Should you DIY or call in the pros? This is a question many homeowners are faced with making every single day. Our homes are not infallible, and over time, with use, they will experience damage from wear and tear in daily life.
This is to be expected, and even if you are fastidious about keeping your home in good condition, from time to time, things will be out of your control.
But if you are unsure if you need to call in a pro or get your hands dirty with some do-it-yourself tasks, then these indicators can help you decide what to do.
Your Budget
While the pursestrings shouldn’t be the overriding factor in making decisions, they should be a consideration. Can you carry out the repair for a relatively small amount, and is it a waste of time to pay someone for this for you? Tasks that fall under this realm can include fixing a leaky faucet, changing light fittings, or even painting your home. If you can reasonably carry out the work for a lower cost yourself, then you should consider doing it.
However, this can apply to most tasks, so you need to think carefully about the cost of the project by doing it yourself and hiring someone to do it, along with the other tips in this post.
Skill Level
Do you need specific skills to carry out the repair? Again, simple jobs like painting your home or changing hardware can be done relatively easily, and even if you are a novice DIYer, you can find tutorials online to help you out. However, bigger tasks like fixing entire electrical circuits, identifying a gas leak, or stopping a major flood will require professionals to identify the cause of the issue and make your home safe again. So, in this instance, you need to call a local plumber, electrician, or gas engineer to do the work for you.
Time
Some home DIY tasks can be time-consuming, especially if you aren’t proficient at doing them. While hanging a picture on the wall shouldn’t take too long, jobs like removing walls, replacing flooring, or updating your woodwork can be time-consuming. If you don’t have the time to complete the job thoroughly, then it might be worth paying someone with the skill level and expertise to do it for you. This way, the job will be quicker, largely as they will know what they’re doing, and you haven’t wasted a whole weekend doing it to discover you didn’t do it correctly in the first place.
Risk Factor
All DIY jobs come with some amount of risk. And whether it’s a small risk of harm to yourself from not using the correct equipment or harm to the house itself and others around you, you need to be aware of what those risks are.
Electrical repairs and gas work both carry an extremely high level of risk due to their volatility and danger levels, meaning you shouldn’t carry out repairs of this nature yourself. However, replacing door handles carries a low risk of harm and is likely something you should try to do yourself.
Always assess these points when deciding if you could DIY a task at home. In many cases, it is probably worth attempting to do things yourself or saving some cash. But for bigger jobs or those carrying a high level of risk, it’s best to leave it to those who know exactly what they’re doing.
What do you think?