A lot of people do not like doing DIY. Research shows that this may be especially true if you are young and one of the reasons for this is that you may not feel like you know what you are doing. A survey conducted a few years ago found that only 8% of 18-25-year-olds felt confident rewiring a plug while 5% would be happy to unblock a sink and just 6% said that they would be able to bleed a radiator without any instruction or assistance. While a lot of older people may have a tendency to describe these statistics in a hysterical tone and be tempted to decry the younger generation for their supposed ineptitude, the reality is that doing these sorts of tasks is something that a lot of young people were never taught. They do not feature in the curriculum at school, and they are not something that many youngsters find themselves needing to learn.
The skill is not as useful as it perhaps once was because hiring someone to do it is easier. It can sometimes be more cost effective too. If you try to perform a repair on your property, especially if you are renting which many young people are, you may end up making a mistake and having to pay way more in repairs than the initial operation would have cost if you hired someone to do it in the first place. From this perspective, it simply does not make sense to invest time and money in learning these things. However, being a responsible adult sometimes involves doing things on your own and becoming self-sufficient. In the event that your heating breaks during the winter when calling someone out would incur a massive charge, being able to do it yourself suddenly becomes quite useful. If you are hoping to make improvements to your home, but you do not where to start, here are a few things to consider:
If the job that you are thinking about taking on is much more than you can do alone, the only option is to look for contractors to do it for you. However, this is not as simple as it may seem. When you ask someone to come to your home to work, you take on certain responsibilities as a de facto employer. One of these is ensuring that the conditions in which the contractor will work are safe. For example, when a construction company takes on workers to build something, the site will be rigorously checked for safety. There are a lot of codes and laws which stipulate satisfactory conditions on such sites. Many companies will also take out insurance from companies like Kingsbridge.co.uk. This is not a direct concern for you because if you hire someone from a reputable company, they will cover the insurance and tacitly include it in the amount they charge you. However, you should make sure that you try to keep the place as tidy as possible and warn the contractor of any potential dangers. Communication is the key.
Otherwise, you should try to learn as much about the potential problem as you can. The sad reality is that a lot of people are rather unscrupulous when it comes to overcharging. If you stay informed, you can prevent yourself from being scammed.
Leave a Reply