Advice on when to call a service for repairs?
Hey all,
Bought a house 2 years ago, and have had a handful of issues where I had to call someone out to take a look. Whether its plumbing/HVAC/whatever, sometimes they are clearly things I couldn't do myself, but other times, it feels like something I could probably do if I put aside the time.
Most recently, our sump failed resulting in some flooding and we had to get it replaced, which ended up costing $700 USD. I know pumps only cost around $300 and generally understand what work needs to go into replacing it, but was worried I may miss something crucial, especially when replacing the piping and screw the whole thing up. On the flip side, I've had a lot issues with our furnace, so the last time an issue came up, I spent an hour on Youtube and just figured it out myself.
Sometimes it just feels silly spending a bunch of money on labor, when its something you could spend an afternoon doing yourself. It just feels hard to gauge when its worth investing the time to figure it out myself or not. I also never know what to do in the situation when the person who took the time to come out gives me a price, it feels like your essentially trapped at that point.
Anyone with more home ownership experience have any advice?
The question I have to ask myself in these situations isn't "Could I do this myself for cheaper?", but "If this goes wrong, how much more money could this cost me?"
In my personal position: I don't touch plumbing, especially if involves replacement of pipes. I've learned that there are so many subtle things about the different types of pipes used in different situations that I just want to find someone who already has the tools and knowledge. If they get it wrong, there are at least some options available, from having the company send someone else out to fix it for free to legal options for seeking compensation. If it goes wrong and you're the only one responsible, you're rather SOL.
I will say that the learning curve for PEX is trivial, and almost foolproof. Sharkbite connectors also make it much easier to make simple adaptations.
Soldering copper pipes is a PITA, and I would 100% call someone in.
Your core arguement is not wrong, however. I felt comfortable installing a whole-home filtration system. I probably would not install a new hot water heater. I might swap out an existing hot water heater of equivalent setup.
There isn't a universal answer for this. I'm very comfortable with construction, so I DIY most things. In most cases, I feel that I'm able to do the job better than someone I'd hire because I pay attention to the details.
I'm comfortable with electrical, as I studied electrical engineering so I have the basics of how things work and access to code books. I'm comfortable with modern plumbing. Pex and PVC are easy enough to work with. The last time I hired a plumber was over 10 years ago to hook up a kitchen sink after countertop installation. The guy was here for an hour and charged me fucking $500, and didn't even attach my faucet correctly. I ended up reading the manual and crawling under the sink to fix it myself. Since then, I've probably installed nearly a dozen sinks after countertop replacements.
So now I only hire out things I absolutely can't do myself. Just had granite countertops installed at our cabin, because I don't have the tools to fabricate or install them (and then installed the 5 sinks afterwards). I hired out a well pump replacement because the pump is 800 feet deep and requires a special truck with a heavy duty hoist to pull one that deep. I hire out some HVAC work, like replacements, because I don't have access to refrigerant nor have the tools to handle it.
So that how I decide what to hire and what to do myself. I have to have a pretty good reason to hire someone to do something I'm capable of doing myself.
For small things, if you can find a trustworthy handyman, it's great to have a single person who knows your house. For plumbing and electrical, it's worth paying a professional, in part because they have insurance for when/if things go wrong and they're urgent. For anything else, or for a larger project, always get three quotes. It'll give you a much better idea of what the costs actually are in your area.
I live in the UK. I rent my home.
It is illegal for me to try to service anything that uses natural gas. It's a requirement for rented properties that the gas appliances get a yearly check. So, my boiler gets regularly inspected and serviced and the landlord pays for that.
I know enough about electrics that I'd feel comfortable with doing minor work such as changing a socket over or replacing a light switch. But I will not do this. Mostly, it's not my property and me tinkering about has the potential to cause a lot of difficulty for my landlord. So, if anything breaks I report it and let them sort it out. But also, building regulations change and I don't pay to maintain that knowledge, but a sparky does.
I know enough about plumbing that I know I don't know what I'm doing. I know that a small leak over a long time can do a lot of damage, so again I don't do anything that requires taking stuff off or putting it back on.
For things like IKEA furniture I can read the instructions and build it myself, so I do that, I don't pay for an assembly service.