How To Avoid Common Do-It-Yourself Home Improvement Mistakes

Whenever people embark on do-it-yourself projects to improve their homes they make the mistake of assuming that all has been taken care of. However, more often than not, they end up making twice as much expense and spend thrice as much time than planned at the incept.

Let us look at top 10 surefire ways to avoid these DIY home improvement mistakes –

1. Take out the required permits – Before you embark on the DIY journey, make sure that all the required permissions with the government are in place. It is surely a time taking process but getting the home improvement permits is in your own interest. Once the permissions are in place then the government will ensure that your project executes safely. You may also require certain papers during the insurance claim process. You can always contact your local building department to confirm on the permissions that will be required for your project.

2. Have all the tools and materials you need available before you start your project – Unavailability of the right tools in the midst of your work may unnecessarily delay your work. Instead, you must make appropriate arrangements for the right tool before the work starts.

3. Prepare the job site for material deliveries – Material supplies will be required throughout the duration of your improvement work. It is only wise to prepare the space where the materials will be dumped. You may want to protect them from weather and theft.

4. Don’t skimp on materials – Being a miser will not help here. For safer, stronger, good quality work you need to spend time and money. For example – do not stop at 1/4 –inch drywall for building walls, use at least 5/8-inch.

5. Prepare the walls for painting – To give your walls a smooth finishing it is important to prepare them through cleaning and sanding before the painting. Also, any holes need to be filled up through patches. A primer or a stain blocker can also be used if oil-based paint is being used or a lighter shade is being painted on a darker one.

6. Use the correct paint – A correct paint not only gives your walls the desired color and appeal, it also gives them the longevity. Interior wall paints should be washable. For the exterior, linseed-oil-based stains can be used for preservation purposes.

7. Keep safe while working – Safety first. This should be your first priority for the entire duration of the work. Safety equipment such as safety goggles, gloves and hard hats should be used religiously while working. One must be especially careful around power tools and scaffoldings. Avoid wearing loose, baggy clothes and always keep a thick pair of gloves around for carrying wood or metal, or while hammering. A tools pouch is also handy to carry around and avoid damage to floor, feet and pets.

8. Measure twice and cut once – You must be accurate in your measurements to avoid wastage and rework. Also, leaving a piece a big longer is always better than cutting it too short.

9. Know the limits of your abilities – Jack of all trades master of none. One must reconcile with the fact that one may not be good at everything. It is always best to hire help when you are not sure if you can undertake a certain job on your own.

10. Don’t start to learn how to do a project on your own house – Questions must be asked whenever you are in doubt. Experimenting on your own house may not be the best idea. It is always better to try out new things under expert supervision.

These 10 tips will surely help you undertake any further DIY work with much more confidence and far lesser mistakes.