| |
| |
|
Home Improvement Information |
|
|
|
When Is It Time To Call The Professional?
For most Do-It-Yourself (DIY) home project managers, the most difficult decision is to know when to give the professionals a call to come complete a task and when to complete it yourself. The reason we like to do our own home upgrades or an addition is always a pretty internal and selfish reason. We want to save money and we want to be able to say, "I did it myself." How many times have you been to a friendly dinner party and the topic of home improvement projects come up? Ultimately, it becomes a barrage of sentences that all contain these simple statements, "I did it myself." or "We did it ourselves." I must confess that I am also guilty of this. This is why we always have the more informative conversations with people at the local hardware and supply stores. Both parties in the conversation understand the need to DIY and the communication process flows without any issues. Have you ever had complications with a project and wished you had called someone instead of finishing it yourself? I have, here is an example: My wife informed me that the dishwasher was broken, I answered her by saying, "Let me have a look at it before you call anyone, okay?" She would humor me and let me look at something I have no idea, other than the basic theory of operation, how it works! I want to be the hero in my mind, the all knowing of my own kingdom. I don't want to let someone else come into my own kingdom and fix something! However, eventually the dishes would pile up waiting for the washer to be fixed and I would be letting a few informal adjectives slip out of my mouth as I looked for tools, only because I didn't know how to fix it, let alone, find the problem. My wife, the good woman that she is, would then politely call, after a period of pre-calculated time on her part, a repair man and schedule to have the washer fixed. She would then inform me at a later time that day of the future repair schedule for the appliance. Timing is everything in that situation isn't it? Now back to my original statement, "the most difficult decision is to know when to give the professionals a call." Well the answer is simple, when we are over our head and out of our league in a project. The definition of the previous sentence is a difficult trial in our own mind set along side our egos for the DIY home project managers. My wife, in the example, followed the definition to that sentence and didn't realize it. As you read the rest of this article, place yourself in your own project and ask yourself the questions in each of these steps. The first step is to remove your self from the project and evaluate it from an outside prospective. This must be done. If you have trouble accomplishing this, ask yourself how your spouse or good friend would view this project. What is the real objective? In the example, my wife just wanted the dishes to be washed in the dishwasher. My objective was to fix the dishwasher to be able to handle the loads of dishes. The difference is that she had the true objective, to wash the dishes in the dish washer. My objective was to fix the appliance. So you see that removing yourself from the project and evaluating the situation, can help you define the true objective. In addition, make sure that the project will not void or compromise any existing warranties. Do you have a clear objective of the project looking at it from an outside prospective? The second step is to know your own ability. Do you have a history with the type of project you are working on? If not, did you do your research and homework prior to executing the project physically? How much of the project do you really know? In the example, my wife who already placed herself in step one by default, clearly saw that I did not have a past history or that I did not do any type of research prior to physically executing the project. She knew I was flying blind, armed with only theories of operation so that I could sound intelligent when talking about the project. Recognizing this, she allowed me time to do the research, and saw that my direction was not headed towards the desired results. She saw that I did not have the skill to fix the appliance. Do you have the ability to plan and/or understand fully the project execution and the steps order to complete the project correctly? The third step is to know if you have the correct tools. If you did do your research and you do know how to properly execute a project, evaluate if you have the proper tools. Do not take short cuts and use tools in a different manner than they were designed for. Make sure that if you do purchase new tools, that you completely understand how to use them. Along this same line, if the project requires a certification of inspection, this also falls in the same category as a tool needed to complete the project. In the example, I did not have all the tools needed to even troubleshoot the problem, which led to a majority of my frustration and creative use of adjectives. Do you have the correct tools or can you get them? The fourth step is to evaluate a proper time frame to compete the project. Establish a time frame that is realistic. Allow yourself error and determine how much slack time you can afford before the project becomes a burden to the household. In the example, my wife knew that those dishes would have to be done soon. We were washing them in the sink temporarily, but that's not why we purchased a five hundred dollar dishwasher. The money was spent as an investment in the utility of the appliance and not to become a project. Keeping this in mind, she had something inside her that said this project needs to be completed now. What determined that? I do not know, but the time was set and the phone call was made. Is the project going to be completed on time or is the project avoiding becoming "the burden?" If you answered "no" to any of these questions in the four steps, you need to call a professional to help you finish your project as my wife did. By the way, in the example, the problem our dishwasher had was that a ball check-valve was stuck and prevented it from physically shifting into the drain cycle. Would you have been able to determine that? I thought it was an electrical issue in the controller. Robert Kempe has 15+ years in industrial construction and industrial engineered manufacturing procedures as a project manager and a part time home inspector. Through his experience he has been able to simplify and make sense of home building and designing in what looks to be a complete chaotic project and decision making process. His articles will guide you through the most difficult decisions and make it a positive uplifting experience. If you find this information useful you should visit the site http://www.homedesignfloorplans.com/where you will find lots of interesting articles related to this topic provided by Robert Kempe.