Though home improvement shows such as ‘Changing Rooms’ and ’60-Minute Makeover’ seem to have fallen out of fashion in recent times, the DIY boom is showing no sign of slowing down. In fact, with the housing market so uncertain, making it difficult to move, more people than ever before are choosing to do up their home.
Yes, there are plenty of simple jobs for which you don’t need a qualification. Painting the spare room can be done over a weekend. Replacing a door isn’t that taxing. Some clever clogs can even fit a new carpet.
However, anything much more advanced than that ought perhaps to be left to recommended tradesmen, the people have training and recognised accreditations. Particularly when it comes to messing about with gas or electrics.
Even putting up shelves can cause problems. Hitting a nail into a water pipe can lead to thousands of pounds worth of damage. Accidentally knocking through load bearing walls can cause a whole home to collapse.
The advice is obvious: if you know what you’re doing, fine. If not, then seek expert advice, otherwise, the resulting repairs could end up costing more than if the entire job had been originally awarded to a tradesman.
If you’ve caught any of Channel Five’s ‘Cowboy Builders’ show, you may well be feeling a little anxious about engaging a tradesman. How can you distinguish the few rogues from the remainder of the reputable plumbers, builders, painters, etc?
First and foremost, rest assured that the afore mentioned rogues are in the minority but still, to ensure you hire someone that can provide the most competent service ask for recommendations.
You can get these in a number of ways: via ‘rating’ websites, which will display reviews for previous work, by asking your friends and neighbors or by asking the tradesman themselves for testimonials. A professional will be happy to provide these sorts of references.