While many eager DIYers probably wouldn’t hesitate to pull up their sleeves at the sight of a burst pipe, it’s sometimes more sensible to pick up the phone. When you’ve managed a few fixes around the house, it’s easy to overestimate our own abilities – or underestimate how complex the job actually is. It may prove to be a lot more time-consuming and challenging than you originally thought, and going at it yourself may even be downright dangerous.
Here is a quick guide to the projects you’d want to put down that hammer for and call a professional instead.
#1 Tree-removals
Now that the summer is over and you’re tidying up around the garden, it might be tempting to wave goodbye to the one big tree blocking your view. Although the job seems simple enough, it’s really something you should leave to the experts as it requires both climbing and working with dangerous tools. Even cutting down a few of its branches may prove to be dangerous if they’re high off the ground.
When some people are trained and paid to do it for us, it’s a good idea to ask yourself why. Is it because the project is tedious and takes a long time? When the answer is no, it’s time to pick up that phone.
#2 Electrical work
Anything that has to do with electrical systems and plumbing should be left to those who do it well. Although you may flip the fuse and manage to change a lightbulb, it doesn’t mean that fixing faulty wiring or trying your luck at other electrical issues will be a success. Take off your DIY-hat immediately, call the electricians, and rest assured that the job will be completed properly – while you can stay safe and relaxed.
Remember that, of all the things you should never try at home, tampering with the electrical wiring of your house is on top of this list.
#3 Structural changes
Fiddling with the structure of your house in the sense of adding or removing a section of it – or even tearing down a wall, can lead to huge problems. You never know if that wall carried a lot of weight, if it interferes with the plumbing, or if there is electrical wiring inside of it; consult a contractor, first of all, and avoid disaster.
It could be a big hazard to the rest of your household, by the way, and by tearing down a wall on the first floor, you may very well see that the second floor starts to slope after a while. While you can get away with doing some projects at home yourself, calling the experts when the job gets big is just so much easier and a whole lot safer.
It’s not everything we can fix ourselves. While most of us manage to paint a wall or change a shower head once in a while, it’s good to know our limitations – if just to keep the family safe, at least.