A new survey of 2,000 Americans finds four in 10 people have more do-it-yourself failures than they do successes. The average person estimates that it takes them five hours of trial and error before quitting their project and calling in a professional to help.
So I have a simple solution to this.
Don’t even try.
Right from the start, just call in the professional.
You avoid possible disaster, and you pick up four hours in your schedule.
You’ll thank me next time you’re thinking about that DIY project…
Sounds like a great solution to me! And hey I think you should start handing out prizes to the first person to comment on your post. 🙂
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every prize would go to a spammer then… 🙂
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Ain’t that the truth.
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They say if you want a job done right, do it yourself, but I guess that only applies to 60% of DIYers. The worst scenario is when you pay someone to finish your project, and then they do a worse job than you would have done, and you have to redo their work. That happens sometimes.
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in my case, I would be paying a new person to redo the work of the original contractor…
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Heh-heh. And that’s the racket of contracting.
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yes, indeed…
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Actually there is another saying. “If you want a job done right, have a woman do it!” LOL! 🙂
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Sure, if you’re hiring a midwife.
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LOL!!
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🙂
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I wish someone would tell my hubby this…Jack of all trades and master of none…always gives it a go!
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I don’t even bother giving it a go now…
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Luckily for me, my husband is quite capable.
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I am jealous!
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When we first got married and didn’t have any money, I was that DIY guy. Of course, most jobs left me aggravated and took twice as long as they should have. I’m much more selective these days and have no qualms about calling a professional.
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I admire your go-for-it attitude; I would do that with simple things like changing a light bulb or cleaning up some spilled milk, but beyond that, I wal calling in the pros…
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Every man (or woman) must know his (or her) limitations. Of course, it is impossible to know that you are not good at doing something until you try, but I get your point.
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I don’t need to try, I know before I start that I won’t be good at many things… 🙂
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I’m all for calling in pros!! I don’t have to try things to know they’re beyond my skill level!
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same here!
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Glad to say that we fall into the 60%. DIY was the only way we could afford to get things done for years. Some things did take longer, like gutting a bathroom. Other simple things like not having to call an electrician to replace a light fixture or a plumber to install a new sink were worth gold in our books. For the big thing though, the thing I call The Big Reno, we knew we were over our heads and didn’t attempt it until we could afford to hire someone. So I guess that knowing one’s skill limits is the key.
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I am impressed, and jealous that you fall into the 60%. and yes, I agree that knowing one’s skill limit is critical; I know that I have no skills…
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To clarify, you don’t have any DYI skills. I am pretty sure that you have excellent communication skills.
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in my mind whenever I speak or write, it makes perfect sense to me. Of course, that’s really up to the person on the receiving side to judge that 🙂
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that is so me and i don’t waste a second!
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🙂
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Amen! I work with homeowners who are trying to remodel their kitchens all the time. It’s very frustrating, and generally doesn’t turn out great. There’s a reason people are paid to do that sort of work.
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👍👍
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I taught myself to bake and do fondant art from scratch. As I did correspondence university with no lectures or tutorials, I guess I taught myself accounting to. I think if you are interested in something, you can prevail. Of course, it takes more than five hours [smile].
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I agree, Robbie. Where there is a will, there is a way. But with home repairs, there could be some costly mistakes if you don’t know what you are doing…
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Yes, I am sure that is true. My dad has always been handy but he can’t do so much since his recent illness.
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Not only am I incompetent but I usually do not have the right tools. I save time by not trying to do most things myself. Then we save money by procrastinating and living with broken garbage disposals, cupboards without doors, cracked windshields, etc., although it might be cheaper to pay a plumber to fix our dripping faucets and running toilets. I could not make this comment on my own Blog because my wife hates it when I expose our bad habits.
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I’m pretty much the same way except I get running toilets fixed promptly. They can run up the water bill fast.
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I wonder if toilet makers and plumbers and the water company are all in cahoots against the homeowner…
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sounds like we’ve got the same mindset, and the same household…
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Hubby and I assembled the first 10×8 shed 15 years ago. The floor deteriorated. He dismantled it this summer. We bought a better 10×8 risen shed. No professional service is available. It only comes with a menu and phone call help available. The customer reviews showed some people took 12 hours to finish. Some were done by one person or two people. After reading many from hundreds of reviews, I believed we could do it ourselves. Hubby did most of the work and I only helped to hold the parts while he connected the parts together. He didn’t like to get exhausted because of the heat. He spread out the work and finished it in a week.
He did a lot of work around the house as his retirement project. There were a couple of things he couldn’t do such as plumbing problems and he had to call the professionals.
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I just don’t have the confidence to tackle projects like that. And I don’t think when I retire it will get any better…
kudos to getting the shed done all on your own!
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Hubby’s profession is in the medical field. I think the projects using his hands are a way to use his creativity. Before he met me, he built a stable for the horses.
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huuby sounds like a pretty handy guy…
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I’m glad he is. It comes in handy.
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🙂
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🙂
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I almost always follow that advice. The only caveat is often I need to call in another professional to fix what the first one screwed up while completing the project.
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ahhh…. the joys of home ownership…
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Wow, for once, I’m ahead of the curve. I’ve only had 2 DIY project so badly I needed to call in a pro. Most notably a toilet replacement. Your photo reminds me of a coworker I had who was fond of saying ‘every tool is a hammer’.
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I’m jealous! and yes, I think any tool can be used as a hammer…
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Great advice!
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it works for me 🙂
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Honestly, this is my motto but unfortunately my husband doesn’t share the same motto as me LOL…
He prefers to google and YouTube the solution where as I like to just call a professional.
The most he’ll agree to doing is it really is out of his realm is call a professional the first time then when they’re here, he uses them and their skill to learn a new trade. Lol I’ve seen him follow the electrician around and shadow him like an apprentice 🤣🤦♀️
I guess there’s something to be said about him trying to learn a new skill but really I think he’s just uber f r u g a l…
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I’m with you. And when there is a professional doing work at mour ouse, I stay out of their way. No need to embarrass myself even more… 🙂
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Hahaha but how else am I supposed to get bragging rights if I don’t accidentally smash my thumb with a hammer?
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you can just put a bandaid on your thumb and pretend that you got injured 🙂
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If you can earn more in five hours at work than you save spending five doing it yourself then hire someone!
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I probably wouldn’t save anything if I tried it myself. I would likely make the problem even worse, and then it would cost even more to fix it 🙂
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Sounds great to me! Years ago, I decided to be a fix-it man. The kitchen sink was equipped with a rinse hose, but it needed replacement. I had no idea that a special tool made it easier to loosen the connection. I burned a couple of hours before I found a friend with the necessary tool. My Dad is the ultimate fix-it quack (led to my short story on “Hubby’s Toolbox”). He’s in a league by himself.
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but at least it sounds like you finished the plumbing repair I just went to your site and read the Hubby’s Toolbox post – the poor guy. But really, a hammer and a chisel do not seem to go together when fixing a toilet… 🙂
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Yes, I managed to replace that kitchen hose. As for the rationale behind the chisel and hammer, it is very, very true. Just ask my “handyman” Dad.
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but again, at least he tried…
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