Owning a home comes with a significant amount of responsibility. You have to keep your home in good shape not only to ensure it remains livable, but also to make sure your investment retains its value. Of course, you can also enhance your home’s value by performing improvements such as putting in a new kitchen or adding new construction.
However, regardless of the reason, when you need work done on your home, you might be asking yourself, “Should I hire a contractor or do it myself?”
The truth is that when it comes to the question of DIY vs. contractor, it’s almost always better to hire the professional contractor instead of trying to do construction work yourself. Here are five reasons why:
1. Construction work costs time.
No matter how you look at it, time is money. You work hard all week so you can enjoy your weekends and vacations. When you do a home improvement project yourself, you might not have to pay for a contractor’s time — but you sacrifice your own free time instead. If you’re a busy professional who looks forward to your weekends, it’s important to keep in mind that nearly every construction project takes longer than you think. And once you begin, you have to see it through if you want to continue to enjoy your home. By hiring a contractor, you’re more likely to get the job done quickly.
2. A contractor has access to people, tools and materials.
There are many construction projects where you simply need more than one pair of hands. In addition, you frequently need specific tools — not to mention all of the construction materials required for the project. A professional contractor has a team of qualified individuals that can help as needed, as well as all of the necessary tools and equipment. Moreover, since contractors can purchase materials wholesale, they’re more likely to get a better range of choices and prices than a private homeowner will find.
3. A contractor is more knowledgeable and skilled.
Construction is not something to undertake lightly. Whether it’s installing a new kitchen or adding a bedroom, it’s critical to understand the ins and outs of home construction in order to safeguard the integrity of the existing structure and guarantee that any new construction is up to code. In contrast, if you’re a weekend DIY-warrior, the chances that you possess the required knowledge and skill are low. And when construction work isn’t up to code, it’s deemed unsafe and you’ll likely have to have it redone again if a building inspector finds out.
4. A contractor takes care of licenses and permits.
Certain work, such as plumbing and electric work, needs to be performed by licensed professionals. Additionally, a lot of municipalities require you to have permits for certain forms of construction — even if it’s your own home. Knowing exactly what kinds of permits you need, as well as when you need to apply for them in time for your project’s start date, is best left to the professionals. And remember: If you don’t have a license, you could get fined a considerable amount of money.
5. A contractor provides a warranty.
When you do home improvements yourself, you don’t get a warranty. That means that if the work is not done well, you have no recourse — and all the time and money you invested is gone. To make matters worse, a subpar construction job could even cause damage to your home. In other words, the cost of not doing it right the first time can be significant. One of the benefits of hiring a contractor is that he or she provides a warranty, which means if something’s not up to par, the responsibility for fixing it lies with the contractor.
In conclusion, there are relatively few scenarios in which it makes sense for you to do home improvements yourself. Certainly, if you enjoy DIY, have access to all the right tools and materials and are capable of doing everything 100 percent correctly, then DIY might be an option. But even then, you can run into licensing issues — plus, you don’t have a warranty for the work you’ve done.
So all things considered, it’s better to hire a qualified, experienced and knowledgeable contractor who has access to a team of professionals and can get you the right materials at a good price. That way, you can have peace of mind that all the work’s done right the first time around — and that if anything goes wrong, you’re protected by the contractor’s warranty.
