As a budding DIY practitioner or just a concerned homeowner, it almost always feels smarter to enact your household repairs than to call someone out to implement them for you. Of course, part of this “smart method” involves, quite simply, saving money. What other justification could be so compelling?
That being said, it’s also important to know where your talents lie, and what their limits are. Perhaps you’ve had some success replacing the beautiful standing of your reclaimed coffee table by using legs from the Hairpin Leg Company, or maybe you’ve managed to refine your spice rack ready for all the festive concoctions of winter.
Now the year is closing, it’s not hard to see why you’d want to get as many household repairs finished and squared away before your guests arrive, or before you can sit on the sofa with a glass of bubbly and not a care in the world.
So, as you try to check off every box and tie up every loose end, let’s discuss a few home repairs to avoid for safety or skill reasons. This way, you can remain more focused and spend your time where it matters:
Boiler Repairs
When a boiler goes down, there may be some fixes you can put in place, but most of them are rudimentary. For example, if your radiators are struggling, it may be that leveling the water pressure in your unit can be a good place to start. However, anything more advanced than this may require a callout and service. This is especially true if your boiler fails to function completely, is making strange banging or thudding noise, or doesn’t switch on its timer as instructed.
Electrical Work
Unless you’ve been qualified with the appropriate electrical contracting boards, it’s important to avoid handling your electrical system outside of switching on and off your fuse box as needed. This is because it’s very easy for those trying to rewrite sockets or resolve power outages to put themselves in harm’s way, not knowing the appropriate practice, how to check live plugs, or how to ground oneself when working with such utilities. Always keep a trustworthy electrician in your contact book, and a backup option just in case.
Tree Removals
Anyone can rent a chainsaw and begin the work chopping down trees in their garden, or even pruning branches where appropriate. While this can be acceptable if you have the skill and the desire to rent out such a utility, any advanced work outside of cutting down smaller trees should be left to the professionals. This is especially true if ladder work or proximity to power lines are considerations you need to manage. Otherwise, you may find yourself put in harm’s way, or even cause property damage due to a tree falling in the wrong direction.
Structural Wall Removals
It might seem like a relatively simple renovation task to knock through a wall, and perhaps you hope to get this done before the new year or just after it to help your property shine anew. Knocking through a wall, however, is a little more complex than it sounds. First, you need to capably and cleanly cut through and demolish the brickwork, but you must also make certain that the supporting wall loss doesn’t compromise the integrity of the building at large. This may be harder than expected, and without the appropriate living arrangements made in preparation, you may be breathing in construction dust for longer than anticipated. What seems like an involved task is quite an intensive job, best left for when you’re prepared for it.
Plumbing Repairs
It may seem simple to fix a leaky pipe or when all is installed, to put a bidet into your bathroom. But the truth is that plumbing while a robust network, can be fragile if incorrectly managed or retrofitted to fit new orientations and new applications. That’s why if you hope to switch your toilet from one side of the room to the other, it’s important to call in the professionals who won’t burst a pipe and cause it to spray all over the room. If you notice leaks or breaks in pipes, always call the professionals even if water damage isn’t quite present yet, as you can never be sure what happens after you turn your water mains back on.
With this advice, you’ll be certain to avoid the repairs better left to the experts, which frees you time to focus on everything else you have to deal with.