A Word About Do It Yourselfers
I make my living looking at houses… well, not exactly. People pay me, not to look at the house, but to highlight the problems with the house. On a daily basis I see the end results of the hapless handyman’s weekend endeavors. I’m sure there are competent DIYers out there – their work goes unnoticed because it was done properly. The stuff I get to report on is usually the work of the iDIYots among us. Time and again I have said that it is admirable to be a do it yourselfer, provided you are competent.
A while back I was asked to write a brief article on the subject. Here it is:
Renovation Without Explanation:
Can You Really Learn to Fix Your House by Watching TV?
I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve received “divine renovation inspiration” on a Saturday morning with my backside firmly planted on the sofa. It always happens the same way: coffee cup in hand, flipping through the channels when I come across a home improvement show. I immediately scoff at the host, mumbling something along the lines of “What does that knucklehead know?” But home improvement shows, for me at least, are like Celine Dion music – as much as I won’t admit it, when I am by myself I can’t turn them off.
So there I sit, feigning superiority while watching the hired contractors make the host look good. By the end of the show, I am inspired to take on a similar project. How hard can it be, right? They did it, and they are mere television personalities. I am a full fledged do it yourselfer. I can certainly finish a basement, or landscape a yard, or renovate a kitchen…. just like they did. The whole job should take me about a half an hour. Less if I work through the commercials.
If only it were that simple. Unfortunately, the truth is that it isn’t as easy as they make it look on TV. Sure some things they lead you to believe on television are as simple as they seem. The truth, however, is that it is one thing to make pesto in one of those magic blender things, it is quite another to fix a house. You should also note that making pesto can turn out bad (I learned the hard way) and fixing a house can turn out even worse (I should have stopped at the pesto…) if you don’t know what you are doing. The thirty minutes they spend on TV executing the job from start to finish is only the highlights of the highlights. Just for fun, next time you are watching one of those shows, count how many nails get driven when they are building the (whatever it is they’re building). If you are lucky, you’ll see three or four nails go in. More likely it will be something to the effect of: “OK now let’s nail this thing together” *quick shot of a nail gun firing* “Great, now that it’s nailed together, let’s paint it…”
What they don’t actually show on these “How To” shows is “How To” do anything. The shows are more for inspiration, you have to learn on your own. This is where it is important not to let your enthusiasm overwhelm your judgment. It is all too easy to watch one of these programs and think to yourself “I’m going to gut and remodel the bathroom” and get well into the “gut” part before you realize that you don’t really have the “remodel” skills. At this point you have a few options, you can call a friend or someone with some experience in the matter, you can start exploring different resources for actual “How To” instructions, or you can go sit in front of the TV in hopes that they will soon air the parts of the project that weren’t included in the episode you watched. I suggest you take option one or two.
With a bit of planning, and some forethought you’ll be able to take the inspiration you received while on the couch and combine it with some knowledge you’ve learned elsewhere and be able to turn out some pretty nice projects. If after the project is completed, and you still have a little time, take a handful of basil, some pine nuts, a little garlic and some olive oil. Toss it all in your little blender and presto, you’ve got pesto! OK, I apologize – that won’t happen again.
As always, thanks for reading.
-Brad (YOUR Windsor Ontario Home Inspector)
people often do not realize the hidden costs in a job.
true – keeping a job on budget is difficult for the pros… it’s next to impossible for amateurs.
The Home inspector can save you and your building from natural calamities and Hazardous accidents that can harm your life. Understand your new home better with the Home inspector.
Great blog – just wanted to give you two thumbs up. I am a home inspector in Windsor, Colroado and when looking for ” Windsor Home Inspection” I found your site! Good information – keep up the good work!
Nice job. Amen to it all…………
Sry for writing Off-Topic … what wordpress theme are you using? It’s looking cool!!
Reminds me of the 70 year old who would not pay a teenager to shovel the snow for his driveway. Bought a new shovel and had a heart attack. Should have paid the teenager.
True an expert advice is always useful but it comes at a cost.If one can afford it is the best option and much better than getting to the field to do the job oneself.
I can’t imagine anyone buying a home without an inspections. So many properties out there have been fixed by handy man or owners, build improperly and/or not up to code, how does one know if the building is even safe.
Derek H.
Getting a do it yourself project on your home could and might damage your home from unseen underlying problems. What you see physically and what you think needs renovation without professional advice could result to bigger and more expensive repairs. To have better idea of what is needing repairs on your homes it is rational to call and ask a professional home inspector near your place to avoid further damage and expenses.
::: still chuckling :::
Good stuff, this.
I wrote for a home improvement company for five years, and let me tell you a secret: neither I, nor the other two writers, had any experience with anything we were writing about. I imagine that many of those fluffy shows you see have similar writers — they grab some scribbled summary of what the show will be about, make an outline, pen some dialog, and viola! A how to show.
Very true. I’ve looked and worked on houses that the job just did not get done before the sale of a home. Be really care when buying in this case. Love the blog. Have linked to you in my blog.
I’ll do an occasional DIY project, and they’re not always perfect….
BUT, when I do them, I always make sure I’ve done my research, and that everything is thoroughly considered before I start. That includes reading the tips from people who are asking me what to do BEFORE, as well as looking to see what kinds of problems are chronic AFTERwards.