6 Home Projects You Should Hire a Professional For

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Owning a home means you have an entire building (or more, if you have a shed, a garage, or other outbuildings) to tinker with and really make your own. This is a really exciting thought for a lot of people, and you might be itching to dig in and start making some much-needed repairs, and maybe saving some money by trying to DIY.

But depending on what you want or need to do with your home, it might not be a good idea to undertake it yourself. Messing up a home repair or project can result in wasted time, wasted money, and even health risks. Hire a professional for these home fixes.

1. Removing dangerous materials

If you own a home that is old or has been poorly maintained, you might be dealing with lead paint, mold, or asbestos (which, fun fact, can be present in popcorn ceilings). These materials should be dealt with by a professional who has been trained to mitigate risks to both themselves and the people who live in the home. Plus, removing dangerous substances often requires specialized equipment you may not have access to (or would be too expensive to justify you purchasing just to work on your own home). And doing this type of work might even require a license.

2. Foundation repairs

Your home’s foundation is its very bones, and if you suspect a problem with it, you definitely want to call a professional. A foundation repair company will be able to identify cracks in your foundation and know what they mean. They’ll also know how to fix your problem in a lasting way without causing further damage, and can make recommendations for how to prevent future issues.

3. Home additions

Not all occasions to hire someone are negative. Maybe you’ve just decided to build an addition onto your home to house your office for your new career as a freelancer. Congratulations! This is a HUGE job, you’re likely going to need multiple people’s help. You’ll need a design architect, a general contractor, and the subcontractors who will do a lot of the work. Plus, permits will be required, and a professional contractor will know how to obtain them. If you are truly confident in your building skills, you may be able to play some of these roles, but it’s all but assured you’ll need some help.

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4. Major electrical work

Let’s get back to safety concerns. Someone with decent handyperson skills may be able to install a new front porch light or switch out a ceiling fan. But if you’re in need of a complete rewiring or a new fuse box, call an electrician. Electricity can kill you and is not to be trifled with.

5. Roof replacement

This is truly one of the most costly and labor-intensive home projects, and while doing it yourself could save you a large chunk of money, you’ll be at the mercy of the weather and securing all the proper materials, and again, if you’re not confident with ladders and heights, you could injure yourself (or spend a very miserable weekend on your own roof).

6. Addressing severe pest infestations

Back to dangerous substances! If you have a major pest problem, like families of mice or squirrels in your walls, or more roaches than you thought possible, you need to call in an exterminator. While I’d encourage you to address a minor springtime ant problem yourself, if heavy chemicals or a lot of traps will be involved, let someone else handle the dirty work.

How do you afford home repairs?

I understand the impulse to save money as a homeowner — after all, being one is expensive! So you may look at the above list and feel disappointed in how much this will all cost you.

Here are some options to pay for the above projects:

• In the case of emergency repairs, it pays to have a dedicated home emergency maintenance fund (such as money in a designated “bucket” in a high-yield savings account).
• You can plan for and save extra money in another “bucket” for big non-emergency projects, like your new office addition.
• You can fund a home repair with a personal loan; the money can be used for anything you want, and if you have good credit, you may get a decent interest rate.
• You can turn to a home equity loan, which will give you a set amount of money and a fixed period to pay it back with interest.
• Finally, you can consider a home equity line of credit (HELOC), which also taps your home equity in the form of money you can draw on at will, and must make payments on. The interest rate on these is variable, so be careful.

Yes, it can be expensive to hire a professional for home repairs, but if you try to DIY these, you could really mess something up and have to pay to have it fixed, or even end up hurting yourself. So play it safe and err on the side of caution for best results.

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