Contractors Who Will Remedy DIY Projects That Have Gone Bad

WSJ/AOL ^ | 11-27-06 | Sara Schaefer Munoz

[rhombus]

How ever did the pioneers survive?

[Izzy Dunne]

How ever did the pioneers survive?

They didn't - they're all dead.

[MediaMole]

Remodeling was much easier when houses were made of sod.

[caver]

"The Andersons ended up paying a handyman service $10,000 to tear out walls and finish the basement."

Sounds like these homeowners got screwed paying $10,000 to fix a wiring job. You could rewire an entire house for $10,000.

[Incorrigible]

Obviously these were people who didn't get a permit for their DIY remodel and thus, did not have the benefit of a town engineer to inspect their work. Now they are really paying for being so cheap in the first place.

Lesson: Don't do your own electrical or plumbing work unless you really, really know what you're doing.

The only process more difficult than finding a good contractor is finding a good contractor that will pick up the pieces after a bad contractor fails to follow through.

[theDentist]

Yes, what Izzy said.

[rhombus]

Yup, if only they'd had licensed contractors. They might still be alive today. ;-)

[dead]

How ever did the pioneers survive?

No electricity, no plumbing, no heat, no air conditioning, no basement, no glass windows, no door locks, no sheetrock, no molding, no linoleum, no tile, no nothing.

I could build a pioneer house. In fact, when I was a kid, I did. We called it a "fort."

[BallyBill]

I always do it right, the 2nd time.

[rhombus]

Remodeling was much easier when houses were made of sod.

Really? I'd think it would be easier to use wallboard than sod. I tried but I couldn't' get the screws to hold. ;-)

[whd23]

Some of the worst work I've seen done in home improvement projects was done by the so-called "pros." Let's face it: I semi-talented, patient, homeowner puts a lot more care into the work than some contractor that needs constant babysitting to get the job done on-time and on-budget.

[IamConservative]

Sounds like the kind of work where a camera would provide some future entertainment.

[longtermmemmory]

EXACTLY!

When dealing with contractors, the previous worker screwed up the project no matter what.

[rhombus]

Moral of the story...don't do anything for yourself. Depend on nanny government, this time in the form of licensed contractors.

[tacticalogic]

I like those design shows where they do stuff like glue straw and fabric to the walls (and around the outlets).

[nina0113]

Some of the worst work I've seen done in home improvement projects was done by the so-called "pros."

I really enjoy looking at one of our offices that was done by a very expensive faux-finisher. The walls themselves look great, but there are paint smears all over the trim. **I** know to use masking tape and plenty of it.

I learned the hard way, of course, by not using it because I was such a careful painter, but after scraping all my own smears off, I did learn.

[MHGinTN]

I'm becoming so disabled that I can no longer do it, but for a time I did DIY jobs for elderly and shut-ins for free, except they paid for any expensive 'parts'. I can still advise DIYers (for free) but the pride issue with some folks prevents them from contacting me or someone like me. One piece of advice I am giving more often now is 'hire a good contractor to get the entire job done right and with insurance for workers at the job site.' But sometimes all a good DIYer needs is a brush with fundamentals of home construction, which I and many more willing to do so but never asked can give for free without danger. (I even have a motorhome, to travel to jobsites if asked! It's retirement fun, really.)

[posterchild]

I agree. In my jurisdiction a permit for household electrical work is only $23.50 and inspections are free - as many as you need along the way to finishing the job provided you have no gaps greater than 6 months. I look at it as a dirt cheap way to get an education by getting an expert in my house that I can ask alot of questions of. I have a BS in Electrical Engineering so I certainly feel confident and competent, but that doesn't mean I automatically know everything about bldg code.

[Arthalion]

My personal favorite: One of my sisters friends decided to renovate the attic in her home to turn it into liveable space. The catch? The attic was never meant for occupation, and the rafters were supported by countless 2x4's that distributed the load onto the ceiling and load bearing walls below...just like 90% of the houses built today. Her moron husband decided that these reinforcements weren't really needed, and that the roof could stand on its own if he simply bolted additional 2x4's to the rafters to double their strength. He bolted in the reinforcements, knocked out the uprights...and then watched in horror as his roofline beganto sag and collapse. It even ripped one of his exterior walls away as the roof came down. It ended up costing him over $30,000 to have everything repaired (completely new roof...though they DO have a useable room up there now).

Then, of course, there are the MDF morons who watch Trading Spaces and assume that you can build anything out of that stuff. One of my own friends built an MDF entertainment center, laminated it with Oak...and then proceeded to hang his $3000 plasma flat panel on it. Did I mention that it was a HEAVY flat panel? That one lasted about a week.