By: Mitch | Last updated October 17, 2022 
Every year, thousands of Americans injure themselves at home trying to make solo repairs, usually to save money. Some repairs should only ever be undertaken by trained professionals.
Attempting to make repairs, for example, to your home’s electrics can be a very bad idea. Electricity can be dangerous, even fatal. It should only ever be dealt with by somebody who has had training in how to work with it safely.
There are other areas of your home that should only ever be dealt with by professionals, too, like your plumbing. This post will cover all of this and more, explaining six common home repairs you should leave for repairmen to do.
As referenced previously, electrical repairs should only ever be undertaken by somebody who’s had training and experience in working with electricity. People are killed by electricity on a daily basis. You can save money on electrical repairs by hiring handyman services, instead of dedicated electricians. Handymen have just as much training in working with electrics, except they charge significantly less. One of the best things about hiring a handyman is that they can perform a number of other repairs in your home, too. Make sure to read a handyman service’s reviews before hiring them. Reviews make it a lot easier to determine whether or not it’s worth hiring a contractor. Avoid on-site testimonials, because they always have bias.
Your home’s plumbing isn’t something that you should mess around with, either. While plumbing isn’t going to kill you or even hurt you in most cases, making mistakes with it could cause you a lot of trouble. Mistakes could cost you a lot of money, too. Interruptions to your home’s plumbing could mean that you don’t get any water (or don’t get any hot water) until the problem you have created is fixed. It is also worth noting that if your home still uses gas, then tampering with your plumbing could cause gas leaks, which could put you and your family at risk of being seriously hurt.
Unless you have had experience in roofing, it’s best to leave it to the professionals. Attempting to make any changes or repairs to your roof can be a very bad idea. People fall off of their roofs on a regular basis. Also, since you are not a trained roofer, there is no real way for you to tell if you have fixed the problem or not. Instead, pay a roofer or a handyman to come in and fix your roof for you. You need to ensure that you hire a dedicated roofer and not a handyman if you need a roof re-installation, however.
Your home’s guttering isn’t something that you should play around with, either. While it is very common for people to attempt to repair their own gutters, it is not recommended. As with trying to fix one’s roof, climbing up a ladder to clean your gutters could lead to you falling off and injuring yourself. You could also cause more harm than good if your gutter is damaged and pulling away since you need proper training to fit a gutter to the façade of a house. The easiest way to maintain your gutters is to keep them clean. You should regularly hose down and clean out your gutters, removing organic waste. Something else worth noting is that if you do not clean your gutters, then birds could end up nesting in them, which could cause more problems for you. If birds start nesting in your gutters, then they could move into your attic. Birds in one’s attic can lead to clothes moths and carpet beetle infestations since they tend to attack bird nests.
Structural issues require the intervention of a contractor. There is absolutely no way that you can make structural changes or repairs to your house. Depending on the severity of the issue, you could have to relocate for the duration of the repairs. It is also worth noting that in order to perform structural repairs, you often need a building permit. A building permit is a certificate written out by your local municipality or council stating that you are allowed to make repairs or changes to your house. Most contractors won’t go anywhere near a structural repair job unless such a permit can be produced. If you do attempt to make any structural repairs yourself, then you should know that you are putting your house at risk. An experienced contractor will know how to properly perform repairs; you won’t.
Dampness in your home can be very problematic. It can cause mold, as well as damage your home’s structure. The cause of dampness is usually a roof leak. However, it can sometimes be caused by plumbing issues, too. If you notice dampness in your house, then make sure that you hire a professional to come in and resolve the problem for you. You also need to make sure that if you notice an abundance of mold growth, you hire a professional to clear it away. Toxic mold can be very dangerous to go anywhere near, and it's hard to identify whether or not a mold is toxic at first glance. A professional mold removal agency will be able to test the mold found in your house, determining whether it is toxic or not, and will be able to remove it. They can also tell you what’s causing it.
If your house has any of the issues mentioned here, then hire a professional. You shouldn’t attempt to make these repairs yourself. Doing so could just make the problems worse, and could even lead to you hurting yourself.
