Pros should do project that needs exact skills
Feeling handy in 2019? Pick your project carefully, and do your homework.
If you’ve ever attempted a do-it-yourself project at home, only to be disappointed by the results, you’ve got lots of company. That’s the takeaway from a survey by Improvenet. com, which recently queried 2,000 Americans about their do-it-yourself experiences.
From sloppy paint jobs to crooked tile, almost two-thirds of homeowners say they regret tackling at least one doit-yourself project. And onethird has called in a pro to redo their amateurish work.
About half of homeowners said projects were harder and more time-consuming than they’d anticipated. No surprise there.
But some do-it-yourselfers reported more serious consequences: 8 percent caused damage to their homes, and 6 percent were injured on the job.
It’s not that do-it-yourselfers aren’t doing their homework — the average time spent doing research before and during a project was six hours.
Interior painting was the most popular do-it-yourself project (40 percent), followed by adding trees and shrubs, and installing floor tiles (both at 20 percent).
At the other end of the difficulty spectrum, only 2 percent of homeowners surveyed had attempted to install a fireplace themselves.
Regrettable do-it-yourself projects were tracked in several categories. The projects most likely to disappoint because they “didn’t look good” were interior painting, installing floor tiles and installing hardwood floors.
Do-it-yourself projects that “didn’t function well” were led by installing kitchen/bath fixtures, installing electrical elements and installing doors. Projects that “didn’t hold up over time” included installing floor tiles, installing carpet, and adding trees/shrubs.