They say, ‘if you want a job done properly, you should do it yourself.’ But that’s not always a good motto. When does it make sense to go it alone, and when should you call in the experts?
The Nature of the Job
Sometimes it’s an easy decision to make. You have to be a roofer to replace a roof, and you have to be a plumber to put in a heating system. Sometimes though, a job is within your capability as a handyman, but there are good reasons to get a specialist firm in.
Cutting Corners
With the best will in the world, you’re not a master-craftsman. The work you produce may not be dreadful, but the chances are that you won’t approach the job with the methodical preparation that a specialist handyman from a firm like Somerville Aluminum would. The result will likely show that lack of professionalism. Then every time you use the closet, or look at the tiling round the shower, you’ll be reminded of your sloppiness.
Guaranteed Work
You might have the skills to install a fitted closet, or put tiles in your bathroom, to take two examples. But what if the shelves fall down, or the tiles fall off? You can probably do a repair, but if the things been badly done in the first place, it’s sometimes hard to get it right with patching. A tradesman should give you a guarantee and you can insist that any problems are dealt with, so that you have what you bargained for.
Getting It Done Quickly
Everyone has a mental list of jobs they’d like to get done. Doing them is a different matter. If you’re working, it’s hard to sacrifice your weekends. You can be left feeling bad whenever you use the room that needs work. If you get a handyman in, that guilty shadow will be removed from your life forever!
The Reason for the Work
If you’re doing the work to improve the home so you can live more happily, then delays and a sloppy job may not be so important to you. But if you want to sell or rent out your home, or if you’re likely to in the future, then work by a professional should add more to its value than your own efforts would. The amount of value added depends on the value of the property, so employing a handyman pays more financial dividends in a prosperous suburb in Middlesex County NJ than it would in an inner-city neighborhood in Detroit, for example.
A better-off purchaser or tenant will be put off by amateurish workmanship, and that will be reflected in the price or rent they’re prepared to pay.
