When DIY Doesn't Work Out
Most of us like to think of ourselves as reasonably handy around the house but not everyone can do home improvement like a pro. Nonetheless, the DIY ethos that’s evolved in recent years has led to a growing business for contractors who do nothing but fix homeowners’ own screw-ups. “We see this as a niche…
Most of us like to think of ourselves as reasonably handy around the house but not everyone can do home improvement like a pro. Nonetheless, the DIY ethos that’s evolved in recent years has led to a growing business for contractors who do nothing but fix homeowners’ own screw-ups. “We see this as a niche and growing market for us,” says Steve McCoy, owner of a Handyman Connection franchise. Do readers have any tips of contractors who fall into this category of problem solvers? We suspect there’s a big demand out there among brownstone owners.
Contractors Who Will Remedy DIY Projects [Real Estate Journal]
Does that mean that the half-assers are better to hire, because they spend half the time scratching their ass since they only have half an ass to scratch?
There are some great contractors, but there are also the corner-cutters, the over-promisers, and the general half-assers.
The question is, are good DIYers significantly better than contractors? Anyone have a point of view about this?
I agree – generally thr good DIYs are significantly better than contractors. they are much less likely to cut corners.
I agree – generally thr good DIYs are significantly better than contractors. they are much less likely to cut corners.
If anyone is looking for a good and thorough contracting company that is less expensive then any other’s I researched, Broad Channel Builders Corp. 212.473.4200. They really worked wonders in my mother’s home.
Dan, I do realize that alot of work goes into sitting around scratching your ass all day! 😉 My husband and I are big DIY fans (I think the word for it is “addict”) and we’re pros at this by now. There was a learning curve in the beginning, but now it seems that whenever we do get a contractor to help out, it’s us fixing their screw-ups, not the other way around. Viva la DIY!!
As an architect I can attest to the mind blowing ignorance of everyday people when it comes to home improvements. It’s like the blind man touching the elephant as my Mom likes to say. You don’t really know how much you don’t know until you’ve made a mistake.
My advice to would be DIYers is to take your time. Construction takes a long time. I know you think your contractor is just sitting around scratching his ass all day but the truth is that a lot of the work that goes into good construction takes a ton of time to get right. My usual math is to multiply the amount of I think something will take by four and that gives me a good idea of how long something will actually take. If you’re not prepared not to see results right away then you should probably just hire someone you can yell at rather than cutting corners when your doing it yourself.