Homeowners in Arizona love to tackle home improvement projects. Upgrading your home can improve curb appeal, increase the value of the property, and make the home more functional for your family.
The question that all homeowners who invest in home improvement have to ask is whether or not to hire professionals to complete their projects. There are two ways to get things done in your home; do-it-yourself (DIY) or hire contractors.
Weighing the options requires a little more data on the difference between the two. Let’s take a look at what goes into a project and how the two improvement methods are unique.
Contractors Are More Expensive
One of the biggest differences between DIY and contractors is that you will likely spend more money if you hire professionals. The reason is that you are paying for labor along with the supplies needed for construction. In general, many homeowners choose DIY because they want to save some money on the cost of labor instead of researching what they need to know themselves or counting on the input of friends or family members with DIY experience. You can glean a lot of information from the Internet as well, making it a little easier for people to do projects themselves.
Contractors Have Greater Expertise
While your knowledge may be sufficient to complete many home improvement projects, you are paying for greater expertise if you hire contractors. Many of them attended trade schools and undergone additional studies for their Arizona general contractor license exam, meaning they have gone through rigorous studies to ensure they know what they are doing. Homeowners who do not have this education simply cannot match the knowledge needed before tackling this project unless they want a career switch for themselves.
DIY Can Be More Satisfying
When a construction project is completed in your home, it can be very satisfying to see the end product. If you complete the project with your own hands, it is an even greater feeling. You could experience a massive boost to your happiness and mental health by completing a DIY home improvement since you know that it is something you built. Paying others to finish a project can still make you proud of the result, but it lacks the immense satisfaction that comes with DIY upgrades.
Control Over the Timeline
Hiring a third party for your home project makes you dependent on their timeline for the project. Professionals can probably get the job done more quickly since they have a full team, but you may have less control over when the project starts and ends. A DIY home improvement is entirely up to you for the timeline. Once you have determined the difference between softwood and hardwood, ordered the right materials, and obtained any necessary permits, you can get started right away and move at whatever pace you are comfortable with.
Ability to Handle Hiccups
This is often one of the most popular arguments for hiring contractors rather than pursuing the DIY route. If something goes wrong with your project, and you are not equipped to deal with it, it can result in a much higher cost or serious delay. Contractors tend to have seen it all with home projects, so they know how to deal with common problems that arise during construction. They have the expertise necessary to identify the problem and come up with a solution.
Access to Tools
If you have built up an inventory of useful construction tools, then it can be far more tempting to make use of them with DIY projects. However, if you are an Arizona homeowner who lacks many useful tools, then you will either need to buy them for DIY purposes or rely on the tools that the contractor has to get the job done. This is an additional cost that DIYers often forget about and can increase the required budget for your project. If you do not have the right equipment to do a great job with your project, then hiring a contractor can alleviate this shortcoming.
So Which is Better? DIY or Contractors?
There is no obvious answer to this question. It depends on the scope of the project and your knowledge and tools. Smaller projects can often be tackled by the homeowner without significant risks if they have what they need and can watch a few Youtube tutorials. The larger the improvement becomes, the more likely you are to need professionals to do it for you. The last thing you want is to take on a DIY project that is too big for you, resulting in poor construction or even code violations that make your home unsafe. Weigh the pros and cons of hiring a contractor before deciding if you should attempt the home improvement yourself or allocate it to a professional firm.
