Just because you can do it yourself doesn’t mean you should. Face it, some jobs call for a professional, especially jobs that may cause injury, void warrantees, and/or compromise insurance claims – and some are just outright illegal. Here are a 5 home repairs you should never do yourself, call a professional and avoid risk and a ton of headaches!
1. Plumbing
It’s a fact; if there's a way out, water will find it. Even the smallest leak can lead to thousands of dollars worth of damage if it's not caught in time. Yes, a capable do-it-yourselfer can manage minor repairs like changing a shower head or replacing a faucet. Where you can get into trouble, though, is if you try to modify your plumbing system — extending hot water lines or re-routing your sewer pipes. Working with hot water means copper pipes, which will require a blow torch. So, unless you have some serious welding experience, it's best to leave the torch jobs to a professional. While this isn't as dangerous as electric work, plumbing problems can get out of hand fast and lead to a costly (and wet) future.
2. Roofing
Roof repair isn't recommended for a do-it-yourselfer for one (pretty obvious) reason — it's easy to fall off! Yes, repairing a roof shingle or two sounds simple enough, but it's getting up and down and carrying your tools with you that pose the risk of injury or death. Think it through…t's tiring work, and when you're tired, you're more prone to make a mistake. Just a quick slip is all it takes to send you over the edge of a second-story roof.
Of course, if you live in a one-story home and your slope is less than 20 degrees, you can probably get away with gutter work and minor shingle repair. You may even be low enough to do it from the ladder. But even these minor repairs can still be dangerous, so never attempt any of them when you're home alone. Have a spotter in place to hold the ladder and be there in case of an accident. Always consider the danger involved. Most roofing work requires experience to get it right. If you bite off more than you can chew, the consequences could be more then a leaky roof and expensive water damage.
3. Electrical
Simple chores like swapping out a light fixture or changing a socket cover are both safe for most homeowners. Beyond that, however, you really should hire a pro. Although it seems easy enough…you just turn off the breaker at the fuse panel and change out the items, right? WRONG. You’ve got to be careful because any miscalculation could burn down a house, and almost any amount of electrical current can kill you.
Another thing to consider is that most municipalities require you to hire a licensed electrician for anything involving rewiring or working with high-voltage lines. A pre-requisite for almost all complex electrical projects involves the city coming out to cut off your power, and they usually won’t turn it back on until you can prove a pro did the work.
4. Wall Removal
So you are hoping to transform your layout to an open floor plan; or maybe just looking for a little more room and removing a wall is the first thing on your to-do list. Picking up a sledgehammer and going to town on some drywall may seem like an easy enough project (it might even be fun!), after all, we see it on those home renovation shows all the time. Think again…what you don’t see on TV is that the experts have to carefully examine the home’s construction. Some cities even require permits if the wall in question is structural and if you don't call in a specialist for a consultation beforehand, you could be doing major damage to the integrity of your house. It is always advised to get professional advice first. It’s a good idea too to have pros on hand when you frame your new wall, since sloppy framing can look bad.
5. Garage Door Repairs
Over time, garage door springs lose their tension and need to be replaced, but the first and final steps require releasing and returning the tension to the spring. Although there may be a YouTube video on how to do this, that does NOT make it safe. One wrong move and that spring could go hurtling toward your body, resulting in serious, even fatal injury. Even most seasoned handymen would not attempt this project, so to avoid a potentially hazardous accident, call a garage door installation specialist.
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