Home Remodeling Projects Best Left to the Professionals
Attention Weekend Warriors!
To all the hands-on homeowners doing it yourselves, you are seen and appreciated. You probably have a way that you like to approach DIY home projects, perhaps by watching tutorials, making lists, and strategizing time frames. After these projects are completed, perfectly or imperfectly, you probably derive an enormous sense of accomplishment from tackling the project.
What we need you to understand, however, is that there are SOME jobs best left to the professionals, regardless of your confidence using power tools and doing construction tasks. A professional brings extensive knowledge and can typically complete a job faster and more efficiently, ensuring the projects adhere to essential safety standards or code requirements. It is not worth putting yourself, your family, or your home at risk for the joy and cost-savings of personal toil.
Home Improvement Tasks Best Left to Professionals
1. Painting the Kitchen Cabinets
Painting the kitchen cabinets seems like an easy DIY project involving a few coats of paint. However, painting kitchen cabinets requires a next-level preparation and precision that walls don’t need. Kitchen cabinets should be removed, thoroughly cleaned, sanded, and cleaned again. Depending on the cabinet door design, specific tools may be needed to make the cabinets look uniform. There are also specific paints that need to be used to ensure that the paint adheres correctly and doesn’t take on the stains and smoke of kitchen cooking. Is painting the cabinets even worth it, or would it be more economical to install new doors? Only a professional can tell you for sure.
2. Replacing the Roofing
Roofing is typically something that most people feel confidently hiring a professional for. Roofing a home is more than just replacing a few shingles. The roof may require structural repairs, which require a professional’s level of knowledge. A professional team can also work at the speed necessary to save your home from being exposed for too long to the elements after the old roofing materials have been removed.
We recommend having your roof professionally inspected regularly, to detect problems before they’re impossible to repair – Read more by clicking here.
3. Replacing the Windows
Replacement windows should always be left to the professionals. A window must be precisely measured for the replacement window to be installed correctly. Professionals know how to inspect window frames to ensure that the window is seated properly. Even a small deviation in measurement can create serious, and expensive window fit issues. Additionally, windows are heavy and cumbersome, requiring someone skilled at maneuvering them safely.
4. Demoing a Room
On home renovations shows, homeowners take part in some of the demo as a matter of plot and storyline, but likely in those scenarios once the cameras are off, the professionals take over. While you can certainly demo a room successfully, it’s essential to have a basic knowledge of how the home is built, what’s behind the walls, and what the renovation plan for rebuilding is. If a wall is removed or a stud is damaged erroneously, that’s an expensive mistake. Different kinds of injuries can also occur in the demo process when amateurs aren’t concerned with damaging materials in the process. Hiring someone to handle the demo work means they will do so carefully and make a plan to haul away the debris, which is an added benefit. Remember: Professionals are licensed and insured to protect against the unthinkable, and you, the homeowner, are not covered by their policies.
5. Chimney or Fireplace Repairs
Chimney and fireplace repairs require roof access and masonry knowledge. This is a project that should only be handled by a skilled tradesperson.
6. Installing a Water Heater
If your water heater goes out, it can be tempting to replace it yourself. This is a project that only a professional should handle. In addition to being extremely heavy, water heaters require a gas or electrical connection. For the DIYer, installing a water heater can be a safety risk that isn’t worth the danger.
Think twice about performing any electrical or plumbing work without the oversight of a professional electrician or plumber. While you may feel confident that your experience with these trades is enough to get you through, the knowledge and experience of a professional is unmatched, potentially saving you money, time, and grief in the long run.
Related Article: Painting the Basement: DIY Tips and Tricks
Adapted from RISMedia.
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