“You can do it. We can help.”
Well… maybe. Sure, it looks easy and quick to do a repair or
renovation project yourself, and the idea of hiring a professional seems far
too expensive. And, by golly, those big box stores make it sound completely
feasible to manage any DIY project. After all, they have “experts” to help you.
Truth is, there are
some DIY projects you can be successful at, and the list gets longer depending
on the kind of experience you have. Painting a room, for example, is something
most anyone can handle. Installing a new floor, however, is much more
complicated. You’re bound to run into trouble along the way with a DIY project
of that magnitude.
Where the Help Comes
From
It’s important to note that the “we can help” motto isn’t as
reliable as you might think. In truth, many of the employees at big box stores
don’t have a lot of training or experience in construction and remodeling.
In fact, to make our point, the following is taken directly
from a job listing on a certain popular box store website for a lumber customer
service associate – these are the job requirements for interested applicants:
“Ability to operate,
demonstrate and explain merchandise in assigned area. Ability to apply basic
mathematical concepts such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and
knowledge of weights and measures. Understand and respond appropriately to
basic customer and employee inquiries… Ability to operate store equipment in
assigned area (including but not limited to LRT, telephone, paging system,
copiers, fax machines, computers, CCTV surveillance system, key cutting, panel
saw, paint mixing computer, blind cutting, forklifts, pallet jacks, electric
lifts, etc). Ability to interpret price tag and UPC information.”
The requirements are virtually the same for customer service
associates job listing in all departments. We include this to show you that
employees in these stores may not have any experience building an addition on
to a home, installing floors or replacing doors. They may simply have a
operations knowledge of the cutting tools in the lumber department or the
difference between a 2x4 and a piece of plywood. But as far as guiding your
through your DIY process, their knowledge is limited. Yes, they have folks that
will do installations if you pay extra, but those are typically contractors
that work with the store, rather than direct employees.
The Learning Curve
Okay, so let’s say you go ahead and decide to take on your
first major DIY project. And let’s say that you’re going to put new tile down
in the bathroom. Seems relatively simple enough – you’ve seen it done a
thousand times over on HGTV.
It’s easy to mix thin set and spread
it out on the floor. And you can even manage to lay the tile evenly, mix the
grout and fill it. But, do you know how to lay out a floor to make it even with
the walls? Do you know how to cut tile for those tights spots like the
threshold and corners? Do you know how
to sponge it properly to reduce haze?
Do they know enough at the big box
stores to guide you through that process from afar?
There is a learning curve with big
projects like this – a curve that professional contractors have navigated for
years, finding the most effective ways to do each task for quality results.
The Details
There are so many things that must be taken into consideration when doing a repair or renovation. Take hanging an interior door, for example. It’s far more than putting it on the hinges and making sure it swings the right direction. Did you know that it must be level in four different directions? Or what causes a door to rub in the winter and not in the summer? And that trimming the bottom of the door is is not the way to repair one that rubs or fails to latch?
In just about any home repair or remodel there are little traps for DIYers to fall into – details
that go overlooked and cause bigger problems down the line.
Trust the Experts… Really
When it comes to DIY projects that go beyond interior design, you’re better off trusting
professionals to do the job for you (or, if you’re really lucky, chatting it up
with a friend who is a contractor).
The time factor alone should be enough to deter you from completing a DIY home
repair – it will always take you 2-3 times longer than it would a professional.
That alone may be worth paying a little more money… and dishing out a bit of humility to admit
your knowledge is a bit limited on these sorts of things.
