When I first started dating my boyfriend I warned him to hide his skills.
He works for a construction company but his skills branch outside of that.
He can handle plumbing, electrical and HVAC needs just like a professional. He simply takes out his toolbox, does a little research and can fix a problem in a few hours. Living with this type of man is so handy. He has fixed our dryer at least two times, looked over our AC equipment and made the shower drain better. My family has unfortunately sniffed out that he is basically an HVAC contractor, plumber and electrician all rolled into one package. The calling is non stop now. My parents will call him about their furnace not working. Then my brother needs help putting in electrical lines. My sister is having drainage issues. If my boyfriend was making money on these jobs, that would be one thing. Sadly, my family is mooching off of his skills and he is too nice to charge them. I am not as nice as him though. I plan to sit my family down and tell them the free labor stops now. They either pay him like a real HVAC professional, or they call the right business. My boyfriend doesn’t need much money for the work, just enough to make it worth his time. Sometimes he has to buy replacement parts and my family doesn’t even reimburse him! It is just horrible. If they don’t treat him right, I am going to take him and his manly skills away from them.