The Real cost of DIY

Your house is likely your most valuable asset. You don’t expect to DIY your car (a depreciating liability), but an entire industry called ‘DIY’ tells you can do house maintenance and renovations yourself. And in our general experience, it doesn’t always end well! 

For example, if the windows on a villa are deteriorating, the more time you let pass without professional help, the worse the problem will be. Rather than a smaller investment to get them fixed the first time around, you could be forced into doing something because water has got into the wood. Which means it’s too late and time to replace, costing you more money in the long run.

That’s why you should call a reputable, professional company like Jim’s Handyman. If you treat your house maintenance as an annual cost of ownership, you are much more likely to avoid bigger problems later on. Just like with your car.

What you should think about before you DIY 

Safety is one obvious reason why you should not attempt certain DIY projects. But you should also calculate your loss of value. If you earn $1500 a week over 40 hours (or $37.50 an hour), and it takes you 5 hours to complete a task by yourself, you could actually be spending more money with your valuable time. The same task could be completed by a professional handyman in just two hours, as we have the right supplies, tools, and experience to know how to complete the job in the right order.  

Re-sale is also always a consideration for homeowners these days. Imagine marketing a home that has a proven maintenance record, just like a proven well serviced car. It’s simply more attractive, and therefore more valuable. 

Our building maintenance experts can handle the smallest of jobs up to the largest renovations and refurbishments, and our work and customer service are guaranteed. If you DIY and make any mistakes or get anything wrong, it is on you. Worse, you might not find out you’ve done it wrong until much later, with dire consequences. We’ve seen it many, many times. Then it’s a case of you having to try and find more time to fix what you’ve already worked on, and there goes another weekend of your time. 

Why can a professional finish the work more efficiently and safely than a homeowner?

  • We have the correct tools for each job, we don’t have to buy or borrow them.
  • We know which jobs require permits and special permission, and we know where and how to obtain them. This is far better than finding out about it later after the council tells you to take it down and start again.
  • We know which materials are required for each job, and we have the knowledge and experience to deal with issues that may arise. Plus, we can plan in advance or work on our feet to avoid any potential pitfalls or disasters. 
  • We know what works best within certain space parameters and situations. This allows us to plan a realistic job with you together, which is going to work out a lot cheaper than if you try to plan it out yourself, or waste several weekends trying to complete a job that just won’t work. 
  • We can’t overestimate the importance of safety, and a professional handyman often works with specialised equipment which can be dangerous to untrained users. If you head down to the emergency room around lunch time on a weekend, you will usually catch a severed finger, maybe a broken leg from falling, common eye injuries etc. We don’t want that to be you! 
  • We can estimate the time that it will take to complete a job, a start and finish date. Instead of half-done jobs taking up room for months (sound familiar?).
  • We clean up after ourselves. Which means you don’t have to finish the job yourself and then fill up your bins with the leftover materials and supplies.

Jim’s Handyman takes one-off jobs that just need doing, to scheduled maintenance and long-term care based on your needs. With a professional handyman providing all these services, we can also project manage just about anything. 

We can help get you deals on subcontractors such as electricians or plumbers, plus we know a bunch of time and money saving tricks that will save you heaps, and all delivered with Jim’s Group service standards guaranteed.

At Jim’s Handyman, we hire experts in each field, whose work is insured, police checked, and guaranteed. They are professional and knowledgeable. Contact us today for a free quote for the work that you need done, and our team will work with you to stay within your budget.

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