While there are plenty of DIY jobs that are suitable for the novice there are a few jobs that you should never attempt both for the safety of your family and your home, not to mention the possibility of voiding your home insurance if you do. Let’s explore those renovation jobs you shouldn’t do.

Waterproofing

Bathroom leaks are the number one fault that the Builder sees when carrying out building inspections, generally these are caused by faulty installation of waterproofing. While it seems as though this job should be an easy one to attempt, getting it wrong can cost you a lot of money and void your home insurance. The small outlay of hiring a professional for this job, will save you time and money in the long run. No one likes to have to pull apart a bathroom and redo all the work, especially your budget!

Electrical

This is a bit of a no-brainer as far as I am concerned and yet from time to time we still find work completed by unqualified people. Only a licensed professional should have anything to do with the electrics in your home, just don’t risk it!

Removal of Walls

I cannot tell you how many times we are asked if a handyperson can remove a wall to reduce the cost of their home improvement works. Only a licensed professional should be removing walls, if you really need to keep the costs down, a professional can be hired to advise you what you can and cannot do. There is no way to tell without experience what wall is load bearing and what wall is not, you don’t want to pull down a wall and have your ceiling cave in!

Asbestos

Believe it or not, we still have to remind people of this. Asbestos is dangerous and can even be deadly, don’t touch it! Not sure if you have it in your home, hire a professional to advise you. Only recently we passed a home in which a home DIY renovator was removing asbestos from their home. Not only is this practice illegal, it is highly dangerous not only for the people removing it, but the neighbours and anyone walking past. Just don’t touch it!

Plumbing

Like the electrics in your home, plumbing should only be attempted by a professional. There are simply too many things that can go wrong and will void your home insurance. Plumbing can be deceptively difficult and a small mistake can cost you thousand when you have to hire a professional to fix it. Just hire the professional in the first place, and get it done right.

Structural Work

Structural work should only be completed by a licensed professional. The risks involved really outweigh any potential financial gain in attempting them yourself. I am talking about things like repairing termite damage or replacing house stumps. Without professional knowledge there is no way for you to know how to correctly repair damage and not cause more issues. The risk of a house falling down or a roof caving in, are real and without the correct knowledge, it is just to dangerous to guess.

There are plenty of jobs that can be adequately performed by the DIYers among us, however leaving the above jobs and anything you feel is too far from your skill set, to the professionals will most certainly save you time, money and stress!

Check out the original post from The Builder’s Wife here: https://thebuilderswife.com.au/6-renovation-jobs-you-shouldnt-do/