Home Renovations. Can You Really Do It Yourself?

by Kevin Smith Author

So, you bought a unique fixer upper and plan to get your hands dirty building a little sweat equity? If you can do it yourself, then that’s great! If, however the job is too large, and daunting do not hesitate to contact professional home renovation companies near Chicago, IL. Let’s look at a few things most people can do for themselves whether they know it or not.

Walls

Building a new wall can be easier than removing an existing wall. Load bearing walls can be taken out if the proper support is either put in place temporarily or some sort of beam is used to permanently support the structure above the wall. Careful planning must be taken into consideration whenever electrical, plumbing, phone and internet wires or HVAC are concerned.

Electrical

Most of the time, it‘s recommended to call a professional when dealing with electrical. A home owner can place new outlet and switch boxes and maybe even run new wire to those boxes. However, hooking up new power or safely disconnecting power for deconstruction should be attended to by a qualified electrician. This recommendation could save a life.

Plumbing

You know what they say about plumbing, stink goes up and well, other stuff goes down but there’s more to it than that. Installing a toilet, a sink, or fixture? Probably not a problem. Sweating copper pipe will narrow the field of capable home owners by quite a bit. Replacing a water heater, water softener, or well pump will most likely require the services of a plumber.

Painting

Sure, it looks easy and it most definitely can be, but many do it yourselfers will tell you they will never do it again. There is no paint job inside or outside of your home that you cannot do yourself. It just may be more work than you had initially planned for. For proper advice, skip the big boxes and mom and pop stores. Go to a company-owned paint store, ask many questions and buy the highest quality product that you can afford. Good paint and cheap paint are two vastly different things.

Roofing

If you’re young and strong then maybe. Either way you’ll have to know if you can add another layer of roofing material or if the existing needs to be torn off first. It’s wise to contact one of many home renovation companies near Chicago, IL, because these old bones have traveled that road, and it’s a bumpy ride.