DIY Don’ts — Leave It To The Pros
We’re big fans of improving your home on a budget, and a lot of times, that means doing the work yourself rather than spending a lot of money on a contractor or other professional.
Sometimes, though, the work is complicated enough or dangerous enough that you shouldn’t attempt it without some serious know-how. Here are some jobs around the house that are best left to the professionals.
Don’t Install Your Own Carpet — Especially In Big Rooms
Installing carpet might seem like a pretty straightforward task, but a lot can go wrong that’s difficult to undo if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Master installers like the ones we recommend will test the floor for squeaks and fix them before they start work, then fill any irregularities in the floor to make sure it’s level. Carpet padding has to be laid down evenly and securely to make sure it doesn’t move.
The carpet itself needs to be cut precisely, stretched tight to avoid shifting or wrinkling, even when you slide furniture on it, and fixed to the floor. If you have baseboards already, tucking the carpet underneath them adds a whole new degree of difficulty.
We can’t stress enough the importance of using is seasoned and experienced master installer like the ones that we refer our customers to. We see enough shortcuts taken by even those who perform carpet installation for big box stores that we know it pays dividends to do it right the first time. You don’t want to have your carpet installed poorly, only to move your couch and discovered that you’ve moved your carpet, too.
Don’t Mess With Electricity
People tend to take electricity lightly (no pun intended), but they really shouldn’t. The wiring in your house can seriously hurt you or even kill you, not to mention starting fires. If all you need to do is change a bulb or a fuse, go for it.
If it’s something more complicated, like swapping out a switch or an outlet, make absolutely sure — with a breaker switch and a voltmeter — that there’s no power going to the thing you’re fixing. Wear gloves anyway.
For anything more complicated, like re-routing wires or installing bigger outlets or appliances, leave it to a licensed electrician.
