When and Why to D.I.Y.

When and Why to D.I.Y.

We all know one…that guy who can fix anything. We call these guys “Mr. Fix-It” around here. And there have been more than a few times where, although they tried, they not only didn’t “fix it”, they put themselves in a real fix!

A homeowner once called us after hiring a handyman to come out and repair a faucet leak. After we arrived to inspect the situation first-hand, we were confronted with one of the most –well, there’s no other way to describe it – one of the most beautifully awful repairs that we had ever seen. The handyman had simply wrapped electrical tape (yes, ELECTRICAL tape) around the p-trap drain and called it a day. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he charged the homeowner $200 for the “repair.”

A close second situation comes to mind with another homeowner who asked for our help after trying and failing to be capable plumbers. They had installed their own shower valve using something called “SharkBite” fittings. These fittings are designed for simple repairs without having to solder anything. The downside is, these fittings are expensive. And the bad news for this “Mr. Fix It” was that used 20 or more fittings, taking a BIG bite out of the household budget.

In both of these situations, the homeowner would have spent less money if they had hired a qualified licensed plumber to begin with. (You might want to start with James RowePlumbing!)

So, when and why Do It Yourself? Don’t make it an issue of trying to save money. Responsible plumbers should tell you up-front what the cost of materials and labor will be. (At JamesRowe, we call that Straightforward Pricing.) Don’t tackle anything that makes you feel as icky as a mucked up drain. Even if it’s something as simple as swapping out a showerhead, if you go at it in a hair-brained way, you might get in over your head.