I used to think that my husband and I were pretty adventurous when it came to DIY house projects. After all, we’ve always lived in old homes and each one included the phrase “needs a little TLC” in the listings. Need I say more?
But the longer I’m a home owner, the older I get, and the less energy I have, I’m convinced there are some jobs that should be left up to the professionals. While I do think there are lots of occasions when doing it yourself is respectable and worth the challenge, I also think there are times when it might be wiser to hire someone else to tackle the job.
Here are 5 scenarios when you might consider not doing it yourself and hire a professional.
1. When it doesn’t save you all that much
Many people opt to D-I-Y because they hope to save money. That’s usually the case with us. But, sometimes the professionals might end up being able to do the job for the same or only slightly more than you could do it yourself. Before jumping right into the project, write up a thorough cost estimate for doing it yourself {and consider doubling it to be on the safe side} and then get a few estimates to compare. Pros may be able to get better pricing on materials and they don’t have to worry about renting or buying any expensive tools that might be needed.
Keep in mind that your time is worth something too. If the professionals aren’t charging you a whole lot more than what you think it will cost to do it yourself, then consider whether it’s worth your time to save just a little bit of money. That brings me to #2.
2. When time is a factor
In our experience, most home improvement projects end up taking twice as long as we anticipated. Sometimes it’s just nice to have the project completed quickly. Let’s face it…it can be a challenge to live with an unfinished project. Or maybe it it is necessary to finish the project because of some circumstance or deadline you have.
We currently only have 1 functioning bathroom in our home {we’re gradually working on finishing our upstairs bathroom}, so it’s not really feasible to do without running water in our bathroom. Luckily, we haven’t had any major plumbing issues, but if we did, then you better believe we’d be calling the plumber. Speaking of plumbers…
3. When quality really does matter
I will confess that I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I tend to have an eye for details and flaws tend to stick out to me when the average person won’t even notice. My husband is the complete opposite, which has been a challenge at times when he’s working on home improvement projects. There are some projects that don’t require detail and there are some where quality really does matter. If inspections are needed, then that’s something to consider as well.
We have come to an agreement that we don’t take chances with water. We call pros when we are dealing with bigger plumbing/tile projects. We recently hired a gentleman to tile our upstairs shower for us. Kev had never tiled a shower before and we both agreed that we didn’t want for our bathroom to be his first experience. We just didn’t want to take that risk on a shower where it will get daily use. It was worth every penny knowing it was done right and done very quickly!
Detailed carpentry or “finish work” is another one that Kev won’t tackle. Thankfully, my father is fairly good at it so he’s helped us a ton.
4. When safety is a concern
We recently had a really tall oak tree removed in our backyard. It was slowly dying and Kev decided that he just wasn’t comfortable trying to do it himself. Heights are not his thing, and it was fine with me! The guys who did the job had all sorts of harnesses and pulleys. I could tell they knew what they were doing, so their risk was minimal.
Yet another reason why I’m fairly confident we won’t attempt to replace our own roof.
5. When it would prevent conflict
I had to throw this one in because it’s so true. Sometimes paying a professional is better than paying a marriage counselor. 🙂 I hate to admit this, but we have had far too many heated arguments/fights over home improvement projects. I’m growing in this area, but I’m also convinced that some home improvement projects are just not worth the possible disagreements. Maybe the projects are just so big that there would be too many opportunities where conflict could continue to arise? Or maybe if you are pregnant and hormonal? 🙂
Wonderful advice! We are planning to move from our home in a years time and right now working on updates. I would love if you would share on my Friday Favorites linkup!
Thanks, Jennie! I'll have to check out your link up – love getting new ideas and sharing with others! 🙂
I've had a repair or two that took a toll on my marriage. We had some plumbing issues with our kitchen sink and it just put us in the worst mood whenever we were home. We seemed to get in fights all of the time. Thankfully, I fixed the sink before things got too bad. Next time, we will call a professional. Do you have any advice about what to look for in professional helpers? http://www.dicksonplumbingservices.com.au
We prefer to use people who come recommended by someone we know personally. If that's not possible, then we check the Better Business Bureau for names and to see who has complaints against them. Hope that helps!