DIY Don'ts

Even the most dedicated DIYers recognize the fact that some home repair and maintenance tasks are best left to professionals for any number of important reasons. The key is to properly evaluate each task and weigh the pros and cons of doing it yourself or hiring a professional or as an alternate option somewhere in the middle, to hire a reasonably priced, trusted, local handyman services provider. We've compiled a list of four considerations to evaluate for common household repairs, improvements, and maintenance tasks that will help homeowners distinguish between DIY dos and DIY don'ts.

DIY don'ts can result in property damage, higher costs, and even bodily injury, so consider each home maintenance, repair, or improvement task carefully and make an informed choice to DIY, hire a specialist, or seek a trustworthy handyman services provider like Handy Halcomb Services.

Cost It Out & Compare

Before proceeding with any DIY project you should cost out both the materials required and the tools you'll need to properly complete the project to your required quality standards. Thoroughly research the project and make a list of materials and tools you already have and what you'll need to borrow, rent, or buy, and total out the cost of the necessary acquisitions. That is your gross DIY cost. Now get estimates on having the job professionally done, take the lowest trustworthy estimate, and subtract your gross DIY cost from it. The remainder is the monetary value of your own time, effort, stress, blood, sweat, and tears, and at that point, only you can decide if your project is a DIY do or a DIY don't. But wait, if the project seems to classify as a DIY do, there are still three more crucial considerations to address before you start buying tools and materials.

Safety Risks

Step two is to determine if the project is physically challenging or poses safety risks to yourself, and to those in your household. Will it require climbing ladders, scrunching into small spaces, or risking electrical shock? If the answer is yes, you'll need to factor that into your DIY evaluation somehow, which of course can be difficult because potential hospital bills are incalculable depending on the injury, and you can't really put a price on the health and safety of your family and yourself. DIY electrical repairs should dismiss out of hand unless you're formally trained in electrical work because the risk of deadly electrical shock from even minor electrical repair errors far outweighs any savings DIYing might provide.

Damage Risks

The third step in evaluating DIY dos and don'ts is another non-tangible consideration: what are the odds that the DIY solution will properly correct the problem and not make it worse, and what are the potential costs DIY mistakes could cause? If you don't have prior personal experience with failed DIY projects that evolved into money pits, you can talk to friends or acquaintances for advice, research endless DIY horror stories online, or call and discuss it with a professional. Plumbing repairs often fall into this category, because what often seems like an easy fix, involves hidden complexities of pipes, water pressure, and compression joints that unless done properly and precisely can result in busted pipes and flooded rooms when the water is turned back on, and then the costs of clean up and repair increases exponentially.

Quality Of Results

The fourth and final consideration before you go all-in on DIY home maintenance, repair, or improvement projects is establishing your own quality standards and goals for the end result. You have your own vision for home improvements and you may even have pictures, drawings, or videos to guide you; the question is do you have the skills, patience, and attention to detail to match your guide, vision, or inspiration? Home maintenance DIY projects are probably the most DIYable, but the convenience of not having to remember to perform crucial periodic maintenance tasks and knowing they're done the right way may be worth the cost of hiring a trustworthy handyman. Repairs, especially plumbing and electrical repairs, should be weighed very carefully regarding the quality of results because the quality of DIY repairs may not be discovered to be subpar till they fail at a later date, and if that later date happens to be when you're away from home or sleeping, the consequences could be catastrophic.

Think about these four considerations when classifying your home's repair, maintenance, and improvement projects and tasks as DIY dos or DIY don'ts. And remember, Bloomington area homeowners have an alternative option when it comes to tackling those household maintenance, repair, and improvement tasks that qualify as DIY don'ts: affordable, dependable handyman services from Handy Halcomb Services that exceed the communication, convenience, and quality of high-priced "specialists," like professional plumbers and electricians.