**Article was made possible by site supporter Amanda Green
Determining When DIY Won’t Cut It
Many homeowners do a lot of their home maintenance themselves. Some choose to do so for enjoyment, while others are simply trying to keep the budget under control. Whatever the reasons, it can be a good way to achieve needed goals while spending less money.
Of course, the most important thing to think about when doing home maintenance is whether it’s a job you are really up to doing yourself or whether it’s something that calls for the expertise of a professional. It can be very easy to get in over your head, or simply not get good results.
What we all need is some guidance on how to know what we can handle and when we should call professional help. To get started, consider some of these factors.
The Ability of a Layperson to Do the Job
Some things are inherently out of the question for DIY. A very common situation is pest control. Homeowners get concerned about ants or spiders, and they apply sprays to keep the pests at bay. With invaders like those, it might work out, but when it’s a serious pest problem like termites, the only feasible option is to contact an insect control company and let them do it.
Termites are incredibly difficult pests to control. They live deep in the soil and inside the wood in your home. The products needed to control them can only be purchased by professionals with specific training, so cross termite management off your list, especially in light of our next point.
The Potential Damage From Doing It Wrong
Some tasks are high-stakes ventures. In addition to potentially destructive failures from things like poor termite control, electricity is a good example. It may seem fairly easy to install a new outlet or to add a space heater, but if you aren’t qualified, you could make a mistake that might damage other electrical items in the home–or even cause a fire.
The same is true when you might damage the equipment you hope to repair, whether it’s a water heater, heat pump, or appliance. If the work involves electricity, pressurized water, gas, electronics, or other high-stakes elements, leave it to a pro.
The Time Involved
Many of us make the mistake of undervaluing our time. We feel like there is no cost for labor when we do work ourselves, but that’s not entirely true.
Suppose you want to replace the siding on the house yourself. You can get the tools and equipment needed to do it correctly, so you start one evening after work. You return the next evening, and the upcoming weekend, and maybe a few vacation days, and so on. The job strings out for weeks, but you tell yourself it’s worth it because it was free.
But it really wasn’t. The hours you put in have an opportunity cost. You could have logged overtime or made more sales at work. You could have sacrificed non-cash items like your child’s first home run. You could also have allowed rain or wind to damage the house while it was partially exposed.
We all like to save money, and there’s nothing wrong with being aggressive with which tasks you do yourself around the house. But it is even more important to get the job done right so that you don’t endanger your family, damage expensive fixtures, or end up costing yourself more money than you’re saving.
Contractors will have more specialized equipment and skills than homeowners, and they can get the job done more quickly in most cases. As an added bonus, their work is insured and may even be under warranty, two big advantages over doing it yourself. Before you tear into a job, think about these points before making the decision.
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