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Most homeowners know that contractors and home service professionals can cost a lot of money. As a result, there are many home improvement projects you should at least consider doing on your own. In order to avoid unnecessary complications, however, there are still some projects that need to be handled by the experts. Here are four categories of work that should really be outsourced to the professionals.
1. Any electrical work
Short of replacing a blown-out fuse or resetting the circuit breakers, you should leave any electrical work to the professionals. Even if you think you’re capable of doing the work yourself without getting hurt, you still run a good chance of inadvertently setting up all of the ingredients for an electrical fire later on. Pick up the phone and call an electrician if you need an outlet or wiring added or repaired.
2. Major plumbing work
There are plenty of situations when it’s fine to do minor plumbing work on your own. Anyone can adjust a faulty flush on a toilet, but anything major should be left to the professionals. Plenty of people have managed to flood their homes by forgetting a single valve on a new bathtub, or not tightening a fixture correctly.
Quick Tip
If you’re in doubt, go ahead and get a quote from a local plumber, and think about the overall complexity of what you’re doing. You may be glad you decided to call a pro.
3. Large tree removal & maintenance
If you think that you’re able to handle the high flying act of climbing up 30 feet to take care of a problem branch, then think again. Not only is it one of the more dangerous pieces of maintenance a homeowner can do, but it’s also really easy to cause inadvertent property damage or injury.
Whether you need a higher problem branch taken care of, or an entire tree taken out of your yard, you’ll want to hand this one off to the professionals.
4. Major landscaping or renovations
There’s a whole host of renovations that require permitting based on city ordinances. The moment that becomes a part of the equation, you’ll want to hand off the project to a General Contractor. In theory, DIYers could get all of the required permitting and make sure they’re up to code, but at a certain point, the time it takes to do that is worth more than the money you’d end up paying a contractor.
The same goes for intricate yard work. Planting a few shrubs is going to be way less complicated than a complete backyard overhaul, along with putting up a shed that may or may not need to be a certain height in order to avoid violating city code. Once you reach a certain point of complexity, it's better for your project to be left in the hands of a home service expert.
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Building a home, Featured, Home Improvement, Landscaping and Gardening
