Home Repair Tips
Home Repair Tips
Should you Do it yourself
Most of us completely misjudge the cost and time involved in carrying out our own repairs and maintenance.
Basic home repairs include things like changing a tap washer, clearing a blocked vanity sink drain, clearing out the gutters, painting walls, fixing a garden hose, changing door handles, fixing a stuck door, installing a home irrigation system are not difficult, provided there are no complications involved. Most of these can be fixed by the average person if they know “how”.
There are some maintenance jobs that are illegal for homeowners. For example, in Australia only licensed electricians are permitted to carry out electrical work. Having said that most of us change a light bulb on a regular basis. The essential thing here is making sure the power is turned off when doing so, keeping bodily parts (including fingers) well away from connectors, and using the correct globe for the light fitting installed. If in doubt, call your electrician.
When it comes to major renovation work, local council regulations and permits need to be secured before work can take place and are usually required to be completed by registered builders.
Everyone’s time is valuable and you need to decide just how valuable your time is. Unless you are a professional every repair job you undertake around the home will take you longer, simply because you don’t have the same level of skill.
The way I decide whether to attempt a task myself is I look at the hourly rate I am paid in my full-time job, then estimate how long a given repair job will take, and if I am going to save myself money then I will do it myself.
For example, if a leaking tap is caused by a worn tap washer, replacing the tap washer is not a difficult job and is one that most people should be able to do. In this instance it may take a novice around 30 minutes to replace the washer. Now weigh this up against the cost of getting your local plumber who may charge around $75+ per hour plus a call out fee, then it is worth giving it a go yourself first.
I have just had a major kitchen renovation completed. I was trying to decide whether I would tile the splash back myself, but when I received a quote of $350 from a professional tiler I came to the decision very quickly that based on my hourly rate it was not worth my time doing. As it was, it took the tiler 5 hours from start to finish. Had I done the tiling it would have been an all day job. Therefore, evaluate how much you will save by doing it yourself.
Over the years, it has been a lack of cash that has forced me to learn how to do many of my own home repairs myself, such as changing tap washers, clearing blocked sink drains, tiling, painting, laying a block retaining wall, installing my own irrigation system, building a patio cover, etc. and when you realize how simple many of these jobs are you certainly can save yourself a wad of cash by learning how to do it yourself.
