When planning a home renovation you will inevitably have to decide which jobs you are going to tackle yourself and which are worth hiring a professional. This will mainly depend on what kind of work you are planning to do as well as your own DIY skill and experience. Now, after watching a few youtube videos you might start to think that you can handle the whole project on your own, but trust us – some things are better left to the experts! 

Having said that, there really is quite a lot of work you could save money on doing it yourself.  Some might seem a bit intimidating at first, but nothing you couldn’t handle with a few video tutorials! 

Painting

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Painting is probably one of the most fun jobs you’ll get to do so might as well keep that job for yourself! Of course, a professional might do it a little faster, but given that you’re doing it for yourself you have plenty of time. Take it slow, make sure you protect the edges of the wall and ceiling with masking tape and it will be a breeze after that. Since you’re not spending on labour, you might consider investing a little more in paint and tools which will give you a nicer finish at the end. 

Tiling

Tiling might seem like a job that needs a professional’s hand, and sometimes it does, but if all you’re doing is laying square tiles on a flat surface then a few youtube tutorials, steady hand and some patience can go a long way. All you need for this job is adhesive, grout, spacers and obviously your chosen tiles, but if you can also get your hands on a little electric tile-cutter it would make your job a lot easier. 

Quick reminder- if you’re removing tiles around the bath or sink make sure to protect those surfaces from falling bits of tile chipping the ceramics! 

Moulding and Panelling

Panelling and moulding can add so much character to your home and it’s so simple and relatively cheap to create. These jobs simply require a lot of patience and some creativity. We suggest making a sketch first of the moulding or panelling you want to add and go from there. This is quite a simple job but it still requires a level of skill and some specific materials so make sure to watch a couple of tutorials, you can also find our step by step here.

Weekend DIY: Create a panel wall in your home

Drilling

Anything requiring a power drill can be a DIY project (unless you don’t have a power drill). Anything from hanging shelves, pictures, adding wall plugs etc. The taping measure and spirit level will be your best friends here and if you have someone there hoovering up all the dust as you drill – even better! Mistakes can happen here, but don’t worry just polyfill the hole, sand and paint – no one has to know! 

Some safety advice here, avoid wearing any sort of gloves or loose clothing that could get stuck. Also, stud & wire detectors could be a great addition to your power drill and will save you a lot of trouble. 

Demolition

When we say demolition we are more so talking about ripping off the old wallpaper, carpet, stripping old paint and taking down bad joinery. This work may sound fun, but in reality be prepared for physically hard and difficult work, which also will be time consuming and incredibly messy. We don’t advise knocking down walls unless you are 100% sure that it is not a weight bearing wall.

Professional jobs

As much as we love our DIY talks, there are some things you simply need a professional to do. These would include plumbing and electrical work, as there is no space for mistakes there and doing them yourself could end up costing a lot more. Even wallpaper application should be done by a professional unless you have entirely flat walls and the wallpaper doesn’t require pattern matching. Basically, if a job done wrong would significantly affect the renovation process and/or budget then it’s better to leave it for professionals. 

If youtube tutorials are just not cutting it, find your local Expert Hardware and ask! With generations of experience and knowledge, we can not only help you choose the product that you need for your specific project, but we can answer any question you may have. Ask the experts – we know!

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