It’s the age of DIY. Whenever you want to test out your handy skills, you can rent tools from the nearest hardware store and watch a tutorial on the internet to learn how to do the repair in a flash. You can figure out how to do everything from replacing doorknobs to putting up floating shelves.
5 Home Repairs That You Should Never Do
While you’re free to learn any home repair online, there are a handful that you shouldn’t touch as an amateur — even if you need to save some money. Find out what those repairs are and why it’s not a good idea to try to do them on your own.
Plumbing:
Small plumbing jobs like unclogging drains and tightening faucets are completely safe to DIY. More challenging repairs should be considered off-limits. Plumbing can be very difficult. If you make a wrong move, you could accidentally cost yourself thousands of dollars’ worth of water damage. For this reason, it’s best to leave it to your qualified local plumbing service who will have the expertise to handle the more difficult repairs.
Roofing:
Roofers have the proper equipment and training to do roof repairs safely. You don’t want to fall off your house and end up in the hospital. Leave this to the pros.
Electrical Work:
Tinkering with electrical wires is dangerous. You could seriously injure yourself. And if you make a faulty connection, you could cause an electrical fire down the line and accidentally burn down your home.
Gas Work:
Fixing any natural gas connections isn’t a good idea. A mistake could result in a gas leak, which is very dangerous. Breathing in natural gas can make you sick, and if the gas is exposed to a spark, it could cause a house fire.
Tree Removal:
Pruning a tree is perfectly safe, but taking off large branches, or trying to fell an entire tree, is very risky to try on your own. You could hurt yourself and cause some serious property damage. Call an arborist instead!
Paying for Home Repairs
Paying for home repairs — especially urgent home repairs — can be a real pain. That’s why you should build an emergency fund. With an emergency fund, you don’t have to panic about how you’re going to scrape up enough money to patch up your roof or fix your toilet. You can withdraw your savings and get the repair done right away.
If you need an urgent home repair and you don’t have enough in your fund, you could consider applying for a personal loan online to help you cover the costs. Make sure to search for loans that are specifically available in your state. So, residents of Miami will want to look for online loans in Florida to help with emergencies. Not all loans will be available in your state. Narrow down your search to make the application process easy from the start.
DIY Doesn’t Mean Saving Money
At first glance, it will seem like DIY saves you money. But that’s not entirely true, especially when you don’t have the right tools or experience.
It’s more likely that your DIY attempt will cost you more in the long run, and it will take more time to finish. You will probably have to call a professional to come redo the job, along with any additional problems that you’ve created. If you need any evidence, take a look at some of the most popular DIY mistakes that contractors fix for homeowners.
Sometimes DIY is a great idea, and sometimes it’s a terrible one. When it comes to these major home repairs, you’re better off leaving the work to the trained experts.
