DON’T DIY THESE HOME IMPROVEMENTS: ESSENTIAL ADVICE FOR HOMEOWNERS
, By Teresa Cowart in Blog, For Home Buyers, For Homeowners. Tagged: DIY • Home Buyers • Home Improvement • Homeowners • Homeownership • Teresa Cowart
DIY projects in some cases are more affordable, but some projects should be left to the professionals.
DIY projects in some cases are more affordable, but some projects should be left to the professionals.
Changes Made To The Structure Of A Home
Homeowners from time to time will want to add a room or make a room larger by removing walls. Situations like this are best left up to the professionals. The soundness of a home’s structure is extremely important.
Certain walls are considered structural and knocking them down can significantly affect the safety of the home.
An expert will be able to gauge whether walls are structural or not and if they are, proper precautions can be made to maintain the structural integrity of the home. For projects like this, online video training is not a good idea.
Bonus! Realtor.com provides an article on how to open up a room by removing walls safely.
Adding New Bathrooms
Aside from small fixes such as a clogged drain or faucet change, plumbing improvements should be handled by professional plumbers. Adding a bathroom is a common home improvement for homeowners looking to add value to their home.
It is not an easy task and takes professional skills to create it. Depending on where the bathroom is located, plumbing lines will need to be added. Water supply needs to be confirmed. The new lines need to work together with the existing lines. All these things need to done correctly to prevent water damage, leaks and clogs.
Updating Electrical Systems
Anyone with an older home, can tell you that electrical problems can be very frustrating but also dangerous. Updating older systems, adding new electrical wires in walls and laying cable are much more safe if installed by an electrician.
There is a reason professionals go through all the training that they do, to ensure safe and effective installations in homes. Electrical shocks are a scary situation to be in as a homeowner. When faced with an electrical problem in your home, call an electrician, plain and simple.
Bonus! MC2 Home Inspections has written an informative article on electrical problems that can go wrong in an older home.
Cleaning Toxic Mold
When you suspect or find a mold problem in your home, bleach is NOT the answer. Toxic black mold is extremely dangerous to a person’s health. It should be disposed of in the proper manor to reduce the chance of releasing mold spores into the rest of the house.
Many times mold will begin to grow on areas of dry wall, in which case the dry wall will all have to be removed. Professionals know how to demolish, and transport the mold infested items. They also have access to special suits designed to keep themselves safe from mold spores as they clean.
Bonus! Anita Clark (GA Realtor) has provided an article on what to know about mold as a home buyer and seller.
What You Can Do
You may not be able to tackle the above projects yourself, but you can pick out and purchase many of the items needed yourself. Especially if you will be adding a new room to the house. Most things you will need can be purchased from a local hardware store or specialty home improvement store.
Check with the professional you will be using beforehand to ensure that your idea of items matches up with theirs. Other projects like painting, adding crown molding, laying backsplash and similar smaller jobs can be done well by homeowners.
Bonus! Michael Roberts Construction (Coastal Ga area) has written a handy article on how to install crown molding.
Bottom Line
There are plenty of things you can do yourself to improve your home. The key is to choose the ones you can safely (and legally) do. The rest should be left to the pro’s, as they have the expertise and special training you don’t have.
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