Home improvements and renovations are your chance to fix problems in your home, turn it into the place you want to live, and update it to modern standards. Many homeowners home renovation projects are DIY projects. However, there are some home renovation projects that are best left to expert professionals. In some cases, it’s a matter of preventing risk and avoiding substandard work. In other cases, they’re the only ones legally allowed to do such work or the only way to stay in compliance with your homeowner’s insurance.
Window Updates
You wouldn’t handle Windows updates manually on your laptop, and you shouldn’t do updates to your home’s windows either. Your home loses nearly half its heating or cooling through doors and windows, and it’s even worse with gaps or weakened seals.
Everything has to be measured, cut, and fit as snugly as possible to prevent thermal movement that drives up your energy bill. Skilled professionals will nearly always do this better than someone without the same level of experience.
Hardwood and Carpet
Flooring looks deceptively simple, but you shouldn’t trick yourself into thinking it’s that easy. Hardwood and carpet both have multiple steps involved. Getting just one part of the process wrong can wreck the whole project.
Once you start tearing out old flooring, you open the door to dozens of different scenarios that might not go the way you want. If the previous flooring material is damaged or warped, then you might have an uneven surface to work with. Moreover, the sub-flooring might be rotten or cracked.
It’s even possible that you get through the whole project seemingly without any incident only to walk barefoot across your hardwood floor and find it squeaking with every step. Skip all these nightmares by just letting professionals handle things for you.
Asbestos and Mold
If you’re like many homeowners, your first undertaking may be to remove those popcorn ceilings everyone loves to hate. They’re often one of the very first things to be removed during home improvements or renovations. It’s easy enough to scrape them off, but things can get complicated very fast. Even if there isn’t asbestos present, you can really hurt your ceiling with divots and scrapes that won’t happen when a professional carries out the job.
Mold is another culprit that you need to worry about. This is always a risk in basements and bathrooms. You know that you need to remove it, but if you don’t do it right, then you run the risk of it coming back. The only way to be totally safe from either is by having a trained and qualified professional come and get rid of all of your mold spores.
Foundation Issues
You want and need your home to be stable. The foundation is what provides your home stability. If that foundation gets cracked or is actually crumbling, then you need to get professional help to deal with the situation.
What you see at first might look like an easy fix. However, you might need a contractor, an architect, and possibly even a structural engineer. These professionals can identify all the problems, diagnose them properly, and then arrange for them to be fixed without impacting the structural integrity of your home.
Plumbing Work
Unclogging a drain is often a simple matter you might be able to tend to. Even some leaky faucets might not need much work. However, professionals should probably handle anything with a scope greater than those two basic issues.
Even trying to repair a smaller job may damage one of your pipes. There are many smaller jobs that might still go horribly wrong in the hands of anyone who isn’t a trained or anyone who isn’t a qualified professional. Piping, bathtubs, and toilets installed wrong might result in leaks and flooding that create very expensive repairs.
Roofing Matters
Repairs and replacements for damaged roofing materials are another DIY temptation that you should avoid. It only takes one slip or loose tile to wind up with you falling off the roof. Roofing falls already account for approximately one-third of all construction fatalities involving a fall.
Your own personal injury risks aren’t the only concern. If you do the work poorly, it will possibly look uneven to the point of being very noticeable from a distance. Even if you don’t hurt yourself, you’ll minimize the curb appeal of your home and reduce its resale value.
Tiling Projects
Tiling projects look easy enough that you might assume you can save on labor charges by doing it on your own. There’s more involved with this than just getting your tiles lined up straight. The problem with the DIY route is that it’s going to take you a lot longer than a professional would, and that not only disrupts your home longer but also creates more opportunities for mishaps.
The work involved with laying tiles starts before the actual tiles enter the picture. The surface has to be properly prepared and confirmed as even. You also need to choose the best tiles. In addition, a professional is the best person to accurately handle measuring and cutting around sinks and pipes. After that, there are the matters about sealing and grouting.
Structural Alterations
Licensed professionals should be the only ones that you turn to for renovations that deal with structural changes. If you knock out any walls without making sure there’s still enough support, you can do serious damage to your home and weaken it. You might even run into code and permit issues by doing so, and that’s even possible for building a gazebo or deck without permission.
You might need multiple professionals for situations such as these. Structural engineers can determine if walls are load-bearing, while different kinds of contractors might handle drywall, flooring, plumbing, and electrical matters. Even if you don’t get in trouble with the local government, you might void your home insurance coverage.
Electrical Work
Anything involving electrical work needs to be left to licensed electricians. They know the risks involved with new cables and working with circuits. They know the appropriate safety protocols and will follow them. They also know the legal and safety codes for your area.
If you do your own electrical work, you can overload circuits with too many uses. In the more serious cases, you’ll wind up with electrical shocks or even a fire. Strict codes are in place for good reason. An average of one person dies every single day from electrical hazards, and more than 10 are injured.
Let the Professionals Handle Things for You
Home improvement projects let you customize your residence and keep it up-to-date. However, some home improvements are better handled by qualified professionals who can do the work safely and properly. If you have electrical needs, let us be the ones to take care of them. We can install outlets, switches, lighting, smart home technology, generators, surge protection, and EV charging stations for both new construction homes and remodels. We also work on commercial properties, too. Contact [company name] right away to see what we can help you with. We have offices in Cumming and Greensboro, GA. You can also find us in Mount Pleasant, SC.
