Posted on: October 29, 2007

DIY Decisions

Before you rip down any walls or start tampering with outlets, it's best to access your do-it-yourself skill level. Here is some expert advice on what to embrace, what to ponder and when to call a professional

By Margraret Littman
CTW Features

Walk into a Home Depot or Lowe’s store on Saturday morning and you’ll be surrounded by the home improvement equivalent of cheerleaders shouting “you-can-do-it!” Classes, displays and advice on everything from caulking a window to installing a skylight can make you feel like there’s never a reason to hire a pro. And the Internet and bookstores are rife with do-it-yourself tomes designed to instruct would-be Bob Vilas on the ins and outs of home repair.

But just because someone says you can install that new electrical outlet, doesn’t mean you should grab the wire strippers and jump right in. Whether you ought to tackle a home-improvement project on your own depends on your knowledge, experience, comfort levels and patience.

“Work within your ability,” suggests Tom Kraeutler, host of the nationally syndicated home improvement radio show “The Money Pit.” “If you tackle a plumbing job, you can get wet. If you tackle an electrical job, you can get dead.”

With that in mind, here are 15 projects with expert advice on what could be done in-house and what should be farmed out, with a few cautionary tales thrown in.

Do it

1. Paint. It’s not as easy as it looks, but it’s not hard. A little patience in the form of pre-painting preparation can yield the same results as a pro, Kraeutler promises. “The two enemies of paint: surface that has not been roughed up and mildew or mold. Mildew will kill a paint job.”

2. Anything cosmetic in nature Sure, your first wallpaper attempt might have an air bubble or an uneven seam. But nothing that you do for aesthetics only will risk your family’s safety, so they’re good projects for a neophyte.

3. Patch a wall “Anybody can do it,” believes Joe Hayes, owner of Hayes Properties, and the frequent instructor of home-improvement adult education courses. “If it looks wrong, you just patch more and sand more.”

4. Add weather stripping It’s as simple as peel and paste. Inexpensive kits at the hardware store show you how to clean surfaces before you press and where to seal drafty windows and doors. Just read the directions first.

5. Fix a dripping faucet or leaking toilet Serious plumbing working is a novice’s no-no (see below), but small jobs, the kind that aren’t worth a pro’s house-call time, are perfect for weekend projects.

Don’t do it

1. Make structural changes “I had someone who called the radio show who wanted to get a pool table in the basement. These big old metal poles were in the way and he wanted to cut them right out,” says Kraeutler. Such a cut could have brought the house down. “Making repairs that effect the structure requires skill and training.”

2. Install new kitchen countertops Even professionals have a tough time with this. Unlike cabinets or shelves, no matter how many times you measure for a countertop, there are always little spaces that have to be adjusted and filled, because corners are rarely – if ever – square, and the surface must be level. The time it takes you to measure twice, or 10 times, is better spent looking for a qualified contractor.

3. Install new plumbing Moving a toilet, a sink, or replacing pipe behind walls, are jobs best left for professionals, says Mark Ladner of Chicago-based Ladner Construction. “Virtually every time I’ve seen plumbing put in wrong, it was the homeowner who had done it himself.”

4. Refinish hardwood floors It seems easy enough, but the job is deceptive and the large mechanical sanders difficult to maneuver, Hayes cautions. “Everybody has seen a floor done by homeowner: It is the one that’s lumpy and bumpy.”

5. Replace central air units You need specialized tools to handle Freon (considered hazardous waste), says Mark Rogers, a general contractor at Precision Craft Inc., based in Mount Prospect, Ill. And the unit has to be precisely charged: Either over- or undercharging can cause system damage.

Maybe, maybe not

1. Patch a leaky roof The task is fairly basic … if you don’t mind climbing. “If you’re comfortable with heights fine, but if not, remember to add the cost of the emergency room visit to the money you’re saving not having a roofer,” Kraeutler says.

2. Work with outlets and light fixtures Hayes says that as long as there is an existing outlet and you turn off all electricity (not just to the room in which you are working), the work is safe enough for an amateur. Pay attention to how the old one was connected and mimic the set up. To add new outlets or fixtures, however, call an expert.

3. Add a deck “If they really wanted to do it, anybody can build a deck provided they have some mechanical skills,” says Rogers. But, he advises, contact the local utilities just to make sure you’re not digging into gas, electric, cable or phone lines.

4. Serve as your own general contractor Despite the stereotype of contractors as unreliable with a penchant for exaggeration and broken promises, contractors get into trouble not because they are poor craftsmen, but because the lack the business skills to manage multiple jobs. If you’ve got the time and patience to explain exactly what you want and oversee who should help you get it when, then you might be able to man the staff. Otherwise, let a professional, who already has relationships with subcontractors, handle the hassle.

5. Install tile Surprisingly, the tools are not expensive, and the technique is not rocket science. But like painting, tiling takes patience. If you’ve got the eye-hand coordination to cut small pieces to fill in awkward corners and you wield a level with the best of them, try it. Otherwise, find the yellow pages.

Overall, Kraeutler offers this tale for determining whether a job is a do-it-yourself or a leave-it-to-the-pros: “A guy called the show who said he economically figured out that if he could do a job within four trips to the hardware store, he was saving money. If he had to make five trips, he knew he was in trouble.”

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