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Chimney Cap Checklist: Four Quick Ways to Evaluate Your Existing Chimney Cap While you are cleaning leaves out of your home's gutters, dealing with Christmas lights, or adjusting a satellite dish, don't forget to check on your chimney caps while you're on the roof. Chimney caps are those mesh-sided enclosures (usually made of stainless steel, copper, or galvanized steel) atop your chimney to prevent water, animals, bird droppings, and leaves from entering your home. What is Injection Waterproofing? Injection waterproofing is often used to fill and seal cracks and crevices. The material is most often made from a polyurethane compound. Are Showers Harmful to Your Health? The last thing you would think about when you are taking a nice, refreshing shower is, "Am I jeopardizing my health"?Chlorine is used by many municipalities to disinfect their water supply.Unfortunalely, according to many health experts, chlorine has been linked to breast, bladder and colon cancer. Vacation Break for Electrical Machines Are you overloaded? Have you become a part of the highly stressed modern working environment? You may need a break - a vacation, a change in environment, a change of pace.. Got Attic Mold? Lets Talk Energy Conservation! It happens to countless homeowners around the end of the year - you make the annual visit to your attic to collect the holiday decorations and what do you find? Spots and blotches covering the bottom of the roof sheathing.Worse yet - it turns out to be attic mold!What does energy conservation have to do with mold in the attic? Well if you take a step back and consider how the house behaves as system, they are often directly related. Have You Considered Fluorescent Lighting for Your Home? Many of us know that fluorescent lighting is common in work areas and schools. It is the long tubes that run in ceilings, right? Fluorescent lighting is more then just that. Grandfather Clocks Bring a Sense of Awe?Theyre So Tall Standing tall and big are the stately grandfather clocks. They are huge, immense beings with personalities of their own, and do they tell time. Wholesale Vinyl Flooring Is Perfect For Wherever You Need It Wholesale vinyl flooring is the perfect solution for people who are looking for flooring that is inexpensive, good looking, and made with high quality. Wholesale vinyl flooring is designed specifically for use in commercial, general and civil aviation applications and facilities, and it contains a hidden Tuff-Seal® interlock system and is backed by a five-year warranty. Why Laminate Flooring is the Perfect Choice for Families If you've ever had carpets or vinyl flooring you've probably had your share of stains, spills, and rips that no matter what you do, you can't quite wash out. Or perhaps the family pet has scratched the carpet edging, or even worse - had a bathroom mishap on the children's favorite playing area?Your flooring nightmares can finally end! Laminate flooring was designed to stand up to the rigors and demands of a busy family household and when compared to other types of flooring solutions easily outperforms in almost every category. Which Water Purification Systems Are Best? - A Comparison of the Three Most Common Technologies Fresh water is essential to our health and comfort. Not only do we rely on it to stay hydrated, we use it in many other ways including bathing, cleaning and cooking food, and laundering our clothes. Home Is Where The Heart Is Every one lives in a house but every house is not a home. A house is a shelter made of bricks, wood or any other material. Installing a Bathroom Vanity and Countertop The installation of a new bathroom vanity and countertop can transform an outdated bathroom into a contemporary one. Installing a vanity and countertop is simple to do and can be purchased from any home improvement store for less than $500. Soy Candles? What Will They Think of Next? Quick: What comes to mind when you think of soy candles? Before my formal introduction to soy candles, I thought organic (read expensive) and BEIGE! And not just the color beige, but beige as an overall description for soy candles-blah like baby food, ground chick peas, and a pale winter pallor. I had no idea why it would even occur to anyone to purchase a soy candle. Be Cool and Comfortable While Saving Money The cost of energy is on the rise, so if you want to have better air quality and feel more comfortable, you must be prepared to pay for it. People in homes and businesses are looking for ways to save money and still remain comfortably cool. The Benefits of Steel Storage Buildings Steel is gaining in popularity as a building material due to the many options it offers, its strength, and its affordability. Steel storage buildings are one of the many options available; they range from airplane hangars to garden sheds. Designing Your Log Home: Tips To Keep You Out of Trouble Nearly every log home is a custom design, whether you are altering a stock plan or starting from scratch. By their very nature, custom floor plans open up a large number of untested challenges - especially if you are trying to design the house yourself. To Picket Fences Of the 359 homeowners in my area, 112 are running afoul of the law in a deviously blatant way by committing the heinous "fence offence;" in other words, breaching Los Angeles municipal code sections 12.21 and 12. There Is Always Something To Improve Or Innovate For Comfort In this fast moving world of the 21st century, we are always forced to do everything in a rush, even eating and sleeping. The normal words of today are "hurry", "rush", "fast", "quick" and "immediately. The Right Bathroom Light Fixture Will Brighten Up Your Bathroom A bathroom light fixture may be just what the doctor ordered to brighten up a dark and gloomy bathroom. House lighting is important in every room in your home, but especially in the bathroom. Beginning Interior Design Beginning interior design is a challenging, exciting adventure that one must be willing to endure sacrifices and even at times costly mistakes in order to complete this learning successfully.If interior design is an activity that you are thinking about as a potential career, you owe it to yourself to invest the proper amount of time and energy into educating yourself in the field of creative design.
|
| Home | Site Map | Free Home Improvement information | Free Home Improvement Tips | Remodel Your Home Here | Free Home Improvement information | Home interior decorate |
| © 2007 |
