How many times have you watched a few hours of HGTV and got the brilliant idea that you are all of a sudden a licensed contractor? I swear to God every other time I watch a renovation show I run downstairs to get the hammer and find something to do. I know this is a natural male flaw and I accept it as such…… but my wife, well not so much. Us men have a tendency to start tasks and put them off for a week, maybe a month, what the heck how about a year?
My last one was the biggest ” I’m a man!” experiment gone wrong. A simple bathroom makeover took me two years! If any of you are wondering I am still married and got by rather unscathed but I know how much of an inconvenience and eye sore I left in my house. This has naturally prompted me to write about do-it-yourself reno’s and whether or not it is something you should take on, or you should hire the work out.
Just to save myself a little bit of dignity the actual work only took me a total of 4 days (still pretty manly) however, the two years did go by before I got off my ass and actually did the work. What I realized is actually common sense and these simple steps could save you a lot of time, headaches and money. Let’s begin!
1. Do you ACTUALLY have the time? This is the very first thing you should ask yourself. If you are taking on a home renovation, come up with a detailed timeline for how long it will take to do the work. If you cannot commit to putting aside a weekend, a week or all of your hours after work to get it done in a short amount of time, don’t start it. This is especially true if it is a high traffic part of the house such as the kitchen, bathrooms or master bedroom.
2. Be real about what you are skilled at: As many hats as I like to wear, I know I am not a plumber or an electrician (but luckily I have great friends who are). BELIEVE ME as simple as it might seem, you didn’t go through a 5 year apprenticeship and what can take a skilled tradesmen 2 hours will probably end up taking you about a week. On top of that, you can never be 100% sure and having a licensed professional helping out does create a level of ease.
3. Have your ducks in a row: Make sure you have all the products on hand. We have become accustomed to getting things right away, but many times you will need to order a product that is not in stock and may unintentionally delay the job…. you know, like a countertop:) Having the material and the proper tools will create a much more pleasant experience and keep you from going nuts.
4. What is your time value of money: Being in sales, I have decided this is the best tool to assessing a renovation. The time value of money is basically what your time is worth. For instance, if a renovation is going to take you 40 hours of work that is the equivalent of a full work week. If you make $30 per hour then the time you are putting into that renovation is worth $1200. If you can get the work done for equal to or less than that amount then you should pay to have it done. Keep in mind you will also save all the aggravation and potential issues that come along with the reno.
5. Do you have the money? I mean this from the bottom of my heart and it is something which I live by, if you do not have the money to do it right, DON’T DO IT. Renovating by yourself can save you money, but it will cost you much more if you are skimping on the products you are buying. If you do outsource your trades work then make sure the person is professional. An electrician is not $20 an hour and if someone says that is the rate I would be very skeptical about their ability. I can sell you a lifetime of horror stories from clients who have had to do a job all over again.
Those are the Andrew Tamburello how to’s on home reno’s. We are all human and will make mistakes, but the key is making sure you never make the same mistake twice. Knowing your qualities and what you are capable of is important and if you listen to your gut you will avoid making many mistakes. A special thanks go out to Tyler Cecchetto, Andrew McRorie and Richard Aguiar for being the trades God’s that they are. An extra special thanks goes out to my wife Sapna for putting up with the fact she didn’t have a washroom for two years.
I am finally getting the hang of this inter web thing so you will be hearing plenty more from me on the blog. I don’t want to write bland posts that don’t help you at all so please forward me any questions that you may have about real estate and I would love to answer them on my blog. No question is a dumb one and I will always take the time to answer them. Have a happy Tuesday!