There are many unforeseen difficulties in doing home renovations yourself.
When you find out how much your home renovation is going to cost, the temptation may be strong to do it yourself and save a big chunk of that dough. Before you decide to tackle that home project all by yourself, however, you may want to consider the following reasons why DIY might not be the best idea.
1. You may not be able to handle the project.
Many home renovation projects seem simple enough until you get into the middle of them. Then, with everything torn apart, you start to encounter problems. There might be hidden damage that you don’t see until you are deep into the project, or you may find out you need plumbing or electrical work that you didn’t anticipate. Most people without a background in contracting can’t handle anything more than a simple project without help.
2. You may cause more damage that will need to be fixed.
It doesn’t take much sometimes to cause damage that adds to the workload of a project. Almost anyone who has done a home project has a story about how they sawed through a pipe or cut an electrical wire by mistake. It’s already time consuming to do home renovations without taking even more time to fix damage that you accidentally caused.
3. You may not really save any money.
Would you really want to do a home project yourself if it didn’t save you any money? The reality of many home projects is that your inexperience will lead to mistakes or problems that will eat up nearly all of your savings. In addition, contractors often have access to higher quality materials that will last longer and be worth the additional cost. If you end up having to replace your roof or your windows after only a few years because you used shoddy materials or didn’t install them correctly, your savings will not be nearly as much as you hoped.
Most home renovation projects go better when handled by a professional.
4. You may hurt yourself.
It’s difficult to do home projects safely when you don’t always know what might happen or how to handle unexpected occurrences. There are lots of safety protocols that you won’t know about unless you have experience. A hefty emergency room bill or lost time at work due to an injury is another thing that will eat up your savings or even cost you more than a contractor would have.
5. Your time is worth money.
It’s worth calculating how much money you will save per hour doing a renovation yourself (and double the amount of time you think it will take, because that’s probably more accurate). Next, determine how much your time is worth – you can use your hourly wage at your job as a guideline. It may not be worthwhile to spend your time on the renovation if you could make more money doing something else. If this ends up being the case, consider paying a professional to do the work rather than doing it yourself.
Moonworks will handle your home renovation quickly and professionally. You can get a free estimate by calling 1-800-975-6666.