Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers
Guidelines for Do-it-yourself Jobs
Do-It-Yourself ProjectsWhen choosing which jobs to do yourself, and which to hire a professional consider these ideas:

Jobs to Do Yourself

- Projects with inexpensive materials and tools like painting, sealing a driveway

- Projects that involve "grunt" work (more sweat than brains) like removing paint, wallpaper, tiles, or old carpeting

- Labor-intensive, low-skilled jobs like yard maintenance and landscaping

- Projects that are too small for a contractor like patching wall holes, repairing a broken screen

- Jobs that pay back in energy savings like adding attic insulation, weatherstripping around doors, caulking windows

- Projects that improve your lifestyle with conveniences like closet shelving, easy-to clean tile, or a ceiling fan

Jobs to Hire Out

- Projects with electrical, plumbing, or foundation work must pass local building codes so hire a licensed professional who knows what's required

- Projects that require expensive specialized tools like a floor sander, scaffolding

- Projects with expensive building materials like custom-painted tile or high-end carpeting or wall covering

- For projects that change the exterior of the house or rework the interior floor plan, hire a professional designer

Pointers for Hiring a Contractor

- Ask for customer referrals where they did work similar to your project. Call and check them out!

- Ask if they are licensed and bonded to cover working in your house and protected if they are injured while on the job there

- Choose someone you feel comfortable having around your house

- Plan ahead - figure it takes at least 1 month to interview contractors and several more for them to schedule the work

- Show and tell the contractor what you want using pictures from a magazine or book.

- Get it in writing - insist on a detailed contract specifying materials used, a completion date and a 3-part pay out schedule i.e. 1/3 paid up-front, 1/3 when approved by building inspector, 1/3 when you're satisfied with completion

- Designate someone who can be reached by phone during the day as the contact person in case a question comes up during the job.

Written by the editors of HouseNet
Copyright HouseNet, Inc.

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