Home Renovations-Beyond Skill

When it comes to home renovations, it is usually easy to spot the work of an amateur handyman. The professional's work usually looks much better. But it doesn't have to be that way.

True, the professional has years of training and experience to guide him, and most home handymen just don't have the same level of expertise. But there are ways that we, the amateurs, can bring the quality of our work up a notch or five and at least begin to approach the quality that the pros achieve.

It's A Poor Workman Who Blames His Tools...

Well, that's true if the workman has good tools to start with, and uses the right tool for the job at hand. Home handymen, too often, buy cheap tools, and try to get one tool to do every job they tackle. Take a look at the tools that you're using and ask "Is this really the right tool for the job?"

You just bought a five pack of paint brushes to $7.99 to do the cut in before you haul out the rollers. The pro paid $40 for a good brush. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that you will slop paint all over the door casing, no matter how much you mask, and how careful you are, and that the pro can paint right up to it without masking. And you can bet that he didn't buy whatever paint was on sale at the local department store. He bought the good stuff.

Remember that when you set out to do the job yourself, the objective should be to save what the contractor charges for labor, overhead and profit. The objective shouldn't be to do the job for nothing!

The same holds true for all the projects you tackle.

If the contractor with years of experience needs a Makita rotary saw, a good table saw, a sliding compound miter saw and an air compressor to undertake your $10,000 bathroom renovation, what makes you think you can accomplish it with a $29.99 Skil saw that you picked up at Sears?

Budget to buy the right tools and the right materials for the job. You'll be glad you did. Good tools will last the home handyman a lifetime, and make each subsequent job cheaper, faster and easier. And you'll be a lot happier with your results.