Our economy has slowed down and money being a little more tight these days, there is one thing as home owners we can do to save money and that is doing our own Home Repair. I know most home owners have done their own home repair themselves as long as it is in their ability to do so, as long as they can do repairs on their own, there remains 2 other factors, that would be time and money.
Time is one thing that makes it hard to get the things done at home that need to be done, you may be the kind of person that has a very busy day job schedule and can afford to pay someone to do the work for you, but maybe not, and it really boils down to money and a bit of ability, just needing some direction.
There are the obvious smaller things around the house that most of us can handle such as painting, caulking, weather stripping, screen repair, drywall , even broken windows (the old sash type) if you have them. What is it that you can handle with a little instruction.
Getting into the little bigger “mini projects” is where the decision to go at it ourselves is sometimes a hard thing to determine. Projects like, tiling the bathroom floor, replacing doors, install new kitchen sink, or replacing shingles on the roof. Thankfully, there is a lot of resources out there with materials and tools traditionally in the professional realm that are even now more available to the average consumer.
Lots of times, tools are the reason we may have to hire a professional, there are specialty tools they have and we don’t. Some of these tools really make the job go quicker, smoother and the result is better. If you are going to tile your bathrooms, once, then you will be better off renting a tile saw, if you have ongoing trim and finish work, a small compressor, nail gun and a decent power miter saw can be had for under $500. and you will have them for future projects and other things around the house. The fun part is, it’s always cool to get new tools.
Cordless tools have come a long way with many brands to choose from and plenty of accessories to go with them. If you have not bought any yet or you have that one old cordless drill barely hanging in there, then shop around for the best deal and buy just one brand with the same battery type and stick with it so all your tools and batteries are interchangeable. When you buy a new cordless tool or set, get one with that bonus extra battery because the battery pack is the most expensive to buy if you need another later on, and you will.
I hesitate to mention too many brands here but the one for the money and quality is DeWalt, I have 3 of their tools that are going on 13 years, and I use them regularly. I do own some others also and am happy with them too. While I am on the subject of tools there is one more item of importance to mention and that is, get a good accurate level, 2, 3, or 4 footer. It is nice if you have at least the 2 and 4 footer. If you are putting in new pre-hung doors you need to have at least 6 footer. I never hang a door without one. Plum and Level makes the world of building go easier and is the foundation of any good Home Repair Project. It will make the whole project look great in the end.
