Does Hiring a Pro Really Cost More? - By: Tauqeer Hassan

You may like doing renovation work on your own. You may even have some basic abilities. But what if the job itself requires more skill than you possess?

Can you quickly learn the skills you need? Or are you better off letting someone who's a pro do the work?

First, let's consider what you're actually saving when you do the work yourself. When you're renovating, you usually want to save money because the budget is tight. The question I pose here is whether hir¬ing a professional to do a job really costs more.

When builders hire labor, they must deal with subcontractors, unions, and pay scales. On the other hand, when you hire labor for your small job, you can deal with an individual worker, often one who is doing the job on his or her own time.

For example, I recently needed to have a water heater moved from a kitchen area to a porch. The job involved not only moving the heavy heater but also retrofitting the plumbing to lead out and join the heater on the porch.

If I had found a plumbing company in the phone book and called, I am quite sure that the job would have cost close to $500. However, a friend knew of a plumber who was looking for some Work on the side. I got the name and called him. He said he'd do it for $200 plus materials.

Was it worth my time to disconnect and lug a heavy heater across the house, then shimmy through a cramped crawl space and work with old pipe, perhaps breaking it, trying to reroute the plumbing, when I could hire a pro to do it for $200? I hired him on the spot.

Of course, you won't always be able to find an instant "handyper-son." Many times you'll have to go the formal route of dealing with a subcontractor, getting bids, and so forth. But sometimes you will come across a deal that makes doing the work yourself simply not worthwhile.

How Do I Find People Who Will Do "Handy" Work?
As soon as you begin renovating, you'll run into people who see your project as a source of a few extra bucks. Mention other aspects of your project (or other projects) and they'll tell you about friends of theirs. Very quickly you'll build a network. Yes, it really does work this way!

About the Author

Now you know about the cost of hiring a pro for your home renovation. You should also know how to save money on rental property or apartment and also about how to buy a home with bad credit.

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