Theoretically, you can DIY any home upgrade or repair. But you need lessons and some experience to master them. Taking your toolbox and assuming it has everything you need is a recipe for disaster. Tools are simply there to make the job easier, not to do the job for us.
Hence, DIY-ing home upgrades or repairs can be prone to mistakes. And those mistakes can lead to higher costs. On the other hand, if you just hired a pro and let them handle everything, you would’ve gotten the value of your money.
Of course, you don’t need pros for every single home upgrade or repair. The simple ones would only waste their time and your money. Changing a light bulb, for example, doesn’t take an electrician to perform correctly. But installing an entire home’s electrical system requires a pro’s hand.
That said, here are the upgrades and repairs you shouldn’t tackle on your own:
1. Roof Replacement
You can only replace your roof when only a few shingles need to be changed. But if your whole roof has deteriorated, installing a new one on your own will be too taxing. Roof replacement services are just a call away, so let them handle it.
Roofers may charge a lot, but they don’t do it to take advantage of the demand for their services. Rather, it’s because they use several safety tools and equipment to do their work. They won’t come to your home without ladders, harnesses, and helmets. They come to your doorstep already equipped. If you’ve gone rappelling, wall-climbing, or skydiving, you’d have an idea of how sophisticated safety equipment is. Roofers need their investment back, hence the hefty fees.
Although it’s possible to install a new roof on your own and safely, it’s still inadvisable. New roofing sheets don’t always come painted, so after installing them, you’d deal with the painting. It’s simply time-inefficient.
In addition, if you didn’t install the roof properly, that can lead to leaks and other problems. You’d either live with it for a whole year or spend again for re-roofing.
Therefore, DIY roofing replacement isn’t worth the risk, so just trust the pros.
2. Flooring Installation
You can install some tiles or floorboards yourself if it’s just a tiny room you’re dealing with. But for a whole house, hiring pros is more practical.
But even in a small room, flooring installation can be complicated. The process isn’t as simple as “peel and stick.” If you’d DIY the process from the ground up, you need to determine the square footage of the space so you’d know how many flooring pieces you’d need. Your home’s blueprint provides the measurements, though, so if you still have that, you may skip taking measurements.
But you’d deal with a series of steps after that. If the space has existing floors, you need to remove them first. And before installing the new ones, you may need to cut some pieces to make them fit perfectly. Overall, it may take days before you can start installing, so just leave it to the pros who have more time.
3. Plumbing Installation or Repairs
You can unclog drains, change faucets, repair broken flushes, and install new fixtures without a pro. But some plumbing jobs are sensitive in nature. A single mistake can lead to a series of problems. Hence, if you don’t understand how plumbing connections and tools work, the task may be more efficient with a pro on board.
Also, you may not have the right tools for tackling a plumbing issue. An ordinary pipe wrench, for example, won’t work in removing an old galvanized nipple. Internal pipe wrenches are what you need for that task, which is fortunately available in hardware stores. But if you’re not a plumbing expert, you wouldn’t normally own that.
4. Landscaping
Simple landscaping work, like pruning, mowing, and trimming, doesn’t need a pro. But designing a landscape is not a job for amateurs. It’s for landscape architects or designers.
These professionals don’t just deal with aesthetics and structural aspects but practicality, too. For example, they know how to direct water flow away from your home’s foundation. You may also need botanists or gardeners to know which plants thrive in your area and during what season.
Having a green thumb doesn’t make you qualified to design a landscape. Focus your skills on maintaining plants, but let the pros handle the hardscape and design matters.
When it comes to home improvement, quality matters more than quantity. Your home’s value will boost with high-quality craftsmanship. A DIY job may get you more work done for less, but it can have the opposite effect on value.
