Don't Hire A Contractor For DIY Improvements

The expense of having repairs or home improvements completed by licensed contractors are considered to be high, but often required, due to the fact most people don't have the abilities or equipment required to make a repair within their residences or complete improvements by themselves.

You don’t always have to hire a pricey contractor to do the work.  For instance, frequently when a power failure happens, it is only a blown fuse. Many home fuse boxes can be found in basements or in the homes garage. When you encounter an outage, be sure you check out and differentiate between blown fuses or melting wires. If you use an electrician to merely fix a blown fuse, it'll cost you big money (including labor charges) to change the fuse, when you're able to do it yourself for a couple of dollars.

Many people are scared of electric and rightly so, if you don’t take the proper precautions and perform the task correctly, electricity can kill you. If electricity is something you don’t feel comfortable working with then call an electrician.

However, many people take the proper steps and perform some smaller home electrical fixes in order to save some major cash. You can test for a blown fuse by placing a functioning fuse in the opening where you believe that the fuse is that’s blown. Remember, after your testing is complete remove the fuse and return it to its initial location instead of leaving the fuse in the slot, in order to avoid the threat of fire. Always replace a fuse with one that’s the same amperage as the original.

Newer homes have a breaker box instead of the old fuse box so when the breaker fails it'll automatically shut off the electricity. Changing a breaker is comparable to changing fuses; however, you need to take the front cover off of the breaker box to remove the breakers. Don’t remove the breaker box cover if you don’t know what you a doing, it could be deadly. Once the cover is removed from the breaker box you are exposing yourself to a lot of voltage and amperage, for this reason I DO NOT change my breakers, I hire an electrician and recommend you do the same.

Light switches and wall outlets are usually another small household problem which can be easily repaired by a DIY home owner. Most switches and outlets last for quite some time before problems occur, but periodically a repair is needed.  Make sure to adhere to the directions when repairing the switches or outlets, and shut off the power to the switch or outlet, since dealing with electricity can be extremely dangerous.

Home improvement is really a creative voyage and an expense, whether you're improving your home’s value, or fixing the house for the family’s safety. Performing a part of the job yourself can save you a lot of money in the long run, instead of paying high labor fees to an expert contractor.

Furthermore, fixing or improving your house usually increases its value.  Many individuals feel scared at the thought of fixing or renovating their home themselves.

However, if you spend a little time planning for your task and follow the directions diligently, you will save a good deal of money and time on Do-It-Yourself improvements, in addition to a renewed confidence in your capabilities.  Contractors attempt to justify their excessive costs to you by making you think that a lot of the fixes or improvements are massive jobs that demand a professional’s touch.  If you are serious about Do-It-Yourself improvements, conduct a lot of research by obtaining manuals and publications from the library, and you will realize specifically what the task involves.

Over the years I have saved a ton of money on my properties by performing many projects myself. In fact, a couple of years ago our family purchased an investment property. We bought a beach front condo on one of Georgia’s barrier islands for a fantastic price. The condo is located on Tybee Island referred to by many as Savannah’s Beach since the island is only about 18 miles east of Savannah. The condo was is great shape however; the master bathroom needed a remodel.

We had three contractors bid on the job of replacing the sink and vanity, toilet and bathtub with shower and the bids we received were between 12 and 15 thousand. I did my research and felt this was DIY home improvement project I could handle myself. It only took a weekend to complete the remodel and the entire project cost less than $2,000.

Many repairs and improvements around a home can be done by most home owners if they put their mind to it. With the proper preparation and research you can save yourself a ton of money.