A lot of people turn to D-I-Y, otherwise known as Do-It-Yourself, in an attempt to save money. After all, it is often cheaper to do a task yourself than it is to enlist a professional. You won’t have to pay inflated fees for manual labor, nor do you have to worry about any added costs for out-of-hour or bank holiday services. Nevertheless, there are instances whereby DIY actually ends up costing you more money than it would have to get a professional in to do the job. This often occurs when we take on jobs we do not have the experience for, for example, rewiring and plumbing.
Are you someone who likes to try and carry out any home task on a DIY basis whenever possible? This is a good thing – most of the time. While it can save you money, there is always the risk that you will go one step too far and end up trying to take on a task that you have no experience in. Such incidents can result in you spending up way more money than necessary because you make a mistake. With that being said, read on to discover the three scenarios whereby you need to step away from the toolbox.
Step away from the toolbox if… you’re not in the right frame of mind
There is only one place to begin, and this is with your frame of mind! It does not matter whether you are planning to re-write the electrics, build a garden shed, or do some painting around the house, you need to be in the right frame of mind to do it. What indicates that you’re not in the right frame of mind? Well, firstly, you are definitely not in the right frame to do any DIY if you are pregnant or feeling unwell. Furthermore, if you are feeling under a lot of stress at the moment and you can’t focus, you definitely shouldn’t do any tasks around the home.
If you are not feeling very well or you are completely snowed under at work, diving straight into DIY once you get home is not a good idea. As your mind is preoccupied, it is easy to make mistakes without realizing it, and a lot of mistakes can be costly to rectify when it comes to home renovation tasks.
Step away from the toolbox if… you are out of your depth
Another scenario whereby it is more costly to go down the DIY route is when you take on tasks that you do not have the experience or skill to carry out.
This is a mistake that a lot of people make when it comes to the likes of plumbing, rewiring, anything else to do with electrics, installing air conditioning units, and so on. If you are not a professional plumber, you shouldn’t be trying to do plumbing in your home.
Plumbing is a good example of this. There are self-help articles online that tell you to do everything from use chemicals to coat hangers. Such ‘advice’ can make matters way worse. The same applies to boiler servicing. You can end up costing yourself thousands of pounds. In terms of re-wiring, mistakes are a huge fire hazard, so there really is no point in risking it!
You would be much better off using the service of a company when it comes to the latter, instead of trying to do it yourself. After all, not only will any mistakes be costly in terms of damage to the A/C unit and/or the structure of your property, but an incorrect installation could mean the air conditioning does not run efficiently, and so it will be costing you money every month.
Step away from the toolbox if… the consequences could be very costly
Last but not least, you need to consider what would happen if you were to make a mistake. Fitting a new kitchen is a good example here. If you are pretty much going to be working with what you have got, any mistakes should be easy to rectify. However, if you are going to be knocking down walls or installing an entirely new kitchen, mistakes could end up setting you back thousands. You need to consider this when determining whether to go DIY or not.
Furthermore, DIY often ends up costing people more money than it should when they attempt to cut corners or they rush into the project. Again, this is where mistakes are made. Plus, if you switch to a poorer quality material, it could end up destroying the entire project.
And, of course, costs do not always relate to money. There could be costs to your health if you take on a job that is not right for you or that you do not have the correct level of experience in. This is why it is critical to make sure that you only ever take on a DIY task if you are sure that the ‘risk’ of taking on the task is going to be worth the potential reward in the end. If there could be significant money losses, risks to your health, and/or the potential for the project itself to go very wrong, it makes sense to look for experienced professionals instead.
As you can see, there are a number of different circumstances whereby DIY costs us more money than it should because we have been in the incorrect frame of mind or we have done a task when we know that we do not have the experience for it. With that in mind, use the information that has been provided above to determine whether you should go DIY or seek a professional service instead.
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the three different scenarios that indicate you should step away from the toolbox and call in the professionals instead. Yes, saving some money and doing a job yourself is a good thing, until you make a mistake! It’s not worth the risk with the circumstances mentioned above.
What do you think?