Contractors Vs Do It Yourself
You are planning a remodeling project; let’s say a bonus room addition to your home. Every time the topic has come up, it has been discussed and discussed whether to use a contractor or do the work yourself. This seems like a simple decision to make, however, you will live with the results of your choice for a long time. With this in mind, you want to make the best possible choice regarding contractors rather than doing it yourself before starting your project.
I have done remodels both ways that have worked equally well. There is even a third option which is to do some of the work yourself and hire out the parts of the work that you need a professional to complete, or are just not comfortable doing it yourself. And of course there is money, always money, which must be taken into account when making your decisions. Perhaps if we consider the options side by side, the differences will become apparent.
Let’s say the project is an extra room, perhaps another room for a new baby. This new room will require another closet along with another bathroom. You will need to cut through the side of the house, which is brick veneer, and cut out the soffit, fascia, and a small portion of the roof. The amount of money you have to complete this project is $25,000.00. Let’s see how the different methods will look when compared to each other:
1. Contractor does all the work… $28,000. 45 days
2. The owner does all the work… $18,000. 75 days
3. Owner/contractor combination…$25,000. 60 days
What is very apparent at first glance, are the differences in time and money between the three methods you are thinking of using. This is where the tradeoffs become quite clear.
Hiring a contractor to do all the work will cost you more money, but it can save you time and hopefully some of the hassle that comes with doing the job yourself.
Doing all the work yourself will save you money, but it will cost you time, since you’ll need to learn as you build.
Using a combination of doing some of the work yourself and hiring some of the contractors seems like a tempting alternative. However, you will need to be very careful when selecting your subcontractors, as one bad apple could have disastrous effects on the entire project. Here’s a list, broken down by trade, to give you a better idea of what kind of skills you’d need for your addition:
- Plumber
- Electrician
- Mason
- · Roofer
- Carpenter
- HVAC or heating and air conditioning
- Floors including exterior concrete and foundations
- Painter
If you choose to do all of the work yourself, the material is peeled off and the ordering and storage of the material on site would be your responsibility.
To go back to the original question of “Contractor vs. Do-it-yourselfer?” Using the above format, you will have enough information to make an informed decision about the best method to use… What will be the best method to use? That is the question YOU must answer after looking at the alternatives. You may want to talk to a few contractors to better understand what this project will entail and make your choice after exploring the different methods I’ve mentioned here. Once you have completed your project, you will be able to say which of the methods listed above worked best for you and will be able to answer the question, “Contractor VS Do-it-yourselfer?” from your own experience.