In our last blog, we talked about setting goals for the New Year. If one of your resolutions includes completing a DIY home improvement, you’ll want to read this blog before you start! As it turns out, a good chunk of DIY home improvement attempts end in regret.
We’re drawing our information from Zillow Digs, which conducted a massive survey of homeowners across the country to come up with these results.
According to Zillow, nearly 75% of homeowners have completed a DIY home improvement project in the last three years. Out of those, 40 percent wish they hadn’t. That percentage is higher for the specific projects outlined below:
Expand or add a room – 53% regret it!
When more than half of people who attempt the project regret it, you know it’s a job for the pros. This is a huge project and clearly not one for DIY home improvement buffs, the majority of whom don’t have the specialized skills (construction, electrical, plumbing, etc.) to do it right.
As a rule, if it involves knocking down walls, leave it to the people who do it for a living.
Refinish cabinetry in kitchen or bath – 49% regret it!
This is the kind of job that seems doable at first, but actually takes a lot of finesse for results that don’t look homemade. Though the survey doesn’t specify, most likely what makes DIYers regret this project is 1.) the paint dried extremely glossy and it does NOT look good, 2.) the varnish made the paint buckle and crack, 3.) the paint smudged or dripped or bubbled or chipped.
For real, there’s a lot that can go wrong with this project.
Refinish the basement or the attic – 48% regret it!
Like expanding or adding a room, refinishing the basement or attic actually requires a wide range or highly specialized skills—the kind of you get from years on the job. Unless you’re just doing a little sprucing up, basement or attic remodels are probably for the experts, not DIY enthusiasts.
Replacing or reinstalling new carpeting – 43% regret it!
Flooring is hard. Rippling, bubbling, shedding, and curling carpet are common problems for DIY home improvement enthusiasts. These issues might not arise right away, but over the course of weeks or months following installation.
Refinishing or reinstalling new hardwood floors – 42% regret it!
This job is much more difficult than it looks! For one, different types of wood require different installation methods, with which the average DIYer isn’t going to be familiar. Plus, wood tends to expand and contract, and if you don’t know how this works, you could end up with cracking floors from not allowing enough space.
Before you go diving into your DIY home improvement projects, chat with the pros! You might be saving yourself regret in the long run. Call V.C.G. Construction for a FREE consultation: (888) 936-7824!
Photo credit: Cicada, Flickr Creative Commons
