There are various home improvement projects that can be tackled by almost all homeowners – at the same time however it is important to know your limits!
Of course the more work you can perform yourself the more money you could save.
On the other hand, certain work which has simply not been completed to a professional standard is at worse going not going to have the ultimate effect you intended, and may also need repairing or replacing by a professional.
In the worst-case scenarios, the work could even be dangerous to you and your family. Here then is a list of home renovation projects, or elements that may make up an overall project, which are probably best left to the professionals.
Electrical
This entry is first on the list because it is probably the most important. Do this yourself and first and foremost you run the risk of electrocuting yourself. That alone should show that this is one area that you really should leave to the experts.
If – and God help you if do – need more convincing, around 6% of all house fires are started by faulty wiring – that’s around 24,000 fires a year. So if you play around with the electrics and you don’t know what you’re doing, not only are you putting yourself at risk but also your family.
So don’t do it.
Pool Installation
Dig a hole, fill it with water and you have a pool. Simple, right?
No, of course not.
Building a pool requires a level of know how that is simply not in the remit of the average homeowner performing DIY. It requires incredibly precise measurements during planning and all stages of excavation. It requires building to surprisingly exacting code and passing stringent inspections by local government building inspectors.
And all of that is before we even come to the equipment and manpower that is involved here! Do you have heavy machinery like an earthmover in your garage? Probably not!
… but if you do, can I borrow it please?
Above Head – Height Tree Surgery
Arborists, also known as tree surgeons, have one of the most dangerous jobs out there. “Just think about it, their office is the top of a tree, their key piece of equipment is a chainsaw” says Bubba. Learn more about him at Tree Service & Removal of Mobile website. He also added that it’s 100% not a recipe for a long and healthy retirement (speaking from experience?).
But they are professionals – i.e. they get paid to go up that tree with their chainsaw. So why the heck would you want to become an amateur arborist?
By all means, trim away at ground level shrubs and the low hanging branches of the trees in your yard. Do it carefully of course, but feel free to tackle it if you like and you know what you’re doing.
But anything above head height should be left to a professional tree service. When you leave the ground, on a ladder for example, you are now working in an unnatural fashion that requires extra attention and balance – so don’t add a chainsaw into that mix!
Each year in the US there are around 30,000 chainsaw related accidents – some of which are described, I kid you not, as “catastrophic.” I don’t know what that means; I don’t want to know what it means.
Still considering climbing up that tree with your chainsaw? Let me leave you with this nugget – the average chainsaw injury will require 110 stitches in the ER.
That call to a pro is looking pretty good right now I bet!
