The Washington Post - 07.09.2019

15

EZ

THE WASHINGTON POST

.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2019

slapped it up, we wouldn’t love it

the way that we do.”

And, she adds, the fuse box is

completely labeled now.

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home.

“We have all these things that

we’ve done that we love so

much,” she says. “If we’d gone to

the box store, bought it and

Kitchen r emodeling i s popular

but often requires a building

permit — and a project can easily

violate local building codes, Hell-

ing says.

Experts offer a few tips for

deciding whether to undertake a

DIY project. First, consider the

worst that can happen. Finish

carpentry is a good option for

amateurs for this reason, says

Antonioli: “You really can’t end

up hurting somebody down the

road.”

Consider whether special

tools are needed, and whether

you’re willing to invest in them.

Look into whether a building

permit is required: If it is, think

twice. Finally, DIY for realistic

reasons.

“I wouldn’t s ay D IY saves y ou a

ton of money — it depends how

you value your own time,” Laura

Sampson says. “A lot of times you

have a project that takes four or

five weeks longer than if you had

just hired someone.”

Though her family has been

able to travel with some of the

cash they’ve saved with DIY,

what’s even more important is

the stamp they’ve left on their

DIY projects, including guidance

with replacing windows at a

rental property. “There have

been other projects that didn’t g o

as well, even after watching a

YouTube video,” he says. “This

one time I had a gas furnace with

a pilot light that would not stay

on. So I figured out what needed

to be replaced and ended up

having the wrong settings and

almost blew myself up.” He no

longer messes with gas.

not taking out a permit,” but they
may be chancing major damage
to their home.
Of course, some home-im-
provement projects are riskier
than others — more likely to look
like a scene from “Home Im-
provement” t han HGTV.
Experts say there are several
kinds of projects that amateurs
would be wise to avoid.
“Electrical or plumbing
should not be done without
somebody that has a license,”
Williamson says. Electrical mis-
takes can be deadly, and plumb-
ing errors can lead to leaks and
floods — and the resulting dam-
age.
Andrew Helling, a Nebraska
real estate agent and owner of
REthority.com, an online re-
source for real estate profession-
als and their clients, says roofs
are wise to leave to the pros for
similar reasons. Falls can be
serious, and even a tiny hole can
cause a destructive leak.
Aaron Bowman, a real estate
investor in Windsor, Conn., has
relied on YouTube for several

MISHAPS FROM T10

COVER STORY

When it comes to DIY, leave some home projects to the experts

“I wouldn’t say

DIY saves you a

ton of money — it

depends how you

value your

own time.”

Laura Sampson,

a do-it-yourselfer in Alaska

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