Five DIY Potholes You Want to Avoid

By Rosie Romero
Special to The Arizona Republic

You have lots of ideas for do-it-yourself fixes and repairs for your home and you can’t wait to start. But before you do, think about some of the issues involved in your project. Here are five possible potholes to avoid. Keep them in mind, and your road to success may go more smoothly.

No. 1 – Neglecting to get a building permit for your project. It’s easy to “forget” about getting a permit from the city or county for your home improvement. After all, the whole reason why you’re trying the do-it-yourself approach is to save money.

Types of projects that obviously need permits include building a swimming pool or adding a guest villa to your house – not something you’re likely to do yourself. But if you’re planning what you see as minor projects — new electrical wiring for new lights or replacing a gas water heater or installing a ceiling fan where there was no fan before — you also need a permit. Check to see if your project requires a permit. It won’t cost anything to call city hall and chat a bit. Then actually getting that permit means you will have to answer a few questions about your DIY project that you hadn’t thought of before. Someone from the city may also inspect your work and make suggestions for improving the looks and safety of the finished improvement. You’ll learn something from the experience and be happier with the end results. Remember, if you don’t get a permit for enclosing that back patio to turn it into an office, you may have a tough time when you sell your house someday.

No. 2 – Trying some technique based on what you saw on TV or on the Internet. By now, half the United States, including you, has watched some home improvement show or another in which homeowners armed with sledge hammers bash through the kitchen wall into the dining room to open up their living space. It looks like a lot of fun. “People see something on TV and think they can tear down walls. Then they find out they took down a load-bearing wall and suddenly they’re propping up the 14-foot-high ceiling with 2x4s,” says Tom Sertich of Kirk Development in Phoenix. At that point, it might be tough to find someone to step in and rescue you.

Watching step-by-step instructions in an online video about tiling the bathroom floor leads to many DIY headaches, says Randy Hopkins of the Handyman Connection in Phoenix: “Tile work can cause big messes. They think, ‘I can do this,’ but all sorts of things go wrong.”

No. 3 – Not allowing enough time or money for the job you’re taking on. No, you’re not going to be able to re-tile the kitchen over a three-day weekend and you might not finish a major bathroom remodel in time for Thanksgiving. It won’t hurt to draw up a plan and allow extra time to complete your job. Expect a few mistakes or delays along the way. Expect to spend at least a little more money than you had planned on.

Try to limit the time you spend on the job each day so you don’t get overtired. Allow extra time for possible delays. You’re bound to make a few mistakes along the way, but most of them can be fixed. Try to clean up the clutter at the end of each day. And remember, don’t start a second DIY project before you finish the first one.

No. 4 – Ignoring basic safety rules. Your DIY project is going to be a lot more expensive if you end up in the emergency room next weekend. So follow all the safety rules and use common sense. Put on safety goggles when you’re using power tools. Don’t stand on the very top rung of the ladder. Wear gloves when you handle lumber or rocks or pieces of tile. Avoid jobs that involve messing with electrical wiring unless you’re licensed electrician. Gas lines are also a no- no for the inexperienced homeowner. Hire a licensed plumber instead to hook up your fire pit or fireplace.

No. 5 – Serving as your own general contractor on a major remodel. Sometimes homeowners do not actually want to do any “dirty” work themselves, but they want to serve as the “general contractor.” The plan is to have someone rip everything out of the master bath and install new cabinets and fixtures. Instead of hiring someone to take charge of the whole job and hire all the other contractors, the homeowner wants to personally hire the demolition crew, the plumber, the tile installer, the painter as a way of saving money. You can try that but be very sure that you know exactly what the job entails before starting.

You will be doing the scheduling and trying to get workers to show up at the right times when needed for each part of the work. The whole process is likely to last from dawn until dusk almost daily. You’ll be getting up at 6 a.m. to make sure all the materials arrive on time at your job site. You’ll have to make quick decisions when things go wrong or someone doesn’t show up. And be sure you have a big enough trash bin on your driveway before you get going. But if you have experience as a supervisor, have lots of patience, and know something about construction, everything can work out just fine. Probably, the smaller the job, the better your plan will work. One tip: Try helping out a friend in the construction business so you can learn something before you start the process.

Next week, we’ll talk about new alternatives for fighting termites. How do they work? For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program heard locally in Phoenix on KTAR-FM (92.3) from 7-11 a.m. Consult our Web site for other listings. Call 888-767-4348.