KEY POINTS:
There was a time when the average Kiwi bloke had a shed in the garden with a cache of tools inside.
He could put up a set of shelves in minutes and knew a spirit level had nothing to do with the supernatural or strong liquor.
But for
many men, being handy around the house is a thing of the past, with professionals called in for even the most minor of repairs.
Kevin Faulkner is happy to accept that painting and small jobs aside, it's "no can do" with DIY.
The financial manager and aspiring writer said he was out of his depth as a handyman but there were other factors to consider.
"It's more a matter of time, there are only so many hours in the day," he said.
"I would rather spend my time writing and get somebody else in to do that sort of thing."
His partner, Britta Christiansen, agreed.
"I'm probably more likely to have a go than he is."
Eric Mitchell, of Hammer Hardware in Auckland's Takapuna, has noticed a decrease in male customers during his 15 years in the trade. He estimates half of his customers are young women.
"Younger males are more interested in the IT side of things rather than a paintbrush and a ham-mer," said Mitchell.
"The dirty-hand syn-drome has been replaced by the mouse syndrome."
And that's helped handyman businesses to thrive.
Hire A Hubby chief executive Andrew Chisholm said many of his customers were women whose partners were of little help around the house. "It's terrible, our fathers would be disgusted."
Hire A Hubby franchisee Keld Burlin said many men had "two left hands" when it came to using tools. "I've got people who have said they will help. You give them a hammer and they ask what end they use."
He had even been to a house to change lightbulbs. The modern home needed 45 new halogen bulbs but the ceiling was high and the owners didn't have a ladder.
Burlin said another job the experts were called in for was installing heated towel rails, and he also had to install wall mounts to hold a customer's guitar.
"You would think that's easy but no," said Burlin. "People don't want to drill anything."
Handyman Sandy Pyne said he had stopped being surprised by the simple jobs he was called to. "I get comments from women about how the husband probably couldn't do that, he would stuff it up."
There may be psychological reasons for the death of the home handyman too.
Auckland University professor Graham Vaughan said he had noticed a pattern of people doing less "real-life activities".
Outside activities - such as painting, growing vegetables and playing sport - had been replaced by a reliance on computers, the internet or the "simulated world", leading to a loss of motivation to try these fading skills.
"Younger people... are not only losing touch with these skills but are less interested in them. What makes me sad is if we don't do stuff, the motiva-tion to do it will probably go away."
But help is available. Bunn-ings Warehouse is offering courses on everything from sealing gib board to unclogg-ing a sink.
North Shore manager Peter Smith said that classes number anywhere fromhalf a dozen to 20 people and painting sessions were the most popular.
CAN THE FAMOUS FACES FIX IT?
We asked five well-known New Zealanders how handy they are around the house. We asked if they could change a fuse, change a tap washer and clean a spark plug.
KIEL McNAUGHTON, NURSING MANAGER JAMES SCOTT IN SHORTLAND STREET
Fuse: Find the fuse box and one of the switches will be pointing the wrong way. I'm living somewhere modern and when it last happened all I had to do was flick the switch back up. Tap washer: I would be able to but I've never had to. I don't think it would be that hard. You'd turn the water off at the mains, and then somehow wrench the tap off and replace that washer. If anything went wrong, I'd Google it. Spark plug: I know it's in the car under the bonnet. I know what they look like but I try to stay away from the inside of cars. I'd like to say I had a modern one, or was leasing one, but if something goes wrong it's either a mechanic or a family member who gets called in to help. As a father, if you wanted to know how to change a nappy, I could help you out with that.
JOHN BANKS, MAYOR OF AUCKLAND
Fuse: You turn off the mains and pull out the fuse and change it. Tap washer: You turn off the water to the house at the road and change the washer with some forceps. Spark plug: Yes, make sure the car's not running, take the spark plug out, file it with a nail or emery board that you would use on your fingernails. I'm not good at any of these, but I can do it all.
STEVE PRICE, WARRIORS CAPTAIN
Fuse: You go to the main electricity box, find which one is blown, make sure all the power's off, pull it out and put the new one in. Tap washer: I would turn the water off first, then I would twist off the tap, then I would get the old washer, take it out and put the new one in. Spark plug: When I was young I used to clean it with a wire brush.
RUSSELL HARRISON, SINGER, LOTTO PRESENTER AND SINGER ON TV2's SINGING BEE
Fuse: Back in the old days we used to have ceramic fuses that you could change yourself. I could manage that but when the technology has changed, I would call an expert. Tap washer: Yes. I don't think that I got it right the first time, you have to turn the water off. Being brought up in South Auckland you kind of have to learn to get by. Spark plug: The idea is to use a piece of sandpaper to clean the points. I think that I'm pretty handy but not compared to my brother in law. If anything goes down, he's the first call.
JOHN KEY, NATIONAL PARTY LEADER
Fuse: Yes. Tap washer: I think that I can, but not necessarily well. Plug: Yes.