Thinking about a DIY remodel project to your Indianapolis area home? Make sure the cost saving benefits outweigh the risks.
Sometimes, saving money never
cost quite so much.
In a recent New York Times article, writer Susan Saulny shared the hazards homeowners face when trying to perform home improvement projects without the partnering with a competent home improvement company. Here are a couple of our favorites:
“When the toilet in Carol Taddei’s master bathroom began to break down a few months ago, she decided it would be cheaper to buy a new one than pay for repairs. Ever frugal, Ms. Taddei, a retired paralegal, then took her economizing a step further, figuring she could save even more by installing the new toilet herself.
Initially, things looked good with the flushing and the swishing. That is, until the ceiling collapsed in the room below the new (leaky) toilet. Rushing to get supplies for a repair, Ms. Taddei clipped a pole in her garage. It ripped the bumper off her car, and later, several shelves holding flower pots and garden tools collapsed over her head.
“It just kept getting worse,” Ms. Taddei said, ruefully describing what came out to be a $3,000, three-day renovation at her home, finished by a professional.
Lately there has come a class of ambitious do-it-yourselfers who are tackling things that, before, might have been left to paid professionals. Many like Ms. Taddei have learned that being thrifty sometimes comes at a high price and can bring along with it a new scourge of the times: saver’s remorse.
“Oh, tell me about it,” Ms. Taddei said. “Sometimes it’s better just to bite the bullet.”
Another potentially serious result of taking on a professional’s job with an amateurs experience is your own health and well being.
“While there is no national database that tracks do-it-yourself home injuries in recessions, experts say that there does seem to be an increase in the kind of accidents and mishaps that come with spending more time at home, based mostly on anecdotal evidence,” Ms. Saulny went on to write.
“We are seeing an increase in minor injuries, sprains and contusions,” said Dr. Peter Lamelas, who operates four urgent care centers in Florida.” “We’ve been seeing a lot of musculoskeletal problems from people lifting heavy things, maybe moving or doing things they’re not accustomed to,” Dr. Lamelas said. “A lot of back injuries, shoulder injuries and lacerations.”
With the potential injury to health, home and pocketbook, it’s wise to work with a pro when undertaking improvement projects. Take a look at one more DIY gone awry, as shared by Ms. Saulny:
“In suburban Baltimore, Lynne Sherman was the temporary fix when her husband’s attempt to hang molding ended up puncturing a pipe, which sent water spouting into their daughter’s bedroom. Ms. Sherman plugged the hole with her finger until a carpenter arrived.
“My husband said, ‘I took woodworking and shop in high school, so when we’re ready to do it, I’ll do it,’ ” Ms. Sherman, 50, said of the project gone awry, which cost $250 to fix, and about which her husband swore her to secrecy. “You can’t print what his reaction was, and I started that nervous laughter, ‘Oh, God what do we do?’ Now I have to say, we don’t do things ourselves anymore.”
These are just a few examples of why you should consider hiring a pro for your next Indianapolis home improvement or remodeling project. Convinced? If so, you will also need to educate yourself on HOW to hire the right Indianapolis remodeling company for your next project. To help, check out our GUIDE “6 mistakes to avoid when selecting a remodel contractor“.
