Everyone likes to save a few dollars here and there and avoid the massive bills that come with life in general. Home repairs are one such area many people try to save money on, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to take on some minor home repairs. There are times when calling in the professionals is warranted.
Even with the best YouTube tutorial in the world, if you aren’t expertly trained in something, you should be asking yourself if you are really capable of carrying this task out yourself.
But if you want to crack on and try your hand at home repairs, then you need to avoid taking these jobs as if anything goes wrong, it will spell disaster for your home.
Fixing your Roof
It can be tempting to get your ladder out, climb up to the roof, and look at what is happening. Maybe you have spotted a leak, or you feel a draft coming through the rafters, and you think you can sort it out yourself without calling a roofing company.
Botched roof repairs can make the situation much worse than the initial problem, not to mention that working at height can come with an increased risk of injury from climbing ladders or accessing sloping roofing areas. So before you attempt to climb the roof and fix that hole or even attempt to replace a roof without any qualifications, stop and get the pros in.
Plumbing
Small plumbing jobs like unblocking sinks or fixing leaky faucets might be easy work for some people. Still, anything more complex, like a toilet repair, fitting a new bath or shower, or anything to do with your boiler, can cause you to exacerbate the problem and end up with a more significant issue than you started with. While leaky faucets, dripping toilets, and poor water pressure are the most common plumbing issues, when plumbers are called out for emergent jobs, t’s generally to fix repairs that homeowners have tried to make themselves. So don’t cause a flood in your home by attempting anything major to do with your plumbing, be it kitchen sinks, pipes, toilets, or showers; call a plumber and make sure it’s done correctly.
HVAC
Your HVAC system is integral to your comfort at home. You rely on this as your primary source of heating and cooling, and if anything goes wrong or your system isn’t well maintained, then chances are you will notice this immediately. However, HVACs are complicated pieces of equipment, and it requires special knowledge and skills to uncover what the issue is and get it fixed properly. While things like cleaning ducts or replacing filters can be easy to do for most homeowners, anything involving any noises your HVAC is making, leaks, or loss of abilities needs to be investigated thoroughly and shouldn’t be attempted by anyone other than a registered technician.
Structural Repairs
It might tempting to paper up that crack in the wall or fill in a gap in the door frame, but if you have noticed structural cracks around the door frame, in flooring or down walls that are wider at the top or the bottom and open up in a step type pattern, then ignoring theme or hoping some filler will do the job just won’t cut it. Structural damage is a major cause for concern, and it will affect the structural integrity of your home, making it unsafe to live in. Not knowing what you are reading and attempting a quick fix or patch repair can make things worse and put you, your family, and the rest of your home at risk. So don’t do anything you don’t understand when it comes to structural repairs, and make sure you get the advice of the pros first.
Electrical Repairs
Feel free to change your lightbulbs, swap out your lighting fittings and fixtures (with the mains electric turned off, of course), and even switch out the outlet covers. However, anything to do with the wiring in the house, fuse box, or any other electrical issues such as smell burning, loss of power in support of the house, or you have exposed wiring, then call out a qualified electrician to get a more accurate picture of what is going on and get it fixed so it’s up to code. You will need to make sure you check if you need an inspection to validate any new electrical work, especially if you have a complete rewire.
Due to the danger posed when working with electrics, always make sure the repairs are carried out safely.
Home Remodels
The before, during, and after pictures and videos splashed across social media in recent years, not to mention the boom in home improvement shows, have kind of romanticized the whole home renovation process, and while nothing is stopping you from learning how to do home changes and alterations, if your skill level doesn’t stretch to removing walls or you have no idea where to start, are oblivious to what a load bearing wall is and so on then you might be best leaving this to contractors who can complete the work safely.
While you can and probably should try your hand at minor DIY projects, anything that involves removing interior or exterior walls, reconfiguring rooms, or extending the property out, unless you have experience and qualifications in this area, it’s best to stand back and let experienced contractors completly this instead.
There is a reason why there are many professionals for different jobs. While, some aspects of home repairs or even renovations might look easy, getting them wrong compromises the safety and stability of your home, as does ignoring them too. If you are unsure of how to fix anything or you are aware some tasks are outside of your wheelhouse, then you need to hand over to someone who knows what they are doing, has the skills and experience to complete the work required, and be confident that everything has been taken care of correctly.
What do you think?