The Home Repairs You Should Probably Never Try To DIY

As a homeowner, you might be used to doing what you can to save money while taking care of the property, including renovations. However, you shouldn’t begin to think that you can do absolutely everything yourself. In fact, there are some repairs where trying your hand at it could result in a much more expensive fix, or even potential injury.

Electrical Repairs And Wiring

There are some home issues that offer a relatively safe learning curve to climb up, but electrical repairs are not one of them by any means. A wrong connection or lack of proper grounding can immediately result in a fire hazard or even direct electrocution. Even minor fixes like replacing outlets or adding fixtures can cause issues if you’re not trained to handle the wiring beneath correctly. Even if you ground yourself, shut off the power, and seemingly complete the repair just fine, faulty work can go undetected for quite some time before it becomes the source of more expensive issues like power failures or appliance damage.

Plumbing Repairs (Outside The Most Basic)

With a little education and care, you can perhaps carry out some basic plumbing tasks like changing a faulty washer inside a faucet. However, anything more complex than that can become much more costly if you make a minor mistake. An improperly sealed joint on a pipe can become a leak, which might not be easy to catch until it results in mold, rot, and warped flooring. Professional plumbers are trained to ensure that their fixes meet specific standards, like building codes, that you might not be aware of. Even a seemingly fine repair could pose a problem with your insurance company down the line if it’s not up to code.

Roof Repairs

Some people might be able to safely climb a roof and look for any visible signs of damage. However, making those repairs at height carries a risk of serious injury that you might not be trained to mitigate. What’s more, your roof can be more complex than you realize, and a roofing professional will be better able to spot issues with damaged flashing, underlayment problems, and more beyond the more obvious shingle problems. What’s more, they know how to complete repairs in ways that don’t trap moisture beneath the newly repaired patch, preventing future mold and rot issues down the line.

Serious Mold Issues

For light cases of mold, you might be able to clean it away reliably, but when the mold has spread over a significant area, or the material itself is showing signs of damage (such as being softer or breaking away more easily), then you should call in the professionals. Mold remediation can be complex, as the signs of mold spread aren’t always visible, and because improper cleaning can easily end up contaminating other areas. The right containment and filtration equipment is necessary to totally remove mold that has had the opportunity to spread.

While it’s always worth learning more about how to take care of your home, you need to know your limits. When a repair typically requires extensive training and education to be able to perform reliably, then you should stick with the pros.