safety goggles, respirators, gloves, knee guards, earplugs, steel-toe safety boots — whatever the job calls for. Know what your tools are capable of and never push them beyond their limits.

Work in clean, uncluttered and well-lit spaces. Everyone should experience the thrill of completing a project, but don’t forget that success doesn’t happen by accident.