DIY Pitfalls: Tackle the Project Yourself or Contact a Professional? - Wisler Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, & Electrical

It’s completely understandable for someone to want to do as much as they can to prevent having to spend money on a professional. The temptation is always there no matter what the issue may be. But how should you define what to tackle and what to leave to a professional?

Sometimes we minimize issues and make them less important than what they really are. For instance, anything that you do incorrectly with the electrical system in your home could potentially cause a fire hazard. If something was to arc or short out, it could lead to a very catastrophic incident. Water damage can be just as catastrophic as fire damage, and pretty much anything plumbing related is going to have water attached to it.

It’s just a nightmare to have to deal with water damage. Your belongings might still be there if they get wet, but they will probably be ruined. If you’re not completely sure about what you’re doing when it comes to your plumbing system, the whole home could flood and ruin all of your valuables and keepsakes. The job might look easy, but all you have to do is overlook a tiny detail for a catastrophe to occur.

Next, keep the safety of yourself and your family in mind. Homes need to be constructed in a specific manner so that they are structurally sound. If someone doesn’t know what they’re doing and they decide to remove a load bearing point in the home or build a set of stairs, for example, it could become a potential safety issue. If we start doing things on our own, we might not be schooled well enough to know whether or not what we’re doing could be a safety issue.

With all these considerations in mind, sometimes people will decide, since they can’t spend the money on hiring a professional, they’ll just leave it be. Think about the very real cost of doing nothing. Say for instance that a toilet is leaking on a wooden floor. The floor will slowly start to rot, and maybe the wood supports under the flooring will be compromised as well, causing the repair to be much more expensive than if the simple issue had been dealt with immediately.

Then there’s the cost of doing something wrong. Even though there might not be as much investment upfront for a DIY project, think about how expensive it would be to fix it again if it needed to be done a second time. If you were to mess something up, it could end up being way more costly than hiring a professional in the first place.

Remember the three things to keep in mind regarding DIY projects: fire, water, and the safety of yourselves and your families. Then consider how much it would cost if you did nothing, or if you did the job wrong. Those things should be the deciding factors on whether to embark on a project on your own or contact a qualified professional.

If you’re uncertain about tackling a DIY project, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.