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Picking up some tools and taking it on yourself to do work around your home isn’t exactly a new idea. In fact, remains of buildings dating as far back as 6th Century BC have been found to have detailed assembly instructions, enabling the owners to build it themselves. Of course, things have changed quite a bit, with a huge array of modern products available to build yourself. But, just because something is a DIY job, doesn’t mean you have the skills or know-how to complete it. Instead, you might need to get some help. To give you an idea of your skills, this post will be going through some of the key areas of the home people choose to work on themselves. Along with this, it will also cover some of the smaller issues people often fail to consider before taking on this sort of work.
Electronics –
Electricity sits at the heart of most modern homes. We use this resource to complete loads of our daily work, as it powers most of the devices we use. This power source has some serious downsides, though. Unfortunately, electricity is very dangerous. Almost 400 people have died to electrocution since the year 2000, in Australia alone. A lot of these deaths are considered preventable, and a lot of them are thanks to unqualified people working on electronics. Unless you have the right government licensing and permits, you should never consider working on this part of your home. Instead, it’s best to have a professional take a look at it for you. Most electricians will offer their services at a reasonable rate, but whatever you pay is still better than your life.
Water/Gas –
On average, carbon monoxide poisoning is responsible for around 430 unintentional deaths each year, in the US. This staggering number is partly thanks to people working on their own gas systems. Along with this, immeasurable property damage is caused by those working on their own water systems without the right credentials. Gas and hot water repair services are much cheaper than a lot of people realize, though, and there isn’t a reason to put yourself or your home at risk. It takes years to learn how to work with gas and water properly. So, it’s worth making sure you have someone who is capable of doing the job for you.
Painting And Decorating –
Not all of the jobs around your home will put you at risk of death or even risk damaging your home. Instead, some jobs are simply too complex and reliant on motor skills for people to handle. A great example of this is painting and decorating. Painting a wall right to the edges without making any mistakes takes years of practice. Along with this, putting up wallpaper can be even harder. If you have no experience in this or don’t have someone knowledgable to help you, it can be worth looking for someone professional to help you. Always read plenty of reviews when you’re looking for people like this.
Tiling –
Not all decorating work is just wallpapering or painting and could require even more effort to get done. Tiling is a great example of this, being a lot of people’s least favorite DIY job, and can be incredibly hard without the right experience. This process has several different stages, from cutting and shaping the tiles to grouting them to stay attached to the wall. Doing this job poorly will often result in tiles falling from the wall within a few short years. Having someone to help you with this work will make it a lot easier for you, taking most of the work out of your hands. Tiling experts can be found in most cities and towns, giving you easy access to them.
Building (Wood) –
DIY covers a wide spectrum of work, some of which a lot of people find very hard. One of the easiest materials to work with in this area is wood, as it gives you loads of chances to make mistakes and recover without ruining your work. If you need to build something from wood, though, it’s still worth doing loads of research. Like most crafts, it takes years for people to become good enough at woodworking to do it professionally. So, for complex buildings or furniture, it’s worth getting some help. Flat pack furniture should be easy for anyone to assemble, as long as they have the right tools and amount of people to help them.
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Building (Stone/Metal) –
Of course, some materials won’t be anywhere near as easy as wood to work with. Metal and stone is best to avoid altogether unless you have loads of experience with them. When you make mistakes with materials like this, it can be almost impossible to rectify them without ruining the piece you’re making. Along with this, the tools to work with these resources are much more expensive than the basic ones needed for wood. People work very hard for a long time to get into masonry or metalworking, so it’s not worth taking on a job like this until you have the right level of experience. Any substantial building job made with stone should be undertaken by a professional.
Things To Consider –
Struggling with DIY isn’t just a matter of the work you have to do, though. Along with this, there are several other considerations a lot of people fail to make when they’re working with their home. It’s important to make sure you don’t ignore factors like this, as they can make a huge difference to the job you’re going to be doing. If any of them don’t look as though they’d work out, it’s best to look for another way to get your DIY work done.
When you’re taking on a job you’ve never done before, it’s impossible to get an accurate estimate of the time it might take you. Guides and resources on the internet will often give you an ETA for the job they’re helping you with. But, this has often been achieved by someone with a lot of experience. In reality, when you consider work and your other commitments, DIY work can take months or even years to complete. This is all time you could spend doing something else, like making money. This sort of time sink can eliminate all of the money you save doing the job yourself in the first place.
Along with your precious time, it’s also very important to think about the money you’ll spend doing a DIY job by yourself. With time, tools, and everything else to consider, you could be wasting more money than you need to by doing the work yourself. Tradesmen and contractors will often get their materials at hugely reduced rates. You probably won’t have access to savings like this, making it harder for you to justify doing the work yourself. Of course, in a lot of cases, you will save some money. But, it’s worth making sure this will be the case long before you start working.
When thinking about any job like this, the most important thing to think about is your confidence and ability to actually do the job. If you have no experience of something, it can be very hard to jump in and get on with it. Of course, though, without trying, you’ll never be able to learn. There are plenty of ways to get work like this done without having to go through the pain of learning on your own. If you know someone with some experience in the job you’d like to do, you could have them join you to help. Or, for the bigger jobs, it’s best to get a professional involved.
Tools are one of the most expensive parts of any construction or DIY job. Often, people will buy tools specifically to help them with a single job, with the intention of only using it once. In most cases, this can be a huge waste of money, as the tools will simply sit in storage once they’ve been used. A great example of this is a tile cutter. To tile a wall well, this tool is needed to cut tiles to size. But, most people will only tile rooms in their home every ten years or so. Buying this tool would be a waste, as you’d be unlikely to use it more than once. Solving this issue is simply, as you can either have a professional do work for you or look into ways to get tools on a rental basis.
Hopefully, this post will give you a good idea of the sort of jobs you should be aiming to do yourself, and the ones you should avoid. The home can be a dangerous place, with loads of troubling areas. But, this doesn’t mean that you can’t handle all of the work. A lot of people feel very daunted before taking on work like this. Unfortunately, this is for good reason, though, as some of DIY can be very hard. It could still be worth a try, though.
Love,
*This is a collaborative post