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Last Updated on February 16, 2020 by Diane Hoffmaster
The do-it-yourself trend is on the rise as more people try to tackle home-improvement projects. Some people are trying to save money and others just want the thrill of knowing they accomplished something on their own. However, the increase in do it yourself projects means that home repair fails are also on the rise. This can lead to serious injury as well as huge chunks of money wasted that wasn't in the budget. Home accidents and trips to the emergency room are never fun!
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Common Home Repair Fails
Even the most experienced DIYers can make mistakes. Biting off more than you can chew in a given home repair job might result in a call to a pro to fix the mess. Even scarier, home repair fails like a light installation gone wrong may lead to a fire engine rolling up your driveway. Here are four DIY home improvement projects you should consider carefully before breaking out the tools.
Exterior Home Painting
Old, peeling paint makes the outside of a home look worn. When touching up the exterior, however, DIY fails can lead to serious injury from ladder falls. You may even risk long-term health problems if you scrape off lead paint. Lead-based paint covers many older homes and poses serious health risks.
Until 1978, lead paint was most often used on the interiors and exteriors of homes. According to the National Safety Council, about 38 million homes in the U.S. still contain some. For big jobs, exterior painting is best left to professionals with the proper gear to prevent exposure to this hazardous contaminant.
Tree Removal
Mother Nature provides you with gorgeous trees for an abundance of shade, happy birds and a great place to hang a backyard hammock. The downside is that these trees occasionally die and need to be removed before they fall onto your roof.
Removing a large tree can lead to serious injuries and should be approached with caution. Ending up with the tree on you or a nearby power line can be a disastrous finale to your DIY project. For this reason, tree-removal professionals take numerous safety precautions to protect themselves. There were nearly 80 deaths associated with tree care in the U.S. just three years ago, according to the Kansas City Star. Calling in someone who understands proper tree-removal may save you a lot of grief.
Plumbing Projects Big and Small
Nothing is more annoying than the sound of a leaky faucet. Those small drips of water add up quickly, leading to a waste of money and a precious natural resource. Before tackling plumbing projects, consider how expensive home repair fails involving water can be. AND how wet your floors can get.
It’s relatively simple to replace an O-ring around a leak in your faucet. But larger projects should be done with care. When your makeshift pipe explodes in the middle of the night, expect to wake up to a drenched bathroom and a thinner wallet.
Electricity Upgrades
Electricity upgrades may sound appealing, but they’re best left to the pros. One small wiring mistake could lead to a tiny shock or an entire house fire. Wherever there’s electricity, there’s the potential for an accident. Let trained electricians don the protective gear and figure out where the main circuit breaker is. You’ll rest easy knowing they have years of experience for this very task.
While certain DIY home repair projects will save you money, others may not. If you are unsure of what you are doing, consider calling in a professional. Especially if the risk of property damage and personal injury is high. There are plenty of DIY home projects that you can tackle that don't have the potential to leave you homeless or injured!
Have you ever dealt with DIY home repair fails?
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She has two college aged kids, one husband and more pets than she will admit to. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire but left her career in science to become a stay at home mom. Years of playing with LEGO and coloring with crayons had her craving a more grown up purpose to her life and she began blogging and freelance writing full time. You can learn more about her HERE.
Gabe Sanders
I have learned from many mistakes and now I hire a professional for all the jobs that I know I will have difficulty doing.