As we all know, doing your own home improvement projects is a great way to save on homeowner expenses. There are many people who have the skill or at least an aptitude, and desire that enables them to do home improvement and repairs themselves. Please keep in mind that estimates from contractors generally always have cost of time included for estimating, material gathering, site prep, clean up, etc.. The “do it yourself” method, although saves on the cost of paying for skilled labor, the time for an average person to complete will be substantially increased and for some that could be a possible downside.
Another possible downside could be material selection availabilities to homeowners as opposed to professions. Many times, the professionals know where to go to get “the good stuff” and can be at a more wholesale pricing structure. Lastly, If the nature of the repair or improvement will be highly visible it may take more than knowledge, as in a more artisanry type of skill. The lack of that skill may also present appearance challenges to the finished product.
On the other hand, hiring a professional, while being more by way of costs, can be a much more predictable approach. The contracted party handles everything required for the preconstruction activities such as; material procurement, delivery and handling. The contractor also is in charge of protecting your home while the work is being completed. They will then obviously perform the task at hand through completion, and then clean up the mess. Additionally, most reputable contractors will honor some kind of warranty on both the contractor provided materials and their labor.