my521d4It’s remodeling season in Minnesota, and it’s tempting to save money by doing projects around the house yourself. Before you dive in, we'd like to offer some considerations.  Time and Effort Home improvement projects can take a lot of time and will take effort. With that in mind, think about how much time you have available to do them, and how much inconvenience you’re willing to tolerate. Remodeling your kitchen can take weeks or months if you only have weekends free, and you’ll be stuck without a place to cook during that time. However, reworking your landscaping can take a lot of time, but you will still have full use of your home during that time. Risk Generally, if your town has building codes in place to ensure maximum safety for a particular project, it’s probably beyond most do-it-yourselfer's skill levels. Keep in mind that some projects, like rewriting or anything with natural gas lines can pose serious danger to you and your home if done incorrectly. Knowledge, Skills and Tools You are the most important factor when it comes to doing a remodeling project yourself. Be honest with yourself about projects you know you can do and how easily you can get the right tools to do them. Some projects, like complete window replacement, can be more complicated than articles make it look. What can you do if something goes wrong and you need a professional to fix it? Keep in mind that some contractors will either charge more for rework, or refuse to do it altogether. DIY Tips When you do decide to go with the DIY approach, it’s a good idea to start small and work your way up to bigger projects. If you’re rewiring a room, start by replacing an outlet. You can also hire someone to do the more complicated parts of the remodel, like the rewiring, but do the more simple steps yourself, like painting. Completing a big project always feels wonderful, and there’s always the possibility of saving money, but if you aren’t careful about the projects you pick, the results can leave much to be desired.  And then you'll have the added cost of hiring someone to undo what you've done and then do it right.  If you're contemplating doing some exterior home improvement yourself, why not get an estimate to find out what a pro would charge?  Quarve Contracting doesn't charge for our estimates